One of the funnest parts of racing a turbo minivan is simply being noticed. And since we stand out like sore thumbs, we tend to get noticed a lot! National magazines have witnessed this phenomenon and--in one way or another--they've mentioned us many times. What have they said? Here is a sampling of quotes from various articles over the years.
TURBO magazine, May '91: "Starting what might be the new minivan class at the local strip, Thomas Mahon's turbo Caravan has drawn respect from many competitors...." "...the Caravan dusted off a 440 Charger...."
TURBO magazine, May '92: "Thomas Mahon's Caravan has ruined the day for many owners of faster-appearing vehicles."
HIGH PERFORMANCE MOPAR, May '92: "Imagine how the modified Mustang racers feel when Mahon and his monster put them on the trailer, then load up the kids, the dog and the barbecue and head for home. Thirteens in a Caravan!"
AUTOWEEK, April 8 '02: "Just as Mopar lunatics have turned 2.5-liter turbo-powered Dodge Caravans into 13-second drag strip terrors, someone's going to make this new PT [Cruiser turbo] really fast."
NEW YORK TIMES, Oct 23 '03 excerpts from an article about modifying minivans: If you browse Web sites like cardomain.com, you will see a surprising number of people posting photos of their spruced-up minivans. Granted, you would be hard pressed to find a Ford Windstar making a cameo in "The Fast and the Furious." Buying a minivan has never been an emotional purchase, [Nissan spokesman] John Schilling said: "It was `I need a minivan because I have kids.' People just didn't want to be seen in them."
Dempsey Bowling, 33, a car salesman in Provo, Utah, has seen many men buy SUV's when they actually need minivans because they fear looking foolish. "The funny thing is, that fear is unfounded," Mr. Bowling said. "When you drive a van, people don't even notice you at all." Which increases what Mr. Bowling calls "the whole surprise factor"--the dropped jaws when his blue '89 Dodge Caravan does the quarter mile in 14.4 seconds on the track in Salt Lake City. He got the idea for racing minivans while he was tweaking other Chryslers, surprising his competitors with his souped-up econoboxes. "I thought, if it's fun to beat a Mustang in an Omni," he said, "it must be hilarious in a minivan."
Minivans make good racing "sleepers," Mr. Bowling said. His 1989 Caravan dates to a two-year period when the cars came equipped with turbo-charged engines. They generally weigh less and handle better than SUV's. To further reduce the weight, Mr. Bowling, a bachelor, took out the air-conditioning, insulation, spare tire and rear seats. "I like to joke with my friends it's a two-seat sports car with a huge trunk," he said.
He has beaten Camaros and other muscle cars; now, he even sometimes has trouble finding people to race. "They don't want to be seen losing to a minivan," he said, "and I can understand that."