What do you think when you come across a car sitting in a show field that appears it should be on the track? Well, if you are like me, I am very anti-car show but on occasion there is a special exception to the rules. In this case, it happens to be for Darren Hooper’s 2000 Camaro SS. Knowing him for many years, his cars have always been super clean and good running. But his “SS” is probably my favorite of all the cars that he has had. The Camaro maintains low mileage with just 15,000 ticks on the odometer, but it surely is no trailer queen.
Photos courtesy of
TMK Photography
Darren’s car was purchased with just a few miles on it and then the performance bug bit him, after having his old Camaro that led to many grudge races at the track against my 95 GT. The step up surely put the Mustang in his rear view mirror with the better performance right out of the showroom. It could not remain stock for long as that wouldn’t be “gear head worthy”, so he started out with a
MTI Airlid and
Holley Powershot air filter. Next came the 4.10 gears out back, which will lead you to hearing the rumble of the chambered exhaust from
GMMG.
Performance at the dragstrip was good on
Nitto Drag Radials. The 12.66@110mph shows plenty of power is being made just by the mph. It is enhanced by a
Hypertech Power Programmer along with the recent addition of a set of
Mickey Thompson Drag Radials. A few suspension upgrades were added to help the launch and stiffen the car at the same time. Gugliotti weld-in sub frame connectors and adjustable lower control arms were installed along with a
Eibach lowering spring kit. Nearly 80 passes have been made on this car which shows its no stranger to the track.
Darren also spends his fair share of time hitting the show circuit and has racked up plenty of trophies to show off. Most notably he competes in the Mild Modified class at the Carlisle All GM Nationals. His Camaro along with many others are judged on a 200 point system where he has maintained a top three finish over the past five years.
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