There's a part of Top Fuel racer Scott Palmer that felt like Evel Knievel when he strapped into the seat of his nitro-burning, Pro Modified-style Studebaker.

Palmer had been 300 miles per hour in a Top Fuel dragster, and sometimes on fire. But even this experience could not prepare him for a run behind the wheel of a doorslammer armed with the same mechanical innards as his dragster.

As Palmer rolled forward to do his burnout at the Jeffers Motorsports Park Outlaw 440 event in Sikeston, Mo., he channeled his inner Evel.

"Everybody was a little nervous because it is a little dangerous, but it was like being home," Palmer admitted. "I’m a big Evel Knievel fan, and I had this thought of, "Wow, this is probably what Evel Knievel felt like before he jumped the Snake River; this is either going to go really good or really bad. There’s probably no in between."

Palmer did a strong burnout and backed up to a road from a crowd which rivaled the thunder of his nitro engine. All Palmer could think about was the combination he had in the car, and what it would do in this car.

The Studebaker he purchased from Jerry and Don Hunn, was intended to run, as a conventional Pro Modified.

Somewhere along the way, plans changed and the fact a few Top Fuel parts were laying around inspired a 12-inch Chrisman rear-end, a bolt-in solid suspension, and a direct-drive unit with a reverser. In a sense, Palmer built a Funny Car with doors.

Did we mention the car was also equipped with a five disk AFT clutch with AFT cannon, and all clutch management?

Did we mention he was running a 90-percent mix?

The car, Palmer added, would make Wile E. Coyote, the innovative cartoon character, envious.

“In a Funny Car, the engine is actually 15 to 18 inches further back than it is in a Pro Modified," explained Palmer. "The engine is actually pretty far forward in it, so when I stepped on the gas, it looked like I was driving through a fireball. It was awesome, though. It was the best thing I’ve ever done; I’ve never sat in a car that was that cool.”

Palmer nailed the throttle and stayed in the car for approximately 1.9 seconds under full throttle for about 200 feet.

“I coasted the rest of the way because everybody said it would never leave the starting line," said Palmer. "We wanted it to go out there ways; we have a 14-gallon tank in it, so we knew it was going to be short on fuel. It would have made a full eighth-mile run, but I’m glad I didn’t because it had a gallon of fuel in it when I got back to the pits.”

Palmer said he ran .960 seconds to the 60-foot, not what he would consider an outstanding short time.

"By the time we got to 200-feet, when I shut off the throttle, it was already running over 170 mph," Palmer explained. "The clutch management at six-tenths of a second started up, and we opened three clutch disks before two-seconds, every stage I thought it doesn’t smoke the tires, it’s going to make it. Every stage it made it; it carried the wheels four or five inches the whole time. There’s no doubt in my mind it’s going to work. It already worked.”

There's no word on when the next outing will be, but Palmer is intent the car will go further down the track if all works well.

And for Palmer, there's only one logical reason fueling his plans.

“It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever driven in my life," Palmer admits.