That's why she selected veteran journeyman Todd Tutterow, a practiced turbo racer. He was her only choice.

“I knew that Todd was very capable of driving the car and that’s why he was my first choice,” Summer said. “I’m pulling for him to do better than I ever did. I just want my car to do well. It’s not a competition or jealousy thing. This was a business decision.”

Summer said her Corvette ran a 4.20 at 181 miles per hour during an event in Orangeburg, SC.

Annette Summer said her tough decision to sit out the ADRL Dragstock event in Rockingham wasn’t a tough one to make. She wanted to see her turbocharged Corvette run quick and fast, with or without her.

That's why she selected veteran journeyman Todd Tutterow, a practiced turbo racer. He was her only choice.

“I knew that Todd was very capable of driving the car and that’s why he was my first choice,” Summer said. “I’m pulling for him to do better than I ever did. I just want my car to do well. It’s not a competition or jealousy thing. This was a business decision.”

Summer said her Corvette ran a 4.20 at 181 miles per hour during an event in Orangeburg, SC.

Summer said with Tutterow in the car, it weighs 2,900 pounds. A shakedown run in Rockingham produced a 1.01 sixty-foot clocking and beat the car’s best by .01.

That was the only bright spot in the DNQ weekend for Summer. The Corvette carries the burden of extra weight, yet remained in the ballpark with her other advantageous entry.

Summer said the lighter 1957 Chevy in her stable has run as quick as a 4.15. During last year’s Rockingham event, she covered the eight-mile in 4.15 seconds.

Tutterow ran a 4.20, 170.45 on Friday. Summer has run a best 4.20, 181.

“Todd asked me before he got in the car, ‘what if it goes out there and goes quicker?” Summer said. “I told him I hope it did. The motor has been freshened and we made some changes in the transmission, so it should go faster. I let him know that it didn’t matter to us who went quicker.”

Summer said Tutterow reminded her that such a scenario could invoke Internet message board criticism.

“I told him that it didn’t matter what I do because people will always talk bad about me regardless,” summer said. “I just want the car to do well regardless of who is driving. Todd knows I can drive and I know he can drive. If he had a broken back, he’d let me drive his car.”

“I always tell someone if I do well in their car that I don’t really want any hard feelings,” Tutterow said. “Me and Annette have been good friends for a long time. These turbo cars are so picky. Anyone can go out there and make a good run and then not get down the strip the next run.

“Yeah, I ran a 4.20 on the first run and then didn’t get down the track on the next run. You have to finesse these cars.”

DISHEARTENING? 

Summer will never admit the turbocharged combination has her down-trodden. If anything, she’s always seeking the positive side of it.

Summer said she’s excited about returning to the 1957 Chevy she purchased a long time ago.

“We have the 1957 Chevy almost ready,” summer said. “And it will be almost 400 pounds lighter than the Corvette. We ran the car before but it wasn’t as tuned up as it is now. I ran a 4.15 while driving through the clutch and short-shifting it. What we’re doing and what we are bringing into the ’57 Chevy is a different approach. It’s a straight shot instead of a 90-degree turn. The boost was erratic on the car. Once we come back with the ’57 and get it dialed in, they will be moving us over to Pro Extreme.”

Summer said one cannot ignore the data the turbo combination provides.

“You have to believe what the dyno is telling you,” Summer said. “The dyno says these things make big power. It’s just the matter of finding what the car wants and the right ratio in the transmission and making the boost do what you want. I know it is there and I’m not a quitter.”

Summer said her new engine creates 2,900 horsepower on Kenny Duttweiler’s dyno.

As for Tutterow, his history with a turbo is exactly that – history. The lack of consistency is what Tutterow alleges to be the problem.

“That’s the reason I dropped this deal, because I didn’t see any,” Tutterow said. “There isn’t enough to win races. They are always going to run fast. But consistently fast – I don’t see that happening.

“Jeg’s is out there and they have plenty of money to throw at it. They’ve been at it for over a year and nothing has happened. It isn’t as easy as it looks. I think the larger the cubic inches and the bigger the turbo, the harder it is. The smaller six-cylinders and four-cylinders fly with them. When you have the small displacement like that, the window is larger.”

Tutterow wouldn’t completely say the smaller engines are the way to go.

“It’s going to take time and money,” Tutterow said. “One of these days a turbo car will outrun anything out here. Until then, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Somebody will hit on it and find what it takes. A lot of money has been spent and everyone seems to have the same problem.”