C8 Corvette Z06 With Drag Radials Rips off 6.8-Second Eighth Mile Pass

Despite facing major traction issues, the non-Z07 C8 Corvette Z06 proves to be a rocketship on a shorter strip of pavement.

The C8 Corvette Z06 was designed as more of a focused track car, a high-revving, corner-carving sort of machine. However, that doesn’t mean it also isn’t quite quick in a straight line, with a GM-estimated 0-60 time of around 2.6 seconds – impressive by anyone’s measure. However, while we’ve seen a handful of C8 Corvette Z06 owners hit the track in recent weeks, Jesse Iwuji – former college football player, U.S. Navy reserve officer, and NASCAR driver – recently did so after installing a set of proper drag radials out back, and with impressive results.

This all went down at Irwindale Speedway in California, which is where Iwuji returned to the eighth-mile track to try and one-up his prior best elapsed times. To do this, he replaced the factory rear 21-inch wheels wrapped with 345 Michelin rubber with a set of 20-inch wheels and 305 drag radials. Regardless, he struggled to find traction on the first run, but still managed to crack the six-second barrier with a 6.9-second run at 107 miles-per-hour.

Iwuji notes that launching the C8 Corvette Z06 is a bit of a challenge, given the fact that it’s apparently more difficult to perform a burnout – at least, it apparently won’t oblige by following the traditional method of holding the brake and the gas at the same time. After adjusting the launch control settings, he lines up against a Nissan GT-R and gives it another go, and still has some traction issues. Regardless, he manages to run another 6.9 at 108 mph even after seemingly getting a slightly better launch.

Even on the next go-round with a better burnout, it seems as if track prep might be an issue as well, this time when the car was in automatic mode. Iwuji is still pleased to find that he managed to set another personal best, at least, with a 6.87-second run at just under 108 mph – albeit with a pretty poor 60-foot time of 1.68 seconds. On one final pass, he does even better, with a 6.86-second result at 108 mph, which is impressive, indeed. However, there’s obviously more in this car – Iwuji believes that it’s going to run in the 6.6-second range – once he can figure out how to make it hook, at least.

.