One Car.
Two Generations.
No Limits.
The 1988 Fox Body Mustang that built a legend — and the son carrying it forward.
The FastLane Fink
Every drag car from the golden era got the monster-cartoon treatment sooner or later — Ed “Big Daddy” Roth made sure of that. Here's the '88 getting its due: wheels up, turbo lit, and a fink at the wheel who definitely doesn't have a NHRA license.
It Runs In The Family
Lane's father — also Lane Palmer — was a racer. He had several cars over the years, including the “REV-olution!” that he ran at the strip, and a '53 sedan delivery he kept around long after. He was also the man who brought Lane into the technology field, founding Business Micro Services where Lane got his first job. The cars, the wrenches, and the computers all trace back to the same place.
Lane Palmer Sr. — the “REV-olution!” car. Where it started.
At the track, engine open. This is what Sunday looked like.
Dad and the '53 sedan delivery. That car never fully left.
Where It Started
Lane Palmer grew up in Barnegat, NJ. His father — Lane Palmer Sr. — was already racing when Lane was a kid. He took him to Atco and Englishtown. Not to watch from the stands, but to be in the pits. To hand tools. To absorb it. That is how you learn what fast sounds like.
Before he ever owned a race car, Lane spent five years as a mechanic on the B33 Kamikazi, an APBA offshore powerboat racing team. He learned what it meant to build something that had to perform under pressure, at speed, every single time.
Then came the cars.
In primer — bodywork done by hand
351 Cleveland — rebuilt from the bottom up
Show day — Dodge Viper Red
Englishtown Friday Night Street Night — 12.8 @ 113
How it started — the '73 in its original blue, doing daily driver duty through a Jersey winter.
Stripped to bare metal. Every panel worked by hand before the red went on.
A much younger Lane, the finished car in the garage behind him. Proud doesn't begin to cover it.
1985 LX — My Favorite
1985 LX — clean, red, and deceptively fast
Came from an uncle as a 2.5L four-cylinder. Lane swapped in a 5.0 HO, bolted on a Vortech V1 Trim supercharger, and ran mid-11s in full street trim — legal tags, driving it to the track. That is the photo. Nobody at the track knew what was under the hood.
Then came the 306: stock block stroker, 76mm Precision turbocharger, CSU blowthrough carb. That entire setup followed the car into the '88 chassis when the platform could not keep up. The '85 itself became the donor after the 2005 crash — gave its roof to save the '88. But as a street car, it is the one Lane looks back on the most.
Factory look. Nobody expected mid-11s.
NJ plates, driving it to the track and back. A real street car.
The 5.0 HO with the Vortech V1 Trim. That blower lower-left is what mid-11s looks like.
The 1988 Fox Body
Photo © Tracy Smith — ABM Nationals 2005
Found as a roller with a 12-point cage and fresh black and orange paint. It was ready to become something — Lane just had to give it power.
The setup came straight from the '85: stock block 306, 76mm Precision turbo, CSU blowthrough carb. It went fast. Then faster. Stock blocks started giving up, so in 2002 Lane built something they could not argue with — 363 cubic inches on a Dart Iron Eagle block. The turbo later stepped up to a Precision PT-88 (88mm), the carb gave way to Holley EFI, and the car dipped into the nines.
The '88 In Action
Down the track and inside the cage — the Fox body doing what it was built to do.
The Run That Went Viral
Atco Raceway. The same track Lane's father had taken him to as a kid growing up in Barnegat. He knew every inch of it. And on a January day in 2005, it nearly ended everything.
The 363 was fresh. The chassis was not set up for it — too loose. Coming off the line the car started hazing tires, drifting left into the next lane. Lane overcorrected. The front tire dug in. The car went onto its roof at 115 miles per hour.
It slid from the 1/8-mile mark all the way to the end of the track. The timing system was still running. It clocked a 14.3 on the roof.
There was an in-car camera running. The footage went viral. Corteco TV covered it with a full segment — in-car, out-car, and an overlay split of both angles at once.
Dave Milcarek — one of the most respected drag racing photographers in the country — was at Atco that day. He caught it on camera. That photograph is one of the most striking images in New Jersey drag racing history.
Watch the Corteco TV Coverage
In-car, out-car, and full overlay — as broadcast on Corteco TV.
The Crash — Dave Milcarek, Atco Raceway
Five frames. The whole thing happened in seconds.
The flip. 115 mph. Already inverted. Photo © Dave Milcarek
Sparks and fire underneath. Still moving. Photo © Dave Milcarek
Sliding the full length of the track. Upside down. Photo © Dave Milcarek
Still going. The Chevelle is long gone. Photo © Dave Milcarek
Coming to rest at the guardrail. Timing board still running — that is where the 14.3 came from. Photo © Dave Milcarek
The Rebuild
The crushed roof came off. The '85 donated its. The car came back the same year.
The roof after it came off. That is what 115 mph on sheet metal does.
Roof gone. Cage exposed. Tools on the dash. The work begins.
Roofless in the garage. The '85 roof is coming.
“Slow POS” on the windshield. Garage humor during a dark moment.
Mismatched panels everywhere. “Lane Palmer” already on the glass.
New roof grafted from the '85. Being washed in the driveway between sessions.
In the paint booth. Orange and black. Almost there.
Done. “Lane Palmer” on the glass, orange and black on the body. Ready to race.
Same year. ABM Nationals. Front wheels up. Photo © Tracy Smith
The First Run Back
Crashed in January. Back on the track the same year. This is the first run after the rebuild.
FastLane V2
Lane is done racing. Dominic is not.
The same '88 Fox body. Every piece of Lane's setup stripped out. A block that had been machined 15 years ago, packed in grease, and waiting — now finding its purpose. Dominic is building his own combination using his father's parts, his father's knowledge, and his own ideas about how it should be done.
Supercharger-ready from day one. Stick shift because that's how Dominic wants it. The next chapter of the same story.
The Build
Five years old, in the seat of the '88. The same car he owns and builds today — this is where it started for him.
Day one. The block that waited 15 years, finally getting cleaned up.
The bare machined 331 block on the stand. Ready to become something.
Fitting piston rings. The same kind of detail work Lane did in the same garage.
The next generation builder at work.
Crank drop. The orange '88 visible in the background — watching its new heart being built.
Dominic working the engine stand. The orange '88 up on the lift behind him — waiting.
Completed short block. Blue valve covers, Comp Cams cam. Built supercharger-ready.
Dominic deep in the engine bay of the same car his father made famous.
It is in the car. Blue valve covers, orange engine bay. Chapter II has an engine.
Official build supervisor. Every good garage has one.
Behind The Wheel
The first time Dominic got to legally drive the car. The next chapter, in his own hands.
Four Mustangs. One Name.
Street / Drag
1973 Mustang Grande
The car that started it all and the first to carry the FastLane Racing name, painted right on the back. Acquired in 1987 as a daily driver with a 351 Cleveland, then fully built: engine and trans rebuild, new cam, all bodywork done by hand, and repainted Dodge Viper Red. Raced at Englishtown Friday Night Street Nights.
12.8 @ 113 mph - reliable, fast, and beautiful
Engine: 351 Cleveland | Best ET: 12.8 @ 113 mph | Track: Englishtown
Street / Drag
1985 Fox Body Mustang
Got from an uncle as a 2.5L and immediately went to work. Swapped in a 5.0, added a Vortech V1 Trim supercharger and ran mid 11s in full street trim. Kept pushing - built a stock block 306 and dropped in a 76mm Precision turbo with a CSU blowthrough carb setup. When the platform could not keep up, the 85 became the donor for the 88, giving its roof and parts to save the car after the 2005 crash.
Mid 11s in full street trim; further with the 306/turbo combo
Engine: 5.0, Vortech V1 Trim, 306 + 76mm Precision turbo | Setup: CSU blowthrough carb
Drag Racing
1988 Fox Body - FastLane
Found as a roller already wearing a 12-point cage and fresh black and orange paint. Transferred the entire 85 setup over then kept building. In 2002 built a 363 on a Dart Iron Eagle block. Upgraded the turbo to a Precision PT-88 (88mm) and converted to Holley EFI. Dipped into the nines. The car that made the name real.
9.30 @ 151 mph on DOT legal drag radials | 2005 ABM Nationals | Went viral after the Atco crash
Engine: 363 Dart Iron Eagle | Turbo: Precision PT-88 (88mm) | Fuel: Holley EFI | Best: 9.30 @ 151
Drag Racing - in build
FastLane V2 - Dominic Palmer
Same car. New chapter. Dominic stripped Lane's setup out completely and is building his own combination - using the same 88 shell but with a freshly machined block that had been packed in grease for 15 years waiting for the right moment. Supercharger-ready from the start. Stick shift because Dominic said so.
Build in progress - supercharger phase coming
Engine: 331 forged, AFR 185 heads | Trans: Tremec TKX | EFI: Holley | Next: Supercharger
FastLane Racing
Born in Barnegat, NJ. Home these days is Citrus Springs, FL. Twenty-plus years on the same car — and it's still going.
lane@fastlaneracing.net