{"id":102607,"date":"2025-11-22T22:44:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T22:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/manny-buginga-reflects-on-record-setting-radial-performance\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T22:44:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T22:44:04","slug":"manny-buginga-reflects-on-record-setting-radial-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/manny-buginga-reflects-on-record-setting-radial-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Manny Buginga Reflects on Record-Setting Radial Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

During a private test session this week at the legendary Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina, Manny Buginga and his team \u2013 led by renowned tuner Jamie Miller \u2013 delivered one of the most incredible performances small-tire drag racing has ever seen. The mission was simple: rewrite the record books on 275-series drag radials, then bolt on a set of 315s and do it again. And in true Buginga fashion, they did exactly that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow is the word that occupies my mind,\u201d Buginga said afterward. \u201cThe amount of encouragement felt through this is humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Buginga opened the day with a jaw-dropping 3.481-second eighth-mile blast on 275 radials, cementing a new small-tire benchmark. A planned early-shutoff quarter-mile pull followed, still quick enough to reset the 275 quarter-mile record with a 5.682. Buginga\u2019s been around long enough to know moments like that don\u2019t just happen \u2013 even though he admits sometimes they\u00a0do.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome say records don\u2019t matter, but to me they do,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re always going to happen \u2013 accident or intentional, testing or in front of stands loaded with people. When it does, it\u2019s a feeling like no other.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With the first half of the mission complete, the team returned to the pits, swapped to 315 radials, and went right back after it. The result: a staggering 5.488-second quarter-mile rip to secure the 315 radial record, followed by a violent Hail Mary eighth-mile shot that stopped the clocks at 3.441 seconds \u2013 the second-quickest doorslammer pass ever recorded in any configuration. Only Jimmy Taylor\u2019s 3.387-second blast in his twin-turbocharged Pro Mod Camaro from last month sits ahead of it.<\/p>\n

Thinking back on it all, Buginga said he knew there was a window to do something \u201creally challenging and awesome,\u201d and decided to take a moment with nothing but his crew, his car, and the racetrack. \u201cIt\u2019s a glorious feeling when you pull up in the still quiet and just feel it happening, knowing it\u2019s something faster than you\u2019ve ever felt before,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then knowing we succeeded \u2013 it turned out to be amazing for all involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Buginga credited his entire group for making it possible. \u201cTo the man behind the laptop, Jamie Miller \u2013 outstanding job. We do seem to do amazing things together,\u201d he said. He praised the Buginga crew \u2013 Kyle Pettis, \u201cLil\u2019 Manny\u201d Buginga, Johnny \u2018Drama\u2019 Meguda, and Renee Matousek \u2013 along with AB Motorsports, Brad Mason, Chris Newton, Roger Wilkins, Carlos Gonzalez, and everyone who jumped in at critical moments. \u201cJust when I thought we were done with two holes down and little time left, they all plowed through and got it up and running to accomplish the last of our goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged the long list of companies whose parts, support, and problem-solving played a role, from Modern Racing, Pro Line Racing, ProCharger, and M&M Transmission to FuelTech, Menscer Motorsports, Summit Racing, VP Racing Fuels, UPR, Lucas Oil, and more. \u201cMany of these people don\u2019t just provide quality products \u2013 they provide insight into progression, knowledge, experience, and great customer support,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope to keep making everyone that has something involved proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Buginga extended gratitude to the workers, track crews, and owners who make these opportunities possible, like the team at Rockingham Dragway, where \u201cthe magic happened.\u201d He also made sure to credit the media documenting the moment \u2013 especially the photo shot by Hayden Raymond of TMG Marketing. \u201cThey capture and document these moments to cherish forever,\u201d Buginga said. \u201cWhen they say a picture is worth a thousand words, this is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Buginga, the records themselves might be numbers on paper, but the meaning behind them runs deeper \u2013 a culmination of effort, sacrifice, and the belief that something special was within reach.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThinking about my own course in racing, I saw there was a window to do something challenging and awesome,\u201d he said. \u201cThis moment, these records\u2026it isn\u2019t just about me. It\u2019s so many people who put their heart and passion into this sport to make it great \u2013 and this is their moment too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Hayden Raymond<\/em><\/p>\n

This story was originally published on November 22, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Manny Buginga Reflects on Record-Setting Radial Performance<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During a private test session this week at the legendary Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina, Manny Buginga and his team \u2013 led by renowned tuner Jamie Miller \u2013 delivered one of the most incredible performances small-tire drag racing has ever seen. The mission was simple: rewrite the record books on 275-series drag radials, then bolt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}