Race Team

Paradise Motorsports Goes Racing...

The history of the Lauffer family's racing heritage goes back to 1980, when Scott first began to drag race an old blue VW sedan. That streetcar- turned-drag sedan put him in the 12-second bracket at nearby Carlsbad Raceway. This first effort was quickly followed by a Manx buggy that ran 11s, and was the first car to display the "Paradise Express" nameplate — used for decades to come. By the late '80s, Scott purchased the famous "Hot Sauce" buggy, now turbocharged, and went as quick as 9.19. By now, the Lauffers were ready to step up to a tube chassis dragster, which was purchased in used condition and later painted a dazzling pink. Running 9.0s, Scott was hooked on the longer wheelbase rail and soon moved up to a proven racecar, once owned by Steve Foster. With this ride, times dipped well into the 7.50s and marked their first serious A/Dragster effort. By 1996, it was time for an all-new car, this time a 225-inch custom-built dragster by Bob Meyer, and this one set the Hot VWs MPH record at (7.32) @ 189mph. This candy red digger was soon replaced with a full-bodied Frame Works ride that became the first Volkswagen-powered car in history to break into the 6-second bracket (any 4-cylinder engine for that matter!). On September 25, 1999, son Kris Lauffer got behind the wheel and ran a milestone pass of 6.94/188.35mph at Speed World Raceway Park in Wittmann, Arizona.

From that point on Kris drove, proving his ability to set more VW records than anyone on the planet! In 2001, a fifth VW dragster was built, this time a 216-inch front engine designed by Bob Bolton, which was ultra-light weight. With this car, Kris broke the magic 200mph barrier on April 13, 2000 at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona. That mark was quickly broken with a 6.70/202mph pass at Ennis later on that same year. Since this time, Paradise Motorsports has campaigned, yet another car built by Spitzer, and variation of the Bolton car, known as "The Nail." To date, their best performance in A/D has been 6.53/211mph. If all that wasn't enough, during the past three years, the team has moved into Pro-Mod, campaigning a turbocharged sedan. With Kris still behind the wheel, this became the first Pro Racing Association-legal car to run under 8-seconds, with a 7.89 pass, and has run over 189mph. Currently, Paradise Motorsports holds a total of 13 Hot VWs Magazine records for both 1/8th and 1/4-mile tracks — unmatched by anyone in the industry.

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