MOHNTON, PA - To be at the top of your game is hard feat no matter what you do. In any sport, there are parameters that have to be beat in order to be considered the greatest, the best, or in the case of import drag racing, the quickest and the fastest. A little over a year ago, that mark for any (unibody) front wheel drive car was 10 seconds. The Honda CRX of Bergenholtz Racing eventually broke that barrier. Today, the hundred or so fwd cars that are capable of ten and sub-ten second runs that probably exist in the country are still mainly H cars. That's because many people believe that its too hard or even impossible to use platforms other than one that wears Sochiro Honda's name to get to the holy land. Well, all you Honda fans, anti-Honda fans, pessimists, import haters, underdog fans, and especially - Nissan fans, listen up. James 'Jamie' Farrer is going to change the way you think.

Jamie's 1993 Nissan Sentra SE-R blasted a 10.44@137 mph at the NIRA Maryland International Raceway event this past July to back up his 10.67 run at Englishtown earlier in the month. That makes James' SE-R, by all known accounts, the Worlds Quickest and Fastest Sentra, FWD Nissan, and one of the fastest FWD non-Hondas. A lot of heads were turned when the numbers flashed on the screen, especially those of his competitors. Teams like Bergenholtz and Rado/World Electronics in Jamie's Pro FWD class have had the support of many big sponsors to get to their current level. They've also benefited from the amount of Honda parts and knowledge out there, as well as access to a full race support staff. Here was a newcomer running with them on what was considered a non-competitive platform with virtually no sponsors.

Jamie's remarkable story began 6 months with the help of his brother, Chris Lee, and two sponsors, F-Max Fabrications and Neverlift Motorsports. Jamie, a longshoreman out of Matawan, NJ, took on the new project after having run his 99 Nissan Maxima to a World's Quickest time of 12.8. Looking for more, he had seen how well built the Maxima engine was and decided to go with Nissan power again in the form of the underutilized SR20DE, which is also known for its better torque characteristics than Honda powerplants. After locating a 93 SE-R, work started in his garage. The easiest portion of the project was the choice to use a F-Max Turbo Kit as the primary power adder. After that, Jamie and his brother were basically on their own. Using a lot of homemade ingenuity, sweat, tears, and duct tape, the many problems that came up were taken care of. After his build-up, Jamie believes that anybody with a carefully thought out plan, can build a 10 sec. Sentra with off the shelf parts.

Under the hood, the slightly bored block (by Jim Wolf Technology) was fortified with Arias 87mm pistons and Crower rods that lowered the compression to 8.5:1. A 100 shot NOS system was added as well as a JWT (Jim Wolf Technology) fuel rail. Providing the proper spark is a MSD 7AL-2 ignition with a Pro Power coil. Topping the engine off is, ready for this? - a fully 100% stock head off a donor salvage car. Controlling all this is a JWT programmed stock ECU and a APEXi AVC-R boost controller. Upgrades to the drivetrain are in the form of a JUN flywheel and an ACT clutch. The tranny is stock with a welded bell housing.

Outside, Keizer 13 x 8 front wheels occupy the trimmed fenders and Bogart 15 x 3.5's see action in the rear. Ground Control Springs are partnered with KYB AGX adjustables. Neverlift Motorsports out of Amboy, NJ(www.neverliftmotorsports.com), one of only two sponsors, stepped in to design a custom chromoly roll cage and a precision engineered set of traction bars. They also supplied the custom lightweight race seat that sits in the stripped interior.

We met up with Jamie and a group of his friends, who had come out to help. After the photo shoot we talked during the rain delay about his future plans for the car inside the 'ghetto van' (Jamie's tow vehicle, A-team style Chevy van complete with hand rolled paint and a deluxe sofa). From the way Jamie and his friends carry themselves, you wouldn't know that this guy is running one of the world's quickest and fastest imports, period. No ego, no attitude here, just a guy who wants to race. (Any sponsors out there, take note) His immediate plan is to win some races and get some more financial backing. This would let him upgrade the fuel system, work the head assembly, integrate a haltech type system, and stock up on spares for race day. At the Maple Grove event, he snapped an axle with (running new trac bars) his first attempt and didn't have a chance to qualify for the make-up date of that race. Jamie hoped the car was strong enough for high tens when he started the project, now, with an estimated 500+ hp at the wheels, some solid runs under his belt, and with some more testing and support, Jamie is looking to hit the 9's by the end of this year.

Import racing is quickly becoming a not-so-small sport. Ever since mega-buck teams have been making competition hard at the top, its refreshing to see a couple of guys come together, scrap some money together, buck the (Honda) establishment and then rewrite history.

Jamie gives props to Chris Lee, all his boys from Evotuningconcept.com, and his sponsors, Neverlift Motorsports and F-Max Fabrications.

You can contact Jamie through his website at http://members.aol.com/ghettomax1

Editor's note: Jamie picked up Jim Wolf Technology as a co-sponsor after the Maple Grove event and is set to be running at the upcoming August Import Survival Series at Englishtown as well as the October 7-8 ISS / NIRA weekend.