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Orlando's
World Street Nationals It's the Attack of the Baddest Street Cars in the Land by Susan Wade, Brian Wood Photos by Brian Wood Click Here for Event Photo Coverage ORLANDO FINAL RESULTS Super Pro Street
Chuck Samuel wasn't smiling when the motor broke on his 2000 Ford Mustang during Sunday's quarterfinals. He wasn't happy when he missed Friday's lone qualifying session because, he said, "we made a mistake." Neither was he overly satisfied with qualifying 10th in the 32-car field, although his effort put him in the top third of the grid and clearly better off than the 41 drivers who failed to make the cut. It was just like those seven previous years he came to Orlando Speedworld Dragway and went home empty-handed. But Sunday night, the Sycamore, Ill., street-car racing veteran couldn't wipe the grin from his face as he hoisted his Super Pro Street trophy over his head. Samuel's 6.628-second, 216.08-mph final-round pass over No. 9 qualifier Mike Steele of Shreveport, La., was worth $10,000. Steele was close behind in his '96 Firebird with a 6.782/209.39. "This year was good. Everything worked out good," Samuel said. "We just started out and kept plugging away at it." Of his semifinal problem, he said matter-of-factly, "A part broke. We just took it out, replaced engines and started over." Ed Thornton, of Chino Hills, Calif., took home $1,000 for being the class' No.1 qualifier with a 6.626-second run. His 223.99-mph effort in a '57 Chevy was the class' top speed of this 12th annual open special event billed as "absolutely, positively the most outrageous door slammer shootout in the known universe!" However, Steve King, of Strasburg, Va., in his '98 Viper, took low E.T. honors at 6.613 seconds. a d
v e r t i s e m e n t Outlaw 10.5
Hot, sticky, gooey tracks were something Tim Lynch hadn't experienced for awhile. He had taken some time off from racing to prepare for the big jackpot at Orlando. But he knew that's what he would encounter at this annual rite of validation for street-legal drag racers. Those warm, sunny conditions that attract crowds have a double-edged quality: they make it hard on the drivers to keep traction and stay in the groove. But Lynch said he knew what to expect: "We always get the same weather in Orlando, and it's hard to deal with. It hurt us a little bit, but we made some changes to the car, and we got it down there." Lynch overcame those circumstances and pocketed the $5,000 winner's share of the Outlaw 10.5 class purse. He defeated fellow Georgian Mike Calvert in the all-Ford final with a 7.292-second E.T. at 202.97 mph to Calvert's 7.875/160.59. "This is the best year we've had here, by far," said Lynch, who earned a $1,000 bonus for leading the 32-car field. He was quickest at 7.116 seconds (at 203.75) that held up as low E.T. of the event. a
d v e r t i s e m e n t Heavy Street
Rob Golobo had a bit of a journey down memory lane after beating Charlie Boy Micallef in the Heavy Street class final. "Back in 2000, we ran in Super Street. Steve Grebeck was helping us," he said. "It was the first time we went in the 7s. That was sweet." His memory of builder/driver Grebeck was a little bittersweet, for Grebeck was killed on this track during a Fun Ford event since then. Grebeck's associates pitched in and finished the Camaro he had been preparing. That's the car that carried Golobo to the victory with a 7.609-second E.T. at 184.80 to Micallef's 7.711/178.35 in a '70 Chevelle. The Whitelake, Mich., resident's effort was an improvement from last year's trip to Orlando Speedworld Dragway. "Last year we went to the semis and broke the motor," he said, adding that it wasn't a breeze. Golobo said his third-round holeshot against John Schroeder gave him a boost at a time when his tune-up wasn't working for him. "We were lost on our tune-up for some reason," he said. "We had a good tune-up at home, when we were testing. But here it went out the door. We just had to guess on everything we did. And we got lucky." After collecting his $2,500 payoff, Golobo said, "It's the biggest race of the year, bar none." Then Golobo, an asphalt paving specialist who had driveway jobs awaiting him Tuesday in Michigan, headed north in the dark, along with his four associates who would rotate turns at the wheel of the team hauler. Elliott Thompson earned $500 for being Heavy Street's No. 1 qualifier and a trophy for emerging with low E.T. of the event. a
d v e r t i s e m e n t Radial Tire
Rick Head might have been the top qualifier in the Radial Tire class, but he didn't cruise through the competition. "It was ugly but we got it done," the Simi Valley, Calif., driver said of his 8.763-second final-round pass (at 168.47 mph) over Dennis Bailey's 13.517/68.47. "We had a little bit of trouble in the middle of the day," Head said of his '89 Camaro. "We smoked the tires a couple of times, but we pedaled it one time and managed to get by. The second time we got a bye run so we got lucky. Then we found ourselves and managed to get it down to the other end." He was $1,500 richer for the victory, and he picked up another $250 for leading the 32-car field. "The rest of this whole thing is beautiful now," Head said with a laugh, adding, "We built this car specifically for the Radial Tire class. We wanted to bring it (bragging rights) to the West Side (coast) again. That's the fun." Head didn't have as much watching in his previous two years. Last year, this man who builds turbochargers by trade put a hired driver in his car and he lost in the quarterfinals. "This year, I said, 'I don't want this to ever happen again. I'm going to drive the car myself and see what happens.' a
d v e r t i s e m e n t
SUNDAY - Elimination Rounds Underway in Orlando; No. 1 qualifiers Batting .500 after First Round Action
There are four classes being contested this weekend in hot and humid central Florida, with 32-car fields in Super Pro Street, Outlaw 10.5, Radial Tires and Heavy Street lining up to do battle.
In Super Pro Street, the dominating weekend of California’s Ed Thornton also came to an untimely end. After leading qualifying through the first two days, his usually dependable turbocharged ’57 Chevrolet faltered off the line in his opening match with No. 32 qualifier Brian Robbins, and Thornton was left to ponder what could have been as he headed west towards his home in Chino Hills. Outlaw 10.5 leading man Tim Lynch and Rick Head of Radial Tires fared better, each winning their first round match-ups to advance to the next stanza. (Thanks to Gary Rowe for his photo contribution) SUNDAY NOTES - #1 = Feast or Famine - Ed Thornton, the quick Californian who was driving in just his second World Street Nationals, paced the Super Pro Street class with a 6.626-second pass that held up as low E.T. of the meet until Steve King beat Terry Brown in Round 2 with a 6.613. His fastest qualifying run of 223.99 mph was 7.34 better than anyone else could muster. Thornton's qualifying dominance caused the modest Pacific Street Car Association points leader Saturday evening to say, "I definitely like my chances." They came to an abrupt halt about 300 feet into Sunday's opening round when his turbocharged '57 Chevy broke, allowing Brian Robbins and his '72 Hurst Olds a freebie into Round 2. Elliott Thompson, the Pennsylvanian who barely turned 20 years old, also had his Heavy Street competitors on the ropes until eliminations began. His mechanical troubles were much more spectacular than Thornton's. Thompson's '91 Chevy Camaro had a transmission fire that sent him to a nearby hospital with second-degree burns on his hands. He was treated and released. Thompson said he wasn't sure what caused his blue beauty to erupt in fire at the hit of the throttle. "I just remember flames," said Thompson, whose pants and driving shoes were singed. He said the fire licked up his raised forearms and under his gloves. He said the experience isn't going to stop him from returning to Orlando next fall. "There's no jinx in that," he said of the accident. "We're not superstitious. We'll come back and be No. 1. We just haven't decided which class we'll run. We're probably going to do the Outlaw (10.5) deal."
Performance wasn't the issue. "We were supposed to be moving into a new home this weekend," Dantoni said. He and his family are leaving Brooklyn for the tony New Jersey suburb of Middletown, where his new neighbors include Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. Besides, Dantoni said, "We weren't sure if we were coming. We've been racing so much that I wanted a break." However, he and his crew made a last-hour decision to go for that fourth Orlando victory in five years, one that paid $10,000 to win. They arrived too late to make a qualifying run
Friday evening, but Dantoni slipped into the No. 7 spot, certainly
respectable in a class in which 73 entrants were vying for 32 spots.
a
d v e r t i s e m e n t SATURDAY Final Qualifying
Super Pro Street – Final Qualifying California’s Ed Thornton took it all the way to the bank in Super Pro Street on Saturday, his 6.626, 223.99 holding up through three sessions of qualifying to earn low qualifier honors for the driver of the well-known turbocharged '57 Chevy. Ben Hopko stayed in the No. 2 spot, his 6.634, 216.66 from the second session locking up the position. Moving into the third spot was Todd Tutterow, of Lewisville, North Carolina, who bumped John Stanley out of the top three with a last-session blast of 6.635, 213.27. The bump spot was held down by Brian Robbins, of St. Joseph, Michigan, who drove his ’72 Hurst Olds to a mark of 7.19, 211.01. Outlaw 10.5 – Final Qualifying Chuck Ulsch held onto the No. 1 spot in Outlaw 10.5 through two sessions, but Tim Lynch of Woodstock, Georgia, had his sights set on the position, and he unloaded a monster blast of 7.116, 203.75 with his 2002 Mustang on Saturday evening to take undisputed possession of the top spot. Ulsch dropped into the second slot on the strength of his original 7.184, 198.41, and Mike Calvert, who earlier had jumped from 12th to second, settled into third with his mark of 7.191, 195.39. The bump spot of 7.519, 186.52 was anchored by the ’69 Camaro driven by Pedro Apolito, of Opa-Locka, Florida. Radial Tire – Final Qualifying Rick Head towed his ’89 Camaro all the way across the country with one purpose in mind – to dominate the Radial Tire class at this weekend’s World Street Nationals. He still has one tough day of competition ahead of him, but so far his plan is working out perfectly. After leading qualifying from the start, Head improved his No. 1 standing by laying down an excellent pass of 7.663, 186.56 in Saturday’s final session, raising the bar even further than his earlier 7.733, 186.21. Dennis Bailey stayed in the No. 2 spot, improving on his previous mark of 7.999, 184.35 with a closing 7.704, 189.87. Richie Stine held on to the No. 3 spot on the strength of his earlier 8.126, 162.10. The No. 32 spot was claimed by Safety Harbor, Florida competitor Chris Tedeschi, who logged a best time of 8.668, 156.82 in his ’67 Camaro. Heavy Street – Final Qualifying There was little change in the final qualifying order for Heavy Street here in Orlando today. Elliott Thompson managed to hold on to the top spot when his earlier mark of 7.740, 190.31 held up as the time to beat in the highly competitive class for cars weighing 3,500-lbs. and more. Two-time class champ John Schroeder also stayed in second position on the grid, his 7.537, 185.33 also proving too tough to overcome in the third stanza. The one thing that did change, however, was the third-place seeding, with Canal Winchester, Ohio’s Bill Lutz bumping his way into the top three when he took his ’67 Camaro down track to the tune of 7.629, 178.99. The last man to make the show was Carl “Deckdaddy” Smothers, of Tampa, Florida, who wrapped up the qualified field when he wheeled his ’79 Trans Am to the line in 8.335-seconds at 166.82 mph.
Soon after Ensslin's '54 Studebaker left the line, a flash of fire was seen under the car and then the rear-end shook violently and the right rear wheel and tire broke loose, bouncing down the track behind the suddenly crippled race car.
After Friday’s marathon opening qualifying session, the first of two for Saturday has been going quite a bit quicker, much to the delight of the rabid street-legal fans jamming the stands and lining the fences on both sides for the entire length of the quarter-mile at Orlando Speed World Dragway. In Super Pro Street, Pacific Street Car Association heavy hitter Ed Thornton maintained his grip on the top spot in the field with a solid lap of 6.626, 223.99 to improve on the 6.711, 218.71 he logged last night. Moving into the second spot was Ben Hopko of Alburtis, Pennsylvania, who put his turbocharged ’96 Ford Probe into the top three with an impressive 6.634, 216.66 pass. Keeping things really close was Hagerstown, Maryland’s John Stanley, who took over the No. 3 position when he urged his blown ’69 Camaro through the top end in 6.647-seconds at 212.06 mph. Chuck Ulsch managed to stay at the top of the Outlaw 10.5 ranks thanks to the awesome 7.14, 198.41 he ran during Friday’s first session. Mike Calvert jumped from 12th to second, however, wheeling his McDonough, Georgia-based 2002 Mustang to a mark of 7.191, 195.39 to bump last year’s winner Steve Kirk, Jr. down to third. Kirk improved on his previous result with a strong 7.203, 175.77, however, to keep the qualifying leader in his sights with one session left to go. There were no changes to the qualifying list for Radial Tire after Saturday’s first session, with Rick Head’s very impressive run of 7.733, 186.21 from Friday night proving to be a tough nut to crack for the rest of the class hopefuls. Dennis Bailey stayed in the No. 2 spot with 7.999, 184.35, and Richie Stine of Woodsboro, Maryland sat in third with one to go, earning the spot by running 8.126, 162.10 after dark last night. Elliott Thompson made it four for four for the
first session top qualifiers, holding off the challenge of all Heavy
Street competitors to lead the field with one stanza left to go.
Thompson’s 7.470, 190.31 held up as the number to beat. Two-time class
champ John Schroeder stayed in the No. 2 position, improving slightly on
his Friday numbers with a pass of 7.537, 185.33. Taking over the third
spot was Maryland’s Robbie Hudlow, who earned the position in the
provisional field with a 7.671, 186.29 effort. FRIDAY - First day action promises a barn-burner
We’re Off and Running in Orlando! - Qualifying for the 12th annual World Street Nationals is well underway here at Orlando Speed World Dragway, with over 325 cars on hand vying for the 32-car fields in Super Pro Street, Outlaw 10.5, Radial Tire and Heavy Street. The 55 cars entered in Super Pro Street have made their first attempt at cracking the field, and the provisional pole sitter is Chino Hills, California’s Ed Thornton, driving the championship-winning turbocharged ’57 Chevy formerly campaigned by Bob Reiger. Thornton clicked off the timers in 6.711-seconds at 218.71 mph. He’s followed in the order by Caledonia, Ontario’s Terry Brown, who paced his wicked blown ’71 Challenger to a mark of 6.753, 198.10. The bump spot is currently the 9.552, 108.31 of Oceanview, Delaware’s Tim O’Hare. There are no less than 81 Outlaw 10.5 cars on hand here in Orlando, and after the first qualifying session the top dog is Chuck Ulsch of Clarksville, Maryland, who posted a new track elapsed time record when he wheeled his ’69 Camaro through the top end in 7.14-seconds at 198.41 mpg. Right behind him was last year’s class champion Steve Kirk, Jr., of Macon, Georgia. He grabbed his spot in the provisional field on the strength of a 7.262, 186.83 pass. As the opening qualifying session went into the evening hours, the 63 Radial Tire cars jammed into the pits took their shot at the OSWD quarter-mile, with Simi Valley, California’s Rick Head leading the way when the round finally wrapped up. His ’89 Camaro recorded an incredible mark of 7.73, 186.21 to completely overshadow the rest of the field. No. 2 man was Dennis Bailey, of Southhaven, Mississippi, who ran through at 7.999, 184.35. Heavy Street qualifying was underway last night when the late hour, dropping track temperatures and oil downs in both lanes forced officials to postpone the balance of the session until Saturday morning. Once completed, Elliott Thompson of Horsham, Pennsylvania led the 49 cars on the property by virtue of the 7.470 at 190.31 he cranked out behind the wheel of his ’91 Camaro. Behind him at a tenth of a second behind was NSCA Nostalgia Pro Street champion John Schroeder, who paced his Stamford, Connecticut-based 2002 Camaro to a mark of 7.560, 181.31. There’s plenty of action out in the pits as well, and here are some notes of interest:
Still thrashing -- Annette Summer, the National Muscle Car Association’s 1994 Pro Street champion, had to pass up this year’s event in Orlando. Rather then working here at the track prepping her twin-turbo Corvette for Super Pro Street competition, she and crew-chief husband Vernon were thrashing in a different kind of way. A computer crash wiped out many of the records at their United Automotive and Diesel Performance Center, the business they own and operate in Aiken, S.C., and Annette had to spend the last couple of days working with a data recovery expert in an attempt to salvage two years worth of paper work. Larry-of-all-trades -- Larry
Hensley, a newcomer to the Orlando Speed World Dragway staff, was needed
for work aside from his track-preparation duties during Friday
qualifications. He subbed for official starter Richard Stetson, who was
unable to leave his job in the parts department of a local Dodge
dealership until later in the evening. Hensley, the former manager of
South Carolina’s Darlington International Dragway, is also a former
road manager for the Allman Brothers Band. Competition Plus’ Brian
Wood paid his rock and roll dues slugging equipment for the same band in
the late 60s.
So who’s counting? – The early-afternoon rain shower that drenched the Central Florida drag strip was not unexpected for Randy Weisinger, unofficial general manager and son of owner Carl Weisinger. “Every year we get rain on the Friday of the World Nationals. We just cannot get away with it on Friday” he said, adding with a shrug, “It’s the 13th year and it’s Friday.” That sounds appropriate for the pre-Halloween heads-up drag-racing extravaganza. However, this is only the 12th edition of the race. Small but strong – Carl Weisinger downplays the facility he has owned since mid-1987, billing this four-class open “street-legal” showdown as “a huge event at a very modest track” and pragmatically saying, “We know there are bigger and better tracks, but this is the only one we have. Please respect our efforts to have the best facility we can under the conditions of our lease and county restrictions.” He need not apologize, for he can boast the title of America’s Strongest Race Tower. When Hurricane Charley led the parade of destruction, a film crew from an Orlando television station positioned itself at the drag strip and clocked the wind speed. They registered more than 100 miles an hour. Randy Weisinger said he and his father had contemplated building a new tower earlier this year but decided if the current one could withstand four hurricanes, it deserved to be spared the wrecking ball.
Mr. Versatility - Columbus, Georgia-based chassis builder Dan Parker is jamming gears in yet another car here at the World Street Nationals. Parker, who can be found driving either his own or one of a number of customer’s cars somewhere just about every weekend, is wheeling the beautiful 2000 Camaro he recently built for Toronto’s Ray Sanchez. With Ray’s wife expecting at any time, he decided not to risk sneaking off to the race track for the Outlaw 10.5 outing, opting to hand the keys to Parker instead. Feelin’ Froggy – It’s not unusual for racers to tape photos of their girlfriends, lucky pennies or other miscellaneous good-luck charms to the dashboards of their hot rods, but Lawrence Conley has found something completely different to his liking. Visitors to Conley’s pit area can’t help but notice that the place has literally been overrun by a sea of happy green frogs. The smiles evident on the faces of the aforementioned amphibians can only be attributed to the fact that most all of them have been taken for 200-mph rides in Conley’s turbocharged ’94 Camaro, “Tweaked II.” “We take some frogs with us on each run, and when we hit 200 or better, we put pins on them certifying they are true 200 mile-an-hour turbo frogs and sell them to the fans,” Conley said. “We chose frogs because they’re the same color as the car, and we just couldn’t have turtles!” Conley has an even more important reason for
making frogs the official mascots of the “Tweaked II” car, however.
To him, the letters F-R-O-G stand for “Fully Rely On God,” which is
woven into the wristband given him by NSCA Chaplain Mark Walter a few
years ago.
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Two
days of intense preliminary action at Orlando Speed World Dragway
culminated in the running of 20 rounds of the best heads-up outlaw
street-legal racing in North America. The event is the 12th annual World
Street Nationals, a race that has gained tremendous stature in the drag
racing world during its tenure. Based on the unbelievable turnout of
fans and racers here this weekend, there’s not much doubt that the
event is just getting bigger and better.
After
the first round of competition, two of the four top qualifiers went down
to defeat, with the loss by Heavy Street top dog Elliot Thompson being
particularly costly, not to mention extremely frightening. As Thompson
attempted to launch his turbocharged ’91 Camaro, a transmission fire
erupted, engulfing his car in a huge ball of flame. Quick action by the
OSWD crew pulled Thompson to safety, but his weekend was over in a big
way.
It
went long into the night on Saturday, but after two days of brutal
competition the qualifying for this weekend's 12th Annual World Street
Nationals is now completed, and the fields are set for Sunday's
elimination rounds. Following is a recap of the top three qualifiers in
all four classes, as well as the bump spot information.
You
Picked the Wrong Time to Leave me Loose Wheel
- Lakeland, Florida's Jeff Ensslin lost more than a chance to make the
Super Pro Street field during Saturday's last qualifying session.
Ensslin
was unhurt in the strange incident, but his hot rod will require some
major repair work before it takes to the quarter-mile again.
Qualifying
Continuing at World Street Nationals
© Competitionplus 2004
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