Mike Serrano’s final pull of the night was just enough to be crowned  the Fonse Performance / K&S Race Cars Dyno Wars 2014 Champion.  Mike’s turbocharged 602 cubic inch big block powered street legal Camaro laid down an impressive 1185 horsepower to take the top spot.  For his efforts Mr. Serrano pocketed $1,000 plus a $250 Mickey Thompson Performance Wheels and Tires gift certificate.  It was standing room only as over $4,000 in cash and prizes were taken home by the competitors at the 2nd annual event.

This year’s Dyno Wars featured street legal cars and trucks with the driver having to prove he or she had valid registration and insurance.  Once the vehicles were strapped down to the dyno it was anything goes and the competition got off to a hot start in the cold weather.

Even with temperatures dipping below freezing and big-thick snow flurries abound the first contestant Will Bryant arrived right on time at 9:00 AM.  Mr. Bryant’s underestimated Chevy Malibu was the talk of the morning session after he put down 888 horsepower.   Following Will was the first diesel entry of the day Matt Mancinelli who laid down 674 horsepower.  Local index racer Carey Cable had his beautiful big block Chevy powered Nova out but unfortunately for him the nitrous would not activate but he still managed a respectable 720 on motor.  Another nitrous car that some issues was Eric Hemphill’s Ford Fairmont.  The 2nd stage did not want to arm on his small block Ford but he was still able to put down a healthy 739 horsepower.   That did it for the first half of the day, it only turned more serious as the sun started to set.

Possibly the most talked about car was local grudge racer Scott Bastedo’s turbo Mustang.  Scott drove his car in the freezing temps from over 45 minutes away to lay down a very impressive 925 horsepower.  Another crowd favorite was Andy Mulherin’s 2005 Dodge Cummins diesel.  Andy came from over 2 hours away, drove through 4 inches of snow and flat-out wowed the crowd with a 1,093 pull!  The following vehicle was another truck but this one was gas powered.  Paul Vaughn’s 1st gen Ligthning was also driven to the event and he rocketed to the top with a pull of 1099 horsepower.   The odds on favorite, Mike Serrano was strapped down next but it took all 3 pulls to get past Paul’s turbo powered Ford.  On his final pull Mr. Serrano’s big block powered Camaro shook the rollers to a tune of 1185 horsepower, enough to be crown the king of Dyno Wars 2014.

After rolling onto the dyno earlier in the day and discovering a broken rear, Tom Kolenkiewicz spent the rest of the afternoon repairing the 3rd member in the parking lot.  Tom finally got his turbo powered Mustang strapped down at the end of the night and made an astonishing 971 horsepower but unfortunately pushed a head gasket and was disqualified from the event due to breakage.

The final order was as follows:
    •    Mike Serrano  BBC Turbo Camaro 1185 ( $1,000 + $250 Mickey Thompson gift certificate)
    •    Paul Vaughn SBF Turbo F150 Lightning 1099 ($500 + $250 Mickey Thompson gift certificate)
    •    Andy Mulherin Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel 1093 ($200 +$50 Atco Dragway gift certificate)
    •    Scott Bastdo SBF Turbo Mustang 925 ($50 Atco Dragway gift certificate)
    •    Will Bryant SBC Turbo/N2O Malibu 888
    •    Eric Hemphill SBF Ford Fairmont 739
    •    Carey Cable BBC N2O Nova 720
    •    Matt Mancinelli Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel 674
    •    Tom Kolenkiewicz SBF Turbo Mustang 971*

*head gasket failure, eliminated from competition

The total horsepower at this year’s Dyno Wars was more than double of what was made last year.  Plus last year’s winner made 640, good enough for the back of the pack in 2014.

This year’s Dyno Wars also featured an engine dyno demonstration showing the difference between VP Racing Fuels C12 and Q16 race fuel.  Practice tree races were held during the entire event and the band In Between closed out the festivities.