Firstly, event was better than ever, in spite of an abnormally high number of incidents on the racetrack regards wrecks, oil downs, etc.
I raced my low powered Dart in 4 races. Fri gamblers no box. Saturday sportsman footbrake class and the 11.50 race. And Sunday again in the sportsman footbrake race.
Same fate for me in all 4 races. Nice first round wins, and terrible 2nd round losses due to terrible red lights. By terrible, i mean terrible. All three redlights were against slower cars( something i never see in my infrequent outings at US131) where 99% of the time i get chased.
I just cant keep my eye off the slower car driving down the track and lose focus. Have to get a handle on that.
One loss was second round in the 11.5 index race. Mike Wood driving the “ Iron Soldier” entry. I was happy with my light, and what the car ran on the index. Made him earn it. And being the outstanding racer he is, he ended my night by a very nice driving job. Really nice guy. Wife and i got a chance to spend a few mnutes with him, talked about the history of the car abd how it got its name. Cool story.

My local buddy Scott debuted his beautiful Green Dart Sport with a potent W9 mill.
Between tagging the wall due to a steering part failure, then having traction issues trying to get the car sorted out after fixing the steering issue and breaking a rod, he managed to hang a nice 5.80 something pass on motor in between, that showed the car is going to be very capable.
Tough weekend, but he is a very hard worker and will have it making another outing soon i am sure.
Another local friend and US131 racer had a rod let go on his beautiful 71 Challenger 440 RT car that he and the wife have had forever. After about 5 spins on the track near the finish line and contact several times with the wall he got out unhurt, but the car unfortunately suffered lots of major damage. Prayers for the Thurston family. The car has won before at Monster Mopar and these guys are wonderful people. Really a sad deal.
They are going to be looking for a donor vehicle that has a solid rear clip, and other sheetmetal. Anybody with any ideas let me know, really appreciate it.

Was surprised to hear on the loudspeaker that Ron Silva from California and 501 cubic inch smallblock Demon fame, attended and competed in the event, i believe in a new Demon, but i never actually saw him or it make a pass.
Ran into lots of old friends including 340 Rick and his brother, the Bloomer Brothers( thanks Rod for spnsoring sportsman class again) Dartman 366, who seems to really be getting his trick flow big block deal sorted out nicely. Think he might have set a personal best, Doug Wright... aka DVW, who i had a nice conversation with and as always, learned a lot from him. Great guy, and his consistent winning efforts arent by accident. He has some unique insights on racing.
Got to see my old B3 Duster for the first time since i sold it back in spring of 2010 to a great guy i have become friends with over the years from New Jersey. Diesnt seem like its veen that long, but time flys He has done a great job with the car and enjoyed his first time attending Monster Mopar. It was interesting to hear him say that now that he has attended for the first time, he won't miss this event going forward.
Saw some really cool cars, lots of great people, mostly very good weather, wasnt much not to like.
Cant wait for next year. Thanks Josh, good job.

I'd be wore out! Sounds like a very interesting and fun weekend at the track!

Did have one thing i thought was kinda funny.
Wife and i were over in the swap meet area and saw a 72 Petty Blue Duster 340 for sale.
Car seemed nice, didnt really look it over that close.
I asked the guy how much, and he says.....75000....
I said are you kidding. Guy says its got its original matching numbers 240 horse 340 engine and i have a letter of certification from Galen Govier..... who he educates me on how valuable having his seal of approval is.
I have to guess these guys were hoping to prey on some unsuspecting soul walking around, but that has to be the most outrageous price i have ever heard. And i am a car dealer..... lol.

Wish I could have made it Don. Tell your wife I said thanks for posting pics on FB. I tried to follow the what I could find on line. Saw some KOS runs posted. Cant wait to get mine done and get back out there with all you guys!

Missed ya.
The guy in KOS who really impressed me was the owner of the B3 Demon from New York.
That car has come a LONG way performance wise. Think i saw it click off a 5.3xx pass in qualifing.
Was pitted right near us, motor sounded hurt( like a rod knocking) when i heard him fire it up and make the call in eliminations. Somehow i believe he won that round even with it hurt.

That was me .
We went 5.26 @ 134.59 In qualifying yesterday .
It spit a couple push rods and broke the rocker shaft .
I raced Steff in 1st round and he went red .

Thanks for the kind words Don, pretty sore today, challengers hurting really bad for sure, thats a 70 RT but any E body back section other than the light panel should work.
Want to thank everbody that assisted in getting the car back to the trailer,all the moral support and hugs, Norwalk crew as well, they do an awesome job catering to us racers and spectators as well.
Thankfully we have a few Mopars to fall back on to race, other than a sportsman/ street class car, looking for a 12:00 Mopar to continue in those classes.
Thanks Josh once again for a great Monster Mopar weekend and finally seeing you and your bad ass twin turbo Gen 3 HEMI!

Good job Brad, you got that thing screamin!

Someone should make a vid we can buy and see all this action.Especially since a few classes were won by some local to me racers!

Thanks Chip .

It's been doing it's best to make me insane lol

Hey Brad, whats the combo?
Thanks, Don

540 B1 heads with a little nitrous .

Car is all factory steel and glass minus hood and front bumper .

Stock steering ,T-bars ,leaf springs

28x10.5 tires 3280 lbs with me in it

Extremely impressive

It was good meeting you and your wife Don. Your 11.50 class is an absolute blast and all the races seemed to be super tight. Thanks again for offering it this year.

How about Jason Wheatcraft Winner of both Saturday and Sunday Pro Bracket race.
How many rounds did he win in a row??

Thank's Don , you are right did set a personal best then bettered that, car never went slower than 9.84@134.xx and went a best of 9.800@135.37 on friday afternoon, went 3 rounds in the friday gamblers and succumbed to a .014 red, same thing saturday but the killer was the .005 red with a 9.810 pass on a 9.810 dial,,,.005 away from perfection LOL good seeing ya Don, take care and we will do it all over again next year.

Don you have a dart now. not a duster ?

Thanks for the post.... it’s my dream to make that event. In a perfect world I’d probably be in Colorado or maybe New Mexico by now on my way home.

Yep. 69, Silver with black stripe and black vinyl top.
First car was a 69 Dart, love this one, it will be my last

I was looking for your old car ! dam it !