Jamie?

oh...yeah...that one doesn't count!

Richard...

If you do a google search on Rick's Duster, you will quickly find claims of 900 whp in 2012, and 1100 whp in 2015, along with tons of images with the Duster chained onto wheel driven dynos of every description all over the mid-west. You will also find photos of the A-body with a nice, painted, roll bar, which would have limited it to 10.00 only. The Duster is a rolling test bed for the shop Rick co-owns, Big 3 Racing in Hinckley Ohio, and as such, is in a constant state of evolution. The slightly rusty, unpainted 8.50 cert cage currently in the Duster goes largely unnoticed as your attention upon peering into the interior is immediately drawn to the huge intercooler pipes running along the top of the driveshaft tunnel. I'm sure the first response has probably been, "this isn't a real street car", more than once. Strap it on a dyno, and you can quickly shut up the doubters, an eight second pass can eliminate nay sayers as well, but nothing quite shuts down the "street car" argument like finishing Drag Week, and that is exactly what Rick and his 72 Duster accomplished in 2016.


#1 Rick Trunkett Green 72 Plymouth Duster
Day 1: 8.87-145.7
Day 2: 8.83-165.5
Day 3: 8.56-162.8
Day 4: 8.71-144.4
Day 5: 8.92-142.8
Final Average: 8.779-152.28

Just looking over the numbers, we couldn't quite figure out what Rick and the Big 3 crew were up to, with three time slips featuring trap speeds in the low 140 range. Was it hurt, or were they taking it easy to last the week? He was pretty much locked into the 2nd spot for Super Street Big Block PA from Wednesday on (the R-3 small block displaces 440 cubes, so that bumps it into the big block class) so we just assumed he was looking for an easy finish. The 8.92 early in the session on Friday was especially uninspiring.

With his time slip turned in and the Duster's 2016 Drag Week over we were surprised to see the green 72 back in the lanes as the session wound down to the final thirty-five minutes. Our questions were answered when the 98mm turbo spooled up, and the Duster unloaded a killer 8.329-167.26! Clearly they had been sandbagging all week to keep above the 8.50 cert., he would bring the Duster back around for a grudge match against Alex Taylor's "Badmaro" and lay down a spinning, out of the groove, 8.400-166.44 to her 8.683-160.58.

Rick's Duster now ranks as the 2nd quickest Drag Week Mopar when it comes to Five day average, and he took home the Quickest Mopar plaque for his efforts.

Ten Best 5 day averages by Mopars on Drag Week.

1 EDDIE MILLER 1970 PLYMOUTH DUSTER PURPLE 8.5082 159.273 2006 PRO STREET
2 EDDIE MILLER 1973 PLYMOUTH DUSTER PURPLE 8.6736 149.802 2008 PRO ST PA
3 EDDIE MILLER 1970 PLYMOUTH DUSTER PURPLE 8.6888 155.974 2013 PRO ST NA
4 RICK TRUNKETT 1972 PLYMOUTH DUSTER GREEN 8.7798 152.280 2016 SS BB PA
5 DALE GEBHART 1976 AMC GREMLIN WHITE 9.2128 150.024 2016 MODIFIED PA
6 DALE GEBHART 1976 AMC GREMLIN WHITE 9.2392 146.092 2015 MODIFIED PA
7 EDDIE MILLER 1973 PLYMOUTH DUSTER PURPLE 9.3050 144.996 2014 PRO STREET NA
8 DALE GEBHART 1976 AMC GREMLIN WHITE 9.3512 141.490 2014 MODIFIED PA
9 MATT BLASCO 1972 DODGE DART BLACK 9.5966 153.336 2015 PRO ST PA
10 RANDY HEINSELMAN 1970 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA PLUM CRAZY 9.7816 138.798 2016 SS BB NA

I completely forgot about Ricks Duster. Guess it's one of those cars that just blends in.

Billy, your amazing

Has 8.50 became the new Ten flat?

N0, No, no. I'm not one of those "remember when tens were fast" guys. A 10.90 pass in 2017 is just a fun and enjoyable as it was in 1987. So to frame and explain why I'm asking that question as it pertains to street cars in general, and Drag Week in particular, allow me to give a brief history of how we arrived here from my perspective.

I'm not an NHRA historian, but I know the whole Pro-Gas/Super Gas index racing thing sprang out of the fast bracket racing scene in the early eighties, at around the same time Pro Stock went to the 500", 2350lb format. The sudden influx of fast chassis cars forced the NHRA to begin re-shaping the rulebook from a class based system of required upgrades to a series of performance based rules. It was in this tumultuous time that the words "9.99 and quicker" entered the drag racer's lexicon.

What the NHRA had done in one fell swoop, was take just about every sportsman built Gasser, Super Stocker, back halved car, or kit chassis car and legislated them into the 10.00 and up zone. It created a definite line between the "haves, and the have nots", because of the amount of upgrades required to run quicker than 9.99. It wasn't as simple as just a division of roll bar cars, and cage cars. The new certification required bar thicknesses that many felt were excessive, and were thicker than nearly all of the commercially available chassis kits and cage kits at the time. The NHRA license and required membership was also a sticking point that drove the divide even deeper.

While a large number of race cars ended up receiving the necessary upgrades and a visible Chassis Certification sticker, many more were relegated to 10.20 bracket cars, or sold off to street car guys who wanted to join the new "Pro Street" movement. Many also ended up in the hands of street racers who only frequented a track sparingly, or raced at outlaw independent tracks that were less likely to follow NHRA's letter of the law.

What emerged from this melting pot was almost a sub-culture type of street car/bracket car which became known as the "Ten Flat" cars from the late eighties on. Typical of the breed was a back halved, ladder-bar car with 12-14 inches of rubber, and a big block with nitrous. They would roll out of tech with 10.0 scrawled on the back glass by the tech director to let the staff know that was as quick as the car was legal to run. Whether it was a large event or small; test and tune or bracket event, the routine that would play out was a few motor only passes in the low tens, or thousand foot passes where the driver was clearly lifting early. Then the last pass of the day would be a mid-nine second blast, and the driver would get scolded at the time slip booth on his way to the trailer or out the gate. Spectators could often be heard laughing upon witnessing an illegal pass, and tossing out the "just another ten oh car" comment.

As Drag Week tries to define what makes up some of the quickest Street Cars in the country for the last twelve years, it's not hard to imagine that this type of car would have a footprint on the event. A simple look at the overall numbers bears out the fact that this is indeed the case. Only nineteen cars have recorded a best pass between 9.81-9.99; while a whopping 44 cars have best passes recorded between 10.00-10.20, or speeds over 135, showing nine second potential. That imaginary line that NHRA drew in the sand nearly thirty five years ago is still very much there!

Drag Week 2011
Having watched the growth, and problems associated with, heads-up street car racing, one of the things Freiburger and company recognized right from the beginning was the need for a stable rules package. Changing the rules from season to season, and in some cases race to race, had destroyed more than one fledgling promoter or association. The Hot Rod Drag Week founders agreed that the rules would only be revised once every three years, so participants could build or change their cars without fear of having them rapidly legislated out of contention.

2011 was at the end of a three year cycle, and the performance of two cars in particular that year would have a huge impact on the new, incoming rules for 2012 and beyond.
Tim Reed's amazing LSX turbo powered 79 Pinto averaged 8.23 with an 8.02 best in Street Race Small Block Power Adder, one of Drag Week's most restrictive, "little guy" classes. He covered 2nd place by nearly a second, and 3rd place by nearly two seconds. As he was destroying any competitive balance in that class, the late Jake Brantner and his driver Scott Smith were doing the same thing in the Big Block class. The pro-charged 80 Malibu averaged 8.42 to cover the field by a second and a half, but a best run of 7.82-189 was more indicative of just what the team was capable of.

It was determined that seven second cars in their lowest classes wasn't a good idea, so Hot Rod took drastic measures to restore order in the new rules package. They added four more stock suspension classes called "Super Street" to move the faster, lighter, more professional style cars into, and only allowed 8.50 cert cages into the remaining "Street Race" classes. Many opponents to this move complained that it would turn the two Street Race Power Adder classes into "8.50 index racing classes". I distinctly remember scoffing at such a notion as both of those classes were mostly a majority of nine and ten second machines, and the thought that they would feature multiple cars who could toy with the tech limit of the class was preposterous to comprehend. Six years later, that's exactly where we are at!

The birth of the "8.50 Street Car"
Much like the "Ten Flat or Ten Oh" car before it, many different factors converged at the right time to bring about these new machines. When the NHRA first devised "9.99 and quicker", they felt a need to differentiate between sportsman and professional classes, so they capped the "and quicker" part at 7.50. It was years later, after a few high profile mishaps, that the funny car cage provision was added to draw a new line at 8.50. There has been much discussion among Drag Weekers, and on Street Car forums about the dangers of funny car cages in truly street driven cars; many sighting poor visability, as well as the increased risk of head injury if in an accident without a helmet. I don't know if this is the sole reason for so many refusing to upgrade, or if like before it's simply a financial decision, but the number of cars retaining only an 8.50 and up certification seems to be growing. Another factor is that NHRA no longer requires a DOT style physical for the 8.50 and up license, making it easier to acquire.

In Drag Week terms though, we are still discussing a stock suspension, small tire car, so the 8.50 number should be plenty safe, and to the rules maker's credit it was! In 2012, 2013, and 2014, the Street Race Small Block and Big Block Power Adder classes were once again returned to the nine and ten second machines for the most part, while the fire breathing 7 and 8 second machines were battling in Super Street. The names that would lead the charge to 8.50 were already showing up though in Bishir, Flynn, Dodson, Hoke, and Vinson. The 9.30's of 2014, became the 8.80's of 2015, and when Chris Bishir's S-10 unloaded an 8.32-163 on the final pass of the heads-up shootout to end Drag Week 2015, it was clear he had the power to toy with the number at that point.

The other impetus that led to the capability of these machines is clearly modern technology. Technology gleaned from Pro-mod, from OEM sources, from small tire racing, all wrapped up in an innocent appearing street car. Typical of the breed is an electronic fuel injected, turbo or pro-charged combination and a 3 speed automatic trans combined with an overdrive, on bead-locked wheels with a drag radial. Data acquisition and a lap top, required!

I know, you want numbers to back up my observations. There were 9 cars who's best pass turned in at 2016 Drag Week was between 8.00 and 8.49. There were 30 between 8.50 to 8.83! It's a thing people, you heard it here first!

Great Post Billy, we were pitted pretty far down on the fence at 131 last year and could hear the 8.50 guys dumping the throttle, some of them pretty early in the run.

"I feel pretty good, considering what a long week this was", I stated as we watched the remaining drama of the final hours play out.
Dale chuckled, "You passed out over there under the canopy before we turned in our slips!"
"Yeah, after you unceremoniously kicked Dad out of that nice little bed he had fashioned", Boone added.
"I'm sure he's right back on it at this point", I shook my head, "besides, I was just resting my eyes for a minute while you tried the summon the strength to walk to the tower!"
"You were full on snoring for like twenty minutes...back me up Boone!"
"Yep", Boone shook his head, "leg twitching, mumbling something that sounded like I wish I had a big block, and Rachael had to wipe the drool off your face twice, pretty embarrassing!"
"Never happened, but I do remember it took Dad and I both to get you out of that chair", I poked back at Dale.
"Speaking of the tower, What was that conversation you were having with Tonya Turk when you picked up your final slip?" Boone questioned, deftly changing the subject.
"It was kinda odd, because she asked me if we still enjoyed the event, then finished by answering her own question with an offhand comment about the fact that we keep coming back every year", I explained.
"How did you respond to that?" Dale questioned with a shrug.
"Well, I felt it was confirmation that she either read my negative comments about Friday last year, or she had them relayed to her, so I just owned it and explained that year after year when a problem arises, they figure out a way to fix it the next year, so we trust them to make that happen."
"She was happy with that answer?" Boone asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I think she knew it was genuine", I shrugged, "She's got a pretty sensitive BS meter, and I appreciate the fact that she cares...they all care, otherwise it wouldn't continue to grow every year!"

No sooner had those words left my mouth than Freiburger and Lohnes let it be known over the loud speakers that they had just quit caring! Up until then, they had really been on point with all the remaining class battles, as they were getting text updates from Hot Rod.com's Phillip Thomas and statistician Eric Rood, but with an hour and a half left of Class Cars they made an announcement of their own.
"Guys, we've made announcement after announcement rounding up parts for you all week. Bolts, electronic stuff, carb stuff, u-joints..."
"We even found a rack for a 240Z, how crazy was that!" Lohnes interjected.
"Yeah...right", Freiburger recovered, "so now we need a little help from all of you!"
"We need cold beer, in the tower, now!" Lohnes jumped in once again.
"That's all we ask, just a little liquid refreshment brought up here, so make it happen!"
"Oh, Boy!" Dale shook his head.
"Shades of 2013...we're in for a good ceremony, er, party tonight", I laughed.

Street Race Big Block Power Adder

Mark Vinson had an edge to him on Friday, and he was in a racing mood. The owner of the beautiful black 70 Monte Carlo from the picture above, he had every reason to be proud of his ride. An all steel, all chrome, luxury barge with SS 454 emblems and a boosted big block capable of shoving the big brute into the eights usually sets you apart in a crowd. But this is Drag Week, and you can imagine how it feels to quickly have your ride referred to as "the other black Monte Carlo"! To top that off, he had left eight hundredths on the table Wednesday, and his rival James Karger had already used that to slam the door shut on Mark's chance to win the class. So, his only choice was to go side by side with the two guys who were causing him such consternation! Naturally, the crowd enjoyed the first pairing, as Mark squared off with the big brother to his car, George Gallimore's twin turbo Monte. The bull horns exiting the front fenders, a cowl scoop, and slightly more rubber on the back are virtually the only visual cues that sets George's Monte apart from Mark's, but the 7.70 at 190 mph charges are what gives George top billing! The two made solid runs, with George's 7.90-181.4 finishing off his win over Trunkett's Duster in SSBBPA, and Mark's 8.57-163.9 landing right on his weekly average, one hundredth behind Karger's Notch Fox Body.

Later in the evening, with his time slip turned in, and his runner-up spot cemented, Mark sought out an audience with Karger, and James agreed to a gloves off grudge race. The battle didn't disappoint any of us who had hung around in the bleachers to watch. They made their way into the water with only fifteen minutes of track time left and Mark used a slight hole shot to outrun the white LSTuners.com Mustang 8.286-168.24, to a quicker but losing 8.276-165.78. Perhaps the best part was a well lubricated Lohnes yelling at the top of his lungs, proclaiming that match up as easily the best side-by-side drag race we had seen all day! In retrospect, he wasn't wrong.

A Gas/AFX
When we last saw Jim (Squirrel/Moparts), He as searching for a motel the night before. When we saw him pull his "Plan II" 62 to the line beside Bill Alexander's Blown 468 powered Willy's on Friday, we were expecting a coronation. It was simply a formality to outrun the black primered 41, and claim his second A-Gas title, following last year's win. The red Chevy II jumped out to an early lead on the strength of a hole shot, but the turbo 400 couldn't find second gear and Jim slowed to a twelve second run while Alexander put down a nice 10.64-126.9.

"That...that was not good!" Dale shook his head.
"Where's he at, Boone?" I asked, as Boone began to crunch the numbers. It took him a few minutes to reply.
"The Willy's has a 10.45 average...if he accepts that 10.64, but that is his worst run of the week by over a tenth, so I expect him to come back and take another shot."
"Where does Jim need to be...", Dale shrugged as his voice trailed off.
"He's got a 10.296 four day average, so anything better than an 11.08 would put him back in the lead...but like I said, if Alexander comes back with even a 10.52 like he ran here at this track on Monday, then Squirrel needs to get back in the tens!"
"He ran 10.16 yesterday, so all he needs to do is get it figured out, and another thirty or forty will put it out of reach", I reasoned.

Jim brought his AFX Chevy II around for a second attempt roughly fifty minutes later. The blown 427 sounded lazy at the hit, and tripped the beams with an 11.04-129.7.

"Oh, boy", Dale tossed his hands in the air.
"That will do it, until the Willy's improves," Boone added.
I reflexively rose to my feet so I could scour the lanes in search of the nose high, blown 41, but I couldn't find it.
In retrospect, it shouldn't have surprised me that Bill never came back to make a run at the jacket. We've seen it many times in years past, where the excitement of finishing on the final day is reward enough, especially for first timers. Still, as a spectator at that point, I was hoping those two blown Gassers were going to take it right down to the final minutes!

Bottom pic: Tulsa's Mike Cox proving once and for all that Okies can't read!

Street Race Small Block Power Adder
While the big block 8.50 class had been a two car battle for the most part, the small block field for 2016 was really stacked, and really tight, so a small misstep could take you out of the running quickly. Eight different cars showed the ability to run on or below the 8.50 number during the week, but consistently keeping it there, with only a couple of hits per day, in a small tire car that you are driving from track to track is a very difficult feat.

Matt Martin's 85 Ford LTD (a four door fox body) managed an 8.57-166 on Thursday, but a host of problems the other days slowed his average to 9.00. Alex Taylor showed up at Drag Week 2013 with her mom as her co-pilot and the 16 year old ran 11.90's in her "Badmaro" 68 Camaro. Now a college student attending her fourth Drag Week, she ran a best of 8.58-161, but time slips in the 8.70's to start the week kept her out of contention in the class as well.

Ralph Hoke and his silver 68 Nova completed their 7th Drag Week in 2016, a journey that started out in the low 12's and saw them turn in passes of 8.51, 8.55, and 8.56 this year. Those numbers were easily good enough for a top three finish, but an 8.88 to start the week, coupled with an 8.87 on Wednesday relegated them to sixth...yeah, it was a tough crowd! Jason Doisher's tan 84 Mercury Marquis wagon (pictured in an earlier post) was easily the most consistent car in SRSBPA, but it was consistently a tenth slow! Every single time slip he turned in was between 8.63-8.67, all at either 157 or 158 mph. Scott Klepinger's white third gen Camaro put down incredible numbers Tuesday through Friday with an 8.56, 8.58, 8.60, and 8.56 to come within three thousandths in average to a top three finish, but his fate was sealed on the first day, when he had to accept an 8.87 at only 127. Alex Corella's Red 93 Mustang turned in an average of 8.635 to take home the third place plaque, and get his early invite to Drag Week 2017. Alex Taylor's 7th place average was 8.680, it was that tight between those five competitors!

Defending class winner Chris Bishir with his unassuming 82 S-10, and John Dodson's light blue 80 Malibu were just a step ahead of the rest though, right from the beginning of the week. 8.54 to 8.59 on Monday, meant Bishir left National Trail with five hundredths in his pocket. They would trade only .002 between them over the next three days, so coming into Friday, all Bishir had to do to guarantee a back to back class win was run 8.548 or better.

Chris in the S-10 opened with an 8.70, and neither had turned in anything not in the fifties all week, so that was a simple shot across the bow. John made a beautiful, arrow straight run in the Malibu, and lit up the board with an amazing 8.498! Two thousandths from a perfect run, and all for naught! The next pass for Bishir saw the S-10 stumble at half track and coast to a 9.99.

"Did he just break it?" I looked at Boone.
"Well...If he did, he's still got that 8.70 to fall back on, which would keep him in the lead, unless John can run an 8.65 or better."
"He's been able to run better than that all week", Dale added.
"True", Boone laughed, "but this is Friday, and it's been a long week, so anything can happen!"
"Chris Bishir has ran some pretty low buck LS combinations in that S-10", Lohnes boomed over the PA, "and the one weakness he's shown over the years is head gaskets, so we will have to see if he can make it back!"

Dodson's Malibu came back an hour later and made the same picture perfect pass as it had before, but this time the score board lit up with an 8.505 at 159.6! The brothers and I found ourselves on our feet clapping as the CBK team went crazy on the starting line!
"Mic drop right there", Dale shook his head, "Five thou on the good side, that was impressive!"

John and his Texas buddies went from elation to nervousness in a matter of seven minutes as Chris brought the silver S-10 back into the water box.
"Just needs to put it between 8.553 to 8.500", Boone explained.
"No problem for a Super Class racer, just a few clicks on the throttle stop timer", I joked.
"Yeah, except this is a small tire, turbocharged small block S-10 that has a thousand street miles under it's belt this week", Dale laughed.

The little Chevy truck left soft, but really ramped up the boost past sixty feet. A slight bit of smoke escaped from under the bed cover as Lohnes announced he was at 132 mph when he crossed the eighth.
"Eight Fifty With A One!! You have got to be kidding me! 164.99 was the speed as Chris' wife is giving people high fives down here on the starting line!" Lohnes was at his best letting the emotion flow through the microphone.
"Wow...I love Drag Week", Dale laughed.
"Simply amazing", I shook my head, and realized at that moment that we were once again on our feet.

Super Street Small Block Power Adder (SSSBPA)
The major difference between Street Race and Super Street is the allowance of a funny car cage in Super Street. The 3000lb weight limit doesn't apply, and there are more liberal rules towards fiberglass and stripped out interiors. While the class had 12 entries in 2016, it was clearly a three horse race right from the opening bell. You would be hard pressed to find a better example of the diversity of machines and competitors that Hot Rod Drag Week brings together than the trio that battled for the win in this class.

Clark Rosenstengel 2010 Camaro
Clark is a home grown Drag Week product. We first met him on Drag Week 2006, when he showed up with his 4th gen Camaro in bright yellow, looking like it just time traveled from the 1996 Car Craft Street Machine Nationals. A set of monster M/T Sportsman Pro's were tucked under the huge tubs, and while the N/A Big block Chevy looked the part, the 11.34-121 average didn't quite live up to the Pro Fairground looks. What set him apart from other participants that year in my mind was the boundless joy he showed every day, an almost sheer schoolboy giddiness that the event gave him, it was obvious he was hooked, and would be back year after year. He finished 9th in Pro Street for 2006. The Pro Street NA class first appeared in 2007, and Clark's Camaro dipped into the tens on his way to a 2nd place finish in that class. 2008 saw a three tenths improvement, and another runner-up in class. 2009, 10.30s and third in class. 2010 was to be Clark's year to finally break through for a class win as he opened the week with his first Drag Week 9 second pass, a 9.90-134. Despite low tens the next two days, he was holding a 6 tenth margin over second place and seemed assured of a victory, but his BBC ate a lifter on the third drive. 2011 was carbon copy of 2010, leading the class, and killed a lifter on the third drive!

Clark was done with naturally aspirated big block chevies, he showed up for Drag Week 2012 in a stock 13 second 2010 Camaro and just cruised as he collected info on what direction to go next. When he would return in 2013, the 4th gen Camaro was blue, and in Modified PA with a twin turbo LS under the hood. He ran a new personal Drag Week best with a 9.57-141, but it was a much tougher class and he finished 4th. He was solidly in the eights for 2014 improving to an 8.84-155, but once again a class win fell just outside his grasp and he finished as runner-up.

In 2015, he showed up with a sleek new black 2010 Camaro stuffed with a new Steve Morris built twin turbo LS. The build didn't get finished in time to test, and problems on a shake down run Sunday afternoon convinced him to save it for 2016.

Mike Jovanis 1989 Mustang A fox body with a 347 SBF and a single turbo. A combination that has been refined over years of racing NMRA/NMCA events in the True Street category, where competitors are required to drive 30 miles, then run three passes to get an average ET. all while not adding fuel or working under the hood. Drag Weekers usually shrug and say "That's cute, try 1000 miles and four different tracks in five days!"
So Mike decided to do exactly that, and he decided to have Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords magazine follow along on his adventure! Mike's considerable racing experience with this combo led him to the conclusion that getting greedy and trying to run with the big dogs in the class would be a mistake, his approach was to stay consistently in the low eights where he was comfortable, and let the competition come to him.

Jovanis Mustang article

Jay Meagher 1997 Supra Jared Holt's straight 6 Toyota is used to battling V-8s from coast to coast as Real Street Performance's flagship car. Real Street owner, and driver of the dark green beast Jay Meagher was itching to prove the car's street cred, and looked at Hot Rod Drag Week as a perfect platform to do just that. I'll post a link to his interview with 1320's Kyle Loftis, who does a far better job with his cameras than I could ever do with words and pictures. Pay close attention to how Jay's attitude, and confidence about the outcome quickly become tempered by the harsh and humbling reality that Drag Week dishes out on a regular basis.

Supra on Drag Week 2016

Other than the Supra's traction limited 8.62 on the first day, the three of them had played their parts to perfection Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On paper it looked pretty straight forward, with the LS Camaro right where Clark had claimed it would be, 7.83-171, 7.81-177, and 7.80-170. Mike Jovanis had been a tick conservative on the first day with an 8.32-168, but he locked it down from then on with an 8.19-171, and an 8.10-172. Meagher and the Real Street team stepped the Supra up, with a 7.98-178, and a 7.71-179.
The stuff on paper doesn't begin to tell the whole story though. Clark and the Camaro had already ditched the trailer and hood, as the LS was suffering from a serious overheating issue, that had never occurred in testing. The results didn't show that Mike's Mustang had given him fits on Wednesday and the 8.10 was a last ditch effort, either.

Drag Week saved the real drama for Thursday in SSSBPA though as the blue 89 Mustang made the only clean pass of the top three. When the smoke and steam cleared (literally), the LS needed a new head, and the Toyota needed the head welded up and repaired. When he left Indianapolis Raceway Park, the NMRA True Street racer had to wonder if the other two would even make it back to Cordova under their own power, let alone roll out representative numbers.

Sticking with his plan, Mike Jovanis and his little boosted 347 knocked down a consistent 8.15-173 to finish Drag Week 2016 with a solid 8.18 average. Had the 2JZ been able to hold it's second head gasket for two seconds longer, Jay and the Supra had a shot, only needing an 8.63 or better to move ahead of the Mustang. The 9.13-124 meant the Toyota couldn't win the class, but still, the 8.27-163 average was the quickest and fastest 6 cylinder in Drag Week history, and the quickest and fastest import in Drag Week history...not a bad haul for the Real Street JROD crew!!

The time was ticking away towards 7pm as the sun was quickly fading below the horizon. The call had already went out for the quick 32 SME competitors, and they were being paired in the lanes for first round of eliminations when Clark finally brought the Camaro around for what would be his first and only attempt on the final day. When he started his burnout, I turned to Boone from our vantage point in the stands.
"What does he need?"
"A good pass", Dale laughed
"He only needs an 8.92 or better to win the class", Boone looked up from his phone, "but he needs a 7.99 to keep a seven second average".
"Who cares about a seven second average? He's been so close to winning a class six times,he just needs to finish this up!"
"You're rooting for an LS Camaro to beat a real Ford", Dale admonished me.
"No, I'm rooting for Clark..come on man, we've had a front row seat for some of his toughest failures, I want to see him succeed for once!"
The black gen five had just began to back up from the burnout, when the fire went out. The LS just died and refused to re-fire. Clark's wife, who had been standing just behind the car against the retaining wall, turned her back, and walked away slowly, with her head buried in her hands and was comforted by Debbie Taylor, Alex's Mom. Dennis Taylor and a few others ran out to push the Camaro back behind the burnout box just off to the side.
My brothers and I were once again standing, and peering over the wall to see the hub of activity around Clark's car as others made their final attempts at Drag Week 2016.
"You mean to tell me, that after 5 days and a thousand street miles, he's going to come up short forty feet from the final Christmas tree as time runs out?" I shook my head and wiped my hands on my jeans.
"High drama", Boone let out a breathless chuckle, "can't write fiction like this, unless you're working for Disney!"
Dennis Taylor, whose "Retro Nova" was already out of competition was feverishly scurrying around the Camaro along with two or three other guys, trying to find the problem, they had the trunk open, and one of them had a jump box.

The third pair to run as Clark worked on his car was Dan Saitz, and his Modified PA leading fox hatch.
Freiburger, who was probably on his third beer at this point, made the announcement, "Here comes Dan Saitz, and let me tell you Brian, he's going to have to whack it, to get the Jacket!"
"Hey, ohh...I'm not touching that one!" Lohnes countered.
For his part, Dan ran an arrow straight 7.57-184.9, his best pass of Drag Week, to secure his class win and fourth place overall.

The elapsed time from when Clark's Camaro lost fire until it lit up again and backed into the water for another attempt was eight minutes...it seemed much longer. The Steve Morris power plant sounded awesome as he blistered by us and we crossed our fingers as he charged past the eighth mile. When it was still clean at the thousand foot mark, I pumped my fist, knowing that would be good enough for the win, but the whole place went nuts when the scoreboard lit up with a 7.991-170.4. Hot Rod Drag Week takes so much, but it gives back in kind.

Once again, Kyle Loftis of 1320 video was on point, and captured it all in real time.

Clark's Drag Week 2016

The brothers and I had spent an hour and a half in the bleachers as spectators and been very entertained, so far the changes to the Friday program were on point. We continued to be impressed when the first pair of the Quick 32 Street Machine Eliminator Bracket Race entered the water box a mere 19 minutes after the last class car made a pass.

"Dang it! I was hoping both of these guys would go far in this deal", Boone observed.
Clark Lamb and his familiar blue Barracuda did his burnout beside Craig Douglas' 2015 Charger HellCat.
"Four versus twenty-nine, so they used a pro style ladder", I explained.
"Wonder if either of them has sandbagged enough during the week to cover that tenth drop in dial-in", Dale commented, looking towards the 11.05 to 10.31 numbers on the displays.
"Not going to matter", Boone pointed out before either car made it past the 60ft clocks, "Clark just killed him on the tree!"
Predictably, the Barrucuda turned on the win light despite the Charger running a respectable 10.379 on his 10.31 dial.

The red 34 Ford coupe I had raced at Indy was up next, beside last year's SME runner-up, David Burke in his 79 LeMans. Brian Lohnes, who had to be four beers in at this point was bragging on both men's reaction times before they hit the eighth mile. The Pontiac took the win easily however, as John Phister's Hot Rod missed the dial by more than three tenths.
"What happened there...did he just give the stripe back?"
"I think Burke was backing in, the Coupe just didn't run the number", Dale decided.
"Number two qualifier taken out by number thirty-one", Boone added, "and he was teens and ohs all week...that's a shame."

Mike LoCascio continued the trend with his 08 GTO, when the thirtieth qualifier took out the third qualifier, Jason Moore and his black third gen Camaro. The numbers on the board were an 11.106 on an 11.07 beating a 10.151 on a 10.12 dial.
"Got him on the tree", Boone deduced as Lohnes announced that the margin of victory was a hundredth.
"You know", Dale added, "it's tough to hit a Pro Tree going second, especially without any more seat time than most of these guys get."
My phone went off, and it was Rachael telling us the food was ready.
"We'll be there as soon as the first round of SME is over", I explained.

Warren Witmer's Blue 68 convertible Camaro, with white stripes and white top pulled alongside Jeff Gallagher's white 66 Mustang in the water box. The pair of small tire, 10 second, first gen pony cars made for a visually striking race.
"Gallagher qualified tenth, and Witmer is twenty-third", I explained.
"The Mustang got the tree", Boone observed.
Gallagher used the hole shot to win, despite running further over his number.
"I don't know why these guys are racing the stripe so hard", Dale shrugged, "with a tenth cushion, and the moisture in the air tonight, a breakout is almost impossible!"

Brian Peterson had brought his 1980 C-3 'Vette all the way from Denmark to qualify number 5 in the Quick 32, but he couldn't get around Dino Cardella's 98 Trans-Am, who went 11.02 on his 10.99 dial. Peterson was only seven hundredths off his 10.33 number.
"What about those two?" Boone pointed at the scoreboard then turned to Dale and shrugged.
"Power-adder cars", Dale returned, "and they turned 'em up!"

Benny Adkins brought his bright blue 74 Ventura up in the next set with a 10.94 on the window. He was paired against Jeremy Wilson's Artesian Turquoise 66 Nova, which won the Drag Week 2015 SME Class. It looked like a good race on the track, but The Pontiac couldn't run the number, so the Nova paced him to take the stripe by a couple hundredths, and ran a 10.53 on his 10.43 number.
"Textbook win for the faster car", Dale stated.
"Yeah", Boone agreed, "but I think he gave some up on the tree, which makes no sense for someone with as much pro tree racing experience as Jeremy."
"He'll need to tighten that up if he wants to repeat", I observed, "all these guys are going to give him their best shot."

While we were in the bleachers enjoying the Quick 32 race, Ray, Zac, and the Black Pearl had one more bit of business to handle before they could be officially recognized at the 2016 SSSRNA class champ. Tech Director Keith Turk had to visit them with the dreaded P&G cubic inch tester to confirm that the Gen 3 was under 430 inches to fit in the class rules...