Fun Ford Weekend 2005

Adam Louramore had his work cut out for him this weekend as Dennis Lugoand John Hewlett both posted top speeds that were 10-15 mph faster thanhis own in Drag Radial. Lugo went out in the first round with problems,while Hewlett laid down a stiff 8.51 to stake his claim. Hewlettcouldn't duplicate the low e.t. in the semi, however, and he lost toLouramore.

For 2005, Matt Jones (above) picked up Cale Aronson's Street Bandit rideand stuffed the engine compartment with 454 ci of Kuntz power. The '04S/B champ, Kenny Compton, was MIA, having taken a break from racing, butWinston Salem, North Carolina's Rod Houck (right) was ready to rock, at leastfor one race. Houck has lined up a Pro Mod ride for the rest of the yearbut brought the heat to Jones, nipping his heels in qualifying andrunning him down to the stripe in the final round. Jones prevailed bythe narrowest of margins.

Street Bandit champ Darrell Peterson of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida,came out swinging like Tyson in the early days and stunned the classwith a record-breaking 9.56 pass at 137 mph. Jeremy Martorella and JohnScaro offered the biggest threat among the nine contenders, but the UPRcar went out in the first round. Peterson credits Thunder Autosports,Extreme Cylinder Heads, and crew chief Brian McAfee for giving him themeans to perform at this level, and his fiancee, Jessica, for supportinghim. Check out Robert Mollet's notchback airing out the front tires inthe background.

John Scaro of Woodstock, Georgia, qualified Third with a 10.12, but hestepped it up for eliminations. His 9.87-second effort proved not enoughagainst Darrell Peterson's final-round 9.65 shot. Mid-9s from StreetWarrior--where does this class go from here?

Kevin Todd of Phoenix City, Alabama, took home the first Fun Ford OpenComp win with his '92 347-powered Mustang GT.

Car owner Chip Havemann hired hotshoe Gary Youngblood to pilot his newlyacquired Mod Motor Mustang and found success as the duo defeated JamesMeredith of Katy, Texas, for the big payout.

Street Stang could be the class to watch this year as the majority ofcompetitors have the 12.50 index dialed in. Tom Conrad of CharlotteHall, Maryland, faced a tough Chris Parisi in the final but came outvictorious.

Chuck Trotter of Orlando doubled up in Fast Ford this weekend thanks togreat reaction times and his nine-second Thunderbird.