Mustang racers and spectators packed a newly revamped Bristol Dragway with the hope of seeing spectacular racing action go down, but the racing was cut short on Sunday when the rain clouds came and sent everyone home early without satisfying their speed addiction. Saturday, however, was action-packed, as the racers had to make up the Fun Ford Richmond race later in the evening.
Saturday usually belongs to the Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords True Street contingent, and 2005 was no different with a massive amount of hot street cars ready to contest the 1,320 feet of asphalt. It was also special because True Streeters, as part of the required 30-mile cruise, got to lap the half-mile oval of Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite the need to go straight fast, most contestants we talked to had a blast driving around the banked circle track, and if all goes as planned, it just may happen again next year.
With so many True Street cars, it was well into the evening before we saw the elimination rounds for the Richmond race, but racing under the lights was worth the wait. In addition to giving the True Street racers a, well, true street vibe, the night also allowed spectators to see the fireworks that happened beneath the turbocharged Outlaw and Pro race cars.
The Richmond makeup race helped swell the classes to constitute one of the largest heads-up fields this year. There were 12 Pro rides, 12 Outlaw cars, 7 contesting Drag Radial, 8 filling out the Street Renegade ranks, 7 Street Bandit Mustangs, 8 Street Warrior machines, and 10 ponies in Street Stang.
Mod Motor saw 36 competitors with Steve Angel's newly turbocharged, Four-Valve '05 Mustang on top, while Tough Truck had 15 racers and Open Comp featured 23 tough contestants. There were even 8 cars in the Focus Frenzy.
Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until our Fun Ford Kansas coverage to find out who the big Bristol winners were. But you'll find all the good dirt here in the pages of MM&FF. In the meantime, we bring you the Richmond winners, True Street results, and Bristol qualifying.
After cleaning up in True...
After cleaning up in True Street at the Fun Ford Norwalk event in Ohio, Nick Yarber was the man to beat in Bristol, as well...
His nitrous-sniffing Cobra...
His nitrous-sniffing Cobra stopped the clocks cold with an 8.71-second average.
Quentin Bise of Dungannon,...
Quentin Bise of Dungannon, Virginia, drove his '89 Mustang GT to the runner-up position with a 9.03-second average.
Hailing from Amelia, Virginia,...
Hailing from Amelia, Virginia, Keith Laffoon's two-tone '85 Stang packs 377 ci of Ford firepower under the hood, which was enough to clinch the Low-10-Second Award.
We had to give Mike Rousch...
We had to give Mike Rousch of Chester, Virginia, an honorable mention, as the turbocharged 281ci Four-Valve Cobra powerplant propelled the orange coupe to an 11.51-second average. More importantly, Mike averaged 139.26 mph over the three runs. Now that's cookin' with gas.
Bob Dill of Templeton, Pennsylvania,...
Bob Dill of Templeton, Pennsylvania, was given the MM&FF Editor's Choice award for his super-clean '03 Steeda Cobra. The Whipple-supercharged snake averaged 11.84 seconds in True Street and spent Sunday in the car show.