JPC's Justin Burcham.
Burcham though he had it sewn...
Burcham though he had it sewn up when he clicked off an 11.256 with time running out.
The Action
Traction was not an issue. Up first was McGowan, who roasted the ET Streets and then crept into the beams. When the lights came down, he blasted out of the hole. He spun a bit, but still stopped the 60-foot clocks in 1.61 seconds. This two-tone Mustang sounded mean as it sped down the track. Ultimately, it crossed the stripe in 11.340 at 122.67 mph.
Then it was back to the lanes for a quickie tire swap. Burcham had the sticky tires on in no time and was in the burnout area shortly thereafter. After a nice, smokey heating of the hides, he was staged. He brought up the revs, sidestepped the clutch, and was off--hard. Sixty feet came up in just 1.528 seconds, but then problems arose. He dialed "two" at 6,500 rpm, but nobody was home.
"The clutch pedal won't come off the floor at full throttle," Burcham reported. He tried a second time for good measure. The 60-foot time fell to 1.520, but the clutch woes were right there again when he tried for Second. Despite missing a gear, it still went 12.35 at 108.98.
This is not how we wanted to start the day--one set of missing wheels, two cars MIA, and now a recalcitrant clutch. Still, we soldiered on.
In the pits, McGowan mounted the M/Ts back on his hot rod, while Burcham went under Stoval's ride to see what he could do to alleviate the problem.
Round 2 saw McGowan back at the line. He ripped off another 1.61 60-foot, but then it was his time to miss a gear--in this instance, Third. Not happy with the resultant 11.806 at 116, he was back in the beams for another go-round. Bam--he clocked his best 60-foot time of the day, a 1.55, but then the engine laid down upstairs.