World Ford Challenge 9 - Nine Was Divine

Most racers in Pro Mod 5.0 have backup engines to use when they break stuff-not the Kevin Marsh Motorsports crew. Driver Chuck Samuel busted up the team's 798ci-powered Escort in test and tune on Thursday. The team pulled out that night, drove home to Chicago, reassembled their turbocharged '02 Mustang, drove back to St. Louis, and qualified 10th with a 6.53 at 218 mph. Samuel lost in Round 2 to John Nobile.

Robert Patrick took his brand-new '07 Shelby GT500 straight from Jerry Haas' shop to the racetrack and ran in the mid-sixes. Not bad for a fresh race car that had never been down the track. It was the first public appearance by an S197-style Pro Stock car. Just getting to the track and racing was an accomplishment.

Jim Saitz lined up his son Dan and their Pro Mod 5.0 entry. The Saitz family was not only the hometown favorite, but also the Cinderella story in that they beat some heavy hitters along the way to their semifinal finish. In the first round they knocked out defending WFC champ Tony Gillig. Although Dan sent Robert Patrick packing, he lost to Frank Gugliotta in the semifinals.

Don Shobe showed up with his brand-new Street Outlaw car and proceeded to run in the 7.70s at 187 mph. The ProCharger-blown ride was the first '05-up to enter the wild world of small tire racing.

It was a great weekend for John Urist of Hellion Power Systems. The Nitto Tire-sponsored racer ran a new mph record of 196 mph and finished as the Street Outlaw class runner-up. He was the number-one qualifier with a 7.50 at 196 mph.

NMRA Pro 5.0 points leader Michael Hauf came to WFC packing 250 less pounds than his NMRA minimum weight. The lighter weight caused some problems, but the team managed to run in the 6.50s.

Jim Mills used a huge 106mm turbo to help push his '95 Cobra to a 7.89 at 197-mph drag-radial qualifying performance. He smoked the tires in Round 2 against Wolfe and lost.

Street Outlaw racer Sam Vincent went up in smoke in the semifinals and lost to Don Burton. It was a rare sight to see, as Vincent has been outstanding this year and is undefeated in NMRA SSO competition because of his consistency. But it just wasn't his weekend at WFC.