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2006 Fun Ford Weekend Topeka Racetrack - Heads-Up In The HeartlandFFW Racers Take On Topeka For A Little Kansas-Style Showdown From the March, 2007 issue of Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords By Paul Rosner
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Engineer Mick Procovich got... Engineer Mick Procovich got hooked on True Street after making a full sweep of the weekend's activities at the Houston event by topping the qualifying ladder on Saturday and winning the bracket race on Sunday. The Heartland Park facility in Topeka, Kansas, has been the home of many NHRA records through the years, most notably the monumental breach into both the 4-second and 300-mph barriers in the Funny Car class in 1993. Can you believe they did that 13 years ago? Awesome traction and a long, smooth half-mile of shutdown make the Kansas track a favorite of many of the top FFW shootout competitors, as well as their NHRA counterparts in speed. Just before the Fun Ford Weekend series blew through Topeka last year, the asphalt was replaced on the big end of the racetrack, and a major $22 million renovation began after they exited. Nearly all of the monies, however, were spent in preparation of the '06-and-beyond SCCA National Championships. Nevertheless, the facility is nothing less than awe-inspiring, especially the couple-thousand-square-foot tech-inspection garage that houses the scales, room for about 20 vehicles, and new facility rest rooms and showers.  The Muscle Mustangs & Fast...  The Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords/Tremec Transmissions True Street cruisers took the traditional 30-mile road tour through the plains of Kansas crop country. Upon return, we had a hard time keeping them from "accidentally" steering onto the virgin 2.5-mile road course for a hot lap before the prerace cooldown period.  The True Street rules are...  The True Street rules are simple: valid driver's license, vehicle registration, license plate, and insurance, obey normal traffic laws, and keep your hood closed at all times. After the cruise, a short, unassisted cooldown is your only preparation for three back-to-back-to-back qualifying drag passes. Let the competition begin!  Brent Hargadin built a mild...  Brent Hargadin built a mild AFR 185-headed 347 fuelie for his '87 LX and added a set of 3.73 gears and a 150 shot of nitrous oxide via an NX plate system. Quick e.t.'s required lightening the front suspension with a QA1 A-arm/K-member combo, and a complete set of UPR rear control arms guaranteed a solid launch. The Tremec TKO transmission and Spec Stage III clutch helped motivate this Pony deep into the 10-second zone, which necessitated the installation of a Maximum Motorsports NHRA-legal rollbar. Hargadin earned a runner-up spot in the class with a string of mid-10.40 passes. In late Summer 2006, FFW competitors came to play. It was an important race because after Topeka there would only be one event left in the championship points race. Mother Nature tried to dampen the racers' spirits, but the corn country sun gods chased the clouds away by noon on both Saturday and Sunday, allowing a complete event schedule.  Retired Steve Nichols runs...  Retired Steve Nichols runs his 349-stroker-motored, Tremec-rowed '89 GT at eighth-mile racetracks back home in Iowa, but he didn't have a clue what to expect on a track twice that length. At first he was worried that his 4.10 gearset would be a bit steep, but then again, he did the headwork on the Edelbrock Victor 5.0 heads himself in order to add higher rpm capability.  John Scott works as a product...  John Scott works as a product development engineer at a popular supercharger manufacturer to assist in designing kits for new applications-what a cool job. His '04 Cobra is stock except for a set of SLP headers and exhaust, a JLP cold-air kit, and an SCT BA2400 chip. Two 12-flat runs and a 12.20 averaged out to a 12.07 to claim the 12-second prize. In addition, John made it all the way to the final in Sunday's Tremec True Street Bracket race.  We see lots of beautiful hot...  We see lots of beautiful hot rods in our MM&FF/True Street class, but rarely do we find a street car that could easily take top-class prizes at the local car show and offer such seamlessly consistent passes down the quarter-mile-now you know what Brent Hargadin's big smile is all about. Check out the results and hot photos we captured on our trip.  The field of True Street cars...  The field of True Street cars may not have been the biggest of the year, but it likely was the most geographically diverse, with entries from Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, California, and Texas.  Mike Scott and his brother,...  Mike Scott and his brother, John, found a creative way to get the most out of a weekend of racing. They rented a small self-contained trailer, hooked it up to Mike's Lightning, and headed to Heartland Park for a weekend of racing fun. This '03 Lightning has Dynatech headers, a Bassani after-cat, a JLP cold-air kit, and a Dynojet Wide Band Power Commander for consistent 13-ohs on Nittos. Mike won the 13-second award, and his brother grabbed the 12-second award in his '04 Cobra-sounds like a memorable weekend.  Caleb Becker proved you don't...  Caleb Becker proved you don't need to have the fastest Stang in the Midwest to have a great time cruising around town with some of the Midwest's fastest cars. His stock 14-second '01 Mustang drop-top got the same money as the 10-, 11-, 12-, and 13-second winners.  Keith Duda pulled double duty...  Keith Duda pulled double duty on this weekend. He made the 30-mile cruise and the required three consecutive passes, and then he entered the car show on Sunday. His outrageous, chromed-out, Mondo-cooled, Vortech YS-Trim and nitrous-oxide-injected '93 Cobra pounded out 10-second passes in the Tremec True Street class.  Conrad Scarry has piloted...  Conrad Scarry has piloted this beautiful Seeger-family-owned '04 Mustang in the Street Outlaw class all season long in a neck-and-neck battle with Tim Lynch for the ProCharger Street Outlaw title. Scarry proved exactly how serious he was with a 7.02 qualifying pass to put him at the top of the ladder. The beautiful Cajun Pro Cars chassis is stuffed with 449 cubes of Proline power with twin Precision 88mm turbochargers. Scarry blew through Travis Franklin and Brian Carpenter to claim the Topeka title going into the season's final event in Dallas.  Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords/Tremec...  Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords/Tremec Transmissions True Street class winners: (top left to right) FFW official Jay Beason, Fastest & 10-second Mick Procovich, Runner-up Brent Hargadin, 11-second Steve Nichols, 12-second John Scott; (bottom left to right) 13-second Mike Scott, 14-second Caleb Becker, and Editor's Choice Keith Duda.  Dan Saitz ran a career-best...  Dan Saitz ran a career-best 6.56 twice in qualifying using Kuntz & Co. power. The Saitz family is just playing for the remainder of the season with the Probe. They plan to drop the bomb on the competition when they introduce their new twin-turbo '06 Mustang. Saitz ousted Brad Waddle's recently acquired '94 Pro car with a 6.62 to face the newly crowned FFW Probe Industries Pro Champion, David Schorr. Although the holeshot went to Schorr, it wasn't enough to offset Saitz's 6.66 to 6.76 performance advantage. Saitz went on to take the Probe Industries Pro win over Chuck Samuel.  Safety is always a concern...  Safety is always a concern with racers, and the competitors don't have a problem with helping each other when it comes to making the cars a little safer. Brian Carpenter and Conrad Scarry's crew chief Jason Fields compare notes to stop Scarry's steed from veering towards the wall upon launch.  Chuck Samuel wheeled the Kevin...  Chuck Samuel wheeled the Kevin Marsh Motor-sports, RV Lending Group-sponsored Escort ZX2 to a torrid sequence of 6.50, 6.46, 6.44, and 6.41 e.t.'s enroute to the class final. The big 220-mph trap times were indicative of their intention to collect the e.t. and mph record for the off-season. The sick sting of near-record elapsed times ended one round before the final, however, leaving Dan Saitz the Probe Industries Pro trophy.  Ronnie Wilson (near) and Dan...  Ronnie Wilson (near) and Dan Schoneck have been the top performers in Precision Turbo & Engine Street Renegade throughout 2006, so anytime you see them side-by-side at the starting line, you can expect war. Wilson is from Florida, so he has learned to appreciate a frosty cold shot of nitrous oxide. Minnesota resident Schoneck is just the opposite; he's tired of the cold and prefers his ProCharger blower combo. On this weekend, Wilson got the upper hand in this battle on the way to the Street Renegade title.  Don Justus has been running...  Don Justus has been running in the Tough Truck class for several years. This year, he captured yet another championship. His wife, P.J., has been loyally traveling the country to help him chase the passion, but this year she decided that those days are done, and it was time she got to have a bit of fun, too. Don gathered his winnings from the past couple of years, bought her an '06 GT, slapped on a handful of goodies, and sent her to the burnout box. She made the best of it by capturing the Ford Racing Performance Products Ultra Stang Topeka title over S.D. Wheeler with a dead-on 11.86 in the final.  Brian Carpenter laid down...  Brian Carpenter laid down a 7.10 to pick up the No. 2 Outlaw qualifying spot. His toughest opponent came in the first round as Cale Aronson holeshotted him with a 0.044 to 0.160 bulb, but couldn't displace the 7.34 to 7.19 performance disadvantage. Carpenter nearly matched his qualifying effort with a 7.11 in the semis before losing a pedal fest with Conrad Scarry in the final.  Jeremy Martorella was alone...  Jeremy Martorella was alone at the finish line in his Glidden-powered, UPR Products-sponsored Pony to claim the Borla Street Warrior prize.  Surprise entry Brian Felder...  Surprise entry Brian Felder from Oklahoma City came to give Ronnie Wilson a little dose of his own medicine (nitrous oxide, that is). Unfortunately, Felder came up short, running 8.41 to 7.78 in the Street Renegade final. We expect to see more of him next year.  The Superchips Racing Street...  The Superchips Racing Street 'Stang class allows just about any street-driven, mildly modified Mustang to compete. It is a fixed dial-in class with a 12.50 index, so the closer you can get without going under, the better your chance of winning. Mark Anderson has been on a tear in 2006, winning four races already. He faced the strong '88 Mustang of Craig Shepard in the last race of the day and notched win number five to lock up the points race for the year.  Mod Comp was the biggest class...  Mod Comp was the biggest class at Topeka, and Mac Sibley's Fairmont cop car had no problem chasing 'em down all day with the closest racing seen in the class this year. He took out the reigning class champ, Suzanne Towe, with a ridiculous 0.007 bulb and a dead-on 10.19. He then backed up his credibility with a 0.006 bulb and a 10.22 on his 10.19 to oust rookie star Chris Parisi. Next in line was Roger Banks, and then Bruce Waddle in his quicker '68 Cougar. Sibley got nearly a second at the Tree to get out front, and he stayed there, 10.28 on a 10.19 to Waddle's 9.14 to 9.00 dial, to win the Sean Hyland Motorsports Mod Comp class trophy and check.  North Carolina native Don...  North Carolina native Don Justus pounded the JDM Engineering Tough Truck field by more than a second on the qualifying ladder with his wheel-standing '01 Lightning pickup. He had a 0.001 light in the second round and ran a 10.700 on his 10.70 dial for the class win against Robert Cuhran. Justus and his wife rendezvoused in the winner's circle as they both won their respective classes.  Speaking of die-hards, Jim...  Speaking of die-hards, Jim Maneth proudly displayed his Kenne Bell-supercharged '06 beauty with the top down between the sprinkles. Maneth swapped the 3.55 gears for 4.11s and upgraded the brakes, tires, and wheels. The interior was tricked out with lots of billet pieces from UPR and others, including a cool, race car, push-button start switch on the dash bezel. His sharp, low-12-second ride was our Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords Car Show Editor's Choice.
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