New England is known for many things, one of which is great-tasting lobster. All around New England Dragway, located in scenic Epping, New Hampshire, there are more lobster houses than you can shake a stick at. When the Fun Ford Weekend rolled into Epping, however, the lobster crew gave way to some serious clams, especially in the Street Renegade class.
With $10,000 up for grabs in the Street Renegade class, some of the heavy hitters made the trip to duke it out for the greenbacks. When all was said and done, 10.5-inch-tire staple Manny Buginga ran the table from start to finish, taking home the SR win and the clambake. Buginga squared off against Travis Franklin in the money round. Franklin gave it his all, hitting a psychic 0.005 reaction time, which outdid a normally decent 0.021 light by Buginga. It was all over after 60 feet, however, as Franklin, knowing he'd have to step it up against Buginga-who had run a best of a 7.58-overpowered the track. Buginga cruised to victory, running a 7.61 at 189 mph.
The 10.60-second index class known as Street Bandit saw a pair of Fox-bodies in the trophy dash as the hatchback of Bob Cottone took on the notchback of Tom Conrad. Both drivers were nearly identical in reaction time, with Cottone scoring a squeaker of a holeshot with his 0.091 to Conrad's 0.092. At the stripe, a 10.60 earned the win for Cottone. Conrad tried valiantly to take Cottone down, but he could only muster a 10.67 in the final.
Reggie Burnette came up one...
Reggie Burnette came up one round short of taking home the prize in Mod Comp. He put together a great run in the final with an 0.024 reaction time and a 12.82 on his 12.80 dial, but it wasn't enough to overcome Joe Parisi's winning effort.
In Street Stang, three racers went at it for the class win. With the points battle between James D'Amore III and Mark Anderson heating up and most likely going down to the wire, it was imperative for both drivers to have a good showing. When the smoke cleared, it was Anderson holding the cup at the end of the day, with a final-round triumph over Tom Conrad. Anderson earned a sizeable holeshot advantage with his 0.034 reaction time and ran a 12.52 on the 12.50-second Street Stang index. Trying to make up for the time he lost on the starting line, Conrad kept his foot pinned but went under the index with a 12.47-second breakout time.
Mod Comp saw the Mustangs of Joe Parisi and Reggie Burnette duke it out. Both racers were killer on the starting line, with Burnette's great 0.024 light just a tick behind Parisi's near-perfect 0.007 bulb. At the 1,320 marker, both drivers were a few hundredths of a second off their respective dial-ins, but Parisi's 12.75 gunned down Burnette's 12.82.
Tom Conrad made it to two...
Tom Conrad made it to two final rounds and, unfortunately, came up short in both of them. His first loss came in the final of Street Bandit, where his 10.67-second effort was further off the 10.60-second index than opponent Bob Cottone's dead-on 10.60.
Tough Truck saw Robert Chuhran's Light-ning line up against Bob Cochran's vintage Ford truck. Only 0.04 second separated the pair in reaction time and, at the stripe, both ran under their respective predictions. Once the computer finished figuring out the math, though, the win light was glowing on Chuhran's side, as his 11.67 was less of a breakout than Cochran's 11.80.
Ultra Stang had a good draw of cars, and when the battle was done, the '05 Mustang of James Brown stood tall over the '07 Pony of Dave Saunders. The race was over as soon as it began, as Saunders left the starting line too soon, handing the automatic win to Brown, who motored to a 14.18.
True Street saw 54 cars complete the 30-mile cruise and subsequent three trips down the quarter-mile. Tim Potvin took home the crown, as his 10.37-second average was nearly 0.3 second quicker than runner-up Todd Rochefort's 10.60. Potvin's effort to secure the win was aided by an opening 10.12-second blast.

Conrad also dropped the final...

Conrad also dropped the final round of Street Stang to reigning class champion and current points leader Mark Anderson. A 12.47-second breakout time proved to be doom for Conrad.

Winner After nearly identical...

Winner
After nearly identical reaction times between himself and final round opponent Tom Conrad, Bob Cottone ran dead-on the Street Bandit 10.60 index with a 10.603 to take home the prize.

Dave Saunders ended up in...

Dave Saunders ended up in the runner-up position when eliminations in Ultra Stang were completed. A red light in the final round proved to be his undoing.

Winner Robert Chuhran piloted...

Winner
Robert Chuhran piloted his '99 Lightning to the Tough Truck win in Epping. In a double-breakout affair with Bob Cochran, it was Chuhran getting the nod as his 11.67 (11.69 dial-in) was less of an infraction.

Winner Mark Anderson (left),...

Winner
Mark Anderson (left), gunned down the yellow Saleen of James D'Amore III in Round 1 on his way to a final-round victory in Street Stang.

Travis Franklin gave it all...

Travis Franklin gave it all he had in the Street Renegade final against Manny Buginga. Franklin was killer on the Tree, hitting a 0.005 reaction time. Unfortunately, he ran into issues getting all of his supercharged Mustang's power to the track surface, and he slowed to a problem-plagued 11.14 for Second-Place honors.

Winner Manny Buginga left...

Winner
Manny Buginga left nothing to chance in Street Renegade. His turbocharged notchback qualified number one with a 7.587, recorded low e.t. and top speed with a 7.581 at 189.28, and used a 7.61 in the final round to gun down Travis Franklin for the victory.

With $10,000 to win in Street...

With $10,000 to win in Street Renegade, every competitor, including eventual winner Manny Buginga, was thrashing between rounds to find that little extra.

The car show featured some...

The car show featured some awesome cars, with entries ranging from mild to wild. One of the verifiably killer cars was this no-BS Cobra R.

Winner James Brown got the...

Winner
James Brown got the automatic win in Ultra Stang when final-round opponent Dave Saunders lit the cherry bulb on the Tree.

Winner Tim Potvin took home...

Winner
Tim Potvin took home the True Street win with his red Fox-body. He opened with a stout 10.12 before ripping off a 10.51 and a 10.48. The three runs averaged out to a 10.37, which was enough to stand up against runner-up Todd Rochefort's 10.60-second average.

Winner Joe Parisi put together...

Winner
Joe Parisi put together a killer package to take home the Mod Comp title. After hitting a 0.007 reaction time, Parisi piloted his '96 Mustang to a 12.755 on his 12.72 dial-in. Add them together and you have a run that was 0.042 second away from being perfect. Not too shabby!

Looks like these girls have...

Looks like these girls have their beer goggles on.

Winner Brian Solocvilla (say...

Winner
Brian Solocvilla (say that five times fast!) came home with the top 12-second time in True Street. Starting conservatively, Solocvilla recorded a 12.41. He then turned up the wick, running an 11.81 and an 11.88 that allowed his average to settle at a 12.03 for the 12-second win.

Bob Cochran came up one round...

Bob Cochran came up one round short in Tough Truck, as he lost a double breakout race with eventual winner Robert Chuhran.

Winner Brian PulasKI missed...

Winner
Brian PulasKI missed the True Street Top 25 by a few spots, but he managed to come home with the top 13-second time. A string of low-13-second times secured the win for Pulaski, who averaged a 13.15.