2008 Fun Ford Weekend Orlando - Good Day, Sun Shine!

Chris Lancaster of Warner Robbins, Georgia, had the SBSO field covered with his mod-motored Fox-body. Sporting a Four-Valve with a built bottom end and a pair of turbos, he laid down a 9.86-second shot in qualifying. While the elapsed time was great to see on the boards, it prevented Lancaster from running, as he needed to earn the equivalent NHRA license. On his final licensing pass, trans fluid got under the rear tires, causing him to abort the run and, ultimately, competing in the class for the event. He plans to be at Atlanta running in True Street, however.

The Tough Truck final pitted the Saleen rig of Paul Gamino (far lane) against the Lightning of Robert Chuhran. The race was over as soon as it began, though, as Chuhran lit the big red cherry on the Christmas Tree, handing the automatic win to Gamino.

Tom Conrad (far lane) made yet another appear-ance in the winner's circle with a final-round victory over Daniel Nestor in the Street Stang category. Once again, the red light was illuminated on the starting line, and it shone in Nestor's lane.

Shane Williams (near lane) cruised to victory in Mod Comp via a sizeable holeshot advantage over final-round opponent Matt Schleiv. Williams' 12.07 was enough to hold off Schleiv's hard-charging 10.76-second effort.

Ron Martin and his yellow V-6-powered S197 gunned down Joe Cram in the final round of Street Stang. Martin, in the near line, whacked the Tree with a stellar 0.009 reaction time, then held off the quicker Cram at the stripe for the win.

John Rollins (gray shirt), car owner Alex Rodriguez (green shirt), and the rest of the SBSO-winning crew were all smiles after Rollins turned on the win light in the final. Thanks to some repair work, you can't even tell the '05 Saleen tagged the wall in testing before the event. A Mustang Specialties-built 302 Three-Valve showcases a ProCharger F1 centrifugal blower that propelled the car into the low-10-second zone and to the win. Transferring the power to the ground is a 4R70W transmission built by Lentech that was installed just days before the race.

Kenny Gallman (far lane) yanked the gears in his hatchback Fox-body all the way to the winner's circle. He held off the turbocharged entry of Joe Marini for the victory.

Former Pro pilot Joe Morgan (far lane) purged the nitrous and then the competition in Street Renegade. He went the distance, eventually turning down the challenge of the nitrous-fed Fox-body of John Worley in the money round.

David Schorr (near lane) and Todd Amandus fought traction issues all weekend, but the pair squared off in the Pro final. Schorr left Amandus at the Tree, and even though both cars got wicked loose down track, Schorr was able to hold off the fast-closing Amandus for the win.

Tony Whetstone and his convertible '88 Mustang GT not only gave it a go in the Spring Break Shootout class, but in the Street Stang category as well. Whetstone and his blue Fox-body gave it all they had, but they came up short in the first round of both classes.

When We Saw Kristin Rogers' '01 Steeda Focus, we had flashbacks to when our own Focus project car, Red Hot Chili Pepper, was on the road. While our little project car might be on its way back to revival, Rogers' Focus holds down the fort with its enhanced visual effects and custom turbo kit.