Street
1st Place
While we loved the big speeds and killer elapsed times produced by the four Outlaw class cars, we just had to see what the stock blower contingent could do. With that in mind, we separated those with the factory Eaton huffer and put them into their own class, aptly named Street. The rules were simple: stock blower, stock transmission, no extra power adder, stock rear suspension, and an acceptable interior. We weren't disappointed.
We had seven contestants in our Street class, and the consensus was that the limit of the stock blower had been reached in terms of elapsed times. While one of our Street drivers (we originally had eight) had trouble with his ride, the remaining seven showed that 11.0-11.3 was about as quick as a stock blower GT500 would run that day. Porting undoubtedly helps, but the question at that point remains whether to spend the green on porting the stock blower or upgrading to a TVS, Whipple, or Kenne Bell.
In looking at a few of the cars that were making pass after pass in the Street class, the limit to traction was also reached and surpassed. One driver had us thinking he was driving one of John Force's nitromethane-powered NHRA Funny Cars with the amount of tire shake he was experiencing at the 1-2 gear change.
Without a doubt, the question as to how quick and fast a GT500 with the stock blower can go was answered each time the clutch was dropped and the gears were banged. All we have to say is, don't mess with one of these cars at a stoplight.
In the end, our GT500 shootout showcased the best of both worlds, in both classes. We wonder how the GT500s seen here would stack up against the other two supercharged heavyweights from Ford-the Lightning and the Terminator Cobra. Guess we'll just have to find out.