Brooklyn, New York's Mike...
Brooklyn, New York's Mike Modeste had his work cut out for him, as he qualified Third in ProCharger Street Renegade with his Manhattan Ford Mustang entry. Don Burton set the pace with a 7.51 at 189 mph to Modeste's 7.98 at 164 mph effort, however Modeste took out the number-one qualifier with a holeshot victory in Round Two, and then took home First Place when Angel Padilla fouled out.
Summit Racing Motorsports Park was the site of the 18th Annual Fun Ford Buckeye State Nationals, and the near-perfect Ohio summer weather provided a tight track and a great atmosphere to sample some high-horsepower Ford iron.
While NASCAR ties up a number of weekends for those who like to watch cars go around in circles, Fun Ford offers great events where locals can get in their cars and experience racing firsthand. The schedule of nine events offers championship chases in the majority of classes. If you like to watch hard-core drag racing that you can relate to, then check out a Fun Ford event near you.
The AMP Fun Ford Weekend presented by Mike Bass Ford and CRT Performance is usually chock full of bracket cars, and this year's contingent did not disappoint. In addition to the normal Street Ford, Quick Ford, and Fast Ford bracket classes, Norwalk also offers a super-cool Nostalgia Ford class, Quick 16, and King Ford competition.
If heads-up racing is your game, you'll find some really fast Mustangs and Fords cutting down the Tree and posting top speeds north of 220 mph. While the Probe Industries Pro class features full-on tube-chassied race cars that eclipse the quarter-mile in about 6.5 seconds, most attendees will relate to the Performance 2-Way Communications Street Outlaw class' relatively stock-appearing Mustangs and Fords that lay down elapsed times in the low-sevens and speeds in excess of 190 mph.
ProCharger Street Renegade is another stock-appearing type of class where the rules are pulled back slightly, and the cars run in the mid-to-high-seven-second range at about 180 mph. To say there were some fast Mustangs in attendance would be an understatement.
The beautiful '08 Mustang...
The beautiful '08 Mustang of Pfafftown, North Carolina's Jerry Williams packs quite a wallop with a Fulton-built, 738-cube, big-block Ford and multiple stages of nitrous-oxide injection. Dale Brinsfield, the man operating the Mustang's air-shifted Lenco from the driver seat, took a step closer to current points leader and '07 Pro champ David Schorr with a victory in Norwalk. Brinsfield laid down a record-setting 6.34 at 222 mph for top qualifying honors; he then beat up on the field until Schorr stepped up to the batter's box in the final. Schorr left first, but his 6.52-second time wasn't enough to beat Brinsfield's stout 6.40 pass.
Beyond the heads-up racing, you'll find the index classes, where racers run heads-up off the starting line but must run dead-on or slightly slower than the class time. Borla Street Bandit, Ultra Stang, Street Stang, and Tough Truck are all such classes, and the competition within these ranks is fierce. Most anyone can run the majority of the index classes, and you don't need a six-figure rocket to participate-just some good reaction times and a consistent vehicle.
Last, but not least, there's Tremec True Street-a class designed for the average guy off the street. Licensed and registered vehicles are required, and all must make a 30-mile journey on the highway, come back into the track, and, after a brief cooldown, make three back-to-back passes. Your average over the three runs results in your overall time, and awards are given for the fastest two times of the class, as well as the low 10-, 11-, and 12-second averages.
If you missed the event, don't worry. We didn't, and we're here to bring you the results. Keep in mind that there are three more Fun Ford events at various tracks across the country, so you can still catch the action live and in person.
Class Winners
True Street Bracket
Craig Leininger
True Street Winners
Brad Albert-Top 10-Second
Derek Bellotti-Top 11-Second
Mike Collins-Top 12-Second
Well known in the Internet...
Well known in the Internet community and at Fun Ford races, Baytown, Texas, resident S.D. Wheeler drove his '07 Team Performance Products twin-turbocharged Mustang to victory in the RPM Outlet Ultra Stang class. Wheeler took the win when Pete Espeut broke out in the final round.
Nostalgia Ford
Tom "Curly Fires" Brown-Saturday
Joshua Chittendon-Sunday
Street Ford
Tom Conrad Jr.-Saturday
A.J. Buchanan-Sunday
Quick Ford
Brian Kuta-Saturday
Johnny Wellen-Sunday
Fast Ford
Rob Paxton-Saturday
John Gregory-Sunday
Gary Fore's Super Cobra Jet...
Gary Fore's Super Cobra Jet Mustang entertained the onlookers with match races against Mike De Witt's Space Machine. Unfortunately, the Cobra Jet lost the space race in all three rounds.
Current Street Outlaw points...
Current Street Outlaw points leader Conrad Scarry made the long haul from his home in Florida to post the fastest and quickest numbers in qualifying at Norwalk with a 6.97 at 211 mph. In doing so, he had the class covered by nearly a second and some 30 mph, but the native Buckeyes weren't about to let Scarry take the trophy without a fight, as Zach Posey, Brian Keller, and Ray Orbas all fielded low-7- and 8-second rides. Scarry advanced with a first-round bye and then devoured Brian Keller in Round 2. Posey's ride is no Amish buggy for sure, as the Middletown, Ohio, resident used all 438 ci of Mustang might to make his way to the final round. Posey cut the holeshot, but it and his 7.40 e.t. weren't enough to get past Scarry, who took the win with a 7.08 at 199-mph effort.
Four years ago, Marty Merillat's...
Four years ago, Marty Merillat's Mustang was running low-10s. This year, things have changed quite a bit, as the Napoleon, Ohio, resident's Pony averaged 8.70 seconds over three runs. We'd call that progress for sure, and Marty's improvement in elapsed time netted him the top seat in Tremec True Street by quite a margin.