Alex Vrettos (far lane) and...
Alex Vrettos (far lane) and Chris Little (near lane) square off in Saturday's Drag Radial qualifying. Low 7-second cars on D.O.T.-legal radials with no wheelie bars make for an exciting show.
Once a year the bad boys of Outlaw-style drag racing come together for a winner-take-all, heads-up event at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. It's known as Shakedown, and it's one of the hottest events in the Outlaw ranks. For 2008, the event stretched over two days and racers battled for cash, bragging rights, and the chance to set a record on the famous strip.
Shakedown at E-town for 2008 was sponsored by Al-Anabi Racing, presented by Speedtech, and it did not disappoint. The combined $65,000 purse brought out the best in nitrous and blown Pro-Mod, Outlaw 10.5, Heavy Street, Drag Radial, and 8.50 index classes.
The action started Saturday morning with almost 200 racers trying to qualify for Sunday's show. The combination of cool October air and near-perfect track conditions laid the groundwork for the first five-second e.t. in nitrous Pro-Mod, and multiple elapsed time records in Drag Radial.
David Wolfe of Fort Worth, Texas, ran 7.21 at 201 mph to qualify Number One in the D.O.T.-legal tire class. Saturday's Outlaw 10.5 time-trial sessions also played host to a three-round match race between Mustang racing standouts, Tim Lynch and Billy Glidden. Even though Lynch didn't win the impromptu race, he still managed to grab the Number One spot with a 6.54 at 218 mph.
With a slew of Fords spread throughout the classes, it was time for the drivers to climb back into the cars for Sunday eliminations. Round after round of wheelstanding action made for an incredible day of drag racing. At the end of the weekend, the Blue-Oval boys put on a strong showing in Heavy Street and the 8.50 index classes, and took home top honors in both the Outlaw 10.5 and Drag Radial classes. Joe Newsham laid down a 6.81 run at 213 mph, and in the process inched out Ray Johnson's 6.91 at 207 mph in an all-Ford Outlaw 10.5 final. After setting a new elapsed time world record of 7.18 in Drag Radial, Dave Hinzman went on to defeat Glennie Buckler in another all-Ford final. It was a very successful weekend for the Ford driver taking the Number One qualifying spot and the win in two classes.
Tim Lynch qualified Number...
Tim Lynch qualified Number One in Outlaw 10.5 with an e.t. of 6.54 at 218 mph. Lynch's '02 twin-turbo Mustang ran very strong on Sunday until the fourth round where he was defeated by Joe Newsham's '03 Cobra. Newsham went on to win the event.
Shawn Gallagher launches his...
Shawn Gallagher launches his '79 Mustang to an 8.50 e.t. in a qualifying attempt on Saturday. Gallagher ran an almost perfect 8.506 at 162 mph to take the second position.
2007 NMRA Pro-Outlaw champion,...
2007 NMRA Pro-Outlaw champion, Tim Essick, gets out of the gate in a hurry on his way to a 7.08 e.t. pass at almost 205 mph.
Billy Glidden (near lane)...
Billy Glidden (near lane) lined up against Tim Lynch in Round 2 of their match race during Outlaw 10.5 qualifying. Although Glidden was the victor in this race, Lynch qualified Number One for eliminations on Sunday.
David Wolfe gets his Mickey...
David Wolfe gets his Mickey Thompson drag radials hot in preparation for a pass of 7.21 at 201 mph.
Andrew DeMarco pointed the...
Andrew DeMarco pointed the nose of his '82 Mustang to the sky as he defeated Joaquim Nedro in Round 1 of 8.50 index on Sunday.
The 32-car field in Heavy...
The 32-car field in Heavy Street was ultra-competitive. Yanni Papakosmas sent his turbo '04 Cobra down the track to a best run of 7.58 at 182 mph.
NMRA EFI Renegade Champion...
NMRA EFI Renegade Champion Brian Mitchell shows everyone what you can do with 306 ci of supercharged Ford power. Mitchell qualified Number 15 for Sunday's 8.50 index eliminations but would see his day end early losing in Round 2 to Jason Penwa in his '85 Mustang.
John Pluchino took his big-block-powered...
John Pluchino took his big-block-powered '02 Cougar to the 13th qualifying position in Nitrous Pro-Mod. Pluchino was the fastest Ford-powered Pro-Mod in competition.