Ford Mustang 16th Annual Nitto Tire Spring Break Shootout

The highly anticipated Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords SBS, presented by Pro50.com, is a special addition to the True Street class that pits the top 16 True Street qualifiers in a heads-up battle for street-legal bragging rights and a shot at the $800 winner's prize (which is only a part of the overall purse), a Pro 5.0 shifter of choice, a set of Nitto tires, a 6-foot trophy, and a custom jacket.

By Saturday morning the total number of vehicles entered peaked at 102, though only 88 made the cruise. After the obligatory drivers' meeting and 30-mile trek through the Manatee County countryside, the field cooled down and was called to the staging lanes for the three runs. Unfortunately, Angel Padilla of Converse, Texas, who was driving Joel Cura's low-8-second notch, didn't make the call because of a cracked block during the cruise. Padilla won the Lone Star Shootout back in November 2009 and there was speculation he would lay down the first 7-second average.

Running 8s and 9s once is one thing. Doing it three times in a row is another-and sadly fans watched a few hitters fall victim to problems. Florida natives Don LaMana of Hudson and Matt Scheleon of Lake Wales each made an 8-second pass before dropping out.

Alan Happel of Warner Robins, Georgia, took the 9-second win with a 9.098-second average in his Pacific Green '97 SVT Cobra. Built by Panhandle Performance, the Four-Valve features a 76mm turbo. Ten-second bragging rights went to Alexys Garcia of Miami. He averaged a perfect 10.000 over the three runs. A stock engine out of a Terminator boosted by a 78mm Hellion turbo powered his black '99 SVT Cobra.

Wayne Davis of Valdosta, Georgia, took the 13-second win with his clean, silver '91 LX. The mostly-stock notch features a naturally aspirated 5.0L and a five-speed gearbox. Victory in the 14-second class went to Clay Pate of Lenox, Georgia. He wheeled the white '93 LX hatch to a 14.014-second average. And True Street veteran Chris Parisi took yet another 15-second win with his V-6-powered S197.

While it may seem that Seward had a lock on the field, he was knocked out in Round 1 after damaging his rear on launch. Darryl Buckner and his unique four-door '85 LTD took advantage and cruised to win with a 9.31 at over 146 mph. Alan Happel also won Round 1 with a 9.82-second over Darius McLaughlin, who ran 10.63. True Street/SBS-veteran Blair Brannock pulled off an impressive 8.19 at over 172 mph to take out Tony Whetstone's 10.29.

In Round 2, Happel knocked out Buckner and Svader slipped past Bromley. Brannock blew the tires off at the start line and lost to Segura, and Escobar's 8.94 wheeled him past Borum's 9.28. With the sun still shining, the final four rolled to the staging lanes for the semifinals. Segura took the win over Happel, despite Happel's head start. And Escobar pulled off an 8.77 over Svader's 9.26 to set up the final.

Escobar's clockwork-like SVO managed consistency and pulled through to score yet his second SBS victory in a row. It's not always about being the quickest or the fastest, but it does help if you're in the 8s.

"I was real happy. My car ran the best it's ever ran," Escobar tells us of his SBS victory.

For more hot photos of the MM&FF/Pro50.com SBS go to www.musclemustangfastfords.com.