Chad Boise of Dayton, Ohio takes full advantage of the Stupid Sticky track conditions and good air at SMP.
For 2015, Bill Bader Jr. and Summit Motorsports Park (SMP) decided to move the event up a few weeks in hoping the weather would cooperate a little better. I'd have to say their decision was a good one. We only ran into a little precipitation throughout the course of the weekend, and with that came cool air and lots of action. Racers were presented with incredible track prep all weekend courtesy of Kurt Johnson and the rest of the SMP track crew. I can't count on both my hands how many people came out of their shoes, lost their socks, and straight up fell over trying to navigate the starting line by foot.
Kurt Johnson and the guys go to work to ensure that the track is up to par for the many racers in attendance.
One of the most anticipated classes coming into the weekend was most definitely ProLine Racing Outlaw Pro Mod. With that said, here are some highlights from a drama filled weekend of PLR Outlaw Pro Mod!
Bill Lutz with his chutes out after a test pass Sunday afternoon. Bill made is first pass in the 5.80's this weekend.
Bruce Boland went to the number 2 spot Saturday night in Q3 with a blistering 5.791 @ 248.89. Unfortunately he suffered some engine damage in the opening round of eliminations and couldn't make the call for 2nd round.
Paolo Giust had a pretty incredible weekend. Over the course of the weekend he managed to make his first 5 second pass, take out the number one qualifier, and take home the $20,000 grand prize. Jon and Jim Salemi had the G-Force built C7 Corvette running great, and it showed.
It was a rough weekend for PDRA Pro Boost standout, Larry Higginbottham. Higg' shook the tires and had to abort his run in Q1 and then sacrificed a fuel pump to the racing gods in Q2. Unfortunately we didn't see him in Q3 or in E1.
Steve Summers on the bars at the 330' marker on his way to a dramatic 5.702 @ 263.62 hit. The pass took him and the Great White to the top of the list. The drama didn't come until it was time to stop. Steve drove like he's never driven before trying to stop the car after his 'chutes failed to open. He would eventually end up in the field at the end of the track after making it all the way through the sand trap. That's when Bill Bader Jr. decided Steve's '70.5 Camaro would be referred to as The Land Shark for the remainder of the event.
Coming into the event there was much talk about the new for 2015, Resolution Racing Services Money Shot presented by G-Force Race Cars. Put a $ next to your car number, forfeit your round of qualifying, and take a shot at $5,000. One driver in particular opted to dedicate his weekend to trying to claim this prize. After Steve Summers' incident in Q1 he was forced to miss Q2 to work on making repairs to his hot rod. John Stanley of Hagerstown, Maryland took the money shot in Q1 but couldn't find traction. With Summers sidelined in Q2 it was a perfect opportunity for John to claim the prize, but yet again he rattled the tires and was forced to back off the loud pedal. Canadian driver Jim Bell then gave it a try and went 5.881 to take the honors for the night after bettering Bill Lutz's 5.882. When Q3 rolled around, Lutz and Bell decided not to take the Money Shot. However, Kevin Fiscus had other ideas. He took his ProLine powered Mustang to a 5.81 @ 254mph to take away Bell's bragging rights. Shortly thereafter, Summers made a heroic return to the starting line, and wheeled the Land Shark to a blistering 5.76 at only 233mph. As the last car rolled into the waterbox, Bader Jr. announced that it would be a money shot! As John Stanley's screwcharged 2014 Cadillac CTS-V came to life, so did everyone in attendance. It was time to put up or shut up. John staged his Jeffer's built Cadi, and when the tree dropped he proceeded to rotate the earth with a 5.72 @ 233 lifting early. His last ditch effort to claim the $5,000 he thought was rightfully his paid off.
Dave Roemer of Avon, Ohio runs 5.94 @ 241 to qualify number 8. This is the first time in Dave's long Pro Modified driving career that he has made a sub 6 second pass.
Outlaw 10.5 was a blast to watch this weekend. It was an extremely competitive field with 23 cars shooting for 16 spots. This class is so unique because of all the different combinations you see in it. At the Shakedown we saw many varieties of power adders used, in many different body styles.
Dale Collins Jr. coasts to the turn off after an interesting second round match up with Nick Agostino.
That terrible moment when you bumped the AF/MF switch on your lens and you ruin what might have been the most interesting sequence of the weekend. Nick Agostino drives the wheels off his Twin Turbo Outlaw 10.5 Camaro.
Now that I think about it, someone must have painted a target on Dale's car because everyone was trying to get up close and personal.
Tony Basso in the beautiful 1967 Chevy II. Tony took the screw blown Nova to the number 12 spot in qualifying. Basso later fell to Joe Newsham in round one when his 6.57 pedal job wasn't enough for the turbo cars 4.40.
Chuck Ulsch came out to play in his new Vanishing Point Race Cars built C7 Corvette. Unlike the C7 body run by many Pro Mod cars, Chuck's is molded off of factory body panels. It is complete with working headlights, taillights, and reverse lights. He managed to qualify #2 with a 4.04 only to blow the tires off first round.
Mo Hall backs off the throttle after a huge wheelstand in the final round of qualifying.
Frank Pompilio with the wheels up and headed to the top half of the field.
Mark Woodruff heating up the tires. Mark struggled to find traction and keep the car stuck this weekend.
In a class full of blowers and turbos, Jerry Mitrovic took his MUSI powered nitrous fed Camaro to the top of the qualifying sheet, as well as the winners circle. Jerry could have entered Top Sportsman for the weekend, because he ran consistent 4.0's all weekend long.
Outlaw Limited Street was a wild one as well. In the midst of the chaos the competitors managed to make it an extremely competitive field. There was a lot of close racing out of the 315 radial cars.
Rick Thorton demonstrates that small blocks do the best power wheelstands. Rick decided to make Q2 really neat for everyone. He returned in Q3 to qualify number 2 with a 4.08 @ 193
Frank Soldridge carrying the front tires well past the 330'.
Keith Berry of the WOOO! Nation was in the house for the Shakedown. After qualifying number 3, he lost to Enzo Pecchini who took the holeshot win. Enzo was .088 to Berry's .226 and that's all she wrote. Berry's 4.05 wasn't enough to get around the 4.16 of the ProCharged Mustang.
Dewayne Mills took the ProLine Racing Engines powered Camaro to the winners circle after qualifying number 1 with a 4.04 @ 201mph. In the final round he met up with the ProCharger fed Hemi powered Ford Mustang of Enzo Pacchini. Pacchini made a lot of progress with his operation this weekend, but his personal best of 4.02 wasn't enough to fend off the monster 4.00 202mph blast that Mills dished out in the finals. If my math is correct, Mills has been in the finals at the last 7 races he's attended, and has won 6 of them! The Golden Gorilla is back with a vengeance.
Let's take a minute and switch back over to the 1/4 slick tire bracket class that is Holbrook Racing Engines Top Sportsman. I can't say for sure, but I think this may have been the fastest field in the history of Top Sportsman. In order to get into the 32 car field, it took a 6.788! 64 cars made an attempt at qualifying and there was some big names outside looking in at the end of Q3. There were actually 65 cars on property, but unfortunately Ryan Hill broke a crank testing Thursday evening.
It was a seconf place kind of weekend for Boyd Beyer. He qualified number two with a 6.32 and ended the weekend with a Runner-Up finish after a red light in the finals.
Rachel Edwards made a strong showing. She qualified 7th with a 6.45 and made it down to 8 cars before bowing out to Aaron Glaser.
Cheyenne Stanley of Cynthiana, Kentucky leaving the starting line.
Don Snort of Cleveland, Ohio failed to make the field in his 1946 Coupe. His 7.31 just wasn't enough, but he sure looked good doing it.
Mark Malcuit with the flame thrower turned on.
Defending PDRA Top Sportsman World Champion, Dan Ferguson about 6.41 seconds before his unfortunate top end incident. Dan went through the traps and pulled the 'chutes and his car got light in the rear end. He skated around the shutdown and eventually ended up in the wall. Dan was uninjured, but the same can't be said for his Firebird. He has his work cutout for him to get her all fixed up before the PDRA finals in a few weeks. Dan is still in contention to win the Championship again this year.
Randy Primozic boils the hides prior to his shot at Q3.
Motor City Mike Sowards had a good weekend. After qualifying in the bottom half of the field he battled back and took home the win in Top Sportsman.
X275. Does it really need any introduction? It was a quick field this weekend, and just like every other class, when it came time for eliminations it was super close racing.
Adam Bastarache of Georgetown, Ontario Canada took the action to a new level. He decided to see how far an '04 Ford Mustang can travel on the back bumper. Fortunately for the media he was on a single so all eyes were on him. Unfortunately Adam didn't go down the track again after this.
Jimmy Plimpton in his 1979 FEARmont. Yes, you read that right.
Shannon Renfro on a pass. Renfro qualified number 8 this weekend.
Jamie Stanton from Lancaster, New York dominated the class this weekend. After qualifying #1 with a 4.51, he went on to run 4.55, 4.55, 4.50, and a 4.49 to park his 2002 Camaro in the winners circle.
Ultra Street had a good showing of competitors.
Charlie Cooper with the turbo Cobra Jet
Cameron Massengale in his 2001 Corvette
Jeff Kinsler qualified number 4 and went on to runner-up.
Butch Kemp qualified #2 and went on to win the event where he laid down Low ET of the meet.
Pro Street
What a unique class this is. We sure had some beautiful hot rods show up to run it.
Tom Tarsia heating up the tires during Q3. Tarsia lost on a holeshot to John Fisher in the final.
Kevin Fontant had the wick turned way up to try and improve in Q3. He ended up 8th with a 4.91
Open Comp had a large turnout. SMP is relatively new to the OC format of racing. It seemed like it worked out well this weekend.
Taylor Young of Amherst, Ohio was pulling double duty this weekend. On Saturday she participated in the Jr Dragster Shootout at the Summit, and she ran Open Comp as well.
Ray Tumbry hangs the hoops out past the tree in qualifying.
Congrats to our friend Lee Newmeyer on his first 8 second pass this weekend. What a good looking Vega!
-Faces of the Shakedown 2015-
Derek Hawker waits to make his Semi Final bye run in Outlaw Pro Mod
Scott Kline and John Stanley on their phones telling everyone how awesome the Shakedown is.
Top Dragster superstar Kyle Dvorak enjoying the best ice cream America has to offer.
Fellow photographer Brennan Shortall of DragRaceCanada.com getting all the action.
Keith Berry Getting strapped in and ready for first round.
Wes Goddard of Ontario Canada rolls past a polished aluminum trailer door that reflects light on him perfect for the shot I was going to take of him. His 1958 Nash Metropolitan cleverly named the Hell Billy is one of the coolest cars in Top Sportsman.
Bob Bauer Jr. and Robert Bauer III make a great team. Families that race together stay together.
Gary Wojonowski Jr. Blocks the harsh golden hour sun from his eyes prior to a qualifying pass.
BrianTiffe in the Dean Young Motorsports Pro Mod Camaro
Aaron Glaser pulling into the staging lanes.
Melanie Salemi prior to her first round match up with Dave Roemer in PLR Outlaw Pro Mod.
Jimmy Biggs hard at work.
Dave Roemer and son Daniel mentally preparing for their first round match up with Melanie Salemi.
Jason White getting dressed with help of brother Mark.
Jim Bell getting his neck restraint in order prior to getting buckled in for first round.
Canadian Pro Mod veteran Bruce Boland getting dressed.
Jim Bersani sits and waits in his gorgeous new 1969 Chevelle.
Kevin Fiscus looking dissatisfied with the new hole in his hood after a manifold explosion at the 1/8th mile cost him his 3rd round match up with Steve Summers.
A crew member from Biehle Motorsports checks Michael's tire pressure before first round. During the third round of eliminations, Biehle ran 5.87 @ 252mph to beat Derek Hawker. Just moments after Biehle's win light came on his day took a turn for the worse. His parachutes failed to open and the rear end of the car started bouncing because of the pressure he was applying to the carbon fiber brakes. Things got frightening in a hurry as Michael slid sideways just before the sand trap. Once his car dug into the sand it began to barrel role. Luckily Mr. Biehle was uninjured in the incident. Since he passed the scales, Derek Hawker was reinstated as the round winner. Derek couldn't make the call for the finals.
Eric and Chris Bowman, as well as Ryan Kerchevall from Straight Line Media LLC work in the media center.
Will Smith of Speedtech may or may not be sleeping in this photo. I have yet to figure it out.
Well, I think that's it for now. I'd like to thank the staff at Summit Motorsports Park for everything they do. Bill Bader Jr. for having the event. Kurt Johnson and his team for the track prep that provided a ton of action to shoot. Mary Lendzion for all of her help in the media center. Also, Chef Kelly for providing us with lunch so I could eat on the fly and still get work done. I would also like to say a HUGE thank you to Nate Van Wagnen and Wes Buck for the chance to cover this race for the greatest publication in the world. If you like this post, be sure to click the Drag Illustrated logo in the top right corner of the page. Check out their website, subscribe to Drag Illustrated, and thank them for letting me cover one of the best outlaw races in the country.
Until next time, take care everyone! Hope you enjoyed the Shakedown at the Summit as much as I did! -Cole Rokosky
