Event Coverage brought to you by Pro Fab Performance

Racing season is in full swing now as Sunshine Dragstrip   held it’s first Heads Up Madness  event of the year Saturday February 20^th with Autoway Chevrolet staying as the title sponsor for another year. Also for this year Pro Fab Performance is teaming up with us here at Devastation Motorsports to sponsor our coverage of the series.

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In some other sponsor news we have some new faces on board for Real Street class. The title sponsor for 2010 will be Gearhead Performance with Jotos Pizza and Fordspeed Racing staying with the class this year as associate sponsors and UPR Performance and Cherry Bomb Tattoos are new for the year. Ill have some more detail on this in the Real Street section below.

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I have a little bit of bad news mixed with good so I’ll get that out of the way now. 2010 will not feature Outlaw 10.5 at Heads Up Madness. A mix of poor turnout last year and the soured economy left the track management with some tough decisions and 10.5 has been replaced with Outlaw 632. If you have followed OL 10.5 in Florida you will no doubt recognize quite a few cars in this new class which has been contested at Immokalee, PBIR and Bradenton as well as ORTC events in 2009.

Also there is no Drag Radial class this month the racers were saving their cars for the Night the Light's Went Out ORTC race next weekend at SGMP.

Before qualifying got underway there was an awards ceremony for last years top points finishers.

7.50 Index 

6.50 Index

Real Street

5.50 Index

Pro Mod

The Open Outlaw guys commissioned Metal Creations by Ziggy  to whip up this cool trophy. In Stanley Cup fashion it will be passed on from one year to the next with the winners names engraved on it’s base. Congrats to Ron Logan for being the first to earn it.

Round 2 Qualifying Video

7.50 Index

Stephanie Floyd took the top qualified spot in the entry level index class, followed by Matt Tramontana, Robin Horn, Matt Cummings and David Peek. She would get the best of Ed Wester in round one running 7.506 to Wester’s 7.44 break out.

Horn put .03 advantage on Tommy Cagnina Jr out of the gate and he ran .005 under playing catch-up.

Number 6 qualifier Raymond Albert got a round win over Billy Hamilton with a big advantage on the tree. .028 to Hamilton’s .092 7.66 to 7.63

Matt Cummings put his 84 SS Monte Carlo ahead of Aaron Hobley Jr.’s 72 Chevy and advance to Rd 2.

Scott Travers got the win over Walt Shipley in a double break out match.

Matt Tramontana qualified second but gets the best light of the round while taking out Bobby Egger’s 70 Nova.

Shawn McNaughton had it on the tree but gave to much on the other end in his round one loss to David Peek in a battle of Chevelles.

Victor Franco brought out a 97 Corvette and faces TJ Fox in first round. Fox went red handing the win to Franco.

Round 2 action saw Tramontana sleepy on the light against Raymond Albert and going home early. Robin Horn had a decent .042 tree taking out Franco and the Vette. It was Floyd on her game this round getting an .019 light to take out Peek in a double break out race.

Matt Cummings and Scott Travers faced off in a G Body battle with Cumming getting a very slight head start then scrubbing a bit of speed in the lights, 7.56 to 7.65 Cummings advances.

In the semi finals it would be an all female match up first out with Robin Horn and Stephanie Floyd Floyd was late on the tree and ran under sending Horn to the final. The next pair would be a case of  first or worst with Albert going red big time by .299 against Cummings.

The final round would pit the number three and four qualifiers against one another in a double break out race with Horn being the worst offender and Cumming coming out the winner.

6.50 Index

Twelve cars showed up for 6.50 this month. I think the Lucas Oil Series race in Gainsville took some of the car count away in th3 index classes as many of them also bracket race.

Bill Lee jr. had me come by the pit to shoot some photos for the family album. Bill’s younger brother Wesley Lee will be driving the 3 time championship winning car this year in 6.50. I snapped a shot of Bill handing over the keys to Wesley, Transformer helmet and all. Bill Jr will be driving the newer/faster car in 5.50. and they are considering this an entry level into the heads up format for Wesley.

Bill Lilly took the top qualifier with Justin Brayman, Nicole Markwart, George Barnett and Wesley Lee rounding out the top five.

Lee took out Ricky Z with a .031 tree vs a very late Ricky Z.

Bobby DeBlasio brought the Blue Bomber out and wound up in the 6.50 class, he fouled out against Brayman. DeBlasio made a hit in 5.50 earlier on the bottle, then after this wheel stand decided to step back to 6.50 on motor only.

Lilly got lucky after a bad light against John Morrell as the best he could manage was a 6.65 in his LSX powered wheel standing 80 Malibu.

Markwart gave up some on the tree to Eddie Chamberlain in what turned out to be the closest race so far with Markwart getting the win by just .009 MOV.

Lee Saunders came out to play with a 2009 Dodge Viper, not something you normally see in index racing. He faced Roel Rios in round one and was very late with a .297 reaction. Rios got the win.

George Barnett met up with Stephanie Floyd who had the Mustang entered in two classes again this month. She had a .116 light and broke out trying to catch up.

Lilly and Barnett were first out of the box in round two. Lilly was out first with a .026 light but too fast on the top end in the double break out race. Barnett would advance and get a bye in the semis. Lee took out Brayman in their match with Brayman’s late light contributing to the loss. Rios and Markwart wrapped up this round with Rios getting the win.

Rios and Lee were first out in the semi finals with near identical reaction times the race was on. At the stripe it would be Rios with a 6.528 to Lee’s oh so close 6.536 with the MOV a mere .006 in Roel Rios’ favor. Barnett had a bye and ran it out to the tune of 6.44 @ 108.

The final was set with Barnett and Rios, number 4 and 6 qualifiers respectively. Rios got the starting line advantage by .011 but his 6.512 couldn’t get it done against Barnett’s 6.501 in the closest race of the night, so close in fact the MOV is less than printed in the ET slips.

Gearhead Performance Real Street

Real Street had nine cars in attendance with several cars sitting it out to save parts before a big money ORTC race next weekend at SGMP in Georgia.

As mentioned above about the new sponsors. Gearhead is the class title sponsor for this year. The cars in class must run a provided windshield banner. Gearhead is a local and Florida based and family owned speed shop providing $200 per race. Associate sponsors are providing $100 per race.

Another new sponsor is UPR Products  UPR Products was started in 1989 by long time Ford drag racer Mark Mainiero and his son Joe. They have since built a successful business with a reputation for good customer service and racer support.

Cherry Bomb Tattoos in New Port Richey Florida is the other new associate sponsor this year. They have also come on board as a sponsor for the Trans are Us team car driven by James Tall.

Fordspeed Racing  and Jotos Pizza are also back for 2010.

Visit FloridaRealStreet.com  for the latest updates, points and racer profiles.

 Howard Spires took top honors in qualifying running a 5.28. 

Charlie Pixley held the second spot driving for Mike Burkhart. The Real Speed tuned car made an engine swap over the off season, ditching the TFS High Port engine for a Victor Glidden combo, once again sourced from Bennett racing. He went for a wild ride in the second session after the oil catch can came loose and was run over. A good washing and some new tires to replace the flat spotted ones and they will be ok.

John Fernandez qualified third in his 69 Camaro.

Troy Pirez Jr. took fourth with a low 5.30 pass and Aaron Gramer was fifth.

Round 1

Gramer and Mike Miller met up in round one. Miller had an incident in the pre race testing session on Friday night causing some damage to the front of the car. Joe Bonzak was able to make the repairs in time for the race but Miller wheelied out against Gramer.

Pirez drew Randy Shearin from Port Charlotte and his S 10 pickup for first round. Shearin had a good pass with a 5.79 @ 119 but Pirez would advance with a 5.27 @ 131.

Fernandez faced off with James “The Kid” Tall out of the Trans Are Us shop. They have a new sponsor this year with Cherry Bomb Tattoos. Both cars came out wheels up with an advantage to Fernandez on the tree. Tall had to pedal just a bit to get the front end down and ran a 5.47 to Fernadez’ winning 5.27.

Spires had a nitrous backfire just after the launch on his earned bye and was pushed back.

Gramer and Spires were matched up for round two. The backfire Spires had earlier must have caused an issue they did not catch in the pits and he was pushed back after the burnout. Gramer ran 5.30 @ 132 on the single. Rodriguez launched hard right and had to lift, he drove through at 8.44.

Fernandez and Pirez met up next with Fernandez getting the starting line advantage, .015 to .042 at the stripe it would be the slower Fernandez getting the holeshot win, 5.327 @ 130 to Pirez’ 5.304 @ 131.

First pair out in the semis was Gramer and Rodriguez with Rodriguez hooking a little too hard and sending the front to the sky. This is the first event for Rodriguez' new car. He sourced the 400+ ci engine from Fast Forward Race Engines in Crystal Springs, FL. Gramer got the win with a 5.37 with the slower Et and speed being traced to a sticking caliper damaged when Gramer had to pull avoidance moves during the qualifying incident with Charlie Pixley. Fernandez had a bye and ran on motor only to a 6.34 @ 109.

The final match up was with number three and five qualifiers John Fernandez and Aaron Gramer. Fernandez was out first with a .026 tree to Gramer’s .047 then going on to a 5.32 @ 129 to Gramer’s loosing 5.36 @ 131.

There has been some controversy regarding the cylinder heads on the Fernandez car and after the event he was asked to pull the intake manifold. He refused and had to forfeit the win and points. He got runner up money instead. I won’t editorialize here but if I was John I’d bring some manifold gaskets to the next race.

5.50 Index

The 5.50 class had six cars this month with Lakeland racer George Shrader III on top after qualifying.

Jeff Gibbud took the second position with Bill Lee Jr. in third.

In first round eliminations Neal Watkins got the win over Shrader after his foul start.

Sam Berardi put his “Troublesome” 53 Studebaker in the beams with Steve Cannizio for CRT Transmissions. Cannizzio left first with a .03 advantage but it was Berardi at the stripe with a 5.55 @ 122 to Cannizio’s loosing 5.59 @ 124.

JR Akins is another racer from Lakeland and he and Shrader also pit together. His first round opponent was Bill Lee Jr. who got the go ahead win after Akins foul start.

Jeff Gibbud was to run Sam Pagano who did not show after having traction problems in qualifying. Sam will have some new tires on for next time out. Gibbud ran 5.57 @ 110 on the single.

Round two had Berardi and Gibbud out first with Beradi .018 on the tree to Gibbud’s .072 Gibbud would run under trying to catch up sending the Stude to the final.

That left Watkins and Lee next up. Lee went .007 on the tree but ran under index by .012 giving the win away.

Berardi goes .051 on the tree with Watkins .090 and kicking the tires off after getting up on the wheelie bars a bit to hard. Berardi gets the win with a 5.59 @ 109 to the loosing 6.25.

Outlaw 632

The first race for this class here at Sunshine is short of a few regulars due to breakage at the recent US Street Nationals and last night testing at PBIR where Dave French burned a head gasket.

Mike Schmidt was on hand with his 02 Camaro to take the top qualifier position earning a bye in round one which resulted in a nice 4.73 @ 151.

Number three qualifier Eddie Whitlow and fourth qualifier Ritchie Cleckner were first out of the box. Both cars had trouble with Whitlow shaking the tires and Cleckner shutting down, Whitlow went on the a 6.33 @ 111 for the win.

Jimmy Hall drew Sonny Smart hailing from Tellico Plains, Tennessee. Hall went .101 on the tree and was hugging the right guardrail on his 4.80 @ 151 pass while Smart spun and pedaled the car to a 6.61 @ 128.

Hall had the bye in round two, this time running a 4.73 @ 151. Whitlow took himself out early against Schmidt with a .002 red light. Schmidt would have lane choice in the final with a 4.72.

When the finals came it was Hall out first .052 to Schmidt’s .145. Schmidt tried hard to catch up, running a 4.68 @ 154 but it wasn’t enough to make up the difference of Hall’s holeshot. Hall gets the win with a slower 4.76 @ 152. That makes two class wins for Hall this year after winning the US Street Nationals.

Pro Mod

In a strange twist of events the number one qualifier in Pro Mod this month is Outlaw 10.5 racer and 2009 10.5 Champion Rob Wells, and to answer the question in your head, yes he was on 10.5’s. He ran a 4.31 @ 179 in the first session.

In round one Jimmy Stoupas was paired with Chris Mendola the number 2 qualifier. Mendola runs a 68 Camaro with a blown SBC maintained by Scotty’s Racing Technology while Stoupas has Sonny’s power on board his 2002 Trans Am. Stoupas got the win running a 5.02 to Mendola’s 5.83.

Jimmy Keen was struggling getting down the track and lined up with Mike Rein’s 92 Trans Am. Both cars lost traction early in the run but Keen pedaled the turbo powered Mustang and recovered first running a 4.43 for the win.

Number three qualifier Jon Adams had Jeff Windholz from New Smyrna Beach in his round one pairing. Windholz left early and both cars got into some tire shake on the tight track. Adams recovered first and ran 4.71 @ 142 on the go ahead win.

Ralph Stenger raced the 5.50 index class last year, but so far has entered Pro Mod for two races. He faced off with 2009 class champion Frank Cersosimo who has a brand new 830 ci engine for this year. This was the first race for the new combo and they were working out the tuneup still. Cersosimo managed a 4.88 @ 141 to take out Stenger.

Wells had the bye and laid down another low 4.3 hit, 4.33 @ 173.

Round two had Keen and Adams first out. Keen to a big advantage at the hit. .121 to Adams’ .216. Both cars again had problems with Adams getting down quicker with a 4.65 @ 154 and taking a loss to Keen’s slower 4.73 @ 145.

Cersosimo and Wells were next with Wells a great .014 light and Cersosimo having shake problems. It was all for naught and Wells crossed the center line after riding the bars out several hundred feet yet again handing the round win to Fast Frank.

Stoupas would get a handle on it this round running a nice straight 4.32 @ 167.

Keen would have a bye this round and simply take the tree and ride down the track easy. Stoupas and Cersosimo had identical ,067 lights but Stoupas broke the transmission yolk early in the run handing the win over to Cersosimo’s 4.79.

The final round paired up Cersosimo and Jimmy Keen. Frank launched the Didge first with a .022 tree and stayed out front with a 4.58 @ 138 to Keen’s losing 4.65 @ 154.

Open Outlaw

There was a short field this month in Open Outlaw with several cars still undergoing off season repairs.

Tom Wirth had number one qualifier Ron Logan first round and did his job on the tree with a .045. Logan spun and had to lift and watch as Wirth went on the a round win.

Matt Gilmore and Bill Heister were up next. Heister could not get into reverse after the burnout so he drove down and off the track. Gilmore ran a 4.49 @ 162 on the single.

Gilmore had a terrible .137 light to Wirth’s .016 but managed a 4.31@ 170 to take the win away from Wirth’s slower 4.71 @ 146.