Heads Up Madness June 5th, 2010  Event Coverage Presented by:

Event Photos Inside

Friday Testing Notes

There were a few cars out for the Friday session. Chris Mendola and the Mendola Motorsports crew made the switch to a new engine from Aaron Sipple Engineering and made three shakedown runs. Aaron was on hand tuning the car and setting it up for the new power.

We had Stephen Adams come all the way down from Signal Mt. Tennessee with a 1971 Vega. He races there with Sonny Smart, who also made the ride again but broke his transmission testing and could make it for Saturday’s race.

Rick Davis was also out again with his 427 ci. SBC powered 79 Camaro, he broke a trans as well, he was able to make repairs though.

Jerico Balduf had turned up the power in the 70 Chevy Pro Mod pick up but was having little luck getting down the track.

We were all set to go but track temps nearing 150* has the staff conemplating whether to wait and decided to water the track in an effort to cool it down. It worked as temps cooled off to a manageble 117 for first round of qualifying.

7.50 Index

Matt Cummings leads the points in 7.50 going into the June event followed by the May winner Shawn McNaughton. Eighteenth place Kyle Moore led qualifying though with a 7.52 with Cumming behind him with an 7.54.

In round one Cumming would get the win over Victor Franco in the 97 Corvette after his red light start. Moore also got his first round win courtesy of a red light by Joe Duncan. Robin Duncan and Walt Shipley were both late on the tree but Robin took the win, 8.16 to 8.20. Shawn McNaughton put up an .055 light to Evin Chamberlain’s .169, he would break out trying to catch up.

Billy Hamilton got a strange win as Paul Silvernail neglected to gas up and fell off pace. Greg Maples put a tree on Herman Hernandez out of Dunedin and got the win with a 7.55 to 7.59 on the top end. Craig Ginrich took out Stephanie Singer-Floyd on the tree with a .066, at the stripe Stephanie was quicker at 7.620 to the winning 7.630. Raymond Albert cut an .087 to out first on Aaron Hobley Jr. but could not hold on through the lights on a loss to Hobley’s 7.63.

Cummings advanced over Hobley in round two with a .085 light and dead on with a 1 ET. Ginrich took out Kyle Moore on the tree and at the stripe, 7.51 to 7.53. Robin Duncan was late against Greg Maples who got the win with a 7.59. Mcnaughton advanced another round after a .026 light against Billy Hamilton.

The semi finals pit Ginrich and Maples up as the first pair out. An .031 light for Ginrich had Maples playing catch up and he caught up a little too much by running a 7.467. Cummings and McNaughton were the other pair with McNaughton going red in the big Chevelle. Cumming ran it out for a test hit to a 7.499.

In the final Ginrich left first with a .035 to Cummings’ .138. At the stripe it would be Ginrich first to collect his first 7.50 class win in his first try over the points leader Cummings with a 7.586 to Cummings’ 7.503. 

Matt Tramontana was bumped out of the top five in points to seventh after not attending this event while Robin Duncan takes his place in third ahead of Billy Hamilton. Cummings still sits on top followed by McNaughton while Stephanie Singer-Floyd holds on to fifth.

RMP Automotive 6.50 Pure Street

Three of the top five in points did not attend this month and seventh place Eddie Chamberlain led off the first round qualifying with a 6.547 @ 103 followed by Corky Markwart’s 6.57 @ 105. Shaun Smith managed third with a 6.90 ahead of points leader George Barnett who kicked the tires off on his first qualifier running a 7.20 @ 105 Ed Wester pulled up short with a 7.51 after forgetting to arm the nitrous in his first shot at the 6.50 class this year.

The second session saw Corky take the top qualifier with a 6.500 and Jim Floyd jump up to second with a 6.519, Eddie Chamberlain Roel Rios and Shaun Smith round out the top five.

First round action had Chamerlain getting the best of Barnett with an .042 light and 6.516 to Barnett’s 6.551. Wester and Rios were the next pair out. Rios left first with a nice .017 but could only manage a 6.604 to Wester’s winning 6.503. Jim Floyd was dead late again Smith’s .022 but they were having tuning issues and Floyd went by for the easy win. Corky had the bye and ran a 6.490.

In round two Chamberlain put a tree on Corky .043 to .046. At the stripe Eddie dumped it while Corky broke out by .004 sending himself home early. Wester and Floyd were the other pair but Floyd left before the tree came down handing Wester the trip to the final with Chamberlain.

A .070 light for Wester had him way out front of Chamberlain’s Camaro in his first final round appearance. Wester would get the win in his first attempt at 6.50 running a 6.54. The points for the top three are unchanged as far as position but Rios is now just 1 point behind Wesley Lee, Barnett still leads. Chamberlain and Markwart round out the top five. 

Gearhead Performance Real Street

We have a new sponsor coming on board for this month with DCA Performance in Holiday, Florida. Serving the Holiday, FL area for over 50 years, Drenica Customs Auto LLC offers expert and experienced auto repair services. Family owned and operated, we specialize in engine and head repair for European and Asian cars. We guarantee great service for all our customers and lifetime guarantees for most of our work.

Florida Real Street.com

Gearhead Performance 13500 US Highway 19 Clearwater, FL 33764 727-531-3551

Associate Sponsors

UPR Products 750 S Eastcoast Street, Lake Worth, FL33460 561-588-6630

FordSpeed Racing 11733 66th Street North Unit #123Largo, FL33773 727-549-8255

Cherry Bomb Tattoos & Piercings 36243 US Highway 19 North Palm Harbor, FL 34684 727-772-6785

Jotos Pizza Pub 8080 49th Street North Pinellas Park, FL 33781 727-544-6694

Aftermath Performance 2940 Hanson Street Fort Myers, FL 33916 239-939-4649

DCA Performance 4629 Panorama Ave. Holiday, FL 34690 727-505-5521

Mafia-Motorsports

Mike Miller leads the points after last months win followed by Eugene Rodriguez and Aaron Gramer, James Tall and Randy Shearin. Round one qualifying had “The Kid” James Tall out front with a 5.46 @ 127. Miller ran 5.52 for second followed by Brian Keep’s 98 S-10 with a 6.27.

In the second session Gramer stepped up to a 5.38 to take over first qualifier while Tall improved slightly to a 5.45. Miller stood on his earlier pass. Shearin improved to a 5.79 @ 123 for fourth. Rodriguez also improved to a 5.97. Keep was unable to improve his time and sat at the bottom of the ladder.

Tall and Rodriguez were the first pair out for eliminations and “The Kid” left early with a .196 red light. Gramer laid down a 5.35 @ 132 over Keep’s flamed S-10. Randy Shearin improved over his qualifying pace but his 5.71 was no match for Miller’s 5.43.

Rodriguez stepped up to a 5.78 in his round two match with Mike Miller, not enough as Miller was consistent running 5.44 in this round for the win. Gramer let it hang out on a single to a 5.31 @ 133.

Number one and three qualifiers met in the final with Miller out first with a .015 light to Gramers .081. Miller had his best run of the night when it counts but Gramer put up another 5.31 @ 133 to get around him for the win taking the points lead by one in the process.

5.50 Index

Sam Berardi, Jeff Gibbud, Bill Lee Jr., Neal Watkins and George Shrader II lead the points in the 5.50 class going into the June race. Gibbud put up a 5.56 in round one qualifying to take top qualifier. Dick Swenson was next with a 5.57. Newcomer Stephan Canalejo ran a 6.21 for third with his 73 Camaro, Berardi and Watkins round out the class.

The second session had Swenson take over top qualifier with a 5.52 while the rest of the order went unchanged.

Watkins would take out Canalejo’s 6.00 with a 5.83 in first round eliminations. Berardi got around Gibbud, 5.52 to 5.62 after getting beat on the tree. Swenson ran a 5.507 @ 122 on his single.

Watkins’ .037 put him out front of Swenson in round two; he took the win, 5.52 to 5.56. Berardi ran 5.504 @ 115 on his bye run.

In the final Watkins was out first with a .066 tree but gave it away at the stripe breaking out with a 5.488 to Berardi’s 5.508.

Stock Suspension

Stock Suspension last month was a battle between Troy Pirez and Kenny Markwich and this race would continue in down the same path. During the first session Markwich put up a 4.89 @ 157 to take the top qualifier early, but that didn’t last long as Pirez rolled out with a nice 4.85 @ 152.

 Larry Hart has been MIA so far this year but June saw the re appearance of  his clean 1956 Chevy 210 sedan. He ran a 5.47 @ 131 in the first session. Walt Drakeford, Bobby D and Dave Boger had no luck in the first session.

Round two qualifying had Pirez step it up again to a 4.80 @ 153 while Markwich had to stand on his earlier run. Drakeford improved to a 5.03 and third spot. DeBlasio ran a 5.20 @ 136, Boger a 5.31 and Hart a 5.36.

Pirez and Bobby D were first up in eliminations with Pirez taking an easy win over the Blue Bombers improved 5.19 with a .054 light and 4.82 @ 153. Hart skied the wheels in a loss against Drakeford’s consistent 5.01 @ 153. Boger spun the tires at the hit against Markwich’s 4.82 @ 156.

Markwich and Drakeford were the all turbo match in round two with Drakeford getting away first with a .061 tree to .074. on top it would be Markwich’s Mustang there first with a .4.81 to Drakefords losing 5.06. Pirez had a single and ripped off low ET of 4.78 @ 152.93 setting up the final round.

Markwich took the tree first with a fine .012 to Pirez’ .035 but he stumbed early and had to pedal. Pirez had it set on kill however and got into a power wheelie about 100 feet out carrying the wheels past half track eventually moving out of the groove to the right, forcing him to lift and earning him the first stripe from the new guardrails. Markwich took home another win in a close finish, 5.08 @ 146 to Pirez’ 5.10 @ 108 DQ run. The back to back wins for markwich has him ahead of DeBlaiso and just eight points behind Pirez going into the summer break.

Outlaw 632

Mike Schmidt has a substantial lead over Jimmy Hall in OL 632 points 123 to 82 for Hall. Pat Adams sits third with 61. Hall would lead early qualifying with a 4.81 @ 150. Schmidt ran a 4.89 @ 148 for second followed by Eddie Whitlow’s debut in his gold 69 Nova. Pat Adams and Rick Davis followed for the top five.

Schmidt took over top qualifier in the second session with a 4.769 @ 153, Hall held second with his previous run. The remainder of the field remained unchanged.

Larry and Chad Harkless made the trip up from Lake Wales to support the class representing TPS (The Performance Shop).

Donny Burton brought out his 93 Camaro to play here instead of stock suspension, he managed seventh qualifier with a 5.64 @ 131. Stephen Adams made the trek from Tennessee and wound up eighth on the ladder.

Pat Adams overcame a poor light against Burton in round one, 5.20 to a 5.38. Rick Davis ran consistent putting up another 5.23 with his small block powered 79 Camaro to take out Larry Harkless’ 5.60. Hall did his job and ran a 4,80 over Chad Harkless’ clean Nova. Whitlow got lucky against Adams winning with a .153 light and 5.45 @ 130 after Adams spun early and fell off to a 6.04. Schmidt had the bye running a 4.78 @ 149

Round two had Whitlow and Pat Adams face off first. Whitlow left first and ran a 5.10 to Adams’ 5.18 for the win. Schmidt put up a 4.764 @ 154 for low ET and the win over Davis. Hall ran a 4.83 @ 150 on his bye run.

The semi’s had Whitlow take the tree on a single and cruise down track saving parts and risk. Schmidt reset low ET against Hall with a 4.70 @ 156 as Hall fell off to a .91.

Whitlow made the final in his first outing with this car and did his job all around cutting a .049 light to Schmidt’s .056. At the finish Schmidt would take the win with a 4.72 @ 147 to Whitlow’s best of the night 5.02 @ 145. Schmidt extends his points lead by 20+  over Hall with Adams falling back 20 himself with 91 points. Whitlow jumps in front of Rob Briscoe who could not make this race due to a broken transmission.

Pro Mod

Jimmy Stoupas leads Pro Mod with 132 points in his 2002 Trans-Am going into the June event. Jon Adams is 32 points back with well sitting in third with 90 points.

This month Mike Stavrinos was here back behind the wheel of Jimmy Berry’s Mustang, he led early qualifying putting the Scotty’s Racing Technology  powered ride in front with a 4.29 @ 172. Jon Adams ran a 4.42 @ 160 for second followed by Chris Mendola in their race debut with Hemi power.

Round two had Adams move in front with a 4.27 @ 170. Stavrinos held second and Stoupas jumped to third with a 4.42 @ 164 after missing the first session. Mendola was bumped back to fourth and Jimmy Marino took fifth with a 4.73 @ 159. Rob Wells, Jerico Balduf and Alan Gaulden make up the rest of the field.

Marino stepped up to a 4.36 to take out Mendola’s 4.66 in round one.  Stavrinos ran a 4.27 @ 172 to dispatch with Balduff’s 500 ci. blown pickup. Rob Wells improved to a 4.58 as Stoupas got out of shape and shut it down early. Adams laid down a 4.23 @ 171 on his single.

Wells and Stavrinos were the first pair up in round two. Wells put .010 in the bag at the start as both cars fell off pace and Stavrinos got way out of shape about 100 feet out. Wells gets the win with a 5.13 @119. Marino and Adams were up next with Marino cutting a .039 light and running a 4.21 @ 172 to Adams game but losing 4.25 @ 170.

Well and Marino in the final with a nitrous vs. turbo match up. Marino left first but it was too early -.194 red ended the race before it started, he went on to a 4.24 @ 172 as Well shut it early with a 5.14 @ 105 for the win moving him ahead of Adams by 12 points with 142. Stoupas still leads with 152.

Open Outlaw

Head over to Openoutlaw.com to get to know the racers and catch up on the latest class news and gossip.

Last year it was all Ron Logan and while he sits in second place for 2010 points Matt Gilmore is the current points leader. The first session in qualifying had Logan’s 4.06 at the top of the pack. Bill Heister had a nice 4.25 for second.

Newcomer to Open Outlaw Jeff Burnett put up a 4.41 @ 160 for third in his NHRA Top Dragster 23T. Tom Wirth’s 4.553 was good enough for fourth just ahead of Steve Bush. Bob Ewing, Craig Andrews and Matt Gilmore round it out.

The second session saw Gilmore rocket to the front with a nice 4.01 @ 181. Logan improved to a .06 to hold second. The rest of the order remained unchanged.

Neither Andrews or Heister made it for round one giving Gilmore and Bush a free ride to round two. Ewing had some luck swing his way as Logan went red. Burnett cut a fine .002 light in his win over Tm Wirth.

Round two saw Ewing go red against Bush who ran a 4.51 with his Sonny’s 762 despite the nitrous not activating. Burnett left Gilmore sitting there with a .074 to .298 and was the picture of consistency running another 4.387 @ 161 to match his previous round ET, that was no real help however as Gilmore blew past him with a 3.97 @ 183 to take the win.

Gilmore met up with Bush in the final with Bush still chasing nitrous activation gremlins. Buch left first with a .046 to Gilmore's .088, 4.58 @ 160 is not enough to hold off the blown KB Olds of Gilmore, 4.11 @ 177.

The top five in points remain unchanged as far as position however Gilmore now leads by 66 points over Logan.