The second running of Battle of the Boards for 2010 at Gateway International Raceway saw a field of quick cars, great racing and surprising turns with every matchup. STLMustangs, STL-Speed and Lethal 1320 each brought a team of 5 cars for the 16 car field shootout to claim bragging rights………….at least for another month. With a three team field in a 16 car bracket the first round would yield some surprising matchups with each team having 2 of their own forced to face off against each other and one lucky racer drawing the single bye for the round. After a random draw the bracket was set and the first round got underway at 10 pm with the DA at 1265 and a track temp of 68.5.
Round One:
Laurence Bass of STLMustangs faced March Winner Daryl Jauerning fronting Lethal 1320 in the first matchup. Bass left hard off the line with almost a 6 tenths lead at the line and blazed to a 9.07 @ 149 pass in his 88 Fox-body. Jauerning, the SCSS points leader fell behind at the hit due to driver error. “I never had it on the trans-brake” lamented Jauerning later, “I just counldn’t run him down after it spun off the line” His 9.38 @164 wasn’t enough to make up the starting line error, but the 164 mph showed he was giving it a good try.
Next, Brad Kimble in his very sedate looking 00’ Z28 tuned by PBJ Performance faced off against Mike Mester and his 00’ Trans Am. Both STL-Speed members staged, but when the tree fell, Kimble shot to over a 5 tenths lead when Mester’s nitrous system failed to engage and his car bogged on the line. Kimble’s 10.87 @ 123 led Mester’s 10.66 @ 126 from start to finish. Said Mester later, “The car ran perfect all last weekend, but for some reason the nitrous wouldn’t engage tonight.” As they say………..that’s racing.
The third pair out saw Steve George, the current SCSS ET record holder and his recently repaired 71 nova representing Lethal facing Dave Bross’ 04 Cobra for STL-Speed. With George in the other lane Bross knew he was the underdog. Bross gained a slight edge off of the line, but it was soon eaten up by George who thundered by to an 8.51 @ a booming 183 mph over 10.98 @ 122 for Bross. The 183 being the top mph of the night.
Kevin Giblin and Travis Kawalec, both of Lethal 1320 were the next matchup. Kawalec lauched his 91 S-10 to almost a 3 tenths lead at the hit and was still out in front quite a ways down track when a struggling Giblin in his familiar orange 69 Yenko Nova finally pushed past with an off –pace 10.94 @ 155 to Kawalec’s 13.71 @ 97 mph.
Orson Johnson in his 99 Cobra representing STLMustangs stepped up next to face Nick Marino and his 03 F-150 representing Speed. Marino led off the line with his nitrous assisted truck carrying over a 2 tenths lead when Johnson’s turbo small block blasted to an 8.95 at 162 over Marino’s 12.85 @ 79 mph. The truck was on a good pass, but suffered a nitrous malfunction downtrack slowing the run.
William Johnson……aka “Cuda” running for STLMustangs……..was the lucky recipient of the first round bye, but didn’t take it easy. His wheel-standing 9.33 @ 145 was definitely a crowd pleaser and showed the cars potential.
The next pair at the line ended up being the run of the night. Dave Perry faced off against Jeffery “Bellman” Long. Both for STLMustangs and both running Fox-bodies, Perry an 89’ and Long an 86’. At the hit Long was way out in front by over 4 tenths, but unfortunately he was red by a mere 10 thousandths on his was to a 9.11 @ 148. Despite the red bulb, neither driver was lifting and were running them out the back door when Perry demonstrating his driving ability. Right at the traps, Perry’s Stang pushed up a head and forced out water which ended up on his tires. After 2 complete 360 degree spins at over 110 mph Perry brought the car to a halt with only minor cosmetic damage to the right front corner and rear as well as a flat front runner from contact with the wall. When the smoke cleared, Perry had actually won the race, but was unable to return for the next round. According to BOTB rules this put Bellman back in, but he also suffered a fuel pump failure and would also be unable to return for the next round.
This led to the last pair and another surprising turn. Mark Woodruff for Lethal in his SCSS mph record holding 67 Vette lined up against Jeremy Heizer’s 91 GTA for Speed. An apparent mismatch on paper, Heizer ran a 10.000 at 135 and into the next round when Woodruff suffered a rocker arm failure at the hit and failed to leave the line. As an added bonus and unbeknownst to him at the time, Heizer was getting a solo run in the next round due to Perry’s and Long’s mechanical issues.
Round Two:
The DA had dropped to 980, but the 76% upward creeping humidity was starting to become a concern despite the track temp holding at 68 degrees. Nevertheless, Laurence Bass and Brad Kimble brought their cars to the line for round two. Kimble sawed down the tree for 6 tenths lead, but Bass responded well with a 9.09 @ 150 to send him into the next round over a game and consistent 10.83 @ 124 for Kimble.
William “Cuda” Johnson the lucky first round bye recipient drew Steve George as his second round opponent. Knowing the capabilities of the car in the other lane, Cuda took a shot at the tree……….and lost with a -.020 red bulb for his efforts. George, meanwhile blazed to a 8.95 @ 161 and lane choice in the next round.
Kevin Giblin and Orson Johnson lined up next in what would be one of the closer races of the night. Both left the line well with Giblin out to a slight .057 lead, but while Johnson suffered a slight traction loss, Giblin stuck all the way down for an 8.55 to 8.89 victory with both cars crossing the traps at 162 mph.
Finally, Jeremy Heizer on a solo pass showed his consistency with a 10.02 @ 135 mph to send him into the next round.
Semi Finals:
On paper, the first matchup looked like a dead heat with the two cars’ previous round efforts separated by a mere tenth or so, with the action likely to be decided at the tree. Laurence Bass decided it early with an -.083 red bulb and a hard left turn and traction loss at the hit. Steve George also struggled with traction, but nevertheless raced into the finals with an off-pace 9.06 @ 138.
In the other semi matchup, Kevin Giblin set low ET of the night with his 8.33 @ 159 against Jeremy Heizer. Heizer slowed slightly to a 10.22 but his car was consistent and earned his team all night.
Finals:
After a 45 minute cleanup from an oil down just before the competitors were to take the tree, Steve George and Kevin Giblin were brought to the line about 1:30 AM. Dew was becoming a concern as the humidity was over 85%. Both competitors had fast cars all night, Giblin with the best ET and George with the best MPH, what remained to be seen was if they could negotiate a deteriorating track surface and take the win. George left first with a great .050 light to Giblins .210. Unfortunately for Giblin, he would not be able to make up the difference. His car made a hard left at the line with the tires instantly losing traction and going up in smoke. His driving skill kept the car from crossing the line, but by that time George was well on his way to the victory posting a 9.13 @ 169 to Giblin’s coasting 18.84 @ 42 mph.

Stats:

Winner: Steve George Lethal 1320
Runner Up: Kevin Giblin Lethal 1320
Board Winner: Lethal 1320
Board Runner Up: STLMustangs

Points: Lethal 1320- 14 STLMustangs- 10 STL-Speed- 6

Top ET- Kevin Giblin 8.33
Top MPH- Steve George 183

The next BOTB is scheduled for June 18. Rules for that event will be posted.