Rules and Regulations:

1. NHRA tech rules apply. The car must pass tech AT ANY TIME. If a car makes a pass and gets kicked out, it’s a disqualification for that vehicle, no points awarded for that run.

2. There will be NO cruise.

3.All teams will assemble outside the north gate along the road at 6:30 pm for pre-entry and set up before the main gates open. You MUST have a ticket to get in at that time.

4 Inside, ALL race participants should pit along the fence just north of the staging lanes using a second row if necessary.

5. Once you have arrived at the track, there will be driver information given, a tech card handed out, brackets chosen and Technical inspection..
After that, the cars will await until 30 minutes before the first round at which time the cars will come down the road in front of the grandstands along the track single file paired up for racing round one.

6. ALL TEAMS MUST HAVE A FINAL LIST OF PARTICIPANTS TURNED IN ON THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE EVENT.

7. After each race return to the pits and any car changes. All cars running in the next round must be trackside paired up and ready to run 20 minutes before the next round.

8. Rounds will be run at approximately 10, 11, 12 with the final at 12:30.

9. NO Whining!

Racers will get free entry and tech card plus one free entry for a crew person per car. Each team will be allotted tickets for 4 cars plus one alternate. All participants need to be at the North Racer entrance at GIR by 6:30pm so we can get in, teched, and get ready for eliminations. Someone will be at that gate to distribute entry tickets at 6:30. If you will be delayed, notify your team captain to make arrangements for getting you entry tickets.

. Any questions or clarifications should be directed to me or through your team representative before that time. Hookandladder15@gmail.com

RACE RULES:

16 CAR Field. Random draw placing 4 teams in each quarter bracket. No teams will race each other until possibly the third round contingent upon a full field.

2 points per round win. Goes to team represented by the car.

Break rule: Loser comes back for the next round if the winner cannot make the call. No point for a loss, but comeback can earn more points for their team, and place in bracket counts for team ladder position.

Tiebreakers: 1> Farthest team on ladder before the final
2> Most team cars farthest on ladder before the final
3> Fastest team car ET

30 minute MINIMUM turnaround time between rounds. Time starts at the completion of last matchup of preceding round.

3 minute stage rule. You have 3 minutes to make staging or be disqualified from that round. Time starts when you are called to the line to race from the trackside staging area.

Worst or first disqualification.

500 PRO TREE – Heads UP.

Round One lane choice> First in Bracket. Later rounds to faster ET. Then speed.

Winners

Plaque or trophy to Single car elimination winner.

Plaque or trophy to team amassing the most points.

Battle of the Boards Round 6 at Gateway International Raceway brought out a field of three teams to do battle for bragging rights in the monthly showdown of internet car forums. Despite the absence of some the usual heavy-hitters due to races at other tracks and cars sidelined due to mechanical issues, optimal weather conditions and a well-prepped track provided a good night of racing. Members of STL Mustangs, STL Speed and Lethal 1320 started the night with a cruise through the GIR oval and road course and without returning to the pits pulled in front of the stands at 9:30 with the first round at 10.
All the cars were allowed minimal adjustments before racing, but with the cruise rules, all cars basically pull to the line ready to race in the same configuration that they left the pits 30 minutes prior. Also, due to the nature of the race bracket, in the first round 2 members of each team would have to have face each other and one competitor would receive a competition bye run.

Round 1:

Temp-70 Humidity- 62.1 Track Temp- 78.4 DA-1194

Brandon Carter running for STL Speed and Dan Schell for Lethal 1320 brought their cars to the line to start the show. Both competitors have participated in BOTB before and were familiar with each others rides. At the hit the race was decided. Schell was too quick on the tree carding a -.007 red and wasting a 9.86 @ 135 run with his 93 Mustang. Carter’s 10.95 @ 111 from his 03 Turbo Cobra Mustang was good enough to send him into the next round. Said Schell later, “I’m used to a .400 pro tree and just couldn’t hold up enough.” For the record, BOTB uses a .500 pro tree. This provides a handicap to those used to the .400 tree and those more familiar with a .500 sportsman tree, thus ensuring both groups of racers have to be on their game.

Next up a pair of Mustangs fronting STL Mustangs. Lee Edgar’s 89 versus Anthony Sacco in his 91. Edgar was on his game with a .087 light and was never trailed with an 11.901 @ 112 win. Meanwhile, Sacco’s run got even worse past the tree with traction issues shortly past the 60 slowing him to a 15.89 @ 103.

Todd Schrupp of STL Speed next brought his 06 Trailblazer to the line. Due to the previously mentioned shortage of usual racers, Schrupp was pressed into service as a competitor. His opponent, Chris Buchanan also of Speed showed no mercy to his fellow board member. Buchanan’s 91 Mustang ran an 11.41 @ 105 over Schrupp’s 15.49 @ 90 to take the win and move on to the second round.

The fourth pair featured Lethal 1320 regular John Manno and his turbo 65 Mustang against newcomer Preston Cook and his 89 Mustang for STL Mustangs. In the new versus old battle Manno took the win with his 8.94 @ 168 putting away Cook’s 13.64 @ 99. Manno also set a new personal best mph mark with the run, with the 168 also standing up as the best mph of the night.

Next up, two STL Speed racers, GTA versus GTO, Jeremy Heizer against Chad Duckworth. Heizer led start to finish with his 91 GTA dipping into the nines with a 9.95 @ 135 run pushing him past Duckworth’s 14.54 @ 109. Duckworth’s 05 GTO slowed by traction issues before the 330 mark.

BOTB regular STL Mustang’s Jill O’Toole pulled to the line next in her 03 Cobra to face Craig Kuhn of Lethal. Kuhn, another late substitute, brought a Red 07 Silverado to the line. Despite the knife to a gunfight setting, Kuhn was game carding a .188 light with the over 4400 pound vehicle on his way to a 15.70 @ 85. Unfortunately, O’Toole had a decent light and the horsepower to run him down with her 10.77 @ 128 taking the win.

Déjà Vu for those in the stands! Next up, a repeat of the previous pair, sort of. Kurtis Pitts for Lethal brought his Red Silverado to the line, albeit an 05. His opponent, Alex Richardson also for Lethal, and his 90 Mustang. Unlike the previous pair though, Pitts couldn’t chop down the tree and his 15.83 @ 86 was no match for Richardson’s 13.24 @ 84.

Finally, the last racer pulled to the line, the recipient of the lone competition bye. Despite the single run, Dave Braley of STL Mustangs ran a clean hard pass carding a 12.34 @ 107 into the next round which also gained him lane choice.

Round 2:

Temp- 66.7 Humidity- 68.7 Track Temp- 76.2 DA- 970

With the field cut down to 8 cars each team still had at least 2 members still in the running. This round’s matches would go a long way toward deciding the board winner.
First up, Brandon Carter against Lee Edgar. Edgar again was stellar on the tree with a .034 light, but his 11.89 @ 112 was overmatched against Carter’s 10.06 @ 135 which sent the 03 cobra into the semis.

Chris Buchanan and John Manno pulled into the beams next. In a twist of fate, Buchanan had previously faced Manno in the last BOTB in the second which resulted in a loss for Buchanan. Despite his performance advantage, Manno found himself behind leaving the tree with Buchanan carding a .139 light and taking over a 5 tenths lead past the 60 foot mark. Manno caught up at the 330, but right at the 1/8th mile Manno shifted, or attempted to shift into second, and found his transmission had other ideas. Manno slowed to a 16.44 @ 49 due to the transmission failure and watched Buchanan blaze by and get his revenge with his 11.71 @102 taking the win and sending him to the next round.

The next pair on paper looked like a good matchup, but it was not to be. Jill O’Toole’s Cobra rolled the beams before the tree was activated and Jeremy Heizer pushed his GTA to another 9.95 @ 135 for the win.

Heizer’s opponent would be either Dave Braley or in yet another twist of fate, Kurtis Pitts and his Red Silverado. Richardson was scheduled to appear, but his ignition unit had failed and this brought back Pitts for another try. When the tree dropped, Pitts carded a much better light, but Braley was too much. He pushed his 89 Mustang to another 12-30 run with his 12.34 @ 107 taking the win over Pitt’s 17.10 @ 86.

Round 3:

Temp- 68.5 Humidity- 70.2 Track Temp- 76.1 DA- 1155

Into the Semi-finals pulled 4 cars, three from STL Speed, which had amassed an insurmountable point lead and had already won the board trophy. Still up for grabs was the single racer prize with Speed cars outnumbering STL Mustang cars 3 to 1.

First up Brandon Carter and Chris Buchanan. Buchanan hammered the tree again and led off the line by over a tenth, but Carter left hard and quickly caught and passed Buchanan on his way to a 10.48 @ 137 pass that sent him into the finals over Buchanan’s slowing 12.72 @ 94.

Next, Dave Braley the lone non-Speed car left, took on Jeremy Heizer. Heizer’s GTA had run back to back 9.95’s while Braley had two 12.30’s on the board. This time, on paper translated to on the track. Braley chopped down the tree to gain a 2 tenths advantage, but Heizer still took the win with a slowing 10.89 @ 125 over Braley’s dead-on consistent 12.37 @ 107. Heizer’s broken pass was ominous. Heizer had problems. A small electrical fire in the engine compartment had slowed his run, and rather than risk it further, he dropped out for the finals which put Braley back in and gave him a chance for the win in the final round. In a page out the “good things come to those who wait” book, it should be noted that Braley had taken over for normal STL Mustangs leader Paul Schoelich due to an emergency and had put together the STL team in under 24 hours. After getting a bye in the first round he had run off three passes within 28 thousands of each other, and though not the fastest car was now to be in the finals for a shot as the single car winner.

Final Round:

Temp- 68.6 Humidity- 70.2 Track Temp- 74.5 DA- 1109

STL Speed had the board trophy and they were looking to take the solo prize as well. Brandon Carter brought his 03 Cobra to the line against Dave Braley and his 89 LX Mustang. Neither competitor could brag about their reaction time but in the end it didn’t matter. Carter had the boost turned up and ran a 10.23 @ 135 to Braley’s consistent 12.35 @ 107 to take the win and sweep the top prizes for STL Speed.

Winner- Brandon Carter

Runner Up- Dave Braley

Points: STL Speed- 18 STL Mustangs- 8 Lethal1320- 4

Single Winner- Brandon Carter (STL Speed)

Board Winner- STL Speed

Best ET- John Manno (Lethal1320) 8.941

Best MPH- John Manno (Lethal1320) 168.58

BOTB round 5 at Gateway International Raceway pitted a full field of cars from 4 internet forum groups facing off for bragging rights on the quarter mile. In July STL- Mustangs took the trophy and they returned to defend it against Lethal 1320, STL Speed and SIKOTS (Southern Illinois King of the Street). With great weather conditions that prevailed throughout, attendees were treated to some spectacular racing and, as usual, the carnage to racecars that BOTB has unfortunately become known for. Despite the various construction endeavors on almost all of the highways around GIR a good crowd of spectators showed up to take it all in and cheer for their favorite racers.

Round 1:

Temp-74 Humidity- 56% Track Temp-86 DA- 1554

First to the line to start the BOTB was Tim Mallicoat Jr. for Lethal. A regular in the weekly SCSS program, Tim brought his 68 “Hellraiser” Camaro to line against Frank Signorelli’s 00 TA Vert. Frank was a late fill in for Orson “OJ” Johnson who suffered catastrophic engine failure……..ie……engine holes……….the previous Tuesday which necessitated Signorelli filling his spot for STL-Mustangs. Despite the mismatch, at the hit Signorelli took almost a 4 tenths holeshot en route to an 11.82 @116. It wasn’t enough though as Mallicoat ran 8.62 @ 156 to move on to round 2.

Next up Matt Martin of SIKOTS against Mike Mester for STL Speed. Martin’s 95 turbo Mustang took a 2 tenths lead from the tree and extended it down track running a 10.11 @146. Mester was game, but the nitrous gremlins from the previous May BOTB came back again and forced his 00 TA into an NA pass of 10.56 @ 127 that fell short.

Eric Luig of Lethal brought his beautiful purple and orange 64 Chevy II to the line to face off against Dave Braley’s 89 Mustang Vert representing STL-Mustangs. Braley showed his driving skills cutting an .069 light on the pro .500 tree while running 12.32 @ 107. Though Braley’s run was smooth, it wasn’t enough and went unnoticed because Luig put on a show in the left lane. Pedaling numerous times, Eric took anything but a straight route to the win. With the front wheels up and the car twisting and sashshaying down the lane Luig had the crowd cheering his 8.58 @ 163 that sent him into round 2. As a side note, the Gateway crew also returned to Luig a piece of chrome trim found down track, no doubt detached during the twisting gyrations of the Chevy II’s wild pass.

Next up Brandon Carter’s 03 Turbo-charged Cobra against Mike Verweyst’s 00 TA. Carter running for Speed took the win with a 10.44 @ 131. Verweyst for SIKOTS suffered mechanical issues at the hit and stumbled to a 16.32 @ 108.

GIR regular Laurence Bass for STL-Mustangs pulled up to next to do battle with relative newcomer Jason Singleton for Speed. When the tree dropped, neither driver would have a reaction time to write home about, but both Fox-bodies left cleanly and Bass ripped off his usual 8 second run with his 8.99 @152 sending him past Singleton’s 11.00 @ 123.

SCSS points leader Daryl Jauerning’s familiar 88 Mustang was next. Due to construction in the area and the inability of a racer to navigate it on time, SIKOTS ended up short a car and “Dirty D” was the beneficiary of the vacancy and received a solo bye run. He pushed his ride to an 8.67 @ 151. A back-fire through the pipes down track slowing him from his usual performance levels.

Next up in round one, John Manno for SIKOTS against Jeffrey Long for STL-Mustangs. Long was the July winner of BOTB and helped STL-Mustangs take the board win. Unfortunately for him, that was then…….this is now. Separated by 56 thousands at the start Long’s 86 supercharged Stang quickly fell behind as his car suffered a mechanical failure and wouldn’t make any boost. This allowed Manno’s 65 Turbo Mustang to race to victory with a 9.69 @ 154 taking the win over Long’s slowing 11.66 @ 116.

The final pair for round one pitted Chris Buchanan’s 91 Mustang fronting STL-Speed against Lethal’s Tommy Bantle and his 92 Turbo Mustang. Bantle, fresh off his entry into the SCSS 7-second club this past Tuesday with a 7.93 run put Buchanan in the underdog role with his nitrous Mustang being a much slower car. The saying goes….. “Looks good on paper” ……..proved true again. Neither had a stellar light, but just past the sixty Bantle’s car, wheels up, continued to rise to a monster wheel-stand by half track. At near vertical the car was on the bumper with all four tires free and clear of the racing surface. Just past the eighth-mile gravity, and the rear bumper took over and Bantle crashed to earth in a shower of sparks. He pulled to the side un-hurt, but his run was done well short of the quarter-mile mark. Meanwhile, Buchanan ran an 11.03 @ 118 to move on to round two. Said Buchanan later, “I had the best seat in the house for Bantle’s wheel stand and it was quite a show.” As for Bantle, the oil pan was mashed flat and though the engine diaper did most of its job, a track clean up was in order and he was out of the competition for the night.

Round 2:

Temp- 72 Humidity- 58 Track Temp- 85 DA- 1324

The round led off with John Manno against Chris Buchanan. Buchanan chopped down the tree, but Manno was on a stellar pass and his 8.42 @ 164 was too much for Chris’ 91 Mustang and his consistent, but losing 11.07 @ 121.

First round bye recipient Daryl Jauerning faced off against a known foe, Laurence Bass, both familiar with each other from previous racing. At the hit Jauerning took over a tenth lead from the tree and stretched it out all the way down the 1320. His 8.11 @ 170 not only took out Bass’ 9.01 @ 151, but also set a new ET performance personal best for the car. Both the Speed and ET would also be tops for the night for the BOTB contest.

Next to the line, Brandon Carter and Eric Luig. In one of the strangest runs of the night, neither competitor received a full time run. Carter left before the tree activated and Luig suffered what appeared to be catastrophic driveline failure and went mere inches past the starting line. With the first or worst rule, Luig advanced to the next round, but he was broken so Carter, even though he received no points for the round would actually be running in the semis. Said Carter, “I’ve got a new converter set-up and I’m trying to get used to it.” He’d get another round to dial it in due to Luig’s breakage.

Finally to close the round, BOTB’s version of extreme driving skills. Tim Mallicoat faced off against Matt Martin. Martin knew he was overmatched, but was determined to make a race of it with his turbo boost levels set on kill. His shot at the tree came up short with a .056 red gifting Mallicoat the win, but he was still going to run it out the back door. That’s when drag racing became drifting on the quarter mile. Just past the 1/8th Martin’s boost level overpowered his tires and the track sending him into an eventual 360 degree plus spin. Doing his best “Jimmy Johnson through the grass at Daytona” impersonation Matt managed to not only keep the car off of the wall, but scrub off enough speed so that when it did finally come to rest against the wall at about a 1000 feet, it suffered only minor cosmetic damage to the front right side. All of this and Martin never left his lane! Meanwhile in the other lane, Mallicoat streaked to a consistent 8.59 @ 155 and a berth in the semi-finals.

Round 3:

Temp-69 Humidity- 61% Track Temp- 82 DA- 1221

The first pairing in the semi’s featured Tim Mallicoat Jr. versus break rule come backer Brandon Carter. At the hit only one car left cleanly. Carter still trying to dial in his new trans set up was timed out, failing to take the second stage bulb in the required time which pushed Mallicoat and his 8.61 @ 155 into the finals.

The second pair vying for a finals appearance pitted two racers again well familiar with each other, Daryl Jauerning against John Manno. Mustang versus Mustang, 88 versus 65 and Nitrous versus Turbo. Both had good lights with a 41 thousands lead at the tree for Manno, but just off the line he fell back as he overpowered the track and went into tire smoke when the boost level kicked in. John pedaled to a 9.97 @ 163 but ran out of real estate. Jauerning took the win with an off-pace 8.90 @ 141 but his run was also marred by another series of nitrous backfires through the pipes leaving him to ponder his tune up settings for the finals.

Finals:

Temp- 68 Humidity- 62.6% Track Temp- 80 DA- 1114

Just past 1 AM two competitors very familiar with each other pulled to the line. Tim Mallicoat Jr under the direction of Tim Sr have faced off against Daryl Jauerning and his crew chief Joe “Mongoose” Voelkel many time in the SCSS series and knew each others’ capabilities well. Lane choice was not an issue with each in their favored lanes, Mallicoat right and Jauerning left. Tim Mallicoat had been consistent all night with all of his runs within 2 hundredths of each other. Meanwhile, Jauerning had reset his personal best ET but also suffered tuning woes through a series of nitrous backfires, so the final round match up was anybodies race. When the tree dropped, it was Mallicoat with the best RT of the night, a .022 off the line first…….actually, the only one off of the line. He was on his way to an 8.64 @ 155 and the win because Jauerning’s nitrous troubles continued as he had a deafening backfire of howitzer proportions. The hood stayed on and there was no fire, but the car failed to move and Mallicoat took the win. Said Daryl’s crew chief later with his ears still ringing, “The rpms didn’t come up at the line and I think it loaded up and that was it.”
Whatever the reason, later examination revealed little if any damage, and Jauerning drove the car from the line back to the pits after the episode. For Mallicoat the win capped a consistent evening and a BOTB victory for the first time event competitor and a return to the winners’ circle for the Lethal 1320 team.

Final Stats:

Points: Lethal1320- 18 SIKOTS- 6 STL Speed- 4 STL Mustangs- 2

Single Winner- Tim Mallicoat Jr. (Lethal 1320)

Board Winner- Lethal 1320

Best ET- Daryl Jauerning (Lethal 1320) 8.116

Best MPH- Daryl Jauerning (Lethal 1320) 170.62

Your View……………..courtesy of Lethal 1320.com

Battle of the Boards round 4 at Gateway International Raceway took place Friday July 23rd under relatively clear skies, but brutal temperatures. If you thought the June event was warm, the July version was just plain hot. Some cloud cover had dampened the sun a little but track and air temperatures were up. 4 teams showed up to battle the brutal heat and each other, STL Mustangs, STL Speed, Southern Illinois King of the Street (SIKOTS), and Lethal 1320. With daytime highs over the century mark, by racetime at 10 pm it was a balmy 90 degrees with a DA of 2700 and a track temperature of 100.2 degrees, despite the extreme conditions, this BOTB’s was a no cruise event and brought out a fast group of cars.

Round 1:

Temp- 89.3 Humidity- 59 Track Temp- 100.2 DA- 2719

First out of the gate were Eric Luig of Lethal and Frank Signorelli representing Speed. Luig, usually piloting an 84 Monte Carlo brought his other ride, a 64 Chevy II to do battle with Signorelli’s 200 T/A. Both cars had less than stellar lights, but Signorelli’s race was over just before the 60’ mark as tire spin slowed his nitrous’d machine to a chasing 12.27 @ 117 while Luig streaked to a 9.37 @127 for the win.

Next up, Jeffrey Long of STL Mustangs versus Marty Stinnett fronting SIKOTS. Long had a red light foul and breakage in the May event and had something to prove while Stinnett had made the long trip from Kuttawa Kentucky to show what his ride could do. At the hit, Long’s 86 Stang got a slight jump over Stinnett’s 90, but at the 1/8th it was anybodies game when suddenly Stinnett’s car got loose and he had to lift coasting to a 9.81 @105 which provided Long the opening he needed to advance to the next round with an 8.67 @ 164.

Tim Gehrs’ 82 Cutlass representing Lethal took on Nick Burch and his unique 2006 turbo-charged Mustang running for Speed. They left a little under 3 hundredths apart at the tree with Burch getting the leave, shortly after though, Gehrs pulled in front and was on a quick pass when his car got extremely loose forcing him to get completely out of the throttle. It also unnerved Burch who also lifted as Gehrs appeared to almost want to swap lanes. Both cars slowed dramatically with Gehrs pulling out the win with an 11.83 @ 110 over Burch’s 12.05 @ 119.

Rodney Overfelt of STL Mustangs brought his Naturally aspirated 65 Stang up to line next to face Matt Martin of SIKOTS. Martin’s car failed to be ready in time, but without an alternate available, rather than forfeit the round he elected to run his 1962 Ford F250. Neither driver was winning any awards at the tree, and between diesel smoke from the truck and tire smoke from a traction impaired Stang it was tough to see the first 60 feet, but from the haze emerged Overfelt coasting to a 10.13 @106 over Martin’s 15.21 @ 88.

Tommy Bantle driving a 92 Mustang for Lethal, a somewhat regular SCSS participant faced off against Ron Hamm for SIKOTS next. Hamm in an immaculate 69 silver and black Camaro is still getting used to the car and found himself chasing at the hit. Bantle ripped off a 9.02 @162 to take the win over Hamm’s respectable 9.59 @ 164.

Crowd favorite Orson “OJ” Johnson for STL Mustangs brought his 99 turbo’d Mustang to the line next to face Brandon Carter’s 03 Turbo-charged Cobra for Speed. Carter’s car bogged slightly at the line and was chasing from the start with no luck as OJ went wire to wire with a 9.31 @ 173 over Carter’s 10.78 @133. OJ’s 173 would also stand as fastest elimination pass of the night speedwise.

Birthday Boy Daryl Jauerning was next up running for Lethal. Dirty “D” in his familiar nitrous assisted 88 Fox body faced off against another familiar face, Lawrence Bass and his procharged 88 Mustang running for STLMustangs. Both took their time staging and at the hit it was Bass with an unlucky -.041 red light that tossed a 9.29 @ 146 run into the trash bin. Worse yet, “D” had electrical issues and only ran an 11.16 @100 to advance and add further salt in the wound of Bass’s red light.

To close out the first round Alex Richardson for SIKOTS paired up his 90 Mustang against Nick Witherell of Speed in his Modular motivated Mustang. Despite a slow start at the tree, Richardson pushed his car into the next round with a 10.18 @ 133 over Witherell’s game 11.41 @ 129.

Round 2:

Temp- 88.1 Humidity- 61.2 Track Temp- 99.9 DA 2650

For round two the first pair out found Jeffrey Long continuing his point proving campaign, this time against Eric Luig. Long chopped down the tree with an .007 light while Luig trying to do the same went red by a mere 17 thousand (-.017) to gift the win to a still quicker 8.46 @ 163 by Long over the red-lighting 9.42 @ 110 by Luig.

Next up, Time Gehrs hoping to NOT have a repeat of his first round wild ride facing off against Brandon Carter. Carter having lost in the first round, and Martin having elected to park his vehicle put Carter in the place of running a test pass for no points. Gehrs assured of a win put down a blazing and straight 8.88 @ 160 with a game attempt to get lane choice for the next round. Unfortunately, in the other lane, the ill-fated test pass by Carter turned into a 45 minute clean up as his car left fluids on the track requiring attention from the Gateway crew.

After the clean up, Dirty “D” found himself gifted with a solo pass into the next round. Richardson’s car upon start up could only muster 10 lbs of oil pressure so as he was pushed back to the pits, Jauerning ran a traction impaired 10.84 @121 that was plenty to go into the semi’s.

To round out the pairing for the semi’s, Orson Johnson faced off against Tom Bantle. Both mustangs had been in the low 9’s on previous runs with OJ setting the speed mark for the night, but both had also experienced traction issues as well. When the tree dropped, OJ cut a .038 light to take the advantage and stretched it out all the way down the track with an 8.84 @ 164 win over Bantle’s 9.12 @ 160. Despite his loss, Bantle would later come back and run in the eights on an exhibition run with an 8.94 @ 171.

Semi Finals:

Temp- 85.9 Humidity- 66 Track Temp- 92.6 DA- 2485

Jeffrey Long had been getting faster as the night wore on, but Tim Gehrs had seemingly tamed his car into straight strong passes. On paper it was anybody’s race as they pulled to the line. Long, as he did all night, left first by 2 hundredths, but both cars were on good passes. At the stripe, Gehrs came up short with an 8.77 @ 161 not enough to take out Long’s even quicker than the previous round 8.36 @ 164.

The other finalist would be decided between Jauerning and Johnson. OJ and crewchief Paul Schoelich had been getting down the track in fits and starts. An 8.17 the previous week in NMRA competition had shown their cars potential. Meanwhile, Dirty “D” had been riding his birthday luck past tire spin, electrical gremlins and a lengthy cleanup to take his place for a shot at the finals. At the hit Jauerning did his best chopping down the tree for a 2 tenths lead, unfortunately, he immediately had traction issues. He watched OJ streak by on his way to a 9.09 @ 155 for the win and a spot in the finals over Daryl’s 9.91 @ 145.

Finals:

Temp- 84 Humidity- 68 Track Temp- 92.3 DA- 2347

For the finals, it was all about the bragging rights. STL Mustangs had clinched the event title for the board. The winner and runner up would both be from STL Mustangs, but who would win it all had yet to be decided. Jeffrey Long had gotten faster all night and had pounded the tree against every opponent. His fuel pump and tire issues from the past weeks had evaporated and he seemed on a mission to prove his point. Meanwhile, Orson “OJ” Johnson fresh off an NMRA semi appearance had his car flying and dailed into the track conditions. At 2 am the cars took to the line to decide. Long left first with a slight 4 hundredths lead and began stretching it out further as OJ ran into tire spin just off the line. He began chasing and wound up the turbo for that high end charge but couldn’t catch Long who though running a slightly slower 9.03 @ 134 was through the traps for the win over Johnson’s 9.94 @ 170.

Final Stats:

Points: STLMustangs- 16 Lethal1320- 12 SIKOTS- 2 STLSpeed- 0
Single Winner: Jeffrey Long (STLMustangs)
Board Winner: STLMustangs
Best ET: Jeffrey Long (STLMustangs) 8.369

Best MPH: Orson Johnson (STLMustangs) 173.23

Cuda, Bellman, OJ, Chute Guy..............aka STL Mustangs Team

Rules and Regulations:

1. NHRA tech rules apply. The car must pass tech AT ANY TIME. If a car makes a pass and gets kicked out, it’s a disqualification for that vehicle, no points awarded for that run.

2. There will be NO cruise. ………….Did I mention there is NO cruise?

3.All teams will assemble outside the north gate along the outer road at 6:30 pm for pre-entry and set up before the main gates open. You MUST have a ticket to get in at that time.

4 Inside, ALL race participants should pit along the fence just north of the staging lanes using a second row if necessary.

5. Once you have arrived at the track, brackets will be set, tech cards handed out and and cars teched in. After that, the cars will await until 30 minutes before the first round at which time the cars will come down the road in front of the grandstands along the track single file paired up for racing round one scheduled for approximately 10 pm.

6. ALL TEAMS MUST HAVE A FINAL LIST OF PARTICIPANTS TURNED IN ON THE MONDAY BEFORE THE EVENT.

7. After each race return to the pits. All cars running in the next round must be trackside paired up and ready to run 15 minutes before the next round. There will be a minimum of 30 mintues between rounds barring weather complications.

8. Rounds will be run at approximately 10, 11, 12 with the final at 12:30.

9. NO Whining!

Racers will get free entry and tech card plus one free entry for a crew person per car. Each team captain will make arrangements to get tickets to their teams. Each team will be allotted tickets for 4 cars plus one alternate.

. Any questions or clarifications should be directed to me or through your team representative before that time. Hookandladder15@gmail.com

RACE RULES:

16 CAR Field. Random draw placing 4 teams in each quarter bracket. No teams will race each other until possibly the third round unless there are fewer than 4 teams.

2 points per round win.
1 point for top ET of event
1 point for top speed of event.

Break rule: Loser comes back for the next round if the winner cannot make the call. No point for a loss, but comeback can earn more points for their team, and place in bracket counts for team ladder position.

Tiebreakers: 1> Most team cars farthest on ladder
2> Fastest team car ET
3> Fastest team car Speed

30 minute minimum turnaround time between rounds. Time starts at the completion of last matchup of preceding round.

3 minute stage rule. You have 3 minutes to make staging or be disqualified from that round. Time starts when you are called to the line to race from the trackside staging area.

Worst or first disqualification.

500 PRO TREE – Heads UP.

Round One lane choice> First on Bracket. Later rounds to faster ET. Then speed.

Winners

Plaque or trophy to Single car elimination winner and runner up.

Plaque or trophy to team amassing the most points and runner up.