“(Hot) Street is neat!”
Turbo Hot Street was back for its second running at the 2009 Midwest Buick Challenge September 26. On Saturday, a field of eight ran for cash and prizes provided by the Chicagoland Chapter of the GSCA, Shaeffer Lubricants, Champion Racing Heads, GNSperformance, Laura Buick and the St. Louis area NAPA dealers. Adam Calcote once again provided the trophies for the winner and runner-up.
Due to some early morning inclement weather, things didn’t get started until early afternoon. Each of the heads-up Buick turbo classes still got two qualifying passes.
Russ Ciesiolka got things going in his clean 1986 GN with a 13.25. Russ ran all day long on the drag radials he drove the car to the track on! Russ has owned the car for approximately 10 years and it is stock save for the sticky tires and a chip. He did double duty at the car show with his equally impressive 1970 GS455 convertible. At the end of the day, he and his wife proudly motored both cars back to nearby South Bend.
The next spot was held by a driver who set a THS first. Timothy Kerney, kin to TSM’s Dick Kerney, came in from Tucson, Az. to shoe MWBC organizer’s Lloyd and Sherri Bonecutter’s Turbo Regal. He holds the distinction of being the class’ first “hired gun”. Lloyd and Sherri’s car is unique in that it is fueled by E85! Timothy qualified with a 12.61.
Ben Chapman came to the MWBC to do work in his 1985 GN. It had been converted to an intercooled set-up prior to his ownership. He credits Scott Klepinger with doing a lot of work on the car including ported heads, a TE62 turbo and a Full Throttle chip. He qualified with a 12.31. Ben hails from Elkhart, Indiana.
Another newcomer was Andrew Burhan. Andrew and his sharp burgundy 1987 Turbo T come from Chicago. Andrew is fairly new to the Turbo Buick community (a FoMoCo convert) and is still getting used to his new ride. He ran a best qualifying time of 12.26.
Our number four qualifier drew attention for a couple of reasons. Jamie Wolcott was the first female THS racer and she got the job done in 1985 GN “hot air” car! Jamie and her husband Carl built the car themselves with help from FinishLine Motorsports. She painted it herself (her first one) and the results are gorgeous. She turned in an 11.58 and admittedly there is more left. The craftsmanship on this car must be seen, and once all the bugs are sorted out, look out!
Mike Schwab came up from Hamilton, Ohio in his original owner, 38k mile (!), 1987 GN. Mike, also known as “1Raven6” uses Champion Heads and a TE45a turbo to get the job done. He qualified in the third spot with a 10.83.
Mentor, Ohio’s Bob Hansen battled David Day for the number one spot during qualifying throwing down a 10.44 and a 10.43. Some of you might remember Bob’s 1987 GN when it was Chris Lyon’s car. Bob has raced TSS (Turbo Street Stock) before and said he came to Osceola specifically to run Hot Street!
The pride of Bunker Hill, Illinois, David Day was the low qualifier in his one owner 1986 GN with a 10.42 ET. David also received a gift certificate from GNSperformance for holding the number one spot.
The Turbo Hot Street cars were paired up for eliminations as follows.
Andrew Burnham (5) vs. Jamie Wolcott (4).
Jamie won with an 11.93 to Andrew’s 12.68.
Russ Ciesiolka (8) vs. David Day (1).
David won; 10.83 to a 13.04
Timothy Kerney (7) vs. Bob Hansen (2).
Bob won when Tim had to let out of the throttle.
Ben Chapman (6) vs. Mike Schwab (3).
Mike goes a 10.81 to Ben’s 12.22.
The semi-final pairings looked like this:
David Day (1) vs. Jamie Wolcott (4). David wins with a 10.26 to Jamie’s 11.55 (which was, I think, a personal best for her in her new set-up). Jamie, by the way, did double duty in the Ladies’ Race, which she won.
Mike Schwab (3) vs. Bob Hansen (2). Mike won when Bob’s turbo let go shortly after he launched the car, unfortunately deciding what would have otherwise been a close(r) race.
The Final Four each received a gift certificate from GNSperformance and apparel from Shaeffer Lubricants.
So the final round shaped up to be the cagey veteran Mike Schwab and the “defending” Hot Street champion, David Day. Mike dug into his bag of tricks and gave David a surprise at the tree, leaving on him. David had to leg it out and play catch up. On the big end he prevailed with another 10.26 @ 131+ MPH to Mike’s 10.69 @ 124+ MPH, making David Day the 2009 Midwest Buick Challenge Turbo Hot Street winner!
David collected cash from the MWBC and a handsome trophy for his efforts, courtesy of the “V8 Assassin”, Adam Calcote.
Mike took home a gift certificate from Champion Racing Heads (for being Champion equipped!) in addition to his runner-up trophy and cash from the MWBC.
Special thanks to Tom Robison, Eric Jungeling, the crack staff at Excessive Acceleration (you know who you are!) and last but not least, Lloyd and Sherri Bonecutter and the Chicagoland Chapter for putting on a great event. The track personnel at Osceola Dragway were also very helpful getting things done despite the weather!
Turbo Hot Street was back for its second running at the 2009 Midwest Buick Challenge September 26. On Saturday, a field of eight ran for cash and prizes provided by the Chicagoland Chapter of the GSCA, Shaeffer Lubricants, Champion Racing Heads, GNSperformance, Laura Buick and the St. Louis area NAPA dealers. Adam Calcote once again provided the trophies for the winner and runner-up.
Due to some early morning inclement weather, things didn’t get started until early afternoon. Each of the heads-up Buick turbo classes still got two qualifying passes.
Russ Ciesiolka got things going in his clean 1986 GN with a 13.25. Russ ran all day long on the drag radials he drove the car to the track on! Russ has owned the car for approximately 10 years and it is stock save for the sticky tires and a chip. He did double duty at the car show with his equally impressive 1970 GS455 convertible. At the end of the day, he and his wife proudly motored both cars back to nearby South Bend.
The next spot was held by a driver who set a THS first. Timothy Kerney, kin to TSM’s Dick Kerney, came in from Tucson, Az. to shoe MWBC organizer’s Lloyd and Sherri Bonecutter’s Turbo Regal. He holds the distinction of being the class’ first “hired gun”. Lloyd and Sherri’s car is unique in that it is fueled by E85! Timothy qualified with a 12.61.
Ben Chapman came to the MWBC to do work in his 1985 GN. It had been converted to an intercooled set-up prior to his ownership. He credits Scott Klepinger with doing a lot of work on the car including ported heads, a TE62 turbo and a Full Throttle chip. He qualified with a 12.31. Ben hails from Elkhart, Indiana.
Another newcomer was Andrew Burhan. Andrew and his sharp burgundy 1987 Turbo T come from Chicago. Andrew is fairly new to the Turbo Buick community (a FoMoCo convert) and is still getting used to his new ride. He ran a best qualifying time of 12.26.
Our number four qualifier drew attention for a couple of reasons. Jamie Wolcott was the first female THS racer and she got the job done in 1985 GN “hot air” car! Jamie and her husband Carl built the car themselves with help from FinishLine Motorsports. She painted it herself (her first one) and the results are gorgeous. She turned in an 11.58 and admittedly there is more left. The craftsmanship on this car must be seen, and once all the bugs are sorted out, look out!
Mike Schwab came up from Hamilton, Ohio in his original owner, 38k mile (!), 1987 GN. Mike, also known as “1Raven6” uses Champion Heads and a TE45a turbo to get the job done. He qualified in the third spot with a 10.83.
Mentor, Ohio’s Bob Hansen battled David Day for the number one spot during qualifying throwing down a 10.44 and a 10.43. Some of you might remember Bob’s 1987 GN when it was Chris Lyon’s car. Bob has raced TSS (Turbo Street Stock) before and said he came to Osceola specifically to run Hot Street!
The pride of Bunker Hill, Illinois, David Day was the low qualifier in his one owner 1986 GN with a 10.42 ET. David also received a gift certificate from GNSperformance for holding the number one spot.
The Turbo Hot Street cars were paired up for eliminations as follows.
Andrew Burnham (5) vs. Jamie Wolcott (4).
Jamie won with an 11.93 to Andrew’s 12.68.
Russ Ciesiolka (8) vs. David Day (1).
David won; 10.83 to a 13.04
Timothy Kerney (7) vs. Bob Hansen (2).
Bob won when Tim had to let out of the throttle.
Ben Chapman (6) vs. Mike Schwab (3).
Mike goes a 10.81 to Ben’s 12.22.
The semi-final pairings looked like this:
David Day (1) vs. Jamie Wolcott (4). David wins with a 10.26 to Jamie’s 11.55 (which was, I think, a personal best for her in her new set-up). Jamie, by the way, did double duty in the Ladies’ Race, which she won.
Mike Schwab (3) vs. Bob Hansen (2). Mike won when Bob’s turbo let go shortly after he launched the car, unfortunately deciding what would have otherwise been a close(r) race.
The Final Four each received a gift certificate from GNSperformance and apparel from Shaeffer Lubricants.
So the final round shaped up to be the cagey veteran Mike Schwab and the “defending” Hot Street champion, David Day. Mike dug into his bag of tricks and gave David a surprise at the tree, leaving on him. David had to leg it out and play catch up. On the big end he prevailed with another 10.26 @ 131+ MPH to Mike’s 10.69 @ 124+ MPH, making David Day the 2009 Midwest Buick Challenge Turbo Hot Street winner!
David collected cash from the MWBC and a handsome trophy for his efforts, courtesy of the “V8 Assassin”, Adam Calcote.
Mike took home a gift certificate from Champion Racing Heads (for being Champion equipped!) in addition to his runner-up trophy and cash from the MWBC.
Special thanks to Tom Robison, Eric Jungeling, the crack staff at Excessive Acceleration (you know who you are!) and last but not least, Lloyd and Sherri Bonecutter and the Chicagoland Chapter for putting on a great event. The track personnel at Osceola Dragway were also very helpful getting things done despite the weather!