Bret Kepner
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2004
These results reflect the record holders, qualifiers, and final round contestants at each of the
Street Car Shootout Series events held each Tuesday at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
All vehicles compete utilizing Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) approved tires. All other modifications are permitted. Tuesday SCSS Track Records can be set during the two official qualifying or championship rounds. The first official Street Car Shootout qualifying period begins at 6:30 PM and the second official qualifying begins at approximately 8:00 PM, (barring unforeseen circumstances). At 10:00 PM, the four quickest qualifiers meet in no-handicap eliminations advancing two winners to the championship final round. Each of the Top 16 qualifiers receives a "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal. The SCSS trophies and decals are presented by Gateway Raceway.com. Additionally, the two quickest Sport Tuner drivers, (open to all passenger cars except Rear-Wheel-Drive vehicles with engines of eight cylinders or more), also meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by St. Louis Street Racers.com and the two quickest Super Truck drivers, (open to all trucks and utility vehicles), meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by Gateway Raceway.com. All finalists in all categories also receive free digital images from the event courtesy of Bret Kepner Photos.com and one free entry to a future SCSS event.
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS
2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES TRACK RECORDS
Class Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
RWD Mark Woodruff, Arnold, MO 69 Nova 706 Chevy 8.255 07/01/2008
RWD Mark Woodruff, Arnold, MO 69 Nova 706 Chevy 178.71 07/01/2008
4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 9.039 10/14/2008
4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 152.16 10/16/2007
TRK Kevin Autenrieth, Bethalto, IL 91 S-10 434 Chevy 9.065 07/01/2008
TRK Larry Richards, Hillsboro, MO 52 3100 427 Chevy 149.07 9/4/2007
6CYL Tony Shoaff, Mechanicsburg, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 9.848 10/14/2008
6CYL Tony Shoaff, Mechanicsburg, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 136.69 10/14/2008
DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 9.875 9/25/2007
DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 139.41 9/25/2007
RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 10.048 9/26/2006
RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 137.95 9/26/2006
AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 10.234 9/11/2007
AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 141.50 7/22/2008
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 10.989 05/06/2008
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 134.87 05/06/2008
MAY 12th, 2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES QUALIFIERS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
EVENT 06 05/12/2009
1 Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy 8.639 158.04
2 Raymond Arthur Edwardsville IL 67 Camaro 496 Chevy 9.342 145.59
3 Kurt Borton Creve Coeur MO 82 Fairmont 325 Ford 9.687 150.10
4 Phil McGrath St. Louis MO 85 Blazer 388 Chevy 10.006 135.55
5 Orson Johnson House Springs MO 99 Mustang 281 Ford 10.054 164.39
6 Curtis Paulfrey Brighton IL 68 Camaro 502 Chevy 10.079 135.86
7 Ryan Dunn O'Fallon MO 72 Nova 454 Chevy 10.338 133.21
8 John Brawley Granite City IL 93 S-10 355 Chevy 10.632 125.73
9 Dustin Kurz Frankford MO 93 Mustang 347 Ford 10.996 124.40
10 David Reavis Pontoon Beach IL 89 Mustang 347 Ford 11.469 121.56
11 Steve Hetzler St. Charles MO 95 Camaro 350 Chevy 11.523 121.26
12 Obed Khan Manchester MO 65 GTO 455 Pont 11.743 117.79
13 Denny Christman Arnold MO 91 Talon 122 Eagle 11.808 115.20
14 Jerry Boschert St. Louis MO 69 Valiant 440 Plym 11.898 118.44
15 Brian Orsborn Granite City IL 04 Neon 146 Dodge 12.092 123.19
16 Dan Harris St. Louis MO 04 Mustang 232 Ford 12.262 108.02
MAY 12th, 2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Tim Mallicoat Collinsville, IL 68 565 Camaro 0.468 8.647 156.68
RU Orson Johnson House Springs, MO 99 281 Mustang (foul) Timed Out
As rain fell everywhere in the area but the racetrack, Tim “Moose” Mallicoat began to show signs of returning to the form of his historic 2007 season by securing his fourth win in the season’s five completed events during the Street Car Shootout Series at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Mallicoat’s naturally-aspirated 565-cubic inch “Hellraiser” 1968 Camaro has now appeared in every SCSS final round this year as he earned his twenty-ninth career event title in an anticlimactic rematch of the May 5th championship bout with Orson Johnson’s turbocharged ‘99 Mustang convertible.
In a fairly strange event, an encroaching storm front had most drivers and fans believing the event would be rained out within an hour of the opening of the gates. However, despite a few brief sprinkles and constant lightning in nearly every direction on the horizon, the program continued to its conclusion with a large number of career-best performances and at least one new World Record. Mark Micke, the current World Champion in the National Muscle Car Association’s Pro Street Eliminator, clocked the quickest eighth-mile elapsed time ever recorded for a vehicle utilizing a ProCharger centrifugal supercharger and, unofficially, the quickest eighth-mile ET ever for an NMCA Pro Street machine. The Jefferson City, Missouri, campaigner made several runs during the SCSS event with a new 521-inch Chrysler Hemi powerplant and eventually produced a blazing 4.07 seconds at 179.49 miles per hour almost one year to the day after Micke and partner Jeff Dickey earned a record $35,000 for winning the 2008 World Street Challenge at GIR with their 2800-pound Chevrolet.
Ironically, the three SCSS division showdowns included five of the six finalists from the May 5th event. Muggy conditions kept the corrected elevation between 1212 and 991 feet above sea level but the racing surface was sufficient to carry Mallicoat to one of his quickest runs ever, an 8.59 at 158.61 mph, during early timed trials. Young Curtis Paulfrey, celebrating his final days as a free man before his wedding this weekend, quickly jumped to the top of the Super Sixteen field with his yellow Winner’s Circle Tire & Auto 502-inch ‘68 Camaro with a 10.10/135.86 when the first official qualifying period began. The Chevy was quickly dropped to second when Johnson‘s Lo Pro Race Cars Cobra suffered almost instantaneous traction loss off the starting line but the High Ridge, Missouri, racer recovered quickly enough to post a 10.05 at a booming 164.39 mph.
Minutes later, SCSS regular Ray Arthur launched into a towering wheel stand in his red “Suspicion” ‘67 Camaro but the driver of the Ray’s Towing Chevy deftly feathered the throttle of the 496-inch nitrous oxide-aided rig as it danced near the centerline to record a 9.34/145.29. A second Ford entry drew plenty of response from the grandstands, however, as Kurt Borton’s radical Procharger-equipped 325-inch ‘82 Ford Fairmont eased through a 1.71-second sixty-feet elapsed time to a best-ever 9.68 at a tremendous 150.10 mph to qualify second! Paulfrey was knocked from the top four spots when longtime GIR competitor Phil McGrath stunned the crowd at the end of the session with a 10.00/135.55 from his unassuming 388-inch ‘85 Chevy Blazer.
Mallicoat, who notoriously makes a qualifying attempt in the first available session, never showed during the period and the skies were quickly growing darker with heavy rain clouds. Under GIR policy, if a rainout occurs before the first two hours of qualifying, rain checks are issued and no points are awarded. However, when the second qualifying period approached, both the time deadline to make the event official and the stormfront were only minutes away. In fact, Mallicoat elected to pass on the first qualifier to watch his son, Tim, Jr., make his NHRA licensing runs in the blue ‘68 Camaro once campaigned by the “Moose”. He immediately returned to jump into the cockpit of his black Camaro and await the start of the second session, sweating out the approaching rain. The precipitation skirted the property, however, and Mallicoat opened the second session with a thundering 8.63/158.04 which included a sixty-feet ET three hundredths of a second slower than his 1.26-second launch during timed trials.
Although Mallicoat was on the pole, Johnson still had another qualifying shot remaining. Having clocked the second-quickest and fastest run in SCSS history only the week before at 8.26/172.39, the fans knew the 281-inch modular-motored Ford was more than capable of stealing back the qualifying lead from the Chevy. However, “O.J.” suffered tire spin for the second straight run and failed to improve during the period. In fact, of the six top qualifiers, only Paulfrey ran quicker with a 10.07/135.77 effort. When qualifying concluded, Johnson was actually out of the top four slots. However, McGrath elected to run his Blazer only in the Super Truck Showdown and, miraculously, “O.J.” found himself in the program as first alternate.
When the semi-finals of eliminations began, the weather was still threatening to end the event early. Mallicoat was ready to run but patiently waited on opponent Kurt Borton, whose Mid Coast Performance NMRA True Street-legal Fairmont required slightly more time to prepare after the Ford stumbled drastically in the second qualifying session. The “Hellraiser” gained a quarter-second holeshot and Borton‘s Ford was still unresponsive, running a 10.46/135.62 against the Camaro’s always-consistent 8.61/157.48. A wild battle took place to determine the other finalist position, however. Johnson’s crew chief, Paul Schoelich, was busy trying to get the Ford to hook when the team lined up against Arthur’s Camaro which was running substantially quicker than the Mustang convertible. Arthur grabbed a slight six-hundredths advantage off the line and rode out the highest wheelstand ever for the “Suspicion” Camaro as Johnson again spun furiously off the starting line. When the Chevy landed from the sky-high launch, it returned to earth with enough force to knock the coil wire off and permanently silence the 496-inch Rat motor. Johnson cruised to an upset 9.52/136.55 win!
Prior to the championship dash, Schoelich was stymied by the team’s inability to find traction. “It’s not the track”, said the owner of Lo Pro Race Cars, “it’s us. We’re trying to get the car sorted out for the NMRA (National Mustang Racers Association) race in Atco, New Jersey, this weekend, but we’d like to beat Moose again, too. We got a slightly better eighth-mile out of it on the last pass, (6.34/131.20), but it’s still far from right and I’m not sure what we can do about it”. When the two fired up, Mallicoat continued his tradition of performing his burnout and fully staging to allow Johnson the courtesy of building boost on the turbocharged Ford at his leisure. Unfortunately, just as Johnson inched toward the staging beam, the AutoStart function on GIR’s CompULink timing computer reached its count of ten seconds and disqualified the Ford before the race ever began. “O.J.” had been “timed out” and Mallicoat cruised to an uncontested 8.64/156.68.
“I heard him over there spoolin’ it up”, said Mallicoat during winner’s circle ceremonies in front of the main grandstands, “but then I saw his red light come on and I really didn’t know what happened. I forgot all about the ten-second count and I looked over at him and then looked back at the ’Tree and my light was green…so I went. That’s a tough way to go out for those guys. Everybody knows how strong they are especially after they dealt me my only loss this year. My sixty-feet times were off a bit after than 8.59 run but I think it was just the humidity with these storms all around us. It was a fairly tough track to figure out. Actually, it was a pretty cool night since we won and my kid got his NHRA license. He ran 9.49 and he’s getting closer to racing in the Shootout Series now!”.
Meanwhile, Schoelich just shrugged and said, “These things happen!”. Johnson, however, was quick to mention the many folks who have helped make his Mustang one of the nation’s quickest modular-motored Fords on D.O.T. tires. “Paul and I really do work well together; he’s done a tremendous amount for this project and his chassis knowledge and help is absolutely invaluable”, said “O.J.“, “ but I also have to thank
Andy McCoy Race Cars who installed the roll cage and did all the interior tin, Dan “Wheelie” Saitz at Hyperformance Motorsports for a ton of help, Todd and Mike at Phase II for putting together one of the most awesome mod motors anywhere and Tim at HP Powdercoatings for all he’s done. Without all those guys, we wouldn’t even be racing locally…let alone nationally!”.
NOTES FROM THE SCSS: The May 12th SCSS race was the first time the semi-finals included two Ford-versus-Chevy races since September 23rd, 2008, and featured the second Ford-versus-Chevy final round of the year…Kurt Borton’s wild 9.68/150.10 qualifying blast made the Creve Coeur, Missouri, Ford pilot the forty-seven member of the SCSS 9-Second Club but only the sixteenth member of the 150 MPH Club….Phil McGrath’s magnificent Chevy Blazer became the 120th member of the 10-Second Club and the seventy-first in the 130 MPH Club…The Bill Silva-prepared “Silva Bullet” ‘72 454 Nova of Ryan Dunn clocked its best run yet, a 10.33/133.21, to qualify in the top half of the field…After two of his customers already qualified for SCSS events in 2009, Dustin Kurz of MD Performance in Frankford, Missouri, put himself in the Super Sixteen, (not to mention the 10-Seocnd and 120 MPH Clubs), with a 10.99/124.40 from his 347-inch ‘93 Mustang coupe. In late timed trials, however, Kurz hit a great 10.45/131.32...David Reavis put down an 11.78/117.58 in his ‘89 347 Mustang during early timed trials and then ran 11.46 at only 99.16 mph to qualify in the tenth spot. The Pontoon Beach, Illinois, racer then removed the front fascia from his red coupe and clocked a troubled 12.52 but at 121.55 mph!…Steve Hetzler’s ‘95 Z28 has competed in the SCSS for no less than five seasons but managed to squeeze out an 11.52 qualifier with a career-best 121.26 mph speed. In late timed trials, the Camaro missed its best ET by only two hundredths of a second with an 11.44 at 121.50!…Oben Khan earned his first “Fastest Street Car Qualifier” decal by putting his clean 455 Ponco-powered ‘65 GTO into the field with an 11.74/117.79...Khan’s traveling buddy, Jerry Boschert, managed to hit all the gears in his four-speed-equipped ‘67 440 Valiant and also made the field at 11.89 at a best-ever 118.44 mph clip…Michael Richter’s ‘08 Mustang just missed making the Super Sixteen field with a best of 12.28/112.80 during the official qualifying periods but returned in late timed trials to post a 12.09/115.64!…Derek Allen of Waterloo (IL) High School took his twelve-second “Gator Gumbo” ‘84 305 Cutlass to a third 2009 victory in High School Eliminator by defeating last week’s champ, Tommy Duelker of Ballwin, Missouri, in his ‘98 Camaro.
SPECIAL NOTE: To alleviate congestion and confusion in the staging lanes, early timed trials, (previously scheduled from 6:00 PM until 6:30 PM), will be dropped beginning on May 17th. Racing will still begin at 6:00 PM but the first runs of the event will now count as an extra qualifying session. This change will not affect the number of runs available and will end the need for “run cards”. Late timed trials, which begin at the conclusion of the official qualifying sessions, will still continue.
2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (Top 10 of 57 as of MAY 13th, 2009)
Pos Points Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine
1 (39) Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy
2 (32) Raymond Arthur Edwardsville IL 67 Camaro 496 Chevy
3 (29) Curtis Paulfrey Brighton IL 68 Camaro 502 Chevy
4 (26) Orson Johnson House Springs MO 99 Mustang 281 Ford
5 (17) Kurt Borton Creve Coeur MO 82 Fairmont 325 Ford
6 (10) Gary Tadlock Granite City IL 03 Corvette 346 Chevy
7 (10) Matt Mingus Florissant MO 62 Nova 355 Chevy
8 (10) Ryan Dunn O'Fallon MO 72 Nova 454 Chevy
9 (10) John Brawley Granite City IL 93 S-10 355 Chevy
10 (10) Denny Christman Arnold MO 91 Talon 122 Eagle
NOTE: Points toward the 2009 Street Car Shootout Series Season Championship are awarded on the basis of five (5) points for qualifying in the Super Sixteen field with one (1) bonus point awarded for qualifying in the top four positions. One (1) additional point is earned for each round win during eliminations. Ties are broken by (1) the earliest date upon which the final point total is earned, (2) quickest elapsed time recorded during the current SCSS season and (3) fastest speed recorded during the current SCSS season.
MAY 12th, 2009 STLSR.COM SPORT TUNER SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Brian Orsborn Granite City IL 04 122 Neon 0.081 11.960 124.20
RU Dan Harris St. Louis MO 04 232 Mustang 0.120 12.213 108.06
With a third victory in five completed events, Brian Orsborn’s win streak in the St. Louis Street Racing.com Sport Tuner Showdown can now be considered a reign of terror. For the second week in a row, the pilot of the JMB Performance turbocharged 2004 Dodge Neon SRT-4 topped the year‘s only other Sport Tuner winner, past Gateway International Raceway High School Eliminator season champion Dan “Iceman” Harris, in the final round.
Driving the same red four-cylinder Dodge, Orsborn earned his first Sport Tuner Showdown Series trophy on July 19th, 2005, and scored three event titles in five final round appearances that season.
After a three-year respite from racing, the local Granite City, Illinois, resident is now at six victories and three runners-up, placing him fifth on the STSS All-Time Winners List.
It was three-time winner Denny Christman who actually led qualifying with his HillCo Axles-sponsored ‘91 Eagle Talon. Opening with an off-pace 11.95/113.67 during early timed trials, Christman briefly improved during the first qualifying session with an 11.80/115.20 but, for a machine which clocked 10.61/135.62 during the first event of 2009, a third pass of 12.08/108.48 proved something was drastically amiss and, for the second time this season, Christman withdrew from eliminations.
Meanwhile, Orsborn had posted a best of 12.09/123.19 during qualifying while Harris’ wild 232-cubic inch “SixBangStang”, (which had been yanking the left front wheel off the ground on every launch!), fell second with a 12.26/109.02 which actually made the bump spot of the Super Sixteen program, as well. The rest of the top five qualifiers included Edin Rakovic’s red ‘97 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, (13.16/105.61), and Kurt Liepmann’s 2007 Audi RS4 (14.13/98.67). Brian Hacker’s black ‘97 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP suffered horrible tirespin during qualifying but recorded a 13.31/104.78 during late timed trials.
In the event’s second rematch of a May 5th championship dash, Orsborn and Harris staged up with the memory of Harris’ holeshot and near-win still fresh. This time, however, it was Orsborn who gained a starting line advantage and, as opposed to his full-track come-from-behind effort of a week prior, held the lead all the way for an 11.96 at a booming 124.20 mph missing a career-best speed by only a third of a mile-per-hour. In pursuit, Harris clocked the best run ever for his wheelstanding Rear-Wheel-Drive six-cylinder Mustang at 12.21/108.06.
“Well, at least I left first this time”, said Orsborn during trophy presentations in front of the main grandstands. “After what I went through a week ago, I knew I had to get him off the line. No way did I want to have to chase him all the way to the stripe like I did last week!”. For Harris, his third final round of the season included a surprise. “I felt it spin just a bit off the line in the final round and I thought that was going to do me in. I got the timeslip and saw the 12.21. Heck, that’s the quickest it has ever gone! Not bad for a bone-stock junkyard 232 V6 and a little nitrous oxide, huh?”.
MAY 12th, 2009 GATEWAYRACEWAY.COM SUPER TRUCK SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Phil McGrath St. Louis MO 85 388 Blazer 0.073 10.293 123.53
RU John Brawley Granite City IL 93 355 S-10 0.194 10.597 125.97
Although he’s been an infrequent competitor at Gateway International Raceway for years, Phil McGrath gained dozens of new fans en route to his first victory in the GatewayRaceway.com Super Truck Showdown at the wheel of arguably the most popular vehicle of the event, his immaculate 1985 Chevy Blazer. Sporting perfect blue paint and a full interior complete with back seat and bed carpeting, only a roll cage perfectly molded into the dashboard gives a hint of the truck’s capabilities.
McGrath’s M&S Hot Rods-sponsored truck pulled to the starting line during early timed trials and the sedate-appearing Chevy exploded off the starting line to a 10.000 at 137.19 mph. The fans went nuts and, on his next run, they loudly cheered when he staged up. An official qualifying run of 10.006 at 135.55 proved not only the Blazer’s amazing consistency but its brute power by qualifying in the top four of the Street Car Shootout while also leading the Super Truck field.
For the second week, sophomore racer John Brawley took Ray Arthur’s “S-10 Revenge” pickup to the second spot at 10.63/125.73 followed by the black 2000 Ford Lightning of Matthew Cruise, (13.56/103.02), the 2006 Chevy Trailblazer of Jim Chiarodo, (13.90/99.91), and the similar Trailblazer of Eric St. John, (13.95/99.60). Brawley, while enjoying the newfound power of the fresh 355 smallblock in Arthur’s S-10, knew it would take God’s own holeshot to get around McGrath in the final round.
It was McGrath, however, who left first by more than a tenth of a second and streaked to a slowing 10.29/123.53 to outrun the yellow S-10’s best-ever 10.59/125.97 in Brawley‘s second straight runner-up of the year. While enjoying the winner’s circle festivities with his family in attendance, McGrath chuckled as fans constantly asked about the blue Blazer’s most noticeable trait…the propensity of the truck’s rear window to fly open, (and stay open), for the length of the quarter-mile. “That’s my speed indicator!”, laughed McGrath. “When I launch, I look in the mirror and, if the hatch is flappin’ back there, I know it’s on a good one! I really do drive this truck everywhere. That’s why it still has the full interior. I gotta have some place to put the kids, ya know?”.
Photos of the May 12th Street Car Shootout Series event are now available for viewing at Bret Kepner Photos.com.
Tim “Moose” Mallicoat, Collinsville, IL 1968 565 Camaro
Orson “O.J.“ Johnson, House Springs, MO 1999 281 Mustang
Brian Orsborn, Granite City, IL 2004 122 Neon SRT-4
Dan Harris, St. Louis, MO 2004 232 Mustang
Phil McGrath, St. Louis, MO 1985 388 Blazer
John Brawley, Granite City, IL 1993 355 S-10
Mark Micke, Jefferson City, MO 1968 526 Camaro
New ProCharger and Pro Street Eliminator World Record Elapsed Time (eighth-mile) at 4.07 seconds, 179.49 miles per hour!
Street Car Shootout Series events held each Tuesday at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
All vehicles compete utilizing Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) approved tires. All other modifications are permitted. Tuesday SCSS Track Records can be set during the two official qualifying or championship rounds. The first official Street Car Shootout qualifying period begins at 6:30 PM and the second official qualifying begins at approximately 8:00 PM, (barring unforeseen circumstances). At 10:00 PM, the four quickest qualifiers meet in no-handicap eliminations advancing two winners to the championship final round. Each of the Top 16 qualifiers receives a "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal. The SCSS trophies and decals are presented by Gateway Raceway.com. Additionally, the two quickest Sport Tuner drivers, (open to all passenger cars except Rear-Wheel-Drive vehicles with engines of eight cylinders or more), also meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by St. Louis Street Racers.com and the two quickest Super Truck drivers, (open to all trucks and utility vehicles), meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by Gateway Raceway.com. All finalists in all categories also receive free digital images from the event courtesy of Bret Kepner Photos.com and one free entry to a future SCSS event.
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS
2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES TRACK RECORDS
Class Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
RWD Mark Woodruff, Arnold, MO 69 Nova 706 Chevy 8.255 07/01/2008
RWD Mark Woodruff, Arnold, MO 69 Nova 706 Chevy 178.71 07/01/2008
4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 9.039 10/14/2008
4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 152.16 10/16/2007
TRK Kevin Autenrieth, Bethalto, IL 91 S-10 434 Chevy 9.065 07/01/2008
TRK Larry Richards, Hillsboro, MO 52 3100 427 Chevy 149.07 9/4/2007
6CYL Tony Shoaff, Mechanicsburg, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 9.848 10/14/2008
6CYL Tony Shoaff, Mechanicsburg, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 136.69 10/14/2008
DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 9.875 9/25/2007
DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 139.41 9/25/2007
RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 10.048 9/26/2006
RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 137.95 9/26/2006
AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 10.234 9/11/2007
AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 141.50 7/22/2008
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 10.989 05/06/2008
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 134.87 05/06/2008
MAY 12th, 2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES QUALIFIERS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
EVENT 06 05/12/2009
1 Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy 8.639 158.04
2 Raymond Arthur Edwardsville IL 67 Camaro 496 Chevy 9.342 145.59
3 Kurt Borton Creve Coeur MO 82 Fairmont 325 Ford 9.687 150.10
4 Phil McGrath St. Louis MO 85 Blazer 388 Chevy 10.006 135.55
5 Orson Johnson House Springs MO 99 Mustang 281 Ford 10.054 164.39
6 Curtis Paulfrey Brighton IL 68 Camaro 502 Chevy 10.079 135.86
7 Ryan Dunn O'Fallon MO 72 Nova 454 Chevy 10.338 133.21
8 John Brawley Granite City IL 93 S-10 355 Chevy 10.632 125.73
9 Dustin Kurz Frankford MO 93 Mustang 347 Ford 10.996 124.40
10 David Reavis Pontoon Beach IL 89 Mustang 347 Ford 11.469 121.56
11 Steve Hetzler St. Charles MO 95 Camaro 350 Chevy 11.523 121.26
12 Obed Khan Manchester MO 65 GTO 455 Pont 11.743 117.79
13 Denny Christman Arnold MO 91 Talon 122 Eagle 11.808 115.20
14 Jerry Boschert St. Louis MO 69 Valiant 440 Plym 11.898 118.44
15 Brian Orsborn Granite City IL 04 Neon 146 Dodge 12.092 123.19
16 Dan Harris St. Louis MO 04 Mustang 232 Ford 12.262 108.02
MAY 12th, 2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Tim Mallicoat Collinsville, IL 68 565 Camaro 0.468 8.647 156.68
RU Orson Johnson House Springs, MO 99 281 Mustang (foul) Timed Out
As rain fell everywhere in the area but the racetrack, Tim “Moose” Mallicoat began to show signs of returning to the form of his historic 2007 season by securing his fourth win in the season’s five completed events during the Street Car Shootout Series at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Mallicoat’s naturally-aspirated 565-cubic inch “Hellraiser” 1968 Camaro has now appeared in every SCSS final round this year as he earned his twenty-ninth career event title in an anticlimactic rematch of the May 5th championship bout with Orson Johnson’s turbocharged ‘99 Mustang convertible.
In a fairly strange event, an encroaching storm front had most drivers and fans believing the event would be rained out within an hour of the opening of the gates. However, despite a few brief sprinkles and constant lightning in nearly every direction on the horizon, the program continued to its conclusion with a large number of career-best performances and at least one new World Record. Mark Micke, the current World Champion in the National Muscle Car Association’s Pro Street Eliminator, clocked the quickest eighth-mile elapsed time ever recorded for a vehicle utilizing a ProCharger centrifugal supercharger and, unofficially, the quickest eighth-mile ET ever for an NMCA Pro Street machine. The Jefferson City, Missouri, campaigner made several runs during the SCSS event with a new 521-inch Chrysler Hemi powerplant and eventually produced a blazing 4.07 seconds at 179.49 miles per hour almost one year to the day after Micke and partner Jeff Dickey earned a record $35,000 for winning the 2008 World Street Challenge at GIR with their 2800-pound Chevrolet.
Ironically, the three SCSS division showdowns included five of the six finalists from the May 5th event. Muggy conditions kept the corrected elevation between 1212 and 991 feet above sea level but the racing surface was sufficient to carry Mallicoat to one of his quickest runs ever, an 8.59 at 158.61 mph, during early timed trials. Young Curtis Paulfrey, celebrating his final days as a free man before his wedding this weekend, quickly jumped to the top of the Super Sixteen field with his yellow Winner’s Circle Tire & Auto 502-inch ‘68 Camaro with a 10.10/135.86 when the first official qualifying period began. The Chevy was quickly dropped to second when Johnson‘s Lo Pro Race Cars Cobra suffered almost instantaneous traction loss off the starting line but the High Ridge, Missouri, racer recovered quickly enough to post a 10.05 at a booming 164.39 mph.
Minutes later, SCSS regular Ray Arthur launched into a towering wheel stand in his red “Suspicion” ‘67 Camaro but the driver of the Ray’s Towing Chevy deftly feathered the throttle of the 496-inch nitrous oxide-aided rig as it danced near the centerline to record a 9.34/145.29. A second Ford entry drew plenty of response from the grandstands, however, as Kurt Borton’s radical Procharger-equipped 325-inch ‘82 Ford Fairmont eased through a 1.71-second sixty-feet elapsed time to a best-ever 9.68 at a tremendous 150.10 mph to qualify second! Paulfrey was knocked from the top four spots when longtime GIR competitor Phil McGrath stunned the crowd at the end of the session with a 10.00/135.55 from his unassuming 388-inch ‘85 Chevy Blazer.
Mallicoat, who notoriously makes a qualifying attempt in the first available session, never showed during the period and the skies were quickly growing darker with heavy rain clouds. Under GIR policy, if a rainout occurs before the first two hours of qualifying, rain checks are issued and no points are awarded. However, when the second qualifying period approached, both the time deadline to make the event official and the stormfront were only minutes away. In fact, Mallicoat elected to pass on the first qualifier to watch his son, Tim, Jr., make his NHRA licensing runs in the blue ‘68 Camaro once campaigned by the “Moose”. He immediately returned to jump into the cockpit of his black Camaro and await the start of the second session, sweating out the approaching rain. The precipitation skirted the property, however, and Mallicoat opened the second session with a thundering 8.63/158.04 which included a sixty-feet ET three hundredths of a second slower than his 1.26-second launch during timed trials.
Although Mallicoat was on the pole, Johnson still had another qualifying shot remaining. Having clocked the second-quickest and fastest run in SCSS history only the week before at 8.26/172.39, the fans knew the 281-inch modular-motored Ford was more than capable of stealing back the qualifying lead from the Chevy. However, “O.J.” suffered tire spin for the second straight run and failed to improve during the period. In fact, of the six top qualifiers, only Paulfrey ran quicker with a 10.07/135.77 effort. When qualifying concluded, Johnson was actually out of the top four slots. However, McGrath elected to run his Blazer only in the Super Truck Showdown and, miraculously, “O.J.” found himself in the program as first alternate.
When the semi-finals of eliminations began, the weather was still threatening to end the event early. Mallicoat was ready to run but patiently waited on opponent Kurt Borton, whose Mid Coast Performance NMRA True Street-legal Fairmont required slightly more time to prepare after the Ford stumbled drastically in the second qualifying session. The “Hellraiser” gained a quarter-second holeshot and Borton‘s Ford was still unresponsive, running a 10.46/135.62 against the Camaro’s always-consistent 8.61/157.48. A wild battle took place to determine the other finalist position, however. Johnson’s crew chief, Paul Schoelich, was busy trying to get the Ford to hook when the team lined up against Arthur’s Camaro which was running substantially quicker than the Mustang convertible. Arthur grabbed a slight six-hundredths advantage off the line and rode out the highest wheelstand ever for the “Suspicion” Camaro as Johnson again spun furiously off the starting line. When the Chevy landed from the sky-high launch, it returned to earth with enough force to knock the coil wire off and permanently silence the 496-inch Rat motor. Johnson cruised to an upset 9.52/136.55 win!
Prior to the championship dash, Schoelich was stymied by the team’s inability to find traction. “It’s not the track”, said the owner of Lo Pro Race Cars, “it’s us. We’re trying to get the car sorted out for the NMRA (National Mustang Racers Association) race in Atco, New Jersey, this weekend, but we’d like to beat Moose again, too. We got a slightly better eighth-mile out of it on the last pass, (6.34/131.20), but it’s still far from right and I’m not sure what we can do about it”. When the two fired up, Mallicoat continued his tradition of performing his burnout and fully staging to allow Johnson the courtesy of building boost on the turbocharged Ford at his leisure. Unfortunately, just as Johnson inched toward the staging beam, the AutoStart function on GIR’s CompULink timing computer reached its count of ten seconds and disqualified the Ford before the race ever began. “O.J.” had been “timed out” and Mallicoat cruised to an uncontested 8.64/156.68.
“I heard him over there spoolin’ it up”, said Mallicoat during winner’s circle ceremonies in front of the main grandstands, “but then I saw his red light come on and I really didn’t know what happened. I forgot all about the ten-second count and I looked over at him and then looked back at the ’Tree and my light was green…so I went. That’s a tough way to go out for those guys. Everybody knows how strong they are especially after they dealt me my only loss this year. My sixty-feet times were off a bit after than 8.59 run but I think it was just the humidity with these storms all around us. It was a fairly tough track to figure out. Actually, it was a pretty cool night since we won and my kid got his NHRA license. He ran 9.49 and he’s getting closer to racing in the Shootout Series now!”.
Meanwhile, Schoelich just shrugged and said, “These things happen!”. Johnson, however, was quick to mention the many folks who have helped make his Mustang one of the nation’s quickest modular-motored Fords on D.O.T. tires. “Paul and I really do work well together; he’s done a tremendous amount for this project and his chassis knowledge and help is absolutely invaluable”, said “O.J.“, “ but I also have to thank
Andy McCoy Race Cars who installed the roll cage and did all the interior tin, Dan “Wheelie” Saitz at Hyperformance Motorsports for a ton of help, Todd and Mike at Phase II for putting together one of the most awesome mod motors anywhere and Tim at HP Powdercoatings for all he’s done. Without all those guys, we wouldn’t even be racing locally…let alone nationally!”.
NOTES FROM THE SCSS: The May 12th SCSS race was the first time the semi-finals included two Ford-versus-Chevy races since September 23rd, 2008, and featured the second Ford-versus-Chevy final round of the year…Kurt Borton’s wild 9.68/150.10 qualifying blast made the Creve Coeur, Missouri, Ford pilot the forty-seven member of the SCSS 9-Second Club but only the sixteenth member of the 150 MPH Club….Phil McGrath’s magnificent Chevy Blazer became the 120th member of the 10-Second Club and the seventy-first in the 130 MPH Club…The Bill Silva-prepared “Silva Bullet” ‘72 454 Nova of Ryan Dunn clocked its best run yet, a 10.33/133.21, to qualify in the top half of the field…After two of his customers already qualified for SCSS events in 2009, Dustin Kurz of MD Performance in Frankford, Missouri, put himself in the Super Sixteen, (not to mention the 10-Seocnd and 120 MPH Clubs), with a 10.99/124.40 from his 347-inch ‘93 Mustang coupe. In late timed trials, however, Kurz hit a great 10.45/131.32...David Reavis put down an 11.78/117.58 in his ‘89 347 Mustang during early timed trials and then ran 11.46 at only 99.16 mph to qualify in the tenth spot. The Pontoon Beach, Illinois, racer then removed the front fascia from his red coupe and clocked a troubled 12.52 but at 121.55 mph!…Steve Hetzler’s ‘95 Z28 has competed in the SCSS for no less than five seasons but managed to squeeze out an 11.52 qualifier with a career-best 121.26 mph speed. In late timed trials, the Camaro missed its best ET by only two hundredths of a second with an 11.44 at 121.50!…Oben Khan earned his first “Fastest Street Car Qualifier” decal by putting his clean 455 Ponco-powered ‘65 GTO into the field with an 11.74/117.79...Khan’s traveling buddy, Jerry Boschert, managed to hit all the gears in his four-speed-equipped ‘67 440 Valiant and also made the field at 11.89 at a best-ever 118.44 mph clip…Michael Richter’s ‘08 Mustang just missed making the Super Sixteen field with a best of 12.28/112.80 during the official qualifying periods but returned in late timed trials to post a 12.09/115.64!…Derek Allen of Waterloo (IL) High School took his twelve-second “Gator Gumbo” ‘84 305 Cutlass to a third 2009 victory in High School Eliminator by defeating last week’s champ, Tommy Duelker of Ballwin, Missouri, in his ‘98 Camaro.
SPECIAL NOTE: To alleviate congestion and confusion in the staging lanes, early timed trials, (previously scheduled from 6:00 PM until 6:30 PM), will be dropped beginning on May 17th. Racing will still begin at 6:00 PM but the first runs of the event will now count as an extra qualifying session. This change will not affect the number of runs available and will end the need for “run cards”. Late timed trials, which begin at the conclusion of the official qualifying sessions, will still continue.
2009 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (Top 10 of 57 as of MAY 13th, 2009)
Pos Points Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine
1 (39) Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy
2 (32) Raymond Arthur Edwardsville IL 67 Camaro 496 Chevy
3 (29) Curtis Paulfrey Brighton IL 68 Camaro 502 Chevy
4 (26) Orson Johnson House Springs MO 99 Mustang 281 Ford
5 (17) Kurt Borton Creve Coeur MO 82 Fairmont 325 Ford
6 (10) Gary Tadlock Granite City IL 03 Corvette 346 Chevy
7 (10) Matt Mingus Florissant MO 62 Nova 355 Chevy
8 (10) Ryan Dunn O'Fallon MO 72 Nova 454 Chevy
9 (10) John Brawley Granite City IL 93 S-10 355 Chevy
10 (10) Denny Christman Arnold MO 91 Talon 122 Eagle
NOTE: Points toward the 2009 Street Car Shootout Series Season Championship are awarded on the basis of five (5) points for qualifying in the Super Sixteen field with one (1) bonus point awarded for qualifying in the top four positions. One (1) additional point is earned for each round win during eliminations. Ties are broken by (1) the earliest date upon which the final point total is earned, (2) quickest elapsed time recorded during the current SCSS season and (3) fastest speed recorded during the current SCSS season.
MAY 12th, 2009 STLSR.COM SPORT TUNER SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Brian Orsborn Granite City IL 04 122 Neon 0.081 11.960 124.20
RU Dan Harris St. Louis MO 04 232 Mustang 0.120 12.213 108.06
With a third victory in five completed events, Brian Orsborn’s win streak in the St. Louis Street Racing.com Sport Tuner Showdown can now be considered a reign of terror. For the second week in a row, the pilot of the JMB Performance turbocharged 2004 Dodge Neon SRT-4 topped the year‘s only other Sport Tuner winner, past Gateway International Raceway High School Eliminator season champion Dan “Iceman” Harris, in the final round.
Driving the same red four-cylinder Dodge, Orsborn earned his first Sport Tuner Showdown Series trophy on July 19th, 2005, and scored three event titles in five final round appearances that season.
After a three-year respite from racing, the local Granite City, Illinois, resident is now at six victories and three runners-up, placing him fifth on the STSS All-Time Winners List.
It was three-time winner Denny Christman who actually led qualifying with his HillCo Axles-sponsored ‘91 Eagle Talon. Opening with an off-pace 11.95/113.67 during early timed trials, Christman briefly improved during the first qualifying session with an 11.80/115.20 but, for a machine which clocked 10.61/135.62 during the first event of 2009, a third pass of 12.08/108.48 proved something was drastically amiss and, for the second time this season, Christman withdrew from eliminations.
Meanwhile, Orsborn had posted a best of 12.09/123.19 during qualifying while Harris’ wild 232-cubic inch “SixBangStang”, (which had been yanking the left front wheel off the ground on every launch!), fell second with a 12.26/109.02 which actually made the bump spot of the Super Sixteen program, as well. The rest of the top five qualifiers included Edin Rakovic’s red ‘97 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, (13.16/105.61), and Kurt Liepmann’s 2007 Audi RS4 (14.13/98.67). Brian Hacker’s black ‘97 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP suffered horrible tirespin during qualifying but recorded a 13.31/104.78 during late timed trials.
In the event’s second rematch of a May 5th championship dash, Orsborn and Harris staged up with the memory of Harris’ holeshot and near-win still fresh. This time, however, it was Orsborn who gained a starting line advantage and, as opposed to his full-track come-from-behind effort of a week prior, held the lead all the way for an 11.96 at a booming 124.20 mph missing a career-best speed by only a third of a mile-per-hour. In pursuit, Harris clocked the best run ever for his wheelstanding Rear-Wheel-Drive six-cylinder Mustang at 12.21/108.06.
“Well, at least I left first this time”, said Orsborn during trophy presentations in front of the main grandstands. “After what I went through a week ago, I knew I had to get him off the line. No way did I want to have to chase him all the way to the stripe like I did last week!”. For Harris, his third final round of the season included a surprise. “I felt it spin just a bit off the line in the final round and I thought that was going to do me in. I got the timeslip and saw the 12.21. Heck, that’s the quickest it has ever gone! Not bad for a bone-stock junkyard 232 V6 and a little nitrous oxide, huh?”.
MAY 12th, 2009 GATEWAYRACEWAY.COM SUPER TRUCK SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Phil McGrath St. Louis MO 85 388 Blazer 0.073 10.293 123.53
RU John Brawley Granite City IL 93 355 S-10 0.194 10.597 125.97
Although he’s been an infrequent competitor at Gateway International Raceway for years, Phil McGrath gained dozens of new fans en route to his first victory in the GatewayRaceway.com Super Truck Showdown at the wheel of arguably the most popular vehicle of the event, his immaculate 1985 Chevy Blazer. Sporting perfect blue paint and a full interior complete with back seat and bed carpeting, only a roll cage perfectly molded into the dashboard gives a hint of the truck’s capabilities.
McGrath’s M&S Hot Rods-sponsored truck pulled to the starting line during early timed trials and the sedate-appearing Chevy exploded off the starting line to a 10.000 at 137.19 mph. The fans went nuts and, on his next run, they loudly cheered when he staged up. An official qualifying run of 10.006 at 135.55 proved not only the Blazer’s amazing consistency but its brute power by qualifying in the top four of the Street Car Shootout while also leading the Super Truck field.
For the second week, sophomore racer John Brawley took Ray Arthur’s “S-10 Revenge” pickup to the second spot at 10.63/125.73 followed by the black 2000 Ford Lightning of Matthew Cruise, (13.56/103.02), the 2006 Chevy Trailblazer of Jim Chiarodo, (13.90/99.91), and the similar Trailblazer of Eric St. John, (13.95/99.60). Brawley, while enjoying the newfound power of the fresh 355 smallblock in Arthur’s S-10, knew it would take God’s own holeshot to get around McGrath in the final round.
It was McGrath, however, who left first by more than a tenth of a second and streaked to a slowing 10.29/123.53 to outrun the yellow S-10’s best-ever 10.59/125.97 in Brawley‘s second straight runner-up of the year. While enjoying the winner’s circle festivities with his family in attendance, McGrath chuckled as fans constantly asked about the blue Blazer’s most noticeable trait…the propensity of the truck’s rear window to fly open, (and stay open), for the length of the quarter-mile. “That’s my speed indicator!”, laughed McGrath. “When I launch, I look in the mirror and, if the hatch is flappin’ back there, I know it’s on a good one! I really do drive this truck everywhere. That’s why it still has the full interior. I gotta have some place to put the kids, ya know?”.
Photos of the May 12th Street Car Shootout Series event are now available for viewing at Bret Kepner Photos.com.
Tim “Moose” Mallicoat, Collinsville, IL 1968 565 Camaro
Orson “O.J.“ Johnson, House Springs, MO 1999 281 Mustang
Brian Orsborn, Granite City, IL 2004 122 Neon SRT-4
Dan Harris, St. Louis, MO 2004 232 Mustang
Phil McGrath, St. Louis, MO 1985 388 Blazer
John Brawley, Granite City, IL 1993 355 S-10
Mark Micke, Jefferson City, MO 1968 526 Camaro
New ProCharger and Pro Street Eliminator World Record Elapsed Time (eighth-mile) at 4.07 seconds, 179.49 miles per hour!
