Bret Kepner
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2004
These results reflect the record holders, qualifiers, and final round contestants at each of the
SX Performance Street Car Shootout Series events held each Tuesday at Gateway
International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
Tuesday SCSS Track Records can be set during official qualifying or championship rounds. The
official qualifying period begins at 6:30 PM and concludes at 9:00 PM, barring unforeseen
circumstances. At 9:30 PM, the two quickest qualifers meet in a no-handicap championship round for
trophies. Each of the Top 16 qualifiers receives a "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal. The SCSS
trophies and decals are presented by SX Performance Fuel Systems in St. Louis, MO (6
Sunnen Drive, 314-644-3000, http://www.sx-performance.com ). Additionally, the two
quickest Sport Tuner drivers, (open to all passenger cars except Rear-Wheel-Drive vehicles with
engines of six cylinders or more), also meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies
presented by St. Louis Street Racing.com (http://www.stlsr.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 http://www.GatewayRaceway.com .
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS
2006 SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT TRACK RECORDS
Class Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
RWD Brett Heidgerken, Decatur, IL 67 Chevelle 505 Chevy 8.871 10/11/2005
RWD Sam Moore, East Alton, IL 93 Mustang 352 Ford 161.25 7/18/2006
TRK Kevin Autenrietch, Bethalto, IL 84 S-10 355 Chevy 9.772 9/28/2004
TRK Kevin Autenrietch, Bethalto, IL 84 S-10 355 Chevy 135.39 9/28/2004
6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 11.041 10/11/2005
6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 124.56 4/11/2006
4CYL Joe Laramee, Decatur, IL 77 Pinto 147 Ford 10.544 4/11/2006
4CYL Joe Laramee, Decatur, IL 77 Pinto 147 Ford 129.87 4/18/2006
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 122 Volks 11.583 5/23/2006
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 122 Volks 126.95 5/30/2006
RTY Gary Hagner, St. Charles, MO 94 RX-7 79 Mazda 11.568 7/11/2006
RTY Derek Coffman, Valley Park, MO 94 RX-7 79 Mazda 122.21 8/10/2004
DSL Phillip Blackburn, Springfield, IL 03 2500 HD 403 Chevy 11.835 8/2/2005
DSL Phillip Blackburn, Springfield, IL 03 2500 HD 403 Chevy 114.29 8/2/2005
AUGUST 1st, 2006 SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT QUALIFIERS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
EVENT 15 8/1/2006
1 Gary Tripp Imperial MO 69 Camaro 496 Chevy 10.649 127.44
2 Tony Huff Collinsville IL 68 Nova 468 Chevy 10.942 119.50
3 Tony Buhl Lebanon IL 89 Mustang 331 Ford 11.035 125.38
4 Tom Bantle, Jr. St. Louis MO 89 S-10 355 Chevy 11.211 121.47
5 Hal Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 350 Chevy 11.361 119.91
6 Jim Harris O'Fallon MO 03 Corvette 346 Chevy 12.075 124.55
7 Joe Williams Maryville IL 70 Nova 454 Chevy 12.519 121.20
8 Phillip Hoback Collinsville IL 93 RX7 79 Mazda 12.960 113.75
9 Bryant Storey St. Louis MO 99 S-10 355 Chevy 13.156 106.05
10 Sam Pona Desoto MO 71 Mustang 460 Ford 13.277 105.21
11 Ryan Horace Belleville IL 02 M3 196 BMW 13.417 105.99
12 Nathan Bretz St. Ann MO 79 Camaro 406 Chevy 13.640 102.41
13 Ryan Mowery Madison IL 02 WRX 122 Subar 13.661 100.75
14 Glen Bergstrom Florissant MO 94 Mustang 302 Ford 13.662 105.14
15 Pierre Williams Florissant MO 99 Firebird 346 Pont 13.714 102.60
16 Ryan Williams Waterloo IL 02 Camaro 346 Chevy 13.722 105.47
AUGUST 1st, 2006 SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Tony Buhl, Lebanon, IL 1989 347 Mustang 0.335 11.143 124.26
RU Tony Huff, Collinsville, IL 1968 468 Nova 0.456 11.075 110.31
For the second consecutive event, horrific atmospheric conditions and a tremendously difficult track
surface made the SX Performance Street Car Shootout Series a true challenge. The weather still
wasn’t enough to stop Tony Buhl from scoring a third 2006 title in his fifth championship round of the
season driving his Vortech-supercharged ‘89 Mustang over arch-rival Tony Huff. Buhl, who has led
the SCSS point standings for most of the year, also suffered the least serious problems of the
quickest entries at an event which included a surprising number of new faces and bizarre
occurances.
Only the bravest racers ventured into the 101 degree swelter which pushed the track surface
temperature at an amazing 137 degrees and the corrected elevation to 3200 feet above sea level
when gates opened. Traction was almost nonexistent for all but the most conservative launches and
the lucky few with All-Wheel-Drive vehicles. Only after dusk, (when the track temp dropped all the
way to 110 degrees!), were respectable numbers recorded and most drivers found themselves
running two tenths of a second slower than average even when they hooked up!
Although NHRA Pro Stock testing took place during the afternoon, Gateway International Raceway
had not had vehicles on the dragstrip since the now-infamous storm of Wednesday, July 19th. While
most of the serious damage to the facility had been repaired, (even though the track only regained
electricity on Tuesday, July 25th), the event was still run without win lights and two severely mangled
scoreboards.
The Street Car Sauna Series opened with few impressive efforts in timed trials; only Jim Harris’
familiar blue 2003 Z06 Corvette managed to run under 13.00 seconds with tire-blazing 12.80s. When
qualifying officially began, Tony Huff’s silver ‘68 Nova hit a problem-plagued 10.94 at 119.50 miles
per hour on a run in which the 468-cubic inch bigblock was obviously starved for fuel; a subsequent
11.97/105.47 only proved the severity of the problem when the Nova could barely stay running
during the pass! “At the last event, we had a bad fuel regulator”, explained Huff, “so we changed
everything in the fuel system. Now, it looks like the new fuel pump is bad and all we can do is work
with it and try to get it sorted out”.
Buhl’s maroon Ford opened with an all-over-the-track 11.16/124.87 after, as Buhl crew member and
2004 SCSS Season Champion Laurence Bass admitted, “we picked the worst night of the year to try
out a new set of tires”. Sixty minutes into qualifying, however, a red 1969 Camaro pulled to the line
on the first of its driver’s NHRA Licensing runs. The required eighth-mile pass resulted in a 6.71 ET
at the 660-feet mark and a speed of 111.91 mph...and a coasting 10.969 at only 100.34 mph to take
the second qualifying position. The 496-inch, single four-barrel carbed Chevy was driven by
unheralded Gary Tripp of Imperial, Missouri, who was hoping to gain his license before the upcoming
Super Chevy Show at Joliet, Illinois. “We ran the car at Memphis earlier this year”, explained Tripp,
“and we knew we’d need a license to run at Gateway and other places. The track is so hot, though,
that I’m not sure we’ll be able to use the nitrous tonight. It’s pretty slippery!”.
Both Buhl and Tripp returned within twenty minutes and, while the Ford improved to an 11.03/125.38,
Tripp’s Camaro stormed to a squirrelly 10.64 at 127.44 mph to jump past Huff to the pole qualifying
spot. Although those numbers were normally within reach of both Huff and Buhl, neither would come
close to Tripp during the remainder of qualifying. Tripp made one more attempt and nearly crossed
the centerline on a wild 11.05/102.56 shut-off run.
When the qualifiers for the SCSS championship round were called to the lanes, Tripp declined on
the basis that his licensing runs were incomplete. That meant the “Tony Show” would be scheduled
for its fourth performance of the 2006 season; Buhl had lost to Huff in two of their three previous
meetings this year. Before the final round, Huff admitted that he was no closer to a cure for his fuel
pump woes but, with the track still exceedingly difficult to read, Buhl could offer no guarantees,
either.
When the ‘Tree went green in the trophy dash, Buhl jumped to an immediate eight-hundredths of a
second holeshot but Huff’s Nova made up the difference...plus four hundredths...in the first sixty
feet. At the 330-feet mark, Huff’s Chevy was marching away from the Ford which quickly began
spinning its tires after the launch. At the eighth-mile, Huff had a 45.31-feet lead...but the hardcore
fans in the grandstands soon heard the sound Huff dreaded.
The Nova began to run out of fuel. The pump began failing again and Buhl, who was far enough
behind to see just how bad the Chevy was slowing, stood on the throttle. At 1000 feet, the Nova’s
lead was still 34.7 feet but was shrinking fast. The Mustang pilot never lifted despite sashaying all
over his lane and, at the stripe, it was too close for either driver to accurately call...especially
since the win lights didn’t work!
It was Gateway’s master of ceremonies, “Radical Rich” Tivitt, who made the announcement to the
fans that not only did Buhl’s Ford get to the finish line only five hundredths of a second ahead of the
Chevy but the Mustang driver won it on a holeshot, 11.14 at 124.38 mph to a quicker but losing
11.07 at a rapidly slowing 110.31 mph...with a winning margin of only 9.36 feet! “I thought I might
have gone around him, but I wasn’t sure”, said an excited Tony Buhl during the trophy presentations
in front of the grandstands. “I was all over the place but it seemed like he was really slowing down
and I kept thinking I just might be able to get by him. I was just lucky I got the holeshot because,
without it, I was toast!”.
NOTES FROM THE SCSS: While Tony Buhl and Tony Huff have won a combined seven of the
eleven SCSS titles this season, (Brett Heidgerken and Sam Moore each have one win and Dave
Odenahl has two victories), Buhl still leads the 2006 Season Championship point standings even
though he is actually tied with Hal Marshall in “Fastest Street Car Qualifier” decals with eleven each.
The point championship is determined by the number of Qualifier stickers earned with each driver’s
best ET of the season used as a tie-breaker and Buhl’s best of 10.57 seconds is quicker than
Marshall’s best of 10.93...Joe Williams endured major problems with the torque converter in his
canary-yellow ‘70 454 Nova throughout qualifying until it finally fried just off the starting line. His
oildown was second longest, however, to the mess encountered when Andy Barth’s blue 2000
Honda Civic shelled a transmission late in the official qualifying period....Gary Tripp’s slick ‘69
Camaro became the 90th member of the SCSS 120 MPH Club and the 43rd entry into the SCSS
10-Second Club...The 13.722-second “bump spot” for the Super Sixteen field beat the
13.706-second “bubble” from July 18th to become the slowest field in the fifty-six SCSS events held
since April 6th, 2004. To many, it was actually surprising the field was even that quick...It may
have been slow but it sure was diverse; the Super Sixteen included nine Chevys, three Fords, one
Pontiac, three trucks, and Mazda, BMW, and Subaru quailifiers!...Ryan Horace’s $45,000 2002
BMW M3 was the quickest six-cylinder entry at 13.41/105.99; no less than four BMWs attempted to
qualify!...Both Bryant Storey’s beautiful new Bryant & Company Roofing ‘99 S-10 pickup and Pat
Layton’s ‘63 Stingray ragtop suffered fires during qualifying with no serious damage to either
vehicle...Nick Burch’s eleven-second ‘93 Mustang certainly would’ve been a qualifier had it not run
over its own crankshaft pulley on its only pass...Mark Bretz’s Bonne Terre, Missouri, ‘84 Mustang
missed making the Super Sixteen by six thousandths of a second, the closest “near miss” since Jim
Harris failed to qualify by only three thousandths of a second on April 4th, 2006.
SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT
STANDINGS (as of AUGUST 2nd, 2006)
Pos Points Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine
1 (11) Tony Buhl Lebanon IL 89 Mustang 331 Ford
2 (11) Hal Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 350 Chevy
3 (10) Tony Huff Collinsville IL 68 Nova 468 Chevy
4 (8) Jim Harris O'Fallon MO 03 Corvette 346 Chevy
5 (4) Joe Williams Maryville IL 70 Nova 454 Chevy
6 (3) Dave Odehnal Waterloo IL 93 Camaro 350 Chevy
7 (3) Greg Boschert St. Louis MO 66 Mustang 331 Ford
8 (3) David Starns St. Louis MO 91 Mustang 355 Ford
9 (3) Joe Laramee Decatur IL 77 Pinto 147 Ford
10 (3) William Page Gillespie IL 87 Regal 231 Buick
11 (3) Matt Crittendon St. Louis MO 89 Mustang 306 Ford
12 (3) Raymond Arthur Edwardsville IL 67 Camaro 427 Chevy
AUGUST 1st, 2006 STLSR.COM SPORT TUNER SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Ryan Mowery, Madison, IL 2002 122 WRX 0.072 13.414 102.78
RU Phillip Hoback, Collinsville, IL 1993 79 RX7 0.652 13.057 112.31
Living in nearby Madison, Illinois, Ryan Mowery is such a regular in the St. Louis Street Racing.com
Sport Tuner Showdown Series that it’s notable if his silver ‘02 Subaru Impreza isn’t at the track
on a Tuesday night. If nothing else, Mowery finally proved that not only do good things come to those
who wait but also that driving ability is still the most important ingredient in heads-up drag racing
success. Mowery didn’t have the quickest car on the property, (he didn’t even have the quickest car
in the final round!), but he was holding the biggest trophy at the end of the event.
Phil Hoback’s black ‘93 Mazda RX7 clocked a 12.97/110.37 during the July 11th event only to be
overshadowed, (and outqualified), by Gary Hagner’s record-breaking 11.56 rotary run at that same
race. This time, Hoback’s turbocharged two-rotor Wankel led the Tuner field for the duration, hitting
a remarkable 12.960/113.75 career-best in the worst of conditions. Mowery’s consistent Subaru was
the second qualifier at a 13.66/100.75 followed by Glen Johnson’s O’Fallon, Missouri, ‘95 Nissan
240SX, (13.80/105.09), and John Gerger’s black RX7 from Machester, Missouri, (14.27/99.38).
Hoback’s homebuilt masterpiece was clearly the class of the field and the RX7 with the Florida
license plates, (where Hoback attends the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne), had nothing
to gain by rsking a perfect Reaction Time against a decidely slower opponent. “I just can’t get it to
hook up tonight”, admitted Hoback before the final round, “so I’ve had to launch it as easy as
possible. Even then, it’s still spinning the tires downtrack a bit”. However, when Mowery left the line
with a great 0.072 RT and a massive half-second advantage in the Tuner Showdown title bout,
things began to look grim for the low qualifier. A conservative launch kept the RX7 hooked but the
Impreza’s exceptional All-Wheel-Drive 60-feet ETs, (including a 1.93-second effort in the final),
pulled away from the Mazda for the first eighth-mile. Once the rotary did begin to reel in the
fourcyclinder, it was too late. When Rich Tivitt made the call that Mowery’s 13.41/102.78 actually
beat Hoback’s 13.05/112.31, it drew one of the loudest fan responses of the event!
As only the second Subaru pilot to win a Sport Tuner Showdown Series title, Ryan Mowery can rest
assured that when won his first event for the St. Louis Subaru Club team, ( http://stlsubaru.com ), it
was the driver...much more so than the car...who truly earned the victory.
AUGUST 1st, 2006 GATEWAYRACEWAY.COM SUPER TRUCK SHOWDOWN FINAL
ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Hal Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 350 S-10 0.277 11.237 120.10
RU Tom Bantle, Jr., St. Louis, MO 1989 408 S-10 0.061 20.394 43.38
Yes, Hal Marshall won again but, this time, it was different. In fact, it was so different that during
qualifying folks began thinking the unthinkable and speaking the unspeakable. For a while there, Hal
was in trouble!
Qualifying did not go well for “Animal Hal”. On his first effort, the white S-10’s transmission went
directly to neutral for the last three hundred feet of the run. On his second run, tirespin slowed the
truck. His third effort was an 11.36/118.57 which, although a bit more respectable, was still off Hal’s
normal 10.9-second pace. Then, Tom Bantle showed up. The SCSS veteran, whose red ‘80 Malibu
was replaced this season by a black ‘89 S-10 pickup built specifically to chase the runaway Marshall
Train, struggled through an 11.22-second debut on May 23rd only to find three broken pistons in his
new 408-cubic inch smallblock. “We basically rebuilt the engine”, said Bantle, “and we still haven’t
been able to hit the nitrous yet because it’s still spinning the tires”. Bantle eyed Hal’s 11.36 qualifier
and then let loose a best-ever 11.21 at 121.47 miles per hour to knock Hal down to second place.
Bryant Storey, whose St. Louis-based M&B Performance sponsors Bantle, debuted his own ‘99 S-10
and, despite a nasty carburetor backfire during qualifying, hit an easy 13.15/106.05 effort for third
and later clocked an 12.98/100.40 during late timed trials. The most popular truck of the event was,
most likely, the 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 of Scot Seaman; the Wildwood, Missouri-based,
black rocket used a 372-inch Hemi and All-Wheel-Drive to hit 13.83 at 99 mph with 1.9-second
60-feet ETs and qualify fourth.
Going into the final round, Hal Marshall was ready for the challenge. “Hey, we’re here to race!”,
commented Hal in front of the main grandstands before the trophy dash, “and it’s about time
somebody is puttin’ up some numbers”. When the two Chevys left the line in the final round,
however, Bantle’s two-tenths of a second holeshot did not bid well for Hal’s chances. When Bantle’s
pickup spun so badly that it backfired through the carburetor only sixty feet off the line, however, Hal
never looked back on his way to an 11/23/120.10 win.
The Hal Marshall scorecard now shows fifteen wins since August, 2005, nine wins in 2006, seven
consecutive victories since May 9th and one loss in eleven months. He’s still the King.
Photos of the August 1st SX Performance Street Car Shootout Series event are now available for
viewing at Bret Kepner Photos.
Tony Buhl, Lebanon, IL 1989 331 Mustang
Tony Huff, Collinsville, IL 1968 468 Nova
Ryan Mowery, Madison, IL 2002 122 WRX
Phillip Hoback, Collinsville, IL 1993 79 RX7
Hal Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 350 S-10
Ton Bantle, Jr., St. Louis, MO 1989 408 S-10
SX Performance Street Car Shootout Series events held each Tuesday at Gateway
International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
Tuesday SCSS Track Records can be set during official qualifying or championship rounds. The
official qualifying period begins at 6:30 PM and concludes at 9:00 PM, barring unforeseen
circumstances. At 9:30 PM, the two quickest qualifers meet in a no-handicap championship round for
trophies. Each of the Top 16 qualifiers receives a "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal. The SCSS
trophies and decals are presented by SX Performance Fuel Systems in St. Louis, MO (6
Sunnen Drive, 314-644-3000, http://www.sx-performance.com ). Additionally, the two
quickest Sport Tuner drivers, (open to all passenger cars except Rear-Wheel-Drive vehicles with
engines of six cylinders or more), also meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies
presented by St. Louis Street Racing.com (http://www.stlsr.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 http://www.GatewayRaceway.com .
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS
2006 SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT TRACK RECORDS
Class Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
RWD Brett Heidgerken, Decatur, IL 67 Chevelle 505 Chevy 8.871 10/11/2005
RWD Sam Moore, East Alton, IL 93 Mustang 352 Ford 161.25 7/18/2006
TRK Kevin Autenrietch, Bethalto, IL 84 S-10 355 Chevy 9.772 9/28/2004
TRK Kevin Autenrietch, Bethalto, IL 84 S-10 355 Chevy 135.39 9/28/2004
6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 11.041 10/11/2005
6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 124.56 4/11/2006
4CYL Joe Laramee, Decatur, IL 77 Pinto 147 Ford 10.544 4/11/2006
4CYL Joe Laramee, Decatur, IL 77 Pinto 147 Ford 129.87 4/18/2006
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 122 Volks 11.583 5/23/2006
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 122 Volks 126.95 5/30/2006
RTY Gary Hagner, St. Charles, MO 94 RX-7 79 Mazda 11.568 7/11/2006
RTY Derek Coffman, Valley Park, MO 94 RX-7 79 Mazda 122.21 8/10/2004
DSL Phillip Blackburn, Springfield, IL 03 2500 HD 403 Chevy 11.835 8/2/2005
DSL Phillip Blackburn, Springfield, IL 03 2500 HD 403 Chevy 114.29 8/2/2005
AUGUST 1st, 2006 SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT QUALIFIERS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
EVENT 15 8/1/2006
1 Gary Tripp Imperial MO 69 Camaro 496 Chevy 10.649 127.44
2 Tony Huff Collinsville IL 68 Nova 468 Chevy 10.942 119.50
3 Tony Buhl Lebanon IL 89 Mustang 331 Ford 11.035 125.38
4 Tom Bantle, Jr. St. Louis MO 89 S-10 355 Chevy 11.211 121.47
5 Hal Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 350 Chevy 11.361 119.91
6 Jim Harris O'Fallon MO 03 Corvette 346 Chevy 12.075 124.55
7 Joe Williams Maryville IL 70 Nova 454 Chevy 12.519 121.20
8 Phillip Hoback Collinsville IL 93 RX7 79 Mazda 12.960 113.75
9 Bryant Storey St. Louis MO 99 S-10 355 Chevy 13.156 106.05
10 Sam Pona Desoto MO 71 Mustang 460 Ford 13.277 105.21
11 Ryan Horace Belleville IL 02 M3 196 BMW 13.417 105.99
12 Nathan Bretz St. Ann MO 79 Camaro 406 Chevy 13.640 102.41
13 Ryan Mowery Madison IL 02 WRX 122 Subar 13.661 100.75
14 Glen Bergstrom Florissant MO 94 Mustang 302 Ford 13.662 105.14
15 Pierre Williams Florissant MO 99 Firebird 346 Pont 13.714 102.60
16 Ryan Williams Waterloo IL 02 Camaro 346 Chevy 13.722 105.47
AUGUST 1st, 2006 SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Tony Buhl, Lebanon, IL 1989 347 Mustang 0.335 11.143 124.26
RU Tony Huff, Collinsville, IL 1968 468 Nova 0.456 11.075 110.31
For the second consecutive event, horrific atmospheric conditions and a tremendously difficult track
surface made the SX Performance Street Car Shootout Series a true challenge. The weather still
wasn’t enough to stop Tony Buhl from scoring a third 2006 title in his fifth championship round of the
season driving his Vortech-supercharged ‘89 Mustang over arch-rival Tony Huff. Buhl, who has led
the SCSS point standings for most of the year, also suffered the least serious problems of the
quickest entries at an event which included a surprising number of new faces and bizarre
occurances.
Only the bravest racers ventured into the 101 degree swelter which pushed the track surface
temperature at an amazing 137 degrees and the corrected elevation to 3200 feet above sea level
when gates opened. Traction was almost nonexistent for all but the most conservative launches and
the lucky few with All-Wheel-Drive vehicles. Only after dusk, (when the track temp dropped all the
way to 110 degrees!), were respectable numbers recorded and most drivers found themselves
running two tenths of a second slower than average even when they hooked up!
Although NHRA Pro Stock testing took place during the afternoon, Gateway International Raceway
had not had vehicles on the dragstrip since the now-infamous storm of Wednesday, July 19th. While
most of the serious damage to the facility had been repaired, (even though the track only regained
electricity on Tuesday, July 25th), the event was still run without win lights and two severely mangled
scoreboards.
The Street Car Sauna Series opened with few impressive efforts in timed trials; only Jim Harris’
familiar blue 2003 Z06 Corvette managed to run under 13.00 seconds with tire-blazing 12.80s. When
qualifying officially began, Tony Huff’s silver ‘68 Nova hit a problem-plagued 10.94 at 119.50 miles
per hour on a run in which the 468-cubic inch bigblock was obviously starved for fuel; a subsequent
11.97/105.47 only proved the severity of the problem when the Nova could barely stay running
during the pass! “At the last event, we had a bad fuel regulator”, explained Huff, “so we changed
everything in the fuel system. Now, it looks like the new fuel pump is bad and all we can do is work
with it and try to get it sorted out”.
Buhl’s maroon Ford opened with an all-over-the-track 11.16/124.87 after, as Buhl crew member and
2004 SCSS Season Champion Laurence Bass admitted, “we picked the worst night of the year to try
out a new set of tires”. Sixty minutes into qualifying, however, a red 1969 Camaro pulled to the line
on the first of its driver’s NHRA Licensing runs. The required eighth-mile pass resulted in a 6.71 ET
at the 660-feet mark and a speed of 111.91 mph...and a coasting 10.969 at only 100.34 mph to take
the second qualifying position. The 496-inch, single four-barrel carbed Chevy was driven by
unheralded Gary Tripp of Imperial, Missouri, who was hoping to gain his license before the upcoming
Super Chevy Show at Joliet, Illinois. “We ran the car at Memphis earlier this year”, explained Tripp,
“and we knew we’d need a license to run at Gateway and other places. The track is so hot, though,
that I’m not sure we’ll be able to use the nitrous tonight. It’s pretty slippery!”.
Both Buhl and Tripp returned within twenty minutes and, while the Ford improved to an 11.03/125.38,
Tripp’s Camaro stormed to a squirrelly 10.64 at 127.44 mph to jump past Huff to the pole qualifying
spot. Although those numbers were normally within reach of both Huff and Buhl, neither would come
close to Tripp during the remainder of qualifying. Tripp made one more attempt and nearly crossed
the centerline on a wild 11.05/102.56 shut-off run.
When the qualifiers for the SCSS championship round were called to the lanes, Tripp declined on
the basis that his licensing runs were incomplete. That meant the “Tony Show” would be scheduled
for its fourth performance of the 2006 season; Buhl had lost to Huff in two of their three previous
meetings this year. Before the final round, Huff admitted that he was no closer to a cure for his fuel
pump woes but, with the track still exceedingly difficult to read, Buhl could offer no guarantees,
either.
When the ‘Tree went green in the trophy dash, Buhl jumped to an immediate eight-hundredths of a
second holeshot but Huff’s Nova made up the difference...plus four hundredths...in the first sixty
feet. At the 330-feet mark, Huff’s Chevy was marching away from the Ford which quickly began
spinning its tires after the launch. At the eighth-mile, Huff had a 45.31-feet lead...but the hardcore
fans in the grandstands soon heard the sound Huff dreaded.
The Nova began to run out of fuel. The pump began failing again and Buhl, who was far enough
behind to see just how bad the Chevy was slowing, stood on the throttle. At 1000 feet, the Nova’s
lead was still 34.7 feet but was shrinking fast. The Mustang pilot never lifted despite sashaying all
over his lane and, at the stripe, it was too close for either driver to accurately call...especially
since the win lights didn’t work!
It was Gateway’s master of ceremonies, “Radical Rich” Tivitt, who made the announcement to the
fans that not only did Buhl’s Ford get to the finish line only five hundredths of a second ahead of the
Chevy but the Mustang driver won it on a holeshot, 11.14 at 124.38 mph to a quicker but losing
11.07 at a rapidly slowing 110.31 mph...with a winning margin of only 9.36 feet! “I thought I might
have gone around him, but I wasn’t sure”, said an excited Tony Buhl during the trophy presentations
in front of the grandstands. “I was all over the place but it seemed like he was really slowing down
and I kept thinking I just might be able to get by him. I was just lucky I got the holeshot because,
without it, I was toast!”.
NOTES FROM THE SCSS: While Tony Buhl and Tony Huff have won a combined seven of the
eleven SCSS titles this season, (Brett Heidgerken and Sam Moore each have one win and Dave
Odenahl has two victories), Buhl still leads the 2006 Season Championship point standings even
though he is actually tied with Hal Marshall in “Fastest Street Car Qualifier” decals with eleven each.
The point championship is determined by the number of Qualifier stickers earned with each driver’s
best ET of the season used as a tie-breaker and Buhl’s best of 10.57 seconds is quicker than
Marshall’s best of 10.93...Joe Williams endured major problems with the torque converter in his
canary-yellow ‘70 454 Nova throughout qualifying until it finally fried just off the starting line. His
oildown was second longest, however, to the mess encountered when Andy Barth’s blue 2000
Honda Civic shelled a transmission late in the official qualifying period....Gary Tripp’s slick ‘69
Camaro became the 90th member of the SCSS 120 MPH Club and the 43rd entry into the SCSS
10-Second Club...The 13.722-second “bump spot” for the Super Sixteen field beat the
13.706-second “bubble” from July 18th to become the slowest field in the fifty-six SCSS events held
since April 6th, 2004. To many, it was actually surprising the field was even that quick...It may
have been slow but it sure was diverse; the Super Sixteen included nine Chevys, three Fords, one
Pontiac, three trucks, and Mazda, BMW, and Subaru quailifiers!...Ryan Horace’s $45,000 2002
BMW M3 was the quickest six-cylinder entry at 13.41/105.99; no less than four BMWs attempted to
qualify!...Both Bryant Storey’s beautiful new Bryant & Company Roofing ‘99 S-10 pickup and Pat
Layton’s ‘63 Stingray ragtop suffered fires during qualifying with no serious damage to either
vehicle...Nick Burch’s eleven-second ‘93 Mustang certainly would’ve been a qualifier had it not run
over its own crankshaft pulley on its only pass...Mark Bretz’s Bonne Terre, Missouri, ‘84 Mustang
missed making the Super Sixteen by six thousandths of a second, the closest “near miss” since Jim
Harris failed to qualify by only three thousandths of a second on April 4th, 2006.
SX PERFORMANCE STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT
STANDINGS (as of AUGUST 2nd, 2006)
Pos Points Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine
1 (11) Tony Buhl Lebanon IL 89 Mustang 331 Ford
2 (11) Hal Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 350 Chevy
3 (10) Tony Huff Collinsville IL 68 Nova 468 Chevy
4 (8) Jim Harris O'Fallon MO 03 Corvette 346 Chevy
5 (4) Joe Williams Maryville IL 70 Nova 454 Chevy
6 (3) Dave Odehnal Waterloo IL 93 Camaro 350 Chevy
7 (3) Greg Boschert St. Louis MO 66 Mustang 331 Ford
8 (3) David Starns St. Louis MO 91 Mustang 355 Ford
9 (3) Joe Laramee Decatur IL 77 Pinto 147 Ford
10 (3) William Page Gillespie IL 87 Regal 231 Buick
11 (3) Matt Crittendon St. Louis MO 89 Mustang 306 Ford
12 (3) Raymond Arthur Edwardsville IL 67 Camaro 427 Chevy
AUGUST 1st, 2006 STLSR.COM SPORT TUNER SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Ryan Mowery, Madison, IL 2002 122 WRX 0.072 13.414 102.78
RU Phillip Hoback, Collinsville, IL 1993 79 RX7 0.652 13.057 112.31
Living in nearby Madison, Illinois, Ryan Mowery is such a regular in the St. Louis Street Racing.com
Sport Tuner Showdown Series that it’s notable if his silver ‘02 Subaru Impreza isn’t at the track
on a Tuesday night. If nothing else, Mowery finally proved that not only do good things come to those
who wait but also that driving ability is still the most important ingredient in heads-up drag racing
success. Mowery didn’t have the quickest car on the property, (he didn’t even have the quickest car
in the final round!), but he was holding the biggest trophy at the end of the event.
Phil Hoback’s black ‘93 Mazda RX7 clocked a 12.97/110.37 during the July 11th event only to be
overshadowed, (and outqualified), by Gary Hagner’s record-breaking 11.56 rotary run at that same
race. This time, Hoback’s turbocharged two-rotor Wankel led the Tuner field for the duration, hitting
a remarkable 12.960/113.75 career-best in the worst of conditions. Mowery’s consistent Subaru was
the second qualifier at a 13.66/100.75 followed by Glen Johnson’s O’Fallon, Missouri, ‘95 Nissan
240SX, (13.80/105.09), and John Gerger’s black RX7 from Machester, Missouri, (14.27/99.38).
Hoback’s homebuilt masterpiece was clearly the class of the field and the RX7 with the Florida
license plates, (where Hoback attends the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne), had nothing
to gain by rsking a perfect Reaction Time against a decidely slower opponent. “I just can’t get it to
hook up tonight”, admitted Hoback before the final round, “so I’ve had to launch it as easy as
possible. Even then, it’s still spinning the tires downtrack a bit”. However, when Mowery left the line
with a great 0.072 RT and a massive half-second advantage in the Tuner Showdown title bout,
things began to look grim for the low qualifier. A conservative launch kept the RX7 hooked but the
Impreza’s exceptional All-Wheel-Drive 60-feet ETs, (including a 1.93-second effort in the final),
pulled away from the Mazda for the first eighth-mile. Once the rotary did begin to reel in the
fourcyclinder, it was too late. When Rich Tivitt made the call that Mowery’s 13.41/102.78 actually
beat Hoback’s 13.05/112.31, it drew one of the loudest fan responses of the event!
As only the second Subaru pilot to win a Sport Tuner Showdown Series title, Ryan Mowery can rest
assured that when won his first event for the St. Louis Subaru Club team, ( http://stlsubaru.com ), it
was the driver...much more so than the car...who truly earned the victory.
AUGUST 1st, 2006 GATEWAYRACEWAY.COM SUPER TRUCK SHOWDOWN FINAL
ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Hal Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 350 S-10 0.277 11.237 120.10
RU Tom Bantle, Jr., St. Louis, MO 1989 408 S-10 0.061 20.394 43.38
Yes, Hal Marshall won again but, this time, it was different. In fact, it was so different that during
qualifying folks began thinking the unthinkable and speaking the unspeakable. For a while there, Hal
was in trouble!
Qualifying did not go well for “Animal Hal”. On his first effort, the white S-10’s transmission went
directly to neutral for the last three hundred feet of the run. On his second run, tirespin slowed the
truck. His third effort was an 11.36/118.57 which, although a bit more respectable, was still off Hal’s
normal 10.9-second pace. Then, Tom Bantle showed up. The SCSS veteran, whose red ‘80 Malibu
was replaced this season by a black ‘89 S-10 pickup built specifically to chase the runaway Marshall
Train, struggled through an 11.22-second debut on May 23rd only to find three broken pistons in his
new 408-cubic inch smallblock. “We basically rebuilt the engine”, said Bantle, “and we still haven’t
been able to hit the nitrous yet because it’s still spinning the tires”. Bantle eyed Hal’s 11.36 qualifier
and then let loose a best-ever 11.21 at 121.47 miles per hour to knock Hal down to second place.
Bryant Storey, whose St. Louis-based M&B Performance sponsors Bantle, debuted his own ‘99 S-10
and, despite a nasty carburetor backfire during qualifying, hit an easy 13.15/106.05 effort for third
and later clocked an 12.98/100.40 during late timed trials. The most popular truck of the event was,
most likely, the 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 of Scot Seaman; the Wildwood, Missouri-based,
black rocket used a 372-inch Hemi and All-Wheel-Drive to hit 13.83 at 99 mph with 1.9-second
60-feet ETs and qualify fourth.
Going into the final round, Hal Marshall was ready for the challenge. “Hey, we’re here to race!”,
commented Hal in front of the main grandstands before the trophy dash, “and it’s about time
somebody is puttin’ up some numbers”. When the two Chevys left the line in the final round,
however, Bantle’s two-tenths of a second holeshot did not bid well for Hal’s chances. When Bantle’s
pickup spun so badly that it backfired through the carburetor only sixty feet off the line, however, Hal
never looked back on his way to an 11/23/120.10 win.
The Hal Marshall scorecard now shows fifteen wins since August, 2005, nine wins in 2006, seven
consecutive victories since May 9th and one loss in eleven months. He’s still the King.
Photos of the August 1st SX Performance Street Car Shootout Series event are now available for
viewing at Bret Kepner Photos.
Tony Buhl, Lebanon, IL 1989 331 Mustang
Tony Huff, Collinsville, IL 1968 468 Nova
Ryan Mowery, Madison, IL 2002 122 WRX
Phillip Hoback, Collinsville, IL 1993 79 RX7
Hal Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 350 S-10
Ton Bantle, Jr., St. Louis, MO 1989 408 S-10
