Turbo Hot Street was run Saturday in conjunction with the Indiana chapter of the GSCA's "Buicks at Bunker Hill" race. Bunker Hill Dragway, billed as Indiana's oldest track ("since 1956") is a nice facility. It reminded me of Edgewater, Ohio for anyone familiar with that place. Trees, grass and a pleasant place to be. And they offer 3 kinds of ice cream and .25-cent popsicles at the snack bar.
It was hot. The air was sticky and the track was greasy. There was wind from the southwest and the air temperature was a balmy 92*. Someone who cared said that the track temp was 133*.
But it was a great time! Thanks to Wild Bill and the Indiana chapter for hosting THS.
After qualifying, David Day, from Bunker Hill, Illinois was numero uno. As such he got a bye in the first round.
Clay Arnold brought out his TSA (!) T-Type to see what he could do against the big dogs. "The TreeKiller" took on Clay Wilmont, from Villa Hills, Ky. in his Grand National. Clay beat Clay with a 7.98 @ 87 mph to an 8.20 @ 81 mph. Arnold won.
The next pairing was the first 2010 outing in THS for Mike Schwab, from Hamilton, Oh., in his one owner GN. He faced "The Infamous Kevin Bolger". (That's not a typo). Running out of his shop in Bright, Ind., Kevin had bid "adios" to old white TSM beast and thrown his hat into the THS ring. Welcome Kevin! Kevin's THS ride is a nice looking blue Turbo T. Well, Mike took it to Kevin with a 7.01 @ 98 mph to Kevin's 7.72 @ 90 mph to advance to the next round.
In the semis, Clay Arnold left on Mike Schwab, taking the tree with him, but Mike's hot rod had enough to run him down with a 6.66 @ 105.36 mph to a 7.43 @ 91 mph. Not bad at all in the heat!
David Day advanced again with another bye.
The final would be a rematch of last year's Midwest Buick Challenge; Mike Schwab versus David Day, two GNs and their original owners under the lights for some side-by-side action. That doesn't happen every day. Mike had holeshotted David and David had to play catch up to take the win then. What would happen this time?!?
A smothering blanket of humidity descended upon the evening's festivities as the THS final was called. Fireworks from a nerby town lit up the end of the track. All lending great ambiance to the last run of the day. Both cars performed burnouts and rolled to the line. Uh-oh. Something was amiss. Mike's GN had a issue that made it hard to stage his car. After a couple of attempts, the track officials sent them both down the track. They slowly rolled down the 1/8th mile. Both drivers came back up to the starting line and asked to rerun the final. Mike said he was ok and David said he was good to go as well. The tower said ok so back around they came!
This time it was race. They did burnouts and staged cleanly this time. David left on Mike and came up with the win with a 6.64 @ 105 to Mike's slowing 7.41. Congratulations to David for his win! Mike said he would be ready to go in Columbus in July so watch out!
For their efforts, David, Mike and Clay Arnold took home some cash courtesy of the Indiana Chapter of the GSCA. David and Mike received gift certificates from HR Parts'n'Stuff and beautiful trophies, also from the Indiana Chapter!
Thank you to Jeff Robison's Club MMA, Shaeffer Oil, Laura Buick GMC, and the St. Louis-area Snap-On dealers for donating goodies for the racers! A big thank you to Tim LeMay of Team Banana for his generous gesture as well.
Everyone in attendance had a wonderful time at a great track at a fun event. Thanks Wild Bill for inviting Turbo Hot Street.
The next event at the BPG Nationals July 30-August 1, will mark Turbo Hot Street's one year anniversary! We are looking to do something special to mark the occasion. Come up to Columbus and check it out!
See ya at the races!
It was hot. The air was sticky and the track was greasy. There was wind from the southwest and the air temperature was a balmy 92*. Someone who cared said that the track temp was 133*.
But it was a great time! Thanks to Wild Bill and the Indiana chapter for hosting THS.
After qualifying, David Day, from Bunker Hill, Illinois was numero uno. As such he got a bye in the first round.
Clay Arnold brought out his TSA (!) T-Type to see what he could do against the big dogs. "The TreeKiller" took on Clay Wilmont, from Villa Hills, Ky. in his Grand National. Clay beat Clay with a 7.98 @ 87 mph to an 8.20 @ 81 mph. Arnold won.
The next pairing was the first 2010 outing in THS for Mike Schwab, from Hamilton, Oh., in his one owner GN. He faced "The Infamous Kevin Bolger". (That's not a typo). Running out of his shop in Bright, Ind., Kevin had bid "adios" to old white TSM beast and thrown his hat into the THS ring. Welcome Kevin! Kevin's THS ride is a nice looking blue Turbo T. Well, Mike took it to Kevin with a 7.01 @ 98 mph to Kevin's 7.72 @ 90 mph to advance to the next round.
In the semis, Clay Arnold left on Mike Schwab, taking the tree with him, but Mike's hot rod had enough to run him down with a 6.66 @ 105.36 mph to a 7.43 @ 91 mph. Not bad at all in the heat!
David Day advanced again with another bye.
The final would be a rematch of last year's Midwest Buick Challenge; Mike Schwab versus David Day, two GNs and their original owners under the lights for some side-by-side action. That doesn't happen every day. Mike had holeshotted David and David had to play catch up to take the win then. What would happen this time?!?
A smothering blanket of humidity descended upon the evening's festivities as the THS final was called. Fireworks from a nerby town lit up the end of the track. All lending great ambiance to the last run of the day. Both cars performed burnouts and rolled to the line. Uh-oh. Something was amiss. Mike's GN had a issue that made it hard to stage his car. After a couple of attempts, the track officials sent them both down the track. They slowly rolled down the 1/8th mile. Both drivers came back up to the starting line and asked to rerun the final. Mike said he was ok and David said he was good to go as well. The tower said ok so back around they came!
This time it was race. They did burnouts and staged cleanly this time. David left on Mike and came up with the win with a 6.64 @ 105 to Mike's slowing 7.41. Congratulations to David for his win! Mike said he would be ready to go in Columbus in July so watch out!
For their efforts, David, Mike and Clay Arnold took home some cash courtesy of the Indiana Chapter of the GSCA. David and Mike received gift certificates from HR Parts'n'Stuff and beautiful trophies, also from the Indiana Chapter!
Thank you to Jeff Robison's Club MMA, Shaeffer Oil, Laura Buick GMC, and the St. Louis-area Snap-On dealers for donating goodies for the racers! A big thank you to Tim LeMay of Team Banana for his generous gesture as well.
Everyone in attendance had a wonderful time at a great track at a fun event. Thanks Wild Bill for inviting Turbo Hot Street.
The next event at the BPG Nationals July 30-August 1, will mark Turbo Hot Street's one year anniversary! We are looking to do something special to mark the occasion. Come up to Columbus and check it out!
See ya at the races!
