THS-The rest of the story

87LC2

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2005
TURBO HOT STREET

The inaugural THS race was ran at the BPG Nationals August 2, 2009 in Columbus, Oh. We had an eight car field, which by the way, made the winner eligible for the full payout from the BPG in addition to the other swag that was presented.

Dave Day, from Bunker Hill, Illinois set the Low ET and Top Speed marks in qualifications with his one owner 1987 Grand National. Dave ran a 10.69 ET with a 129.24 MPH speed. (Despite the misprint on the qualifying ladder, Dave was not packing a 455 under the hood, though some looked.)

Justin Hinderer, from nearby Granville, Oh., was the number two man in his Champion iron head equipped 1987 Grand National. Justin went 11.16 ET@ 118.67 MPH in his very well driven and super clean hot rod.

Number three spot was claimed by Jeffersonville, Indiana’s own Kip Asplund. Kip debuted his stunning white 1987 Turbo T in Cbus with an 11.29 ET@ 122.21 MPH. This was Kip’s first time behind the tiller of his new ride. We expect more from him with a little more seat time.

Riverside, Ohio’s crack body man Brian Berger showed he was no slouch behind the wheel when he qualified with a 12.18 ET@121.37 MPH. His 1987 GN must be seen to be fully appreciated. Brian regularly prowls the streets around town in this gorgeous beauty.

Wayne Danfee was in the number five spot via a 12.56 ET@ 108.53 MPH. The MAGNA member from Delaware did double duty with his WE4 in the car show and answered the bell again on Sunday.

Another semi-local resident was Etter Conestraro from Wintersville, Oh. in the sixth spot. Etter ran a 13.01 ET@ 100.64 MPH in his 1987 Grand National. Etter had come in with Justin Hinderer with the intention of some bracket racing. Instead they had themselves some heads-up fun in Hot Street.

Jason Rigsby from Sidney, Ohio drove his 1987 Regal T to the number seven slot with a 13.51 ET@ 98.95 MPH. In the spirit of competition, Jason bolted on a new turbo to take his game up a notch but had a bit of difficulty getting everything sorted out.

Rounding out the Elite 8 was Eric Juengling from the fair city of Hamilton, Ohio. Eric’s absolutely beautiful GN was the only 1986 edition in the field. He got in with an easy 15.96 ET@ 90.55 MPH.

For a first time event, everything went amazingly smooth. There were no issues to speak of in peer tech. The feedback from the racers was positive and they seemed to enjoy themselves. The intent of the class is f-u-n. Running a heads-up race is always a good time. Just like in the game of basketball, you got to lace up the Chucks and play the game, and in drag racing you put on your helmet and got to get down the track. And in between, there are red lights and slippery tracks and equipment failures.

The spectators were treated to some good drag racing. The first race of Round #1 was Jason Rigsby (#7) versus Justin Hinderer (#2). Hinderer put Rigsby away with an 11.38 @ 108 MPH as Rigsby continued to try and sort his new combination out.

Next up was Etter Conestraro (#6) against Kip Asplund (#3) with Asplund advancing over Conestraro.

In what looked to be the match-up of the round, Wayne Danfee (#5) was taking on Brian Berger (#4). Danfee showed he had a little more “in the tank” as he picked up the pace enough to stay ahead of Berger for the win.

Eric Juengling knew he had his hands full up against the number one qualifier, Dave Day. And he was battling an unknown mechanical gremlin that was slowing him down from his usual pace. Still, Juengling made a good show going down to an off-the-pace Day.

Round #2 found Justin Hinderer (#2) with a slight ET edge over Kip Asplund (#3). And this turned out to be another great match-up. Asplund beat Hinderer off the line but ended up trying to chase him down. Hinderer advanced to the final with an 11.36 @ 119.86 to an 11.56 @ 125.26.

In the other semi-final, it was Wayne Dunfee (#5) versus Dave Day (#1) with Day beating Dunfee.

So, in the first ever final of Turbo Hot Street, the contestants would be Justin Hinderer (#2) and Dave Day (#1). Day would appear to have Hinderer covered as he had layed down some quicker passes in open test and tune. But save for the last round, he had been in the 11s all day. Hinderer was the number two man for a reason. He had been running solid and easy passes all day. Was there more in the tank? If there was, it could be curtains for Day (who had been struggling with brake problems all day). And as fate would have it, during the morning qualifying session, when Hinderer had busted the crossover pipe on his car, it was Day who produced the replacement that got him back in the show. And now, they were meeting in the final round of Turbo Hot Street. The end was a bit anti-climatic as Hinderer got the big red eye when he pushed the tree to gain an edge. The foul gave the win to Day. ETs were 11.08 @ 129 MPH for Day and 11.40 @ 119 MPH for Hinderer.

All in all, it was a great time for all involved. Spectators were asking a lot of questions about THS and several expressed an interest in participating in future events. Even a well known TSM racer was overheard discussing converting his car over to a legal Hot Street ride (maybe even in time for Osceola, which is the next stop for the class). Overall, the class seemed to be well received by the racers and spectators alike.

All contestants received a mouse pad from Laura Buick for qualifying. In round one, they also got choice of hats, again provided by Laura Buick or t-shirts, courtesy of Hawkins Speed Shop (thanks to Ronnie Sutherland). Fourth place received hand wipes from Tommy Robison and third place received a case of Shaffer Lubricants ATF (thanks Dave Day). The winner and runner up both received handsome trophies, courtesy of a generous donation from Adam Calcote (aka “V8 Assassin”). The runner up also received a gift certificate from Champion Heads for using Champion heads.

From the Buick Performance Group, the winner received $250.00 in cash and prizes and the runner-up got $100.00 in cash and prizes! In addition the winner got a bottle of ZDPPlus (thanks Dennis Kirban) and the runner-up received a fuel filter (thank you *********** and Highway Stars).

A huge thank you goes out to all the racers for participating in the class. Thank you to the BPG for hosting the event and providing a nice payout. And a thank you goes out to “The Big Head”, Chris Carnforth and Collin “Nachos” Hundley, my staff. And (finally) thanks to David Stinson for providing the THS “official pit vehicle”.

See you in Osceola for Round Two!
Ed
 
Pics!!

Here's some Official THS ink for your viewing pleasure!!
 

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DDay, congrats on the win!!! Most of all thanks for all your help this weekend getting my van window up in the rain and helping us get that rocker stud fixed. You are a good man!!!!!!!!
Thanks again
Ronnie
Ps, Tommy are you going to run a car this year or just talk about it.:eek: :biggrin: :p
 
Thanks Ed and Kip for letting me run with you guys I had ablast. Ed you have any pics of my car.
 
How many events will be ran this year and is it ran like tsm w/ an entry fee to collect points or is it show up and your in the points if you qualify.

I'll be in osceola for the next race, (if they let me)
 
Kip... Bad A$$ lookn' white car!!

Ed... Any issues with tech at all, or was it smooth?

Who's little bobber pit-bike in the left side background of this photo?


K.
 

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Clint, sent you a pm back.
Tommyguns, I don't have any video. I don't know if anyone else does.
Eric, I still have two rolls of photos to develop. I'll have to see if Chris or Collin have anymore to post. Thanks for running with us!
Jetmech, THS is being run at Cbus and Osceola this year. Not sure of the whole schedule for next year. It is not a points series. You show up, pay the entry fee (for the event) and race.
NCTurbo, Tech was fine. Everyone drove off happy. The scooter in the background belongs to Bobby Buick aka Bobby Biker. He built it from a kit.
 
Ps, Tommy are you going to run a car this year or just talk about it.:eek: :biggrin: :p

would have had a car a c-bus if the tranny was fixed and yes, i will be at the midwest challenge. give me a call later and save the chit talken for the tsm boys.
 
Kip,ED awesome job!! Things went real smoth!!
Ronnie, Thanks I know you would do the same for me.
I was fighting brake holding issues all weekend. They finally lost the lining of the shoe and had to install some cheap shoes and drums, thanks Chris Lyons!I made a test and tune pass 10.50@130mph, this is the pass the brakes failed on! I made all my passes with little to no boost launches in eliminations. I just didn't want to see any red!!! :cool:
DDay
 
guys i had a great time and the pics are great . sorry i didn't make oceola.try to run the next event. i need to get my tranny/converter straightend out. you guys did a great job and this class is fun. seeya later Brian
 
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