Words and photos by Ian Tocher
10/17/05

nder overcast skies, the Atlanta-based Outlaw Racing Street Car Association gathered Oct. 7-9, at Huntsville (AL) Dragway to determine its 2005 season champions. As usual, George Howard’s eighth-mile strip provided all the grip the teams could handle, prompting one prominent Outlaw 10.5 pilot to quip, “This track is too good.”

Still, Terry Robbins and his crew figured it out well enough to run 4.496 seconds and establish a new official record on their way to the season’s Outlaw 10.5 title, and newly crowned Limited Street champ Darrin Hoyle also set a class E.T. record with a 4.835-second pass in eliminations. The EZ Street championship went to local hero Shane “Thrillbilly” Stack, with Scott Flowers and “Lil’ Rick” Pennington emerging as champs in the 6.0 and 7.0 index classes, respectively.

Unfortunately, rain put an early end to the event, leaving the finals in Outlaw 10.5, LS, EZ, and Outlaw Pro Mod to be completed during qualifying at ORSCA’s non-points race Nov. 19-20, at Atlanta Dragway. Regardless, the prize money at Huntsville was distributed amongst the finalists, so they’ll be racing only for bragging rights and trophies at Atlanta.

OUTLAW 10.5

Newly crowned Outlaw 10.5 champ Terry Robbins started the race from the number-one position in his nitrous-equipped 2002 Camaro after going a then-record 4.502 second in qualifying. He lowered the record to 4.496 seconds in the second round of eliminations against Tim Lynch, becoming the first ORSCA 10-wide driver to officially dip below 4.50 over the eighth mile. “I knew I had to go with Tim beside me. He had just laid down a 4.50 and we hadn’t got down the track all day until then,” Robbins said. “We moved some weight around and tuned it up a bit and there’s just something between a nitrous and turbo car that makes it better.”

After nine years of running Jr. Dragsters, 19-year-old Thomas Huddleston entered Outlaw 10.5 action last year with his 1986 Trans Am. He qualified 14th at Huntsville with help from his father Bo and mother Tammy, and ran a career-best 4.676 at 152.13 mph in a second-round win over Jared Brunner. Huddleston, from Murfreesboro, TN, lost in round three to Craig Miller.