SCSS STREET CAR SHOOTOUT RESULTS -- 5/17/2005

WINNER: Mike Davis, Hillsboro, MO, 1993 356 Mustang, 0.290, 10.649, 130.07 mph

RUNNER-UP: Kevin Volkmeyer, Collinsville, IL, 2002 346 Camaro, 0.476, 12.389, 121.25 mph

Mike Davis (shown) gained revenge for the Ford fans who had recently endured three consecutive weeks of Chevrolet dominance by driving his renowned white Mustang to his first SCSS Street Car Shootout Series title at Gateway International Raceway. Although the Gateway racing surface had been battered by six days of racing in the previous week, good atmospheric conditions helped produce the third quickest 16-car SCSS field ever with a surprising number of drivers recording career-best performances. However, attrition during qualifying was evident among the fastest qualifiers and Davis earned the win with consistency and longevity.

Although timed trials saw Tony Huff's Collinsville, Illinois-based '68 Camaro produce the best run of 11.23/118, David Starns' silver-and-maroon '91 Mustang opened the official qualifying period by recording a great 11.00/122.89 in the very first pair. Shortly after, the popular 1966 Shelby AC Cobra replica of Bill Scholl hit a best-ever 11.19/120. Davis, whose white "Horse-Play" Mustang is better known by its "HRS-PLY" license plates, debuted its new 356-cubic inch powerplant ten minutes later with a 10.55-second, 130.69 mph bomb which was never bettered during the entire qualifying period.

Davis returned less than forty minutes later with a 10.71/129.77 effort as the battle continued for a spot in the final round against the Missouri Ford. Scholl's small block-powered Cobra roadster shot to another career-best 10.98/121.01, but it was the black '98 Mustang of Dittmer, MO's J. Middlesworth which stole the finalist position with one of the more terrifying runs of the event. Launching almost from an idle with a 1.90-second sixty-foot ET, the turbocharged Ford lost all traction at 330 feet and, while sliding all over the lane, continued on-and-off the throttle to a 10.81 at 131.57 mph! It was the quickest and fastest "modular motor" run in SCSS history, yet it only hinted at the Mustang's potential.

When the final round was called to the staging lanes, only Davis appeared for the challenge. Word soon filtered to the timing tower that Middlesworth's turbo car had suffered damage on its only run and was unable to appear. Scholl's Cobra, the first alternate, had already left the property since Scholl's work schedule precludes any runs past 9:00 p.m. Starns also reported damage after his 11.00 pass, and Huff's red Camaro, despite a best-ever 11.06/120.21 shot, suffered Line-Loc problems on  later runs. That left number six qualifier Kevin Kolkmeyer, whose well-known 2002 LS1 Camaro had recorded runs of 11.38/121.87 and a best-ever 11.17/122.24, as the next available finalist.

The championship bout was over quickly, however. Davis left first with an eighteen-hundredths of a second holeshot and, while Kolkmeyer's Camaro spun hard on the launch, hit another great run of 10.64/130.07. "I'm pretty happy with this new motor," said Davis while accepting the trophy with his son, Jeremy. "It made four runs between 10.55 and 10.83 and there sure seems to be more left."

The quickest six-cylinder run of the event came from Mat Tallman's one-of-a-kind front-wheel-drive 1997 Buick Regal, which hit exceptional bests of 12.836 and 107.04 mph. Davis' win moved Ford back into a 3-3 tie with Chevrolet for the Manufacturers' Championship, and Kolkmeyer's qualifying effort moved the Chevy driver into a tie with Asmir "Z-Eater" Catic's 2003 Cobra for the 2005 SCSS Season Championship. Both drivers have earned "Super Sixteen" qualifier decals in four of the six completed events.