SCSS STREET CAR SHOOTOUT RESULTS -- 6/14/2005

W: Steve Wrinkles, Moscow Mills, MO; 1969 427 Camaro, 0.212, 10.819/125.68
RU: David Starns, St. Louis, MO; 1991 355 Mustang, -0.059, 11.142/120.32

Steve Wrinkles, a weekly bracket racing contender whose street-legal '69 Camaro had never been entered in a Tuesday night program, scored a win in his first attempt in the eleventh event of the 2005 SCSS Street Car Shootout Series title at Gateway International Raceway. The Moscow Mills, MO, racer earned the honors in what was arguably the most frantic and entertaining event in the history of the series. Atmospheric conditions presented a corrected elevation of only 1600 feet above sea level and an all-star field (twelve of the "Super Sixteen" qualifiers had already earned at least one "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal this season) pounded out the quickest "bump spot" in SCSS history. Although the only vehicle which didn't qualify under 12.00 seconds was the crowd favorite of the race, qualifying for the sixteen-car field was a show in itself. Eventually, it would take a 12.02-second run to make the field!

Timed trials found no less than nine vehicles dipping into the eleven-second zone, including an 11.28/117 by June 7th runner-up Dan Volmert's '71 LeMans, an 11.34/121 by May 31st winner Kevin Kolkmeyer's '02 Z28 and an 11.36/118 by 2004 event runner-up Dennis Roeslein's infamous silver '02 Camaro (exhibiting some of the highest wheelstands ever). The quickest shot, however, came from a nondescript green '69 Camaro not been previously seen in SCSS competition. Steve Wrinkles, a regular in the Carl's 4WD Pro Eliminator bracket category during GIR's Saturday night program, hit a 10.90/126.40 on his first pass.

In the first hour of the official qualifying period, the number one position bounced among Billy Matt Johnson's '66 Nova (11.99/112), Greg Boschert's 331-cubic inch '66 Mustang (11.77/120), Roeslein (11.55/117), Kolkmeyer (11.25/121), and David Starns' familiar silver-and-maroon '91 Mustang (11.05/121). As the sixteenth position fell like an anvil into the 12.20s, nearly every driver improved on successive passes; Starns slowed to an 11.18/120 while Kolkmeyer hit another 11.25/121. Wrinkles ended the qualifying debate 90 minutes into the session, however, with a 10.817/125.44. With 15 minutes remaining in qualifying, Wrinkles' Chuck-A-Burger/Matt Johnson Performance Center Camaro returned to clock a 10.814/125.74!

Wrinkles, a machinist at Matt Johnson's facility in St. Louis, admitted he had no plans for his 427-cubic inch small block other than a few test runs to get ready for the weekend. "Once I found out how the program works, I decided to go ahead and run but I really didn't think I'd make the quickest two. There are a bunch of strong cars here." Starns had experienced mechanical problems during several events in 2005 but appeared to finally be prepared to make a competitive match of the final round. With a quarter-second deficit hanging over the Ford pilot's head, however, a redlight by fifty-nine thousandths of a second ended Starns' bid. On the winning pass, Wrinkles hit a 10.809/125.68 for his third run within eight thousandths of a second, proving he was more than ready for the upcoming double-event weekend!

Matt Johnson, the legendary Pro Stock owner who also won the first national Pro Modified World Championship in 1990, joined Wrinkles for the trophy presentation and hinted that several new team cars would be forthcoming for SCSS action, including a new Camaro for grandson Billy Matt Johnson. Ironically, Matt Johnson was the sponsor for St. Louis International Raceway's original Pro Street program in 1981 on which the basis of the SCSS format was formed!

Justin Bondurant again earned qualifier status with his four-cylinder Dodge Neon, but the most talked-about qualifier, by far, was the simply incredible PowerMax Diesel Silverado of Phillip Blackburn, whose exploits in the Carl's 4WD Super Truck Showdown literally brought the fans to their feet. The quickest six-cylinder entry was again Matt Tallman's Springfield, IL, FWD '97 Buick Regal which, although battling converter problems, ran 13.16/105.47.