Words and photos by Bret Kepner
7/8/04
Diversity is alive and well in Gateway International Raceway's new Street Car Shootout program. With nine events completed, the series has crowned eight different champions and has featured 90 different qualifiers out of almost 2,000 entries.
The Street Car Shootout program, sponsored by St. Louisans Dwayne Rall and Rob Gibbons with their Southside City Speed Shop, (5616 Gravois, 314-481-7500), features a simple format. Held during GIR's Tuesday Night Street Car Drags, all entries are given a permanent driver's number and a laminated driver's ID card. During the event, (an open timed trial affair for a $15 entry), all drivers are automatically ranked by elapsed time using the track's CompULink timing system. When qualifying concludes at 10 p.m., each of the 16 quickest qualifiers is awarded a large "Fastest Street Car Shootout Qualifier" decal and the two quickest qualifiers (or alternates, if needed) race heads-up for Winner and Runner-Up trophies. While the decals and trophies are provided by Rall and Gibbons, it's interesting to note that both have competed and won qualifier stickers in cars prepared by their own Southside City Speed Shop!
Drag Racing Online has taken a keen interest in the program, noting that qualifiers to date have included 409-powered '63 Impalas, Eagle Talons and Mitsubishi Eclipses, Ford Fairmonts, Toyota Supras, S-10 pickups, '66 AC Cobras, Nissan SXs, and even a few Dodge Vipers! Therefore, DRO will maintain a regular results section for the 2004 SCSS Street Car Shootout series. After all, it's drag racing in its most pure form!
SCSS SHOOTOUT RESULTS: June 29, 2004
Fenton,
Missouri's Derrick Roeslein, who scored a runner-up in the 2004 Southside City
Speed Shop Street Car Shootout Series back on April 27, became the series' eighth
different winner of nine completed events when he upset the most recent winner,
Mike Faller, of Springfield, Ill, in an all-Chevy Camaro final round.
Roeslein's silver 2002 Camaro qualified second behind defending champ Faller's 11.23/122 blast; for the second consecutive event, the pole position changed hands seven times during the three-hour qualifying period. Faller's "Katfish" 1998 Camaro, (aka "LSWon1"), made a test run only 10 minutes before the final, but stumbled to an 11.58 with timing troubles. Despite a brilliant 0.032 reaction time in the final, however, the timing problems continued for the FastRides.com machine and the Roeslein & Associates Z28 was able to power away for the win.
Michael Shultzius annihilated his own SCSS Series 4-Cylinder Track Records with a tremendous 12.12 at 116.27 mph in his Project240.com 1989 Nissan 240SX. The 2-Litre powerhouse qualified eighth and was the only non-V8 in the 16-car field. Laurence Bass broke his tie with Granite City's Clint North and became the only competitor to earn six SCSS "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decals so far in the 2004 series. Past SCSS Series Track Record holder Brian Orsbon drove his 2004 Dodge SRT to the quickest FWD effort of the event, a solid 13.14 at 105.76 mph, to qualify 33rd in the program.
Chevrolets now lead Fords 6 to 3 for overall wins.
SCSS SHOOTOUT RESULTS: June 15, 2004
Mike Faller, co-owner of Springfield, Ill.'s, Horsepower Factory Ltd., and the FastRides.net Web site, became the seventh different winner of eight completed events of the 2004 Southside City Speed Shop Street Car Shootout Series. Faller, (aka "LSWon1"), drove his "Katfish" Camaro to the victory in the most exciting and diverse SCSS meet to date.
The pole position changed no less than seven times during the three-hour qualifying period, with Faller stealing the number one spot from Rob Nolan's Granite City, IL, turbocharged V6 Buick Regal with less than a minute of qualifying remaining! In the championship round, Faller almost overstaged and was forced to hesitate on the starting line to avoid redlighting. Still the black Camaro ran down the first V6 finalist to win by 0.18 seconds, (30.47 feet).
The 16 qualifiers included a wide array of machinery. George Pocuca became the first FWD pilot to win a SCSS "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal when he obliterated Brian
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Indy Racing League star Robby McGehee qualified his 2004 ZO6 Corvette in the field, but may have been overshadowed by fellow IRL racer Curtis Francois, whose $130,000 2004 Mercedes/AMG CL55 ran 12.60 at 111.61 mph! Darren Lueders also qualified a 2003 CL55 in the program. Rod Overfelt's blue '65 Mustang fastback earned a qualifying spot with an early shut-off 12.65 at only 69 mph, then returned to run 11.13 at 119 mph four minutes after qualifying ended! Eric Francosky's '94 RX-7 missed qualifying by twenty-five thousandths of a second but reset the SCSS series record for rotary-powered machines at 12.97/111.25.
Chevrolets now lead Fords 5 to 3 for overall wins.
SCSS SHOOTOUT RESULTS: June 15, 2004
Gateway International Raceway superstar Ron Rathgeb Jr., became the sixth different winner in the seven completed events of the 2004 Southside City Speed Shop Street Car Shootout Series. Rathgeb, the Godfrey, Ill., youth who has won Gateway titles in the Junior Dragster, High School, Street ET, and Pro ET categories added another division to his list of conquests when he defeated Matt Corwin's "Pay To Play" Camaro from Foristell, Mo., in an all-Chevy championship bout.
Breakage was rampant among the top qualifiers. Jason Enge's '85 Mustang suffered engine damage on his low qualifying effort of 10.87/127.49; Matt Crittendon's April 20th Shootout-winning Mustang, Jarrod Keen's '67 Nova, and Bill Scholl's '66 AC Cobra were also unable to return for the final run against number two qualifier Rathgeb.
Despite less than favorable weather conditions, the event featured the quickest marks yet for 8 cars, (11.990), 16 cars, (12.420), and 32 cars, (13.029), in the 2004 Southside City Speed Shop Street Car Shootout Series.
Chevys have now taken the lead for overall wins over Fords, 4 to 3.
PAST WINNERS OF THE SHOOTOUT
Odehnal
Christy
Wilhoit
Sherrill
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