Bret Kepner
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These results reflect the record holders, qualifiers, and final round contestants at each of the
Street Car Shootout Series events held each Tuesday at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
All vehicles compete utilizing Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) approved tires. All other modifications are permitted. Tuesday SCSS Track Records can be set during official qualifying or championship rounds. The Official Street Car Shootout qualifying period begins at 6:30 PM and concludes at 9:00 PM, (barring unforeseen circumstances). At 9:20 PM, the four quickest qualifiers meet in no-handicap eliminations with the championship final round held at 9:45 PM. Each of the Top 16 qualifiers receives a "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal. The SCSS trophies and decals are presented by Gateway Raceway.com. Additionally, the two quickest Sport Tuner drivers, (open to all passenger cars except Rear-Wheel-Drive vehicles with engines of eight cylinders or more), also meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by St. Louis Street Racers.com and the two quickest Super Truck drivers, (open to all trucks and utility vehicles), meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by Gateway Raceway.com. All finalists in all categories also receive free digital images from the event courtesy of Bret Kepner Photos.com and one free entry to a future SCSS event.
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS
2008 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES TRACK RECORDS
Class Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
RWD Tony Tobnick, Cedar Hill, MO 91 Mustang 359 Ford 8.341 10/16/2007
RWD Tony Tobnick, Cedar Hill, MO 91 Mustang 359 Ford 166.11 10/16/2007
4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 9.147 4/15/2008
4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 152.16 10/16/2007
TRK Larry Richards, Hillsboro, MO 52 3100 427 Chevy 9.278 9/4/2007
TRK Larry Richards, Hillsboro, MO 52 3100 427 Chevy 149.07 9/4/2007
DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 9.875 9/25/2007
DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 139.41 9/25/2007
RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 10.048 9/26/2006
RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 137.95 9/26/2006
AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 10.234 9/11/2007
AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 140.52 9/11/2007
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 10.989 05/06/2008
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 134.87 05/06/2008
6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 11.041 10/11/2005
6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 124.56 4/11/2006
MAY 20th, 2008 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES QUALIFIERS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
EVENT 06 05/20/2008
1 Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy 8.661 155.56
2 Steven Gentry Festus MO 65 Comet 557 Ford 8.717 156.35
3 Tony Huff Collinsville IL 57 Bel-Air 510 Chevy 9.329 143.34
4 Mike Mester Valley Park MO 00 Firebird 402 Pont 9.885 135.59
5 Kevin Autenrieth Bethalto IL 91 S-10 434 Chevy 10.013 119.49
6 Brett Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 406 Chevy 10.138 131.45
7 Laurence Bass Mascoutah IL 88 Mustang 306 Ford 10.223 144.92
8 Joe Williams Maryville IL 68 Nova 468 Chevy 10.287 129.87
9 Tony Buhl Lebanon IL 89 Mustang 306 Ford 10.294 130.19
10 Tim Kirkpatrick Troy MO 88 Mustang 393 Ford 10.656 126.03
11 Charles Bewen Wildwood MO 67 Firebird 383 Pont 10.975 123.09
12 Curtis Paulfrey Brighton IL 68 Camaro 468 Chevy 11.003 122.16
13 Isaac St. Clair Troy MO 72 Chevelle 400 Chevy 11.009 120.60
14 Scott Boning Union MO 93 Mustang 347 Ford 11.033 106.48
15 Scott Harl Bismarck MO 00 Camaro 346 Chevy 11.142 124.81
16 Bob Herzing Maryville IL 71 Camaro 454 Chevy 11.171 122.58
MAY 20th, 2008 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Tony Huff, Collinsville, IL 1957 510 Bel-Air 0.214 9.002 154.90
RU Tim Mallicoat, Collinsville, IL 1968 565 Camaro -0.037 (foul) 8.663 155.45
In a night of exceptional atmospheric conditions and a staggering amount of carnage, Tony Huff scored his tenth career victory in the Street Car Shootout Series at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. While the veteran of five seasons of SCSS competition produced the most entertaining runs of the event, the fact that Huff’s win came at the expense of Tim “Moose” Mallicoat was news in itself as Mallicoat suffered only his third loss in forty-three rounds of SCSS racing!
Even with slightly subpar barometric pressure, the cool and dry air which permeated the event dropped the corrected elevation to a mere 751 feet above sea level during final eliminations and continued the 2008 season’s string of fantastic conditions. For the fourth time in six events, more than seventy percent of all entries recorded career-best elapsed times or speeds. The 11.17-second “bump spot” for the sixteen quickest qualifiers marked the fifth-quickest field ever and the Super Sixteen included several new drivers.
The GIR starting line took its toll on equipment, however; several broken rearends and axles proved that “good air” and great traction often tests the limits of the best equipment. The attrition actually parked several of the event’s fastest entries and produced one of the most spectacular incidents in recent SCSS history when Hal Marshall’s renowned nine-second S-10 pickup pitched the entire rearend assembly from under the truck!
Scott Boning’s Union, Missouri-based ‘93 Mustang paced early timed trials with a 10.76-second effort at only 111.08 mph but Mallicoat wasted no time in posting the quickest pass in the official qualifying session when the defending SCSS season champion pushed his naturally-aspirated 565-cubic inch ‘68 Camaro to a 1.260-second sixty feet elapsed time and an 8.66/155.56. Just past the finish line, however, the “HellRaiser” Chevy unleashed a mushroom cloud of smoke which evoked Mallicoat’s insistence that his bigblock powerplant may need rebuilding after his most recent SCSS victory on May 6th. The Collinsville, Illinois, driver retired to the pits to diagnose the problem.
While Tony Huff took his Bill Silva-tuned ’57 Bel-Air to an “all motor” pass of 9.32/143.34 to qualify, Ford fans rejoiced when Steven Gentry pulled to the starting line in his 557-inch nitrous oxide-aided ’65 Mercury Comet, a past SCSS record holder. After a 1.34-second “sixty”, the mega-motored Comet shot to an 8.71 at 156.35 mph but, incredibly, also ended its pass with a plume of white smoke through the shutdown area. Like Mallicoat, Gentry’s Festus, Missouri, team headed back to the pits to discern the damage.
A sizeable battle ensued for the fourth and final spot in eliminations. Mike Mester’s white LS1-powered 2002 Trans Am hit a 10.02/134.87 which eventually withstood an onslaught of attempts. Mester ended all arguments with a career-best 9.885/135.59 in the final three minutes of the qualifying period. When the top four qualifiers were called to report in front of the main grandstands for the semi-finals, however, only five of the nine quickest qualifiers were even capable of pulling out of the pit area! Mallicoat surprised the fans, many of whom presumed his earlier smoke screen to be indicative of fatal damage, when he rolled into the staging area ready to race. Gentry determined that his automatic transmission was mortally wounded on his 8.71 qualifier and had to bow out for the second consecutive event. Kevin Autenreith’s orange ‘91 S-10 pickup, which had stumbled to a pair of 10.01 qualifiers with neither over 119 mph, succumbed to a fuel mixture problem. Brett Marshall’s white ‘86 S-10 was forced to withdraw when father Hal’s mishap occurred and 2006 SCSS Season Champion Tony Buhl fell to a catastrophic engine failure after his second qualifying shot. That allowed Laurence Bass, the original 2004 SCSS Champion, to enter the semi-finals as the third alternate with his Vortech-supercharged ‘88 Mustang which had blasted out a career-best 144.92 mph speed on a 10.22 qualifying effort.
The first battle of the semi-finals pitted Mallicoat against Mester and, despite a huge quarter-second holeshot, the Missouri Pontiac was passed before the 330-feet mark by the Illinois Chevy. Mester’s consistent 9.888/135.88 was no match for Mallicoat’s 8.73/155.35 even while “Moose” was forced to do a fair amount of driving to keep the Camaro in the center of its lane. When Tony Huff lined up with Bass, crewchief Silva decided it was time to use the 200-horsepower nitrous system which had made the ‘57 Chevy virtually uncontrollable in the May 6th event. Unfortunately for the Ford fans, the black Mustang lost fire as the green light illuminated; Huff grabbed a 0.054-second Reaction Time and then held on as the Bel-Air went everywhere but straight en route to a strong 8.80/154.83.
After defeating Huff in the May 6th final round, Mallicoat publicly noted that Huff’s newest ride had the potential to run even quicker than his own 8.6-second terror. He knew full well that, if it went straight, Huff’s machine could easily match his 8.66 qualifying effort and, after his dicey semi-final pass, “Moose” had to wonder if even he could duplicate that number. When the two staged for the championship dash, Mallicoat knew he had to treat the battle as an all-out race and Huff knew he had a legitimate chance to outrun the winningest driver in SCSS history. Mallicoat’s attempt at a holeshot came thirty-seven thousandths of a second too early, however, and his redlight start ended the battle instantly. Huff, in the other lane, never saw Mallicoat’s foul and again gripped the steering wheel as the Bel-Air went skyward in a towering wheelstand! Huff finally lifted his foot off the throttle and brought the Chevy back to earth but, when he stomped back on the gas to give chase to the fleeing Mallicoat, the nose of the black ‘57 headed for the moon again! The car went into three different wheelstands during the run and sashayed all over its lane and, when Huff crossed the finish line behind Mallicoat’s 8.66/155.45 on his own 9.00/154.90 pass, he still had no idea that Mallicoat had redlighted!
“This car is such a handful right now”, said Huff during the trophy presentations in front of the main grandstands, “that I was just doing everything I could to keep it straight. It really started getting close to the wall and I was just doing what I could to keep it in the lane. I never had time to look up to see the win light or anything. It was pretty crazy inside the car. We need to tighten up the front end and change a few things on the chassis to get it to calm down a bit. We’re really not even spraying it that much yet and already it’s a wild ride. We know it can run fast but we have to figure out how to get the car to accept the power”.
After only his third career round loss, Mallicoat remained philosophic. “I did what I had to do”, he said, “These guys are getting tougher and I don’t have a bottle to step up. Huff had a pair of sixty-feet ETs quicker than 1.26 tonight and, on street tires, that’s pretty impressive”. And what of Mallicoat’s massive smoke bomb in the shutdown area on his qualifying run? “Yeah, people thought we were hurt”, laughed “Moose”, “but everything was fine. We tested at Benton, Illinois, last week and the dipstick flew out on one run. One set of headers got coated with oil and there was still a little bit of it left on ’em. That’s where the smoke came from. The engine’s fine but nobody seemed to want to believe that”.
NOTES FROM THE SCSS: The 2006 SCSS Season Champion, Tony Buhl, returned to competition with his familiar maroon Vortech-blown 306-inch ‘89 Mustang but received the worst possible greeting when he broke the crankshaft on the car’s second run of the year. “The vibration was horrible”, said the Lebanon, Illinois, driver, “and I could feel that it was something serious. When we got back to the pits, we noticed the end of the crank wobbling around. We figure it broke just behind the first main journal”. Buhl’s late start was due to his recovery from recent surgery but Tony’s running just fine even if his smallblock Ford is terminal…Tim Kirkpatrick’s ‘88 393-inch Mustang blasted to a best-ever 10.65/126.03 to become the eighty-ninth member of the SCSS 10-Second Club; he was joined in the SCSS 120 MPH Club by Scott Harl‘s white 2000 346 Camaro, Ty Johnson’s ’79 355 Malibu and Zach Douglas’ ’93 306 Mustang. The 120 MPH Club now includes 171 drivers…Isaac St. Clair’s wild ’72 400 Chevelle qualified with an 11.00/120.60 but dipped into the tens with a 10.98/121.14 in late timed trials…Bob Herzing’s new bright red Dale Huff Motorsports ’71 427 Camaro qualified sixteenth with an 11.17/122.58 but unleashed a 10.48/130.39 after qualifying had concluded!…Ralph Meek’s blue ‘68 302 Mustang notchback hit a career-best 11.39/116.06 in late timed trials…Charlie Bewen’s immaculate blue ‘67 383-inch Firebird qualified with a 10.97/123.09 but obliterated its own 10.78/128.91 bests from 2007 with an incredible late timed trial of 10.36/131.16!…Zach Douglas’ ’93 Mustang didn’t make the Super Sixteen field with a best of 11.40/121.07 in qualifying but hit 11.12/123.77 after qualifying ended…Steve Wrinkles, whose green ‘69 427 Camaro won two SCSS titles and earned two low qualifying positions in the 2005 season, made his first runs in three seasons with a pair of 11.33s at over 121 mph…Ray Arthur’s “Suspicion” ‘68 Camaro wasn’t in attendance after Arthur found a crack in a brand new cylinder head he was preparing to install for the event…Dan Freeman drove his gorgeous ghost-flamed blue ‘98 Mustang to a win over Josh Galman’s ‘05 Mustang in the featured Cardinals Fans versus Cubs Fans battle in GIR Manager Jason Dukes’ Rivalry Series. Freeman was carrying the Cards banner and hails (appropriately) from St. Paul, Missouri. Galman, driving for the Cubs, is based in (also appropriately) Springfield, Illinois. John Mabry, a ballplayer who has played for both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs, threw the ceremonial “first pitch“…Traction was abundant at GIR but one had to know where to find it. Great air and hard street tires created massive “bald spots” on the concrete launch pad which required constant attention by GIR assistant starter David “Half” Price who found himself working alone with both chief starters Chuck Westcoat and “Ace” Richardson out of town. Price saved the day with phenomenal attention to the starting line and Tony Huff’s giant wheelstand on the last run of the night was his reward for a job well done.
STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (as of MAY 21st, 2008)
Pos Points Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine
1 (9) Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy
2 (8) Tony Huff Collinsville IL 57 Bel-Air 510 Chevy
3 (6) Kevin Autenrieth Bethalto IL 91 S-10 434 Chevy
4 (6) Brett Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 406 Chevy
5 (5) Hal Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 383 Chevy
6 (4) Dan Schell High Ridge MO 85 Monte Carlo 438 Chevy
7 (4) Jon Huber St. Louis MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford
8 (4) Mike Mester Valley Park MO 00 Firebird 402 Pont
9 (3) John Brawley Granite City IL 93 S-10 355 Chevy
10 (3) Curtis Paulfrey Brighton IL 68 Camaro 468 Chevy
NOTE: Points toward the 2008 Street Car Shootout Series Season Championship are awarded on the basis of one (1) point for qualifying in the Super Sixteen field with one (1) bonus point awarded for qualifying in the top four positions. Ties are broken by (1) the earliest date upon which the final point total is earned, (2) quickest elapsed time recorded during the current SCSS season and (3) fastest speed recorded during the current SCSS season.
MAY 20th, 2008 STLSR.COM SPORT TUNER SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W Denny Christman, Arnold, MO 1991 122 Talon 0.064 11.258 120.43
RU Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 1995 122 Talon 0.446 11.658 127.14
The only final-round battle in which the top two qualifiers met for the title came in the St. Louis Street Racing.com Sport Tuner Showdown and it included several firsts. The STSS war featured the first all-DSM match since September 12th, 2006, and it produced the first repeat winner for the Tuners in the 2008 season. Interestingly, it was the first all-HillCo Axles race, as well.
Denny Christman’s first victory came on April 15th, 2008, but he has already gained a deserved reputation as one of the year’s toughest Tuner pilots. His All-Wheel-Drive ‘91 Eagle Talon already clocked runs as fast as 124 mph but the HillCo employee streaked to a career-best 11.12/120.40 in early timed trials and backed up that performance with an 11.19/121.90 during the official qualifying period. Meanwhile, teammate and racing partner Adnan “Otto” Omerovic struggled to sort out his new an almost too powerful 4G63T combination with an overly cautious launch and an 11.68 at a ****ping 138.81 mph. The nearest qualified competitor was Jesse Finke’s Effingham, Illinois-based ’03 Mitsubishi Evo VIII at an impressive 12.70/111.83 followed by David Konuczny’s ‘05 Subaru Impreza WRX STi which hit a 13.15/101.85 while recording a fairly astonishing 1.70-second sixty-feet ET. Craig Powell’s turbo’d 231 V6 ’87 Buick Regal rounded out the top five at 13.31/99.26.
While friends offtrack, the two DSM diehards were each intent on taking home the larger trophy. However, Christman’s great 0.064 RT and 11.25/120.43 outran Omerovic’s 11.65/127.14 by a sizeable margin. Christman denied Omerovic the opportunity to be the first Sport Tuner driver to win ten titles while Christman became not only the first repeat winner of the year but the only repeat finalist of the season to date.
“We’ve still got some real issues with this thing”, said Omerovic during trophy presentations, “and we just have too much power for the drivetrain. We were hoping to get it sorted out by now so we can add nitrous to the combination. Right now, though, it’s a struggle”. Christman added, “You have to remember that his turbo is huge. It’s designed for an 800-900 horsepower combination while mine is only putting out around 450. When Otto gets his setup right, you’re not gonna believe how fast it’ll be. I won’t be able to touch him so I have to take advantage of him while I can!”.
MAY 20th, 2008 GATEWAYRACEWAY.COM SUPER TRUCK SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
W John Brawley, Granite City, IL 1993 355 S-10 0.247 11.888 113.75
RU Mike Hagan, Glencoe, MO 2004 360 Ram 3500 0.186 13.181 101.72
Followers of the GatewayRaceway.com Super Truck Showdown may not recognize those names but, in one of the weirdest truck battles in SCSS history, they were the last drivers standing. John Brawley, who earlier this season took the helm of longtime SCSS regular Ray Arthur’s beautiful new S-10 pickup, ousted Mike Hagan’s thundering diesel Dodge Ram in a final round guaranteed to produce a first-time winner. And what of Hal Marshall, Brett Marshall and Kevin Autenreith? They were all in attendance…but not for very long.
The craziness began with Hal Marshall’s first run only minutes into the official qualifying period. The all-time winningest Tuesday Night racer staged his new red-and-white ‘86 S-10 and produced the same wild, twisting wheelstand which has become the truck’s trademark. This time, however, the truck never settled down; thirty feet off the starting line in the midst of the wheelstand , the rearend housing ripped from its mounts and lodged itself sideways under the truck. Luckily, amid the sheared driveshaft and torn four-link suspension mounts, no other damage was done. “Well, that was interesting”, laughed Marshall as he exited the truck. Upon closer inspection, a blessing was discovered. “We had a whole new rearend ready to go in it”, said Allen “Crabby” Hannel, who drive Marshall’s white ‘86 pickup to five victories in 2007, “and we probably would’ve welded the new stuff to those mounts. Now, we can redo everything right!“. Hal seemed in good humor while checking the damage, adding, “I wondered how strong this truck really was and now I know!“.
The fact that Brett Marshall took the team’s white ‘86 S-10 to a 10.13/131.45 was soon a moot point; Hal’s son was forced to withdraw when the remains of the red pickup needed to be accompanied home on one of Ray Arthur’s rollback trucks. That left five-time champ Kevin Autenreith to dominate the field but, after two dismal-sounding 10.01 efforts, (both of which were coasting at the finish line), Autenreith knew his fuel delivery problems weren’t going to disappear. When Autenreith parked his orange S-10, John Brawley became the quickest truck pilot on the property with an 11.88/113.19 best.
The strangeness wasn’t over yet, however. Alternates Jason Evans‘ ‘88 S-15, (12.56/111.57), Don Russo’s ‘85 C-10, (12.981/100.79), and Don Hilderbrand’s 455 Olds-powered ‘67 C-10, (12.988/99.37), never appeared. Seventh qualifier Mike Hagan, however, seized the opportunity. Hagan’s 7700-pound ‘04 Ram 3500 blasted to a 13.22/10.53 and hit a 13.16/101.97 in late timed trials but was ready to fog in the track yet again in the final round. Although the massive diesel charged to a 1.89-second sixty-feet ET in the final, even a six hundredths of a second holeshot couldn’t hold off the little S-10 in the trophy dash.
“We’re just racing buddies”, said a smiling Brawley about his relationship with owner Ray Arthur, “and with Ray concentrating on his Camaro in the Street Car Series, he asked me to drive this truck after I parked my own pickup last season”. Arthur, whose “Suspicion” ‘68 Camaro has earned five runners-up but has yet to secure its first win, was elated with a champion’s trophy. “I really thought this truck would be worth running”, said Arthur, “and we don’t have nitrous on it yet! It’s just a 355 smallblock in a truck with a full interior and a great Kevin Thompson paint job“. Hagan’s Ram is a regular at Diesel Hot Rod Association events and, he admits, is far from stock. “It may be a daily driver but just about everything has been reworked including both of the turbos and the intercoolers. It’s big but it’s fast. Next time, we’ll be looking for the twelves!”.
Photos of the May 20th Street Car Shootout Series event are now available for viewing at Bret Kepner Photos.com.
Tony Huff, Collinsville, IL 1957 510 Bel-Air
Tim “Moose” Mallicoat, Collinsville, IL 1968 565 Camaro
Denny Christman, Arnold, MO 1991 122 Talon
Adnan “Otto” Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 1991 122 Talon
John Brawley, Granite City, IL 1993 355 S-10
Mike Hagan, Glencoe, MO 2004 360 Ram 3500
