2008 Spring Break Shootout

Roller Coaster Ride at the PSCA Spring Break Shootout

Story by Eric Lenore / Photo's by Paul Schmitz

Action at the Spring Break Shootout sponsored by Orme Brothers Inc. was nothing short of an emotional roller coaster ride for the racers of the PSCA.  As the transporters entered the beautiful California Speedway Facility they immediately witnessed dark clouds and low snow levels in the nearby mountains.  The track was cold and had not been used for several months during the off season but that did not faze these dedicated hard core racers.  Take 2007 Pro Street Champion Ed Thornton for instance.   He and his Accufab sponsored crew thrashed on the famous black '57 during the weeks prior to the race only to spend most of Friday's test session chasing a computer glitch.  Twenty minutes before the first round of qualifying on Saturday the team discovered a broken chassis bar which required a trip back to Thornton's shop to repair the damage and return in time for the 2^nd and final qualifying session.   On that run Big Ed immediately spun the tire, got badly out of shape, and had to settle for 11^th position on the 16 car ladder.  As you will see the Accufab team was able to emerge from what appeared to be an early end to their 2008 debut and push through the field to reach the final round.   

On top of the Pro Street field was the leader of Team Accufab (John Mihovetz) with a near record setting 6.37 @ 218 MPH.   The twin turbo Cougar was the quickest and most consistent car on the property and John's Accufab Team appeared to be on a mission.   Mihovetz was followed by three 6.50s turned in by Giuseppe Gentile, Randy Hagerty and Clint Hairston, respectively.  Team Hairston was consistently running high MPH during testing and qualifying and Clint aka "the Milkman" was driving the wheels off that gorgeous orange Bickle GTO.   Pro Street pioneer Monty Berney began to get a handle on the amazing Bertha III with a admirable 6.63 at over 220 MPH.  Rounding out the top half of the field were Jeremy Hanger with a personal best 6.74 @ 211, followed closely by Bob Griffith and Art Hodges.   

Guiseppe Gentile's 2008 Shelby GT-500 Qualified 2nd (6.537@216.03) 

Randy Hagerty led the Nitrous guys in Qualifying....

Monty Berney ran his Quickest & Fastest Passes in his long and storied career (6.599 & 220.12mph)

Dan Myers made his PSCA Pro Street Debut with his really cool 1957 Cameo, but chased new car blues all weekend....

The first round of eliminations had a notable upset (at least at this race) as #3 qualifier Randy Hagerty shook the tires against a strong performance by World Finals winner Mike "Showman" Bowman who recorded a 6.56 @ 216 MPH.  Monty Berney posted his first pass in the 50s and got Bertha III's first PSCA round win with a 6.59 @ 214 MPH over Kelly Bluebaugh.   Ed Thornton just barely got by an up and coming Jeremy hanger who recorded another 6.78 to Ed's slightly quicker 6.72.    Mihovetz, Hodges, Hairston, Gentile and Griffith all advanced to the second round.   Things heated up in round two as Mihovetz progressed with another 6.37 at over 220 and Hairston moved on with a 6.52 at a rocket speed of 224 MPH!!     Thornton was yet again able to advance with a off the pace 6.71 to Bowman's 6.79.   Bob Griffith's Viper overcame a .07 starting line advantage of Giuseppe Gentile with a big top end charge to get by the beautiful new twin turbo Shelby GT 500 Mustang of Gentile.   

Jeremy Hanger posted his PSCA Personal Best 6.742....

Art Hodges testing his new Nitrous Combo (6.774@209.30)

Bob Griffith's Viper led the Blower guys to the semi's....

The Semis had one of  the best races of the day as the Milkman cut an amazing  .007 light and ran a stout 6.50 @ 224 only to come up 17/1000ths short at the stripe as Mihovetz chased him down with a 6.42 @ 220.  On the other side of the ladder Griffith's Viper launched hard with a stout 1.00 60-ft but drifted left and he was forced to lift at 200 feet handing Thornton the win.    This set up an all Accufab final contrasting the deadly consistent Cougar of Mihovetz with a struggling and battered '57 Chevy of Thornton.   The four time PSCA Pro Street Champ's luck finally ran out in the final as mechanical problems lead to a water leak which found its way under the rear tire forcing Ed to lift almost immediately.   Mihovetz did not disappoint the fans as he put on a show with yet another stellar 6.37 performance to take the first win of the season.   

Kelly Bluebaugh posted a 6.78 in the 1st round, but fell short to Monty Berney's quickest pass to date 6.59

Bob Towns ProCharged car continues to impress....

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In Accufab Outlaw 10.5, Rich Zehring led the way with an outstanding 6.95 @ 203 MPH.  Rich and crew chief Brian "Lil Bri" Smith have been working through the bugs of their new monster 870 CI Fulton combination which they began testing at the end of 2007.  In fact, the team had a twin to the motor in the trailer just in case they had to lean on the primary motor.   Defending Outlaw 10.5 champ Ron Weems and his Toy Factory team nailed down the #2 slot with a 7.10 @ 195 MPH.    The naturally aspirated 2005 Pontiac continues to thrive in this world of turbo and mountain motor nitrous combinations.    Enrique Soto brought out his clean nitrous assisted 92 Camaro but was off the pace with a 7.57 @ 180 MPH.   Randy Normandin and the Hot Rod Performance team were largely in the testing mode with their new twin turbo combination running in the 7.80s.  The '02 Camaro now has the power to go along with a proven chassis combination and will likely be a contender in the near future.   The remainder of the field struggled to get down the track during an abridged qualifying day on Saturday which provided only two opportunities to navigate a tricky track surface. 

2007 Champion Ron Weems takes the 1st win of 2008!!!

Enrique Soto runs in the 7.30s for the first time in his career....

Sunday was a new day for the Outlaw 10.5 racers and it was evident that the track and weather conditions were no longer the enemy.   Weems duplicated his qualifying performance with another 7.10 in a first round win over Scot Slotten.   Randy Normandin's turbo combination continued to show improvement posting a 7.66 and getting the win over the Nova of Greg Seth-Hunter who encountered mechanical problems.  Zehring, Soto and Kephart also advanced thanks largely to mechanical failures encountered by their first round competitors.  Soto continued to show improvement with his first run below 7.50 posting a 7.45 @188 MPH and taking out Normandin in the process.    Weems had to pedal the Pontiac but was able to sneak by Chris Kephart to gain access to the semis.  Zehring ran out a competition single with an impressive 7.02 @ 202 MPH moving closer to yet another semi final.  Weems was afforded a competition single and advanced to the final to face the winner of Zehring vs. Soto.   Rich and Lil Bri were able to overcome a hole shot by Soto and back-up the previous run with a 7.04 resulting in a new ET record for the Nova.   Unfortunately, the big nitrous motor ate a piston on that run forcing the team to go to the spare motor for the final.  Despite all their efforts, Zehring was unable to make the call in time and Weems gained his first win of 2008 with an admirable 7.06 @ 196. 

More to follow....