PSCA Racing.com

PSCA's Gentile Resets the Bar at California Speedway

July 31, 2008
Story by Eric Lenore / Photos By Tim Marshall

Street Car Racers stormed into California Dragway last weekend for the fourth stop on the PSCA 10^th Anniversary Tour. The PSCA West Coast Shootout sponsored by Accufab Performance marked the mid-point of the season for us left coast racers. Despite air temps in the mid to high 90s and exhausting pessimism in the media concerning the economy and gas prices, Mel Roth and his PSCA staff produced yet another spectacular event. The staff at California Dragway also rose to the occasion providing an outstanding racing surface, which yielded record performances for some of the fastest door slammers on the west coast.

In Hughes Performance Pro Street, Giuseppe Gentile and his Muscle Motors Performance sponsored 2008 Shelby GT 500 was simply the car to beat. The machine, crew and driver had an outstanding weekend qualifying on the pole with a 6.32, setting a new PSCA Pro Street MPH record of 229.55 MPH and going to their first final of the year. This comes only a few months after Gentile and the boys staked their claim to the PSCA ET record with a 6.29 at Las Vegas in March. The Muscle Motors crew gave Gentile a car that marched down the track like a bullet train on rails. Each run was incredibly straight, phenomenally smooth and consistently FAST! The dominance of turbo assisted machines in Hughes Performance Pro Street has become apparent as the event marked the third all turbo final in only four races.

Hughes Performance Pro Street Qualifying:
1. G. Gentile            6.364@225.75
2.   J. Mihovetz        6.455@220.33
3.   K. Bluebaugh     6.580@214.21
4.   E. Thornton        6.649@225.45
5.   R. Hagerty         6.894@164.23
6.   A. Hodges          6.901@183.77
7.   C. Hairston        6.986@200.35
8.   B. Towne           7.092@193.27
9.   M. Moffat           7.281@145.33
10. J. Sams            7.527@200.95
11. D. Myers          8.132@197.13

A Wild & Crazy New Paint Scheme For Giuseppe Gentile's GT-500

Nevertheless, the nitrous contingent would not go down without a fight. They were led by the Auto Trader Sponsored Kelly Bluebaugh (recording several runs in the 6.50 zone) and his teammate Randy Hagerty who posted a personal best in Pro Street trim with a 6.42 @ 218 MPH. Unfortunately for Hagerty, that run (which would have sent him to the final) was nullified by a big red bulb on his side of the tree. With the Absence of John Scialpi, Jimmy Mock, Bob Griffith and Jeremy Hanger the blown alcohol representation was sparse. When the dust settled, it was current points leader John Mihovetz and team Accufab in the final against the savage twin turbo Mustang of Gentile. Mihovetz took advantage of a staging problem for Gentile and garnered nearly two tenths on the tree. Despite Gentile's big end charge, his 6.35 ET came up short against Mihovetz's 6.48 holeshot. This represented the third win of the season for Mihovetz and Team Accufab resulting in a significant lead in Hughes Performance Pro Street championship points. The race also represented an end of an era in PSCA Pro Street racing as Ed Thornton retired the famous black '57 Chevy that dominated the class for several years. After winning four Championships, the '57 was recently sold and will be headed to Australia where it will likely terrorize the competition for years to come.

Four Final Rounds in Four races for Points Leader John Mihovetz...

In one of the greatest side by side races in PSCA Pro Street history, Bob Griffith (far) and Kelly Bluebaugh were door handle to door handle down the entire 1320 (6.596 to a 6.599)

Mike Bowman had a great .447 light against Mihovetz in the 2nd round, but could not keep the power planted to the racing surface....

Mike Bowman had a great .447 light against Mihovetz in the 2nd round, but could not keep the power planted to the racing surface...

Much More To Follow.................

Borla performance Xtreeme Drag Radial has become one of the most exciting classes in all of the PSCA. The spec tire (a 12-inch wide DOT drag radial) is the equalizer giving many racers fits in the heat. The tire appears to be extremely fast on tight cool racing surfaces but has proven to be tricky to master on hot marginal tracks. Since the conditions were more indicative of the ladder description, nearly every XDR competitor struggled with the imbalance between power and traction at Fontana over the weekend. After winning the first two races of the season, Matt Schmidt appeared to be the most comfortable racer on the new tire. However, this was the first race where conditions were hot with track temps reaching the 150's. In Qualifying, Matt Schmidt was no were to be found as he uncharacteristically qualified near the bottom of the nine car field.

Bobby Frye qualified 5th, but lost 1st round to Dunaway...

Simi Valley's Bill Dunaway always seems to go rounds!!!

Walt Brock ran the second quickest ET (8.384) in the 1st round, unfortunately for him, his opponent Scott ran the quickest (8.192)...

Taking the pole was Steven Short in his wicked twin turbo '96 Mustang with a track limited 8.24 @ 185 MPH. Short's Pro Radial Racing team has engaged the services of Turbo People's Job Spetter Jr. and has made strong progress towards consistency and longevity with the new combination. Short has set many record marks in Wild Street and is looking to rewrite the record book in XDR as well. Hoping to reign in the turbo contingent was the #2 qualifier Scott Oksas in his 90 Mustang powered by a sbf on nitrous. With guidance from people like Pettis Performance, Mike's Transmission, Hickock Race Cars, Brandt Racing and his crew (Johnboy, Tory, Tim and Bryan), Oksas has really stepped up the program for 2008. Scott's car is also one of the most visually stunning in the class with amazing candy red flames against a deep black backdrop. Slim Zeinaty put his small block nitrous combination powered by an AES Racing Engines small block in the third position with an 8.43 @ 167. Slim's pit is always buzzing with activity as he and teammate Rick Snavely are constantly testing the limitations these incredible yellow machines. This class is overloaded with former champions including the #4 qualifier Roger Holder who won both the Xtreeme Street Championship in 2007 as well as the SCSN III XDR class last year at Vegas. Holder, who has run in the 7.60 zone, struggled with the track as his Chuck Robert Nitrous tuned Nova simply overpowered the track and could only muster an 8.51 @ 175 MPH. Rounding out the top five was yet another former champion, Bobby Frye with an off the pace 8.67 @ 156 MPH. Frye and his crew chief, Rick Snavely, have won several PSCA championship and even won Orlando's drag radial class in 2003.

2007 Xtreeme Street Champion Roger Holder continues to struggle with the new chassis

The V6 powered Buick of Manny Bogosian will be a player in XDR as soon as he gets a little more track time with the Regal...

Steven Short qualified #1 and would have been in the finals, but a costly "Towing to the scales " infraction cost him a semi final win

As elimination's in XDR began, things got ugly fast. Former Real Street Champion and one of the premier drivers in the PSCA, Matt Schmidt, gave everyone a real scare when his '66 Nova (one that he has owned for over 25 years) lost traction and took a sudden hard right turn into the right side barrier. The impact was severe and lead to a fuel explosion in the forward mounted fuel cell. Matt has always maintained control of his race car but on this occasion he was just along for the ride. The fortunate outcome was that Matt was essentially unhurt. As Matt stated to me on the phone, he is touched by the outpouring of concern and prayers from all his extended PSCA family. Unfortunately, the car did not fare so well and will require extensive repair. Matt has always been a racer's racer and we have all enjoyed watching him race. We hope that Matt and his family decide to rebuild and bring back the famous blue Nova that has terrorized the west coast for so many years

Matt Schmidt never did get a handle on the hot track by qualifying 8th (His worst starting spot of the 2008 season)

After Matt hit the wall!! Thankfully Matt is OK!!!

As competition continued, Slim Zeinaty was able to advance following Matt's unfortunate incident. Also advancing were Steven Short, Bill Dunaway, Scott Oksas and Roger Holder. In the second round Short and Zeinaty used their pedal fest skills to get by Dunaway and Holder while Oksas made a single run of 8.26 @ 172 to gain lane choice for the semis. In the semis, things got very interesting following a ladder bye run for Zeinaty who elected to save parts and idle down the track. On the other side of the ladder Oksas put a huge holeshot on Short with a .065 starting line advantage only to be run down by the twin turbo monster of Short who recorded low ET of the weekend with an 8.08 to Oksas 8.22. Following the run, Short's team towed him to the scales in violation of the rules which state that cars must be pushed or driven to the scales. The car was then disqualified by PSCA officials and Oksas advanced to the final to face Zeinaty. Unfortunately for Scott, his luck ran out when he struck the tire about 400 feet out and could not hold off Slim who was able to better control wheel speed and went on to win his first XDR event.

Slim Zeinaty driving his Wild Street Chevelle wins his 1st XDR Event!!!

Scott Oksas debuted his new Pettis Small Block and was the most consistent XDR car of the weekend until the final round where he added in an extra degree of timing and it bit him with tire spinning at 400ft...

In Accufab Performance Outlaw 10.5 competition, the breaking story was focused on the return of 3-time PSCA Champion, Doug Sikora. Sporting a rare small block nitrous combination, Sikora was able to nail down the top qualifying spot with a 7.31 @ 188 MPH. Being slightly upstaged by the small block Ford, Ron Weems and Rich Zehring had to settle on the #2 and #3 positions, respectively. Rick Snavely and Chris Kephart rounded out the top five with condition impacted runs well off their normal pace.

Rick Snavely qualified 4th and went 2 rounds...

MMR's Mark Luton had engine trouble during qualifying, repaired it in time for eliminations, but a red light ended his weekend early...

Enrique Soto continues to impress with 7.50 runs...

Wildomar California's John Wall has the potential, those pesky gremlins kept him from competing in round one...

In the opening round on Sunday, Sikora nearly duplicated his qualifying run with a smooth 7.33 @ 188 MPH. Weems, Zehring, Snavely and Kephart continued to struggle with the track but advanced to the second round. At that point, Zehring and Lil Bri Smith were able to turn down the big Fulton mill enough to salvage a 7.59 and get past Snavely. Sikora eased up with a 7.87 against a early shut-off by Kephart while Weems broke the beams and prepared for the semis against Sikora. In that semi final round, Sikora went back to the bracket car consistency and took Weems out with a 7.34 @ 187. On a single, Zehring began to show signs of life as the big Nova motored down with a 7.38 @ 197 (just short of gaining lane choice against Sikora in the final). In the final Sikora was able to take 4/100ths at the tree and never looked back, edging out Zehring in the lights with another 7.33 vs. the Nova's 7.43. In only his second race back in Outlaw after a four year hiatus, "Barstow" Doug Sikora returned to the winners circle.

The 2007 Champ Qualified 2nd and made it to the semi's

Zehring posted his 3rd runner-up of 2008....

After 4 years away from Outlaw, Sikora is glad to be back!!!

The Edelbrock Hot Street racers put on another great performance as always in Fontana!!! From the show car quality rides to the crowd pleasin' wheel stands!! Dan Bott II led the way in qualifying with an outstanding 8.546 from his Kuntz built SBF, right on his heels was El Paso Texas resident Adrian Duron with another small block Ford. When the PSCA unveiled their 2008 Hot Street rules package, several small block teams publicly said too much was given to the Big Block combo's, just don't tell that to Bott and Duron!! Steve Fulgham once again led the contingent of BB's with a quick 8.737, followed by Dan Stanley, John Mitchell and Victor Brum. New comer Doug Broaddus debuted his new Hot Street ride and qualified 7th and Robert Wasso who had all sorts of issues finished 8th. On another note, long time PSCA Hot Street racer Craig Gustafson lost control of his Chevy II and hit the K-rail. Craig is OK and the car is already apart and getting ready to do battle again very soon.

Steve Fulgham hasn't found the consistency needed to win in Hot Street

Peoria, Arizona's Victor Brum has struggled so far in 2008, but his performance at Fontana should renew his teams spirits..

Dan Stanley qualified 4th and went two rounds

New comer Doug Broaddus is a welcome addition to the Hot Street family...

When Sundays eliminations began, the heat was not going to let up, but that did not discourage teh Hot Street racers..Victor Brum had the only real upset in the 1st round by taking out the fastest and most consistent of the Big Blocks, Steve Fulgham. Teammates Dan Stanley and John Mitchell battled once again with this round going to Stanley. Rob Wasso had his best run of the weekend during the 1st round (8.780), but fell victim to the #1 qualifier Dan Bott II. In round number two, the Small Block Fords started to flex their muscles. Bott's 8.556 easily took care of Dan Stanley as Adrian Duron's 8.688 eliminated the last remaining big block. This set up a battle of the small block late model Fords that had several epic matches late last season. In the final, Duron took a huge holeshot (.419 to a .441) and tried to hold off the hard charging Bott, but in the end the AMP Performance sponsored Mustang prevailed with their 2nd consecutive Edelbrock Hot Street win..

Duron's beautiful Stang runs as good as it looks..

Arizona's Dan Bott II took his Kuntz SBF to the winner's circle again...

Mickey Thompson Tires Wild Street attracted 15 drag radial cars to the Fontana to do battle. For the 2nd consecutive event, Albuquerque, NM native Chris Groves paced the small radial field with an very impressive 7.894/176.67 Even though the rest of the field was almost 5-tenths slower than Groves, with the hot conditions it's basically anybody race as soon as elimination's begin. Great job by Lonnie Patrick who qualified 2nd with his best performance in quite some time. Rounding out the top six qualifiers 3- Al Jimienez (8.401) 4- Levi Hanna (8.469) 5- George Raygoza (8.511) 6- Glenn Kent (8.546)

Lonnie Patrick reached the semi's for the 1st time in 2008

The only upset in the first round was in the 8 vs. 9 match-up... San Diego's own David Schwarz took a slight starting line advantage and led all the way to defeat the nitrous small block of Kevin Wallauer. In round two, series points leader going into the 3rd event (George Raygoza) had a huge starting line advantage over the 2007 Champion (Levi Hanna) and out peddled Hanna for the easy victory. In the closest Wild Street race of the weekend, Al Jimenez over came a hole-shot by Glenn Kent's '68 Camaro and took the win by a mere .0032!!!

Another great event for Glenn Kent, Qualifying 6th and going 2 rounds!!!

Lonnie Patrick red-lights away a trip to the Finals

The semi's brought out the heart breakers as Lonnie Patrick throws away his quickest run of the weekend (8.315) as Al Jimenez reaches his first PSCA final round... In the other match-up, George Raygoza (Who's been in every Wild Street Final in 2008) had a big starting line advantage but couldn't keep traction on the beautiful '68 Nova only to see Chris Groves lay down the quickest pass of eliminations (8.003) This set up a classic final round that had it all... Ford vs. Chevy, Big Block vs. Small Block and of coarse So Cal vs. New Mexico, well....enough of that!! Groves took the starting line advantage and this was going to be a great drag race.... Jimenez tripped the beams with an event high MPH (180.50) but it was Groves who went on to win in the fastest side by side run in PSCA's Wild Street history!!! (8.015/180.04 to a 8.238/180.50) This win was the second in a row and now Chris Groves sits only 5 points behind Raygoza for 2008 Championship. Jimenez also gained on the points leader and now trails by only 50...

The BBC ProCharged '72 Camaro of Al Jimenez is defiantly a title contender!!