Last spring, David Hance revealed that, upon selling his barrier-breaking Outlaw Drag Radial Fox body Mustang, he was once again going Outlaw 10.5 racing with another Fox body formerly campaigned in the W-tire category by Ron Schlessinger and Larry Wood. Hance, who after several seasons toiling with his twin-turbo Hemi combination in Pro Modified had finally gotten a handle on the tune-up as well as anyone in the business, was a certifiable contender before he ever made a pass. He had a powerful and well-adjusted engine combo and a proven chassis, and once the New York Motorsports team got the new ride on the track, the results were truly stunning.
Over the winter, Hance became the second Outlaw 10.5 racer in history to record a three-second pass — albeit an unofficial one — during testing for the Arabian Drag Racing League season at the Qatar Racing Club in Doha, when he clocked a 3.99-second pass. Hance followed it up with several 4.0-second laps during competition, setting the stage for what many expected to be epic performances from he and others in the category once the season opened abroad.
Hance wasted little time showing that his twin-turbo Mustang is the real deal and that Qatar was no fluke, as over the weekend, he rolled to a new Outlaw 10.5 speed record, becoming the first driver in the history of the class to exceed 240 mph. During the final qualifying session at the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals at the Atlanta Dragway, Hance carded a 6.44 at a booming 241.50 mph, eclipsing the 250 mph barrier and moving himself up to second in the final qualifying order behind only points leader Mark Micke. In the first round of eliminations, Hance stepped it up in the elapsed time department, running the quickest NMCA Super Street 10.5W pass in history, a 6.374 at a slower 228.85 mph. Hance then backed it up with another impressive low 6.4-second blast, a 6.410 at 238.34 mph, to advance to the final round, where he was to meet Micke.
Unfortunately, rain cut the conclusion of the event short before the final round battle, but Hance and his New York Motorsports machine made their statement prior to the rains that it’s going to be interesting year in the Outlaw 10.5 and Super Street ranks.