The Street Car Super Nationals, now in its sixth year, brings the 2010 drag racing season to a close with the biggest doorslammer event West of the Mississippi. The Strip at Las Vegas Motorsports park in (you guessed it) fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, is playing host this weekend to teams from across the United States. We’ll be bringing you words and pictures all weekend long, starting with today’s opening qualifying sessions.
Special thanks to our event coverage sponsor Mickey Thompson Tires. You can check out their full line of wheels and tires at www.mickeythompsontires.com
Friday Qualifying
The story of the day has to be the weather – normally Las Vegas is a lock for at least workable race conditions (even if it is just a “dry heat”) but they do get the occasional storm, and the forecast has one on the way. Today started out a little cold with broken overcast, but as the day progressed, the wind came up and the clouds rolled in. The forecast calls for potential rain tomorrow afternoon, but more importantly, gusts to 65 miles an hour.
With hundreds of race teams from all points of the compass here, the event staff will be doing their best to get things done, but with the enormous turnout in Pro Street, it’s fortunate that we got two full rounds of qualifying in today, just in case things go sideways (literally) tomorrow. The weatherman is more optimistic for Sunday in general, so we’ve all got our fingers crossed and our awnings stowed.
Pro Street
We knew it was going to be a big field, but we didn’t know just how big – 53 cars, and a 6.882 bump spot! With (hopefully) two rounds of qualifying left tomorrow, the field could still get reshuffled significantly, and we might even see a 5 if the track will hold it. The racing surface has been an issue all day – both lanes seem to have one good groove, and one so-so, making for some interesting passes where ridesharing was a definite possibility. Still, there are always a few guys who figure it out before everybody else, and we saw some solid runs today that only served to get us excited about the matchups to come in eliminations.
Outlaw 10.5
Going into the back half of qualifying, 35 cars are still vying for 32 spots in the Outlaw 10.5 eliminator. To earn yourself a spot in the top ten, you better bring a six to the table. Current holder of the number one spot is Kurtis Tamez with a 6.635 at 211 and change, with Rick Snavely right behind at 6.642 and 215.58 MPH. The bump spot for the field currently is 8.487, held by Rich Zehring, but you can bet that number will fall to a mid-seven tomorrow. The field is deep with heavy hitters like Mike Murillo, Billy Glidden, and Dan Saitz, so it’s anybody’s guess who will actually end up at the top of the order come Saturday evening.
Extreme Drag Radial
Saying that XDR “only” has a 29-car field is about the same as saying that it “only” takes a seven-second pass to be in the first seventeen cars – in other words, there are a lot of cars going very, very quick on not a whole lot of tire. As a matter of fact, a 6 isn’t out of the realm of possibility for this weekend, providing the weather holds…
Wild Street
A score of cars filled the lanes for Wild Street on Friday, with Dee Pfinster leading the pack with a 7.653 at 181, followed by Dave Eggerling at 7.722 and Bob Thompson with a 7.794. You’ll have to go 7 cars deep in the field to find your first 8 – WS promises to be a real nasty fight come Sunday.
Hot Street
Limited Street
Street Challenge
Street Challenge
Mustang Maddness
Double Index