Here we are on Sunday for the twentieth Orlando World Street Nationals. We will be under sunny skies most of the day with a slight tailwind. There is some stiff competition in Super Pro Street with Isaoas Rojas setting the track record with a 5.950. The new 10.0 Index class with also feature some close racing with forty one cars in the class. Stay tuned to Dragzine.com for updates through the day.
The calm before the storm. We should be racing about 10:30 this morning. It’s pretty relaxed in the pits this morning with most racers just warming their cars up and getting ready for round one.The non denominational J.A.M.A. service this morning started about nine AM with Tom Ratliff leading.
This is the corrected Extreme Street ladder. Randy Seward was mistakenly given the wrong number so this reflects a different order.Dennis Lugo was having issues keeping the front tires on the ground in qualifying so he is bolting thirty five pounds on the nose. He is qualified third in Street Outlaw with a 7.78.Jeff Lutz got loose on a run last night and the nose of the Camaro got a little scraped up in process of getting the car safely corrected. The team replaced the bottom support on the edge this morning.The track crew swept the entire starting line area to rid of dirt and other debris. Here Edward Lynn is doin work.Ruben T’s crew did their best last night to get ready but some fitment issues with the intake manifold on the other engine will keep them out of eliminations today.
Round One Results
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Heavy Street always has a nice mix of cars and this pair is a great example with Nestor Gonzalez (far lane) running this turbo charged tube chassis Mustang against Ike Heckler’s full bodied stock suspension 1967 GTO. Gonzalez put up a 7.60 at 173 taking the win.Kevin Fiscus had a single in round one of Super Pro Street due to opponent breakage. He ran it hard recording his first 5 second pass here with a 5.97 at 248.61 resetting his own track record MPH.Sean Ashe struggled with ignition issues in the late qualifying rounds and Team AFT thought they had is fixed with a borrowed box from Phil Hines but that wasn’t the case as its still misfiring under load. Hopefully they can make it right for round two where he faces Dean Vallese.Mike Ruff was the top qualifier in 10.0 Index and had an earned single this morning. Ruff was the very first NMRA Sportsman champion and also has earned championships in IHRA. He put up a 10.06 on the run.Dennis Lugo made a good call adding the weight to his Street Outlaw Mustang this morning as he made a straight run to a 7.84 at 161 MPH.Richard Stetson has been the starter here for 33 years. He started under Carl Weisinger and is happy to keep at it with Ozzy Moya as the new owner. I asked him about some of the most memorable moments here and got two stories. Back in 1997 Pat Musi was paired up with Ricky Carlos in the final and Ricky went red. Pat Musi always the showman stayed in it and got out of shape and crossed the centerline giving up the win to Carlos. At another World Street Nationals John Schalpi faced off in the final with Mike Moran who was having issues getting the car fired in the water box. If I recall correctly Moran has some plug wired mixed up and Schalpi was a true sportsman and waited. This was before autostart and courtesy staging and there was an extended burn down. At the green the race was finally on with Moran blowing the hood off past half track and went on to the earn the win in one hell of an exciting final round. If you are wondering, yes I was here for that event as well as the majority of the World Street Nationals events since the very first one.Jerico Balduff was paired with top qualifier Isaias Rojas in round one of Super Pro Street and certainly did his job on the tree recording a perfect .000 reaction time. Balduff and the Coast Chassis Design crew put together the his best run of the weekend with a 4.01 to half track but lost the blower belt near 1000 feet allowing Rojas to get around him with a 6.01 at 229.Chris Fenn and Brian Criste (near lane) were the first pair out in Street Outlaw though Criste hurt a head gasket in last nights qualifying so he took rolled up and took the tree and Fenn laid down a nice 8.92 at 151 to move on to round two.Stanley Albritton and Bill Denney paired up in 10.0 Index with Denney getting the win with his hard launching stick shift Pinto.
Round Two Results
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We skipped Extreme Street this round. They will run their round two in the next session.
Round Three Results
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Frank Meshaw is double entered this weekend and is int he semi finals in both classes, Heavy and Extreme Street. He took out Rick Prospero wth a 6.90 at 177.Lil Bull faced off in a match with Jimmy Stobel in a battle of two long time OWSN participants taking the win and earning a bye to the finals with Frank Meshaw who took out Jeff Lutz with a 6.68 at over 200 MPH.Meshaw will face Phil Hines in the Extreme Street final.Chuck Mohn was matched with Isaias Rojas with three pairs left in Super Pro Street. Chuck left first and ran out the back to a 6.27 at 222 but it wasn’t enough to hold off the hard charging Mech Tech Cobalt’s 5.93 at 234, resetting his own track record on that run.Kevin Fiscus pulled a 6.01 at 247 against Jeff Lutz earning the right to move on to the semifinals with a single to the final.
Final Results
Mike Ruff (near lane) took the win in 10.0 Index over Eddie Brooks. Ruff qualified number one and put an .018 light on Brooks and running a 10.075 to Brooks .023 and 10.092.Bill Lee Jr is the 8.50 Index winner after a foul start the 69 Camaro of Will Kirklin.Frank Meshaw had the ET advantage by a wide margin going in to the heavy Street Final with Orlando’s own Lil Bull. Meshaw put up a 7.662 at 157 earning the win. This was Lil Bull’s first final round appearance at the Orlando World Street Nationals.Phil Hines and Dennis Lugo made up the final pair in Street Outlaw. Hines took the win running an easy 7.76 at 163 with both cars clicking it early.
Frank Meshaw took the win over Phil Hines in Extreme Street. Meshaw left first and got into a wheelie towards the 330, lifted and came down hard sending sparks flying everywhere. Hines also clicked early but Mewshaw got to the stripe first.In an exciting Super Pro Street final George Williams put a tree on Kevin Fiscus but drifted towards the center line knocking the timing cones out of the way. We had to go to video replay to make sure he crossed and the cones were not just blown over from exhaust pressure.
After the winner photos were wrapped up the Speed World crew got some photos from the event. It’s safe to say this weekends event was a hit and we are looking forward to next year. It will only get better from here.
It’s day two here in Orlando and the crowd is filling in nicely under partly cloudy skies. We will have three qualifying sessions today starting at 10 AM. The Super Pro Street class has some heavy hitters here this weekend with several cars capable of five second runs, we may see the track record be reset. Stay tuned to Dragzine for updates throughout the weekend.
Jimmy Strobel is a long time participant here at the Orlando Street Nationals. His was here for the second event, missing only one other race two years ago. The father and son team runs a big block Chevy on nitrous out of Titusville, Florida. From left to right, Steve Strobel, Jimmy Strobel and Cristy Dublin.Aaron Horween is here this weekend for the twentieth OSW Street Nationals driving this Nova for Scotty Riggs Racing. Aaron’s father Doug Horween was here for the first annual Street Natioals but could not make it here with their blown Pro Street Corvette due to last minute brake issues. Gotta love second generation racers keeping the tradition alive.From left to right, Paul Oneil and John Becker run tech and the scales here at Orlando. Paul was a racer here since Carl Weinesger opened the track back in 1966 and started working here in 1998. John got started doing tech at Raceway Park in 1968 and has been here since about 2000.Bill Denney owns and drives this 1978 Pinto powered by a 370 cubic inch Windsor machined by Mike Ford Racing Engines. He purchased the car back in 1981 as a race car and began racing later that same year after finishing up the project. The car has been a stick shift the whole time and Bill currently runs a Jerico 4 speed. He redid the chassis himself back in 1991 and set a a personal best yesterday with an 8.57. He is running 8.50 Index this weekend. Sponsors include Omegamats (shown in the photo) and the Pipefitters local.
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Gary Stienberger normally runs 5.50 Index in Bradenton and is here this weekend running 8.50 Index with his Cris Alston built 1967 supercharged SS Camaro. The 496 big Chevy was machined by Bad Iron Machine Shop in Bradenton, Gary's home town.
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Scott Kerven has owned this Superbee since 1990 after finding it in a trailer park with a blown trans. He towed it home with a rope and began the transformation. Scott lives in Boynton Beach, Florida and bracket races at PBIR. He is running 10.0 Index this weekend with a 100 shot of nitrous to get down to the 10.0 range. The all Mopar build features a 500 cubic inch big block topped with Edelbrock Victor head built by Scott, a 727 transmission with a 8 3/4 Moser fabbed rear out back. From left to right, Rusty Bryce and Scott Kervern.
Round Three Qualifying Results
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Kevin Fiscus improved his position in Super Pro Street with a 6.003 this session moving up three spots to second behind Isaoas Rojas.Rick Propero keeps knocking ET off running a 7.72 at 185 this morning in Heavy Street. He fell one place to fourth in this session.Mike Murphy had his first good run this weekend landing fifth in Heavy Street with a 7.98 at 171 MPH. Mike swapped just recently to a Voss Racing Engines blown alcohol combo and is still dialing in the new set up.Event announcer Rockin Rob Cherkas brought his daughter Caitlyn along for this weekend all the way from Langhorn, PA. They come down trackside for some photos. Rob has raced at every Street Nationals event but this one and is the only racer to qualify in all four classes, OL 10.5, Drag Radial, Heavy Street and Pro Street. He is the announcer for the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mods Association. He is currently working with the reality show Hillbilly Armdrop Drags with Kent and Sabrina Rose. The website is www.adrmdropguy.com.
Round Four Qualifying Results
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Round Five Qualifying Results
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Jimmy Marino (near lane) has been struggling with getting tire speed this weekend and at previous events. He is qualified eleventh with a 6.67 at 207 despite the issues. The car is going to Hank Hill’s Hooked up and Gone Race Cars after the race to get checked out and set up. Gary Langner is qualified with a 7.04 in fifteenth.Oscar Reyes hails from Puerto Rico and is here this weekend driving the Orly’s Family 1993 Corvette in Super Pro Street. He currently sits in sixteenth with a 707 at 165 with one more session tonight.Phil Hines is running two classes this weekend, Street Outlaw and Extreme Street. He has not made a full pass yet after carrying the wheels and moving towards the center line. He is eighth in Street outlaw with an 8.72.
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There is a good crowd today especially considering this is the first race in two years and under new ownership
Final Qualifying Results
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Dennis Lugo is driving for the Moya’s and qualified third in Street Outlaw with a 7.78 at 177 MPH in the final session. The combo is a single turbo small block Ford.Phil Hines laid one down taking the top qualifier spot from Sean Ashe after a 6.90 at 205 as one of the last cars down tonight.Frank Meshaw jumped to the top of Heavy Street with a 7.005 at just 176 MPH bumping Jeff Lutz to second in the twenty one car field.Isaoas Rojas held on to the top spot in Super Pro Street with the only 5 second run of the weekend.Gary Zueyus from Motorheadshirts.net stopped by Mike Murphy’s pit with a gift of a T shirt. He does all his own art, including airbrush work and painting as well as design and vehicle wraps.Powerhouse Video has been here for every event filming and sells the video online. Back in the day it was all about VHS but that technology is outdated now. Check them out online.
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Ruben Tetsosvilli lost an engine in the first session today. The crew drove to Tampa to pull the engine from his Drag Radial Mustang to replace it. The engine was on it's way back when this was taken and the Prolite Batteries team has their work cut out for them tonight if they are going to make first round in the morning. Jim Purcell took top honors in 8.50 Index with a fine 8.502 at 157 MPH with his St. Cloud based 67 Camaro (near lane).10.0 Index has an interesting mix of cars running the class this weekend. The top eleven cars are in the 10.0x range. There was a gamblers race this evening with some very tight competition. It’s won’t be easy for anyone in class come Sunday.
The famed Real World Street Nationals, a longtime staple in heads-up drag racing, returns this weekend to the Orlando Speed World Dragway, bringing with it a whole new era of excitement and world-class drag racing under new track ownership. This year’s event will feature competition in Street Outlaw, Heavy Street, Extreme Street, Pro Street, and a number of index categories, and we’ll be there to bring you all of the action.
Orlando Speed World Dragway underwent some renovations since Ozzy Moya took over ownership of the facility including new sponsors and a new look.First in line in the Pro Street pits is Jeff Lutz Racing with a two car effort this weekend. Jeff will be driving the Camaro in Pro Street and the 1957 Bel Air in Heavy Street. Jeff tested the 57 to a 7.07 at 208 MPH yesterday.Jimmy Marino has been driving Craig Kiernan’s Pro Modified first gen Camaro for a while now in various eighth mile events. When I dropped by this morning Jimmy was swapping out the center section for this weekend’s quarter mile event. The Camaro runs a Nelson Competition big Chevy on Nitrous.Gene Kerr took his nitrous huffing Prorock Camaro to the Pro Street winner’s circle here in 2010 and is back this weekend to defend that title. He runs a Charlie Buck big block Chevy on nitrous, the crew was prepping the car for today’s qualifying session which starts at 2 PM.
Wayne Smozanek is a long time competitor here at the Orlando Street Nationals known mostly for his Pro Street 41 Willys. He is campaigning his Corvette recently based out of Jupiter, Florida featuring a big Chevy with a Whipple Opcon twin screw blower. Sponsors include Ale House, the Polylock Corporation and his own business, The Performance Center Hot Rod Shop which has been in business for thirty years.Jerico Balduff is debuting a new car this weekend using the engine out of the father and son teams Corvette. The 41 Willys was built by Coast Chassis Design, they did some short test his yesterday with good results.Harry Pinkard owns this Pontiac Firbird normally run in IHRA Hot Rod but is competing in 10.0 Index this weekend. This is the first time for index classes at the Orlando World Street Nationals which is featuring 8.50 and 10.0 Index. Originally from Washington DC Harry now resides in Daytona Beach, Florida and supports the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program. He donated a kidney to his daughter several years ago, saving her life. The mild 454 Chevy was built by Outback in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.The Voss Racing Engines crew is running their 1992 T- Bird in 8.50 Index with Cory Voss driving. The car normally runs Outlaw 10.5 and Pro Street classes but the team is switching it up for a more relaxing weekend while waiting for their new car to be finished at Suncoast Race Cars.Mike Murphy owns this 1970 Chevelle which will be run in Heavy Street this weekend. Mike had raced the big Chevy in NHRA Super Gas and has stepped up with a blown big block on alcohol from Voss Race Engines. He runs a powerglide transmission with a PTC converter.Chuck Mohn has his Jerry Bickel built ADRL Pro Nitrous Camaro here this weekend for some Pro Street action. The big block Chevy is maintained by Charlie Buck Race Engines and Chuck will be moving to a Sonny’s Racing 920 cubic inch mill for 2014. The ADRL is combining Pro Mod and Pro Nitrous for 2014 as many cars are running similar ET’s these days. Mohn has plans to run the full ADRL season and Extreme Outlaw Pro Modified for 2014. This weekend crew is Todd Fontana, Chuck Mohn and Billy Wallick from left to right.
Round One Qualifying Results
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MIke Fratena ran a nice 7.58 at 191 to earn second place in Street Outlaw just .05 behind Sean Ashe who clicked early to only 146 MPHEric Kenward make a nice run for third in Street Outlaw with a 7.88 at 182 but had issue with the chute deploying in the shut down with lifted the rear wheels off the track and sending him into the wall. Eric is not injured but the single turbo Malibu will require extensive repairs.
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Jeff Lutz sits on top of the 14 car Heavy Street field with a 7.32 at 176 MPH clicking it early.Steve King put up a 6.16 at 232 in the first session of Super Pro Street to earn top qualifier so far today.Kris Thorne runs this beautiful Camaro in Super Pro Street where he qualified sixth with a 6.66 at 201 MPH.Jeff Lutz put a 6.59 at 198 but got loose near 1000. Lutz did a great job keeping it off the wall on the top end.
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Lutz' twin turbocharged Camaro made a big move down track. Here you can see just how far out of shape he was and hugging the wall after the traps.
Round Two Qualifying Results
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NMCA/NMRA True Street Racer Randy Seward recently moved back to the Orlando area so he brought his trusty twin turbo Mustang out to play in Extreme Street this weekend. he is qualified number one with a nice 8.60 at 159 MPH, right in line with his usual performance.Sean Ashe stepped up his performance in Street Outlaw for the second session running a 7.07 at 172 clicking it off about 900 feet. Jason and Danny from ATF pulled an all nighter to get it ready for this event finishing up about seven this morning.Rick Prospeno moved up to third in Street Outlaw running a 7.82 at 182 MPH in his box Chevy Wagon.Brian Criste recently got his 1989 Camaro back together with a slightly smaller engine and some modifications to the car to reduce weight. He had planned to run some half track testing this weekend but this pass must have too good to quit. The 7.94 at 169 is a new personal best run for him. The combo is a small block Chevy with a single turbo set up for X275.Super Pro Street racer Isaos Rojas is the track record holder here with a 5.95 earlier this year. He matched that ET in the second session tonight running a 5.95 at 234 MPH.Northeast Pro Modified racer George Williams made the trek down to Florida for this event. He improved from ninth to second putting up a 6.06 at 224 in the second session.Jeff Lutz improved his ET a full three tenths to a 6.23 at 236 but fell to fourth due to George Williams moving up.Gene Kerr landed sixth in Super Pro Street with 92 IROC based out of Winter Garden, Florida running a clean 6.54 at 207 MPH.
Pit Notes
Edwin Burgos broke a slider in the transmission on his last run with the RX-8. He sits eleventh in Super Pro Street with a 6.74 at 209. They were just getting the the gear shafts back together when I stopped by and should be good to go in the morning for round three of qualifying.Kevin Fiscus lost a transmission pump in qualifying and popped over to the Sean Ashe/ATF pit to see if Jason Gatlin would be able to make the repairs. He had the parts and got the trans fixed up in a few minutes. Kevin and crew were just wrapping up the instal when I was heading out. His 6.23 at 211 is good for fifth so far.Chris Bennett had a bearing issue in the engine so the team set to work swapping to a backup engine. Car owners Brenton and Ian were part of the effort in the swap. They will make a decision on which class to run in the morning after preparing the car.
