The performances demonstrated this weekend here in St. Louis in the Outlaw Pro Modified class, including Frankie Taylors’ 5.52-second elapsed time record and Turky al Zafiri’s 270 MPH blast, have gotten the attention of the entire drag racing world over the last three days. And we’re hearing from sources throughout the pit area that officials from the NHRA (which sanctions the Gateway Motorsport Park and The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of the original Street Car Super Nationals) have been among those watching, as well. Are we perhaps witnessing the end of virtually unrestrained Pro Mod racing?

We can’t make this stuff up, ladies and gents. In the semifinal round of Outlaw Pro Mod, Q80 Racing’s Turky al Zafiri uncorked the quickest and fastest pass in door car racing history with a mind-numbing 5.47 at 272 MPH! 

Ray Parsons punched his way into the Outlaw 8.5 semifinals with a quick 5.01-second defeat of Jason Collins. Parson will take on top qualifier Krusty Ramsey, the only racer on the property go into the fours, in the semifinals. Ramsey will take lane choice in that match with low elapsed time of the weekend at 4.95-seconds.

Krusty Ramsey has been absolutely tearing the Outlaw 8.5 field apart this weekend with his BES-powered ’78 Malibu. Ramsey put nearly two-tenths on the entire class in qualifying, and has only poured it on more in eliminations, running a 5.02 in round one. 4.95 in round two, and a 4.93 in the semis to punch his ticket into the final. There, he’ll take on Brian Edwards, who has an uphill battle on his hands with a best run today of 5.13.

If you weren’t here to witness the Outlaw Pro Mod final at the Street Car Super Nationals St. Louis, you missed history again and again. And if you were, you’ll certainly never forget it. And we owe much of that to Frankie Taylor and Turky al Zafiri. In the final round of Outlaw Pro Mod, the two, have traded blows all weekend long, finally met to settle things once and for all, and the epic finale we all hoped to witness played out like a storybook. In the quickest and fastest side-by-side drag race in doorslammer racing history, Al Zafiri downed Taylor with a world record elapsed time of 5.461-seconds at 272.50 MPH to Taylor’s career -best 5.476 at 263.77 MPH. Wow, is all we can say.

In the Pro Mod Final, Canadian Jim Bell, who qualified last in the field, ousted top qualifier Kevin Fiscus with a stout 5.920 at 243.45 MPH as Fiscus shook early and became a spectator.

Local Missourian Scott Lowery campaigns this stunning Cadillac CTS-V in Outlaw 10.5 with a turbocharged Hemi between the pipes. Lowery gets assistance from fellow St. Louis-area racers Mark Micke and Mark Woodruff, so he’s certainly not short on knowledge. Lowery current sits fourth in qualifying after two sessions with a 4.63 best.

Texas racer Lamar Swindoll Jr. stood his sinister black ’70 Nova WAY up on the bumper until well out to 330-feet in Wild Street qualifying last night, dragging the bumper and trailing a shower of sparks in his wake. Swindoll got things turned back around for the second session and laid down a 4.930, good for fifth in the order.

Veteran Texas racer Todd Moyer, who has driven everything from Pro Mods to Extreme 10.5 to radial tire cars, leads the pack in Wild Street with his bitchin’ Fox body Mustang with a 4.683 at 153.37 MPH.

Despite the soaring heat with indexes in the 110-degree range, Paul Mouhayet laid down what’s believed to be the fastest speed in door slammer drag racing history in open testing this afternoon with a 263 MPH blast, paired with a career-best 5.66-second elapsed time.

Outlaw 8.5 class leader Krusty Ramsey, all the way from Colorado, backed up his leading 5.00 with a 5.01 in tonight’s third session to keep his stranglehold on the field.

Q80 Racing’s Turky al Zafiri stunned everyone in attendance this evening by clicking off an unreal 5.531 at over 262 MPH from his twin-turbocharged entry, resetting the world record set last night by Frankie Taylor. The Madman opted to sit out the third session to save parts, but might we see him later tonight to reclaim his title?

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series chief starter Mark Lyle is here this weekend serving as the official starter of the Anarchy at the Arch.

Outlaw 10.5 polesitter Mike Kimmis from Lebanon, Mo. stepped up in tonight’s fourth session of qualifying, going 4.23 at 186.28 MPH to distance himself from Jim Brown, who sits second with his 4.35 from earlier this evening.

Here’s Frankie “The Madman” Taylor’s weekend resume, in order from right to left. According to Taylor, his screw-blown Corvette started eating up the blower belt at half track and finally departed just before the finish line on the 5.52 run, cutting his speed down to a mere (relatively speaking) 251 MPH. Taylor and his crew chief and brother, Paul Taylor, are confident the Stupid Fast machine can go a 5.48 or .49 tomorrow evening if they can keep the car happy for 1,320 feet.

Justin Martin out his badass ’72 Chevy Nova on the pole in Xtreme Drag Radial/True 10.5 with a 4.45-second shot at 177 MPH that outpaced Mark Micke and his 4.53 from Thursday. Interestingly, Micke and his pseudo-teammate Mark Woodruff, who’s competing in Outlaw 10.5, both made a nearly 9-hour haul to Norwalk to get qualified for the NMCA event this weekend, and then plan to return tomorrow for eliminations here in St. Louis before another trip back to Norwalk.

We’ve arrived at the first running of the Street Car Super Nationals, where all-time door slammer records very well fall, and the man you see here, tuning extraordinaire Steve Petty, might be behind them. Petty is here turning the dials on the Proline-owered Q80 Camaro, which has proven itself one of the quickest eighth-mile cars in the world. But what can it do clear to the quarter-mile? We’re going to find out!

The presence of “The Madman” Frankie Taylor here at the Anarchy At The Arch is a headline if there ever was one. Taylor, who holds the all-time record for a door slammer in the eighth-mile at 3.48-seconds, is going to try his hand – for the first time – at the quarter-mile. If the wick on his screw-blown Corvette stays lit for 1,320 feet, it could be interesting.

Turky al Zafiri and his Q80 tea took advantage of this afternoon’s hour of open testing, making an eighth-mile hit that resulted in a 6.88 with the parachutes out. Al Hamadi was a stout 3.81 to half track.

Less than a week ago, Australian star Paul Mouhayet’s trip to the United States was in jeopardy after a high-speed crash off the end of the Sydney Dragway in his Outlaw 10.5 Mustang that caused then-unknown injuries to his ankle. But not one to let a little bump in the road deter him, Mouhayet and company hopped on a bird destined for Missouri to give their brand new Tim McAmis-built Pro Modified machine a thorough flogging. And that they did; after a shutoff run in th 5.80’s last night, Mouhayet cooked the already red-hot Gateway quarter-mile to the tune of a 5.75 at 260 MPH and change in testing this afternoon, setting the bar really high for the rest of the Outlaw Pro Mod class.

You’re looking at the quickest door car in the world -1/8-mile and 1/4-mile – on its way to the quickest pass in history at 5.590-seconds. The bad news for the rest of the class is this was Taylors’ first hit right off the trailer, and not only did it bobble early, but the 250 MPH speed indicates he tossed the laundry a little early. 5.40’s, anyone?