Another nice day here in Cecil County for the final day of the 2013 Yellow Bullet Nationals. The rain cut us short last night so we went right into Outlaw Drag Radial’s final session then into Ultra 275. The weather and track conditions were favorable with several cars able to improve their position. We beginn eliminations at 12:00 noon sharp. Stay tuned for updates through the day through to the winner circle tonight.
Mark Micke (far lane) jumped up to number one in Outlaw Drag radial with a 4.37 @ 183.10 for low ET and top MPH in class. The pro ladder will put him against Andrew Demarco’s Procharged small block Mustang in round one.
Guadagno also improved to a 4.45 @ 158 this morning, a very nicd run for the nitrous fed Camaro based out of new York making Scotty, Frank, Pete, Anthony and crew very happy.John Keesey improved from a 5.07 to a 5.02 @ 143 staying number one in Ultra 275. He is knocking on the 4 second zone for sure now. Will the barrier be broken later today??John Langer got himself in the field from 26th to 3rd running a 5.11 @ 135 on this run.A couple of “filler” cars entered Ultra 275 to make the full 32 car field. This classic 1977 Ferrari is owned by Greg Dapron out of Elkton, Maryland.Another racer getting in the field in the last session is James Smith. he runs a stick shift combo with a 440 small block. His 5.38 @ 130 was good for 15th.
Final Qualifying Results
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Qualifying Ladders
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Round One Results
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This is the second year for the kids bean bag toss. There were many children participating, more than last year. Always a good thing to include some fun for the kids at events like this.Mike Good owns this cool old school Chevelle. He fouled out against Michael Kaufman in round one of Top Sportsman. Good has two cars this weekend also running 8.50 Index with a pro street style Corvette.The “Dark Horse” blown Nova is campaigned by Randy Goodman. He had a single in round one running a 5.25 @ 134 shutting it off early.You don’t see El Caminos too often anymore. This Procharged 78 model is driven by Clayton, Delaware racer Kevin Ashley. He advanced to round two of Outlaw Big Tire over Brenda Paddock running a 4.88 @ 153 MPH.Camp Stanley and his son John are here this weekend tuning on their friend Scott Kline’s 63 box Nova. Camp put him in the beams onhis way to a 4.68 @ 155 on a single in OL Big Tire.Frank Pompillio drives this gorgeous 67 Mustang. The Canadian racer was half the first pair out in Outlaw 10.5 today earning the win over Tom Kempf with a 4.51 @ 178 while Kempf struggled getting hold of the track.Nick Agostino met with Jerry Morgano in round one of Outlaw 10.5 earning the win in a side by side race with a 4.357 @ 187 to Morgano’s 4.377.Ron Rhodes had low ET in round one of X275 running a 4.79 @ 147 getting the win over Stafford Virginia racer Dennis Bickford inthe second pair down for the class.Jeff McCarthy got loose and sideways early on his run against Chris Little. McCarthy runs out of Hughesville, MD with a turbocharged 419 ci SBF. I always get a little nervous when I see cars pointed at me like that. No worries for Jeff though as he got it under control quickly.Eric Kenward dives this turbocharged Malibu based out of Vero Beach, Florida. The turbo cars had a bit of an advantage on the hot track this afternoon. His 5.48 @ 142 off his qualifying pace, but it’s all about going A to B in eliminations. He earned the win over Shawn Strauss from Elliot City, Maryland.Chris Evans hails from Baltimore and is a regular here at Cecil County.He had a single in round one as Eric LeFarriere didn’t make the call.John Marcella is running Ultra 275 for the first time this weekend with his 68 Firebird. He struggled with traction issues on the radial, but in that he not alone this weekend.
Round Two Results
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Round Three Results
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Brad Harris was paired with Greg Chandler in round three of Outlaw 10.5 with Harris getting the win. Chandler moved towards the center, got loose and got in to the left side wall pretty hard. He is ok thankfully. Harris will meet up with Steven Gorman for a all Ford twin turbo semi final.Doug Sikora made the trip from California with his Procharged 200 Mustang, he will face Rob Wells after a win over Bill Mitchel.Chris Little put up a 4.77 @ 150 to get by Vince Palazzolo after a pair of identical .040 reaction times in X275.Dean Marinis is running well today with his nitrous big block Mustang putting up a 4.67 @ 155 over Tony Mullin after a pair of .070’s reactions.Last years Ultra 275 winner Marc McCloud is still in after a win over James Smith, getting about Smith’s .007 reaction with a 5.18 @ 133 to Smith 5.30 @ 127.Scott Kline lost traction early in his Outlaw Big Tire match with Michael Pollaro. He nearly saved it but wound up in the wall. He is also uninjured thankfully.Joe Schroeder backed up his earlier 4.403 with a 4.426 @ 169 to take the Outlaw Big Tire track record in a win over Tom Romeo. He will face Pollaro’s gorgeous Corvette in the final.
The Outlaw 10.5 final will be an all Mustang affair with a Procharger vs Turbo matchup. Steve Gorman has lane choice with a 4.24 @ 190 in his win over Harris. Sikora ran a 4.27 @ 178 over Wells who struck the tires early.
The 275 Drag Radial final will be two familiar faces with Rich Bruder facing off with Ron Rhodes. Bruder has lane choice with his 4.65.
Charlie Booze did his job with a .007 light but couldn’t hold off the turbo top end charge of 142 MPH in Ultra 275, he will face Marc McCloud.
Paul Major put up a 4.36 for low ET in Outlaw Drag Radial eliminations over Phil Hines. He will face Dwayne “Big Daddy” Gutridge who took out Mark Micke earlier with a 4.40.
Final Results
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Doug Sikora traveled all the way from Apple Valley, California to compete in Outlaw 10.5 at the fourth annual Yellow Bullet Nationals meeting up with Steven Gorman in the final. Sikora took the starting line advantage with a nice .012 light and going on to earn the victory with a 4.341 to Gorman’s game 4.344 for a great side by side final round.Michael Pollaro brought his 2002 Corvette from Bay Shore Ney York for some Outlaw Big Tire action and wound up in the final against the track record setting blown Camaro of Joe Schroeder who lost the blower belt on the burnout handing Pollaro the go ahead win.Paul Major and the DMC crew worked hard this weekend qualifying second in Outlaw Drag Radial and setting low ET in the semis against Phil Hines with a 4.360 @ 188 MPH. While testing with Eric Lefarrier just last Friday the engine dropped a valve. it was dropped off Sunday to J&E Performance for repairs and delivered to the track for the weekend where the crew installed the fresh big Chevy. He met with Dwayne Gutridge in the finals running a 4.369 @ 184 to get around Gutridge’s better .025 light and the win.Big Daddy just recently got his car back in the game and showed this weekend that he hasn’t lost his touch. The Tom’s River, new Jersey racer had the better reaction time in every match with a best in class .003 against Mark Micke in round two while running a clean 4.402 @ 177 with the twin turbo small block Ford. His .025, 4.487 @ 177 just wasn’t enough in the final.Marc McCloud is now a repeat winner at the Yellow Bullet Nats after winning last year earning another win for the NA Mafia. He met with number one qualifier John Keesey’s turbocharged Mustang putting a tree on Keesey for a holeshot win. His 5.211 @ 134 bested Keesey’s 5.209 @ 142.Rich Bruder ran the table in 275 Drag Radial qualifying number one with a 4.63 @ 157. He met with Ron Rhodes who put up a game effort with a 4.72 @ 147 with his small block nitrous Camaro, it just wasn’t enough to stay out front of the Garrett turbo powered Mustang of the Bruder Brothers.
Day two here at Cecil County Dragway has a little bit more sunshine that will play a big factor this afternoon especially once we get into the drag radial classes. This is the biggest YB Nationals yet with the official car count at 490 cars entered as of last night with more coming in today we will have well over 500 cars here this weekend.
Roaming the pits this morning on the pro side I found Ray Jackson parked in the back today with his top Sportsman Old Cutlass based out of Philadelphia. He runs division one NHRA Top Sportsman with the 598 cubic inch big Chevy built by Budds Motorsports (BMS) and topped with a 14/71 blower. He purchased the Chaos chassis used and swapped in his engine from the 81 Camaro he ran previously. Crew includes from let to right grandson Jahlil Jackson, crew chief Gary Bailey, Ray and Theresa Jackson. They were here last year to enjoy the show and decided to come and race this year.Dave Hance is here this weekend running Outlaw 10.5. I spoke with crew chief Eric Pezzuti briefly while doing routine maintenance. He said they had some tire spin in the middle during last night’s session landing 8th with a 4.32 @ 186 MPH.This unique Mercury Comet belongs to Rick Righter and is running Big Tire Outlaw with a Pat Musi Chevy on nitrous. Ralph Oneil did the chassis with the set up being done in house. The team hails from Collegeville, PA, from left to right Rick Righter, Brant Righter, Ty Wisler and Rick Fryer. Rick started out street racing with this car about 20 years ago with a 495 Chevy with a single plate system running 9.0’s.
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John “Quazie” Posemato hails from Bayville, New Jersey and is running 8.50 Index. He has had this 1983 Mustang since 1998 built by Joe Gambino from Precision Race Cars with power coming from a Bison Engine and Machine Chevy big block out of Wall, NJ. Crew this weekend is Tommy Louden, Jim Dickhouse and his wife Flo Posemato. Val Musi runs this F-2 Procharged Mustang in Outlaw Drag Radial. He qualified last night with a 4.93 @ 145 and sits on the bump at number 16 of 22 entries after one session. The car was built by Star Racing and is powered by a 363 small block Ford topped with TFS Hi Port heads and R intake by Ron Sharp and tuned by Job Spetter at Turbo People. Blower drive is from The Supercharger Store. Out back is a 9 inch rear with Strange internals with a powerglide sending the power back. Val has had the car about 4 years with his best pass a 4.74 @ 153 with about 39 PSI of boost. The crew from left to right, Matty Tutturici, Will Dabrowski, Val Musi, Chris Jurkowitsc, Tommy Zangara, John Buttacaboli and Frank Zangara (not shown).
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Just some of the vendors here this weekend ont he midway, precision Turbo, pro Torque TRZ Motorsports and PA Racing, who is here for the first time. Jesel is also here on display for the first time this year. They are well known in the industry for quality rocker arms, shaft mount systems and lifters.You can’t pass up family photo ops like this one with all the kids decked out in YB gear.
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This 68 Chevelle was featured previously featured on Dragzine and recently completed with five passes on it so far, four while testing last weekend and one on Friday. Dominic Cimino from DC Performance built the car for Lou Dreisch after he lost his Nova in a fire. He had purchased the Chevelle from Reggie Jackson. It has a 632 big chief engine from Mach Machine running NA in Ultra Street this weekend with a best run to date of 5.71. Mark Micke and Jason Carter make some adjustments to the suspension to better work with the hot track this afternoon in the second session of Outlaw Drag Radial qualifying, Micke currently sits ninth with a 4.62 @178 MPH.Joe Copson is back after some time off and sending the engine to Pro Line for a freshen up. He has a new two speed TH 400 transmission from M&M Transmissions and changed the rear gear ratio to work with the two speed. They have not tested the car prior to the event and Gary Naughton is on hand to get it sorted out.
Round Two Qualifying Results
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Mo Hall leads the field in Outlaw 10.5 with a 4.16 @ 184 during last night’s session. He runs a “big” Fulton Chevy on lots of nitrous based out of Olney, Maryland. Special thanks for the Mo Hall crew for dinner.Outlaw 10.5 racer Chris Cadotto pilots this 97 Dodge Ram based out of Westland, Michigan with a supercharged 526 Hemi. He is qualified 24th with a 4.543 @ 167. The team worked hard to get here after breaking the crank recently.
Mike Decker is now behind the wheel of the former Chuck Ulsch 2002 Camaro. They have struggled some so far this weekend and sit at 22nd with a 4.528 @ 127 after lifting on the run. Since the car changed hands the Decker’s have been in the 4 teens. Look for them to be a player this weekend in OL 10.5.
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Rob Wells was paired up with David Hance in today’s OL 10.5 session. Wells had a clean run while Hance had to pedal. Well sits in 5th position with a 4.25 @ 187 MPH while Hance landed 9th. After the 10.5 cars ran some track maintenance was necessary to get the track in shape for X275 and the other radial classes. Dan Whetstine was out early in the X275 session and had a clean run landing 7th with a 4.85 @ 147 in his 91 Mustang. He runs a turbocharged 417 ci small block Ford and is teamed up with Tim Essick.It’s no surprise Rich Bruder is leading the field in X275. His 4.66 @ 157 is right in line with his usual performance after switching to a Garrett turbo combo for this year. Boceella’s Servoce Center has put up a $250 bounty for anyone that takes him out in competition.Mike Boccella heats the tires before his 5.06 @ 124 MPH run this afternoon. The Lower Pottsgrove, PA racer runs this 99 Cobra with a turbocharged 306 SBF. The car is for sale and it’s a nice piece for anyone interesting in going 275 racing.Audry McGrane purges the nitrous as Steve Johnson from Induction Solution looks on. She is currently 34th and not qualified with a 5.41 @ 137 with a soft launch. Ruben T. was the first ODR car out for the second session running a 4.59 @ 183 landing 6th for the Wesley Chapel, Florida racer.Sean Ashe sits 5th after his 4.57 @ 166 last night, he launched hard today but started to get into a wheelie and pedaled the car which unloaded when the front came down spinning the tires and shutting down early.Francis Johnson is back with some fresh paint after a fire at MIR last month. The car is looking good and running well with a 4.60 @ 162 for the Samakow Racing Engines powered 2000 Pontiac, he sits 8th so far.Paul Major had low again today slowing just .01 from last nights qualifier to a 4.47. The DMC Race Cars built 2001 Corvette has a 598 BBC with twin turbos. Eric Leferrier has been with DMC for four years and recently started tuning on the car and driving during recent test sessions.Frank Soldridge was on a pass today but was forced to lift after the front of the car came up. He ran a 2.96 330’ lifting just prior and coasted to second spot with a 4.52 @ 146 MPH.Scotty G is the quickest qualified nitrous car running a 4.54 @ 154 in today’s session. The engines are built in house with Induction Solutions nitrous and EFI.Car owner Jason Carter puts Mark Micke in the beams on his way to a 4.59 @ 178 MPH run. Since bolting radials on the team is having some good luck, running fast and taking some wins along the way.John Keesy sits nimber one in Ultra 275 with a stunning 5.07 @ 142 from last nights session. The turbocharged entry is based out of Coatsville, PA and runs a 427 cubic inch engine.Last years Ultra 275 winner Mark McCloud hails from Laurel, Maryland with this naturally aspirated 88 Mente Carlo. He sits 5th with a 5.15 @ 134.Charlie Booze Jr. landed 2nd with a clean 5.12 @ 134, based out of Marion, PA based racer runs a 422 cubic inch small Ford from Kuntz.Paul major was half the first pair out in the final session of Outlaw Drag Radial and the last pair for the night as the rain came shortly after. He improved to a 4.44. Tomorrow we will start at 9 AM with the remaining ODR cars, then Ultra 275 and into the regular scheduled program pending weather.Ron Rhodes recaptured the quickest small block nitrous run with a 4.679 @ 149.58 MPH, he will need a 4.725 to make it an official record this weekend. He sits second in X275 behind Bruder’s improved 4.63 @ 157.Mo Hall and Charlie Dolbin lined up as the final pair in OL 10.5 for a little match race. Hall earned the win in a nice side by side race. Dolbin sits 7th with a 4.24 @ 173.Richard Sexton put up a 4.22 @ 189 tonight, good for 3rd on the 10.5 ladder.
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Hide your women and children, drag racing fans! The infamous Yellow Bullet Nationals, hosted by the internet message board where “the weak are killed and eaten” is poised to once again contest what has become one of the most talked-about drag races in the sport at the Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun, Maryland this weekend. Racers and fans have been looking forward to this one all year long, and with all the heavy hitters in doorslammer racing descending on Cecil County, this year’s edition is expected to be another barn burner! We’ll be in the house all weekending bringing you all the coverage, news, notes, and photos that you won’t find anywhere else, so stay tuned!
Jimmy Reutter aka “New York Nova” runs Big Tire Outlaw and is part of a nine car group that made the trip from Long Island NY. He runs the car with his wife Kelley with a new Fulton 762 on 4 guns with a best in testing 4.59 @ 157 MPH for the West Babylon, NY based team. The car was redone recently by Gary Naughton Race Cars, Jack Ford will be helping tune the engine and chassis here this weekend.
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The Mickey Thompson crew is here providing tires service with plenty of stock on hand for this event. They will have a busy weekend as the pits are quite full already with more racers coming in.Paul Major is back again this year with his Outlaw Drag Radial Corvette out of DMC Race Cars.
Sean Ashe and the ATF crew made the haul from South Florida with some revisions to run Outlaw Drag Radial this year after competing in X275 at previous events here. Sean has been running NMRA events in the new Street Outlaw class and doing well.Long Island, new York’s Brian Penna was here testing yesterday for Outlaw 10.5, they tore the engine down last night to replace the rings and were getting the heads bolted back on this morning about 10:45.The X275 vendor tent is sure to be busy this weekend. The crew has plenty of stock in hats, shirts and other assorted items for sale.Turbos abound here this weekend especially in Outlaw 10.5 and Drag Radial. Larry Wood was warming up his OL 10.5 Corvette earlier this morning.A 5.19 @ 133 for Charlie Booze on his second hit in Ultra Street trim. This is his first time here at the Yellow Bullet Nationals for the multi time NMRA/NMCA Hot Street/Pro Stock champion.Erica Coleman drives this Top Sportsman Camaro formerly owned by Jim Halsey and is the first car in the 5’s in the class. It’s a Tim McCamis chassis with fresh paint and body by Erica’s husband and crew chief at his body shop, Purnell Body Shop. Dennis Long from Long Engine Works built the naturally aspirated 565 which is backed by a Rossler 3 speed TH 400 transmission.. Erica has been racing 8 years with this being her first full year in Top Sportsman. Erica and Dave Coleman won here last year in Super Street and Pro Street.
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Mike Barry run his 1965 Chevelle in Ultra Street and is part of the NA Mafia that runs the class. He hails from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The Big Chief Chevy is built by Burtonsville Performance Machine with a Dart Iron block and18 degree heads. The Edlebrock intake was sourced from Curtis Boggs at RFD and is topped by a Gary Williams dominator. Wayne Rogers from Santelli, Virginia did the transmission with a Ultimate Converter Concepts converter transferring the torque. Supsension is from TRZ Motorsports with Santhuff shocks all around.
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Ryan Graham is based out of Fredericksburg, Virginia and is here running Ultra Street again this year with his 1992 Mustang. The car has a 347 cubic inch small Ford on one stage of nitrous. The father and son team just got the car back together recently after hurting the engine here last year. They assembled the engine and did the chassis work themselves.
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Tom Haase drives this 1967 427 Impala SS in 8.50 Index he has owned for 12 years. Built by Nicky Montana from Montana Brothers Race Cars, it’s got a naturally aspirated all aluminum 598 built by Hasse’s family business Piston Racing Engines out of Bayshore New York for 28 years. Crew is Tom and his brother John. Tim Lewis gets the BFE award today for being the farthest from the starting line. He is from Ocean City, Maryland and running Pro Dial this weekend. The 1970 Nova is powered by a 489 big block Chevy on pump gas.Lou, Bob and Mike come here from the Pocono’s every year and hold a massive cookout for anyone that cares to stop by. They have two cars in competition this year, one in Super Street and another in Pro Dial. Big thanks for feeding me and many others this weekend and last year.John Olcott owns this 41 Willys original NHRA record setting car campaigned by Russo and Santo. John II and his father found the car back in the 80’s and restored the car to look as it did in 1967 where it won Indy and have been racing it for about 12 years in various nostalgia races. This is their first time here with the trip being prompted by John III. It now has a big block Chevy power plant and runs mid 10’s but still uses the same chassis and suspension as built.
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From left to right Rich Greiner, John Olcott II, John Olcott II and Daryl Anderson. The car has a lot of history and many racers have signed both doors. Gotta love something a little different here this weekend. Todd Geisler is another Ultra Street car running NA. Here he launches hard earlier today during testing. Todd runs here regularly and is currently third in points here at Cecil County.
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Joe Rivera from Pro Torque has been developing some new parts including a bolt together 9 ½ inch converter. The revolution series 9 ½ inch bolt together will be available for lower horsepower cars such as X275 and similar powered vehicles. The modular drive system has been under development for some time now and is nearly ready to come to market. The system reduces the rotating mass of the converter allowing the engine to accelerate quicker which has resulted in a decreased 60’ times. Here this weekend testing it is Mo Hall, Tom Kemp, Nick Agostino among other racers. There are several Pro Mod Teams using the modular drive including Bill Lutz, Kevin Fiscus, Jose Gonzalez, Chip King and Troy Coughlin.
