Outlaw Armageddon 5 No-Prep Coverage From Thunder Valley Raceway

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It’s day two here at Outlaw Armageddon and racers are trying to get locked in for the main events later today. With the new format, every race counts and picking up a win is critical so the action has been amazing. There are a lot of big-name racers on the bubble to make the show so this final round of qualifying is going to be INSANE.

Bill Lutz Is Ready To Punch His Ticket To The Main Event

Ohio native Bill Lutz is a veteran racer who has been able to win at every level of drag racing. He has come to Outlaw Armageddon with the goal of proving he is one of the best no prep racers in the world. So far his weekend has gone according to plan even with a few minor mechanical issues.

“I’m very happy with how yesterday went for us. Picking up two wins was huge and has set the stage for us to make the show for the main event. The car has responded to our adjustments so far and we are happy with its performance. Outside of the stuck throttle blade in testing things have gone according to plan,” Lutz says.

During Friday’s two qualifying sessions Lutz’s Camaro was an absolute monster on the track. He was able to pick up both key victories in convincing fashion. Coming into today’s final session he is hoping for a favorable chip draw so an appearance in the finals can be locked in.

“I think we had one of the strongest pair of passes yesterday. Between us, Mills, Kayla, and Austin we were able to get down the track really fast. To bring this home it’s going to take a lot of luck along with power. We still have a little bit left that we can throw at the car, but this track has been tricky to put the power down to. You get out past 100 feet and there isn’t much rubber so power management is crucial. I think with a couple of lucky breaks we will be right in the mix for the $50,000,” Lutz says.

Dominator Finds His Groove

Fan-favorite Joe “Dominator” Woods knows he’s slightly outgunned when it comes to some of the cars that are on the top level of the Outlaw Armageddon world. Despite the long odds, Woods brought his Dart to the line for the first three rounds of the qualifiers at Outlaw Armageddon and went undefeated. That win streak locked him into the main event today.

“I’m just going to say right off the bat that this is one of those days where I’m better at being lucky than good. It was the luck of the draw the whole time, I’m not taking anything away from those guys we raced, but luck was on our side. I was able to capitalize on that and do what was needed to pick up the win each round and that’s what counts,” Woods says.

Even with lady luck in his corner Woods was able to make the correct tuning calls when it counted. Having a car that was able to make it down the tricky surface put Woods in a great spot to pick up those important wins each round.

“The tune-up that I had in the car was pretty good where there was a slight haze on the tires but it stayed planted. For the 9 car field, I’ve put all the power back in it and we will see what it does. I just need to be right there with whoever I’m racing and hopefully things will work out,” Woods says. 

Woods is going about getting ready for the finals just like he has all weekend. Keeping his car as prepared as possible will give him the best advantage when it’s time to win or go home.

“Here’s the truth, I’ve been my own biggest critic and I’m harder on myself with this car than anyone. I’m racing with a lot of fast cars, I couldn’t tell you who’s all in because I’ve been concentrating 100% on my program this weekend. I hope that I can keep this car where it needs to be and go some rounds,” Woods explains.

The White Zombie Wants To Take A Bite Out Of The Field

Ken Clark has been able to steal wins this weekend behind the wheel of the White Zombie Nova when he needed to. His main focus was to take care of business and do his job behind the wheel. Clark’s crew gave him a great hot rod and that made the difference during qualifying.

“We had a good car and my crew did a great job getting it ready for action. They did what was needed to make sure this big nitrous engine was ready each time we hit the track. I’m proud of what they did to get us into the show,” Clark says.

There’s a certain amount of luck required in drag racing but Clark prefers to rely on as much skill as possible. Having a solid car gives him the confidence needed to push the White Zombie to the edge each pass.

“We drove around everybody we ran each round so there wasn’t much luck involved. There was a really good tune in the car each round and that’s what it takes at an event like this. The plan is to keep that going in the sudden death finals because there are some big hitters in the field,” Clark explains.

Now that he’s made the show, Clark plans on sticking to the script that got him in. The way he looks at it there’s no reason to change what has been working all weekend long. “It means a lot to make the show at an event like this. There are so many good cars we will have to work super hard to stay in it. With the help of our teammate Swamp Thing, we hope to bring the win home today.”

Barefoot Ronnie Pace Runs Wild At Outlaw Armageddon

Barefoot Ronnie Pace probably wasn’t high on anyone’s list to make the main event at Outlaw Armageddon and he’s perfectly fine with that. Pace plays the role of underdog very well and he enjoys showing why nobody should look past him on race day. With a little bit of luck, Pace was able to go undefeated in qualifying and punched his ticket to the main event at Outlaw Armageddon.

“We’re always the dark horse at these big events but I’ll be honest, we were able to dodge two bullets in the first couple of rounds. The third round we did good and I’m proud of that run with how the car did. I’m feeling more comfortable in the car with this new setup the more passes that I’m able to make. DMB Motorsports has it figured out with the motor and that helps a lot. I’m not sure if I’ll have anything for the fast cars in this nine-car field but we’re going to give it hell,” Pace says.

Now that Pace is in the show he plans on opening his Camaro up a little more to try and see how far he can advance during eliminations. With the fastest cars on the property all in the nine-car field, Pace is ready to do what he can to go toe-to-toe with them for a shot at $50,000.

“We are turning it up for the main event but we’re on a little different budget than these other teams. It comes down to us weighing our options to see how hard we want to lean on the engine and possibly hurt it. For this next round, we’re going to bring the second kit in quicker and put more timing in it,” Pace explains.

All Hail The Queen Of No Prep Kayla Morton

Outlaw Armageddon 5 changed the way no prep will be viewed with its unique format. The three qualifying rounds for the main event produced some races that could have easily been a final round and that meant there were some brutally difficult matchups. In the end, Kayla Morton was able to fight her way through the qualifying races and then ran the table in the main event to win Outlaw Armageddon 5.

It wasn’t easy for Morton to pick up the win at all when the main event began. She had to earn each victory and even had to deal with a big thrash between rounds when her Hot Mess Express Mustang tried to eat a piston. Morton and her team fought on to get the car ready after the engine issue to stay in the fight.

When it was all said and done Morton was the last one standing and proving how she earned the right to be called the queen of No Prep….

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It’s hot, it’s humid, and that means it’s time for the Super Bowl of no prep racing Outlaw Armageddon. The fifth edition of this massive event kicks off today at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Nobile, Oklahoma. There re well over 350 cars here on the property ready to throw down for their chance to win Outlaw Armageddon.

DeWayne Mills And Golden Kong Ready To Rock

Radial racing star DeWayne Mills turned heads this year when he unveiled his no prep Camaro project Golden Kong. Along with his partner Danial Pharris, Mills has been able to make some waves in the no prep world in a hurry. Coming to Outlaw Armageddon is a whole new level of no prep racing for Mills but he has shown up ready for war.

 “I look at it this like racing on the tracks they were 20 years ago. All of these fancy spray rigs and drags didn’t exist so we’ve done this before, it’s just been a while,” Mills says.

Making the switch to no prep racing has been a slight adjustment for Mills. Driving a 5,000 horsepower car on a radial prepared track is wild, doing it on a track with very little glue on slicks is a crazy ride. So far Mills has been able to transition into the no prep world very well.

“In the no prep stuff you want to get the nose up on the car and the steering wheel feels really light when you do that. I went for a short flight a few years ago in the radial car so I’m always trying to keep the front end down with that car, so it’s hard to get used to that feeling with this car. I’m not used to having wheelie bars back there as well, so it’s been a little bit of a mental adjustment trying to remember those are there to keep the car planted,” Mills explains.

The no prep experience has been very positive for Mills so far. He enjoys the different style of racing and what it brings to the table.

“Coming to these no prep races has been great, the fans are awesome and it’s obvious Street Outlaws has helped the sport of drag racing more than people realize. All you have to do is look at the stands during eliminations at these events and they’re packed. It’s a different bunch of people that come to these races and they’re down to earth. These fans are just like me, I go to work each day and so do they. When you get to race in front of a lot of people it’s always fun,” Mills says.

Brent Austin Is Here For A Good Time

When you talk with Brent Austin you learn quickly that he’s very down to Earth and loves to spend time at the track racing his Camaro. Last year at Outlaw Armageddon Austin was able to pick up the win during the Friday night big tire race. So far in 2019 Austin has been relatively quiet, but he’s back and ready to give the no prep world a new set of headaches.

“We went to the first No Prep Kings (NPK) event and I just didn’t agree with a lot of what was going on so I decided to take some time off and finish a bunch of projects. We’ve come to this event for the past four years and always had a good time, so we had to come back again this year. If we have a good time at this one we’ll go to the Route 66 NPK event,”  Austin explains.

After a successful 2018 season, Austin wasn’t going to sit back and not try to improve his program. He spent the winter months putting a new intake manifold on his Camaro to help his ProCharger breathe even more air into the HEMI powerplant. The new intake provided a new set of challenges for Austin to figure out when he debuted it this year.

“The only change I made was to the intake of the car. Doing that made a lot of changes with how the car acts and what the tune needs. We’ve only had five hits on the car at MDIR and what we made here so far at Armageddon. It has kind of put us back to square one with everything. It changed where the engine made power in certain areas and hurt it in others. The other thing it did was change how the air is distributed to the cylinders so I’ve had to adjust for that,” Austin says.

So far Austin has been able to get a handle on the new intake as he navigates the new format for Outlaw Armageddon this year. This event always provides an interesting set of challenges and Austin is ready to smash his way into the big show on Saturday anyway he can.

“I’m having fun racing my car and that’s what it’s all about. Things are going to be interesting with the hot conditions and what it will do to the track. It’s also rained and that will change things as well so what you did in testing means nothing. I think this is really going to be not just a driver’s race but a tuner’s race as well. To win it all you’re going to have to get lucky plain and simple. If it’s your lucky day there’s no way I can’t beat you or anybody else can,” Austin explains.

Eric Bain’s Wild Journey To Outlaw Armageddon 

Eric Bain is one of the most hardcore racers you’ll ever find at the drag strip. As he’s made a name for himself in the no prep world he’s also shown there’s nothing he won’t do to make a race. It doesn’t matter if it’s a mad thrash to get a car repaired after a crash or installing new parts he’s game. This year has been one of big changes for Bain between a new car and larger powerplant. Coming into Outlaw Armageddon Bain decided to throw a new engine into his Boosted Ego Camaro.

“We started NPK season three with this new Camaro and had an old 481x in the car that was freshened up but knew we would need more. To get something better with more power we contacted Steve Morris Racing Engines. He got us something ready that was made with our old spare parts and it worked well. For this race, he sent us the brand new 481x and we had a lot of work to do. We’ve thrashed to have the car prepared for this race and really didn’t fire it up until we got here,” Bain explains.

Just getting the engine into the car and running was a monumental task, however, that wasn’t the end of the work for Bain. His team ran into some issues after they got the car fired up, but they rolled up their sleeves and got to work to solve the problems.

“After we got the car running it started having some oil pressure issues that needed to be addressed. Usually, the problem is not enough oil pressure, well, in this case, we had way too much at over 200 pounds. We tamed the pump down a little bit and made some new lines then had to deal with a few leaks. There were also some injector issues we had to figure out that were related to the o-rings. We got that fixed and the car was ready to go,” Bain says.

Bain’s hard work paid off and Boosted Ego made the call for the first round of racing today. On his first pass, he was able to get down the track and get some good data while picking up the win. During his second-round matchup with Ryan Martin, things got really crazy as his Camaro crossed the finish line sideways, but he was able to pick up the win.