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Record-setting performances is a big part of what the World Cup Finals (WCF) has become known for. The atmospheric conditions in early November are about as perfect as you can get for making horsepower, and racers are more than happy to take advantage of that air. The top-notch track preparation that Miller Brothers Promotions lays down on the Maryland International Raceway surface is the other half of the record-setting equation that makes the quick times possible. This year was no exception, as the density altitude spent the better part of the weekend south of zero.
Mark Benston Jr. Sets The Radial Tire Quarter-Mile Record
Most radial tire racers never really get the opportunity to run their cars the full 1320-feet of a drag strip due to the style of racing. There’s also the fact that most events for small tire racers are only 1/8-mile and racers don’t want to go through the hassle or expense of changing their car over to run 1/4-mile. Mark Benston Jr. brought his Outlaw 10.5 Camaro to the WCF to let it all hang out and quietly stole the radial tire 1/4-mile record with a 5.813 at 245.40 MPH pass. What’s scary is that Benston could have gone even quicker in the better conditions during the final rounds of qualifying, however, his engine broke a crankshaft and they weren’t able to fix the damage.
Pro Street Bike Record Belongs To Jeremy Teasley
Running 6-seconds at over 2oo MPH in a full-bodied race car is a pretty exhilarating experience, but imagine running those kinds of numbers on a motorcycle….without a wheelie bar. Making passes like that is what the Pro Street Bike class is all about and Jeremy Teasley dominated the category at the WCF with his record-setting performances all weekend long. Teasley hit the trifecta by qualifying number one, setting the class record with a 6.428 at 228 MPH pass, and winning the event.
Gidi Chamdi Becomes The GT-R King Once Again
Gidi Chamdi was the first person to crack the 6-second barrier in a Nissan GT-R but eventually lost the record. When Chamdi made the decision to come to the WCF, his mission was to take the record back, and now that he’s done it he’s enjoying every minute of it. Chamdi clocked a 6.567 at 212.15 MPH to lead the Warriors vs Tres Cuarto class.
“It sounds just so good to be called the GT-R world record holder, we tried so hard for so long to make it happen so it just feels nice to know we have it now. Leading up to this race we spent a lot of time in Oregon testing and gathering data to help get the car ready. Seeing it all come together here was just amazing since this event is one of the biggest and best in the world,” Chamdi says.
The GT-R is a difficult vehicle to build as a max effort machine due to how complex the driveline is. Chamdi and the team at ETS have put a lot of time into this combination to perfect it and that has taken a lot of passes at the track.
Chamdi improved his mark to a 6.541 at 225.33 MPH in post-race testing on Monday.
Edwin Burgos Retakes The Rotary World Record
The Mazda Rotary engine is one of the most unique internal combustion mills ever created and it’s capable of big horsepower when you start tweaking it. Edwin Burgos has owned the rotary world record in the past and this year at the WCF he was able to retake the title with a 6.08 at 231 in his 20b three-rotor powered RX8. Getting to this point has taken a lot of hard work for Burgos and he’s happy it finally paid off.
“It has taken four years of work to make this happen, it akes the right turbo combination to work with the rotary engine to go this fast. We’ve tried a lot of different things to get the most out of the car and get it to this point. There’s some power left in the car I think and we’re going to try and dip into the five-second zone this weekend,” Burgos says.
Carlos Daud Smashes The Four-Cylinder World Record
Brazilian racer Carlos Daud is having a picture-perfect WCF that has been filled with personal bests and world records. Daud was able to lock down the number one qualifying spot in Radial vs Modified when he reset the four-cylinder world record on a blistering 6.16 pass at 225 MPH. Daud’s Jerry Bickel Race Cars-built Cobalt is powered by a unique engine that isn’t even available in the United States.
“We use an Opel C20XE that was developed by Cogsworth for GM back in the 1990s. The engine uses a billet block with a cast head and the internals are all custom so it can handle 75-80 pounds of boost. I’ve never dynoed it but based on the data we’ve collected it makes around 1,700 horsepower and the car ways 2,400 pounds. Before this weekend the quickest I’ve ever been 6.31 so setting the record is just truly amazing,” Daud says.
Ohio racer Bill Lutz knows Maryland International Raceway very well, he still owns the door-car speed record at the facility with a booming 262 MPH hit in is old Pro Mod. Lutz returned to MDIR to chase history and become the quickest and fastest man on a 275 drag radial in the quarter-mile.
“This is one of the top events in the country because Jason and the entire staff put on such a great event. You don’t get these kinds of conditions often where you’re below sea level at such a great track so we wanted to come here and break the 275 record for ET and MPH in the quarter-mile. We are going to keep lowering it throughout the weekend,” Lutz says.
Lutz showed he’s a man of his word by running a 6.00 during qualifying on Friday and then backed it up Saturday during the first Outlaw vs Extreme qualifying session with another 6.00. Taking the Camaro from big tire to small tire trim was no easy feat for Lutz and his team to get ready for the WCF.
Jonathan Adkins Bangs Gears Into The Record Books
During his Friday night qualifying session, Jonathan Adkins absolutely dropped the hammer on the Wild Street class with a 7.30 pass at over 196 MPH. With that pass, Adkins dropped his own six-speed record by over two-tenths of a second and put over a tenth on the field.
“The weather getting better had a lot to do with the big improvement plus we added more launch RPM and increased the boost ramp. We already had a good qualifying number so we decided to get more aggressive and try some stuff that ended up working out. This is the most aggressive we’ve ever been with the tuneup in the car and the track held it so the car ran the number,” Adkins says.
