President Theodore Roosevelt said during a speech, “speak softly and carry a big stick- you will go far.” Ken Quartuccio Jr. has adopted this mindset to his racing career and it has indeed taken him far. Quartuccio proved that at Lights Out 16 when he reset the Radial vs The World (RVW) record, won the event, and did it with absolute authority.

You’re not going to find Quartuccio on social media causing a ruckus and he’s not going to give interviews with controversial takes, that’s not his style. What Quartuccio does is win huge races in door cars. In the past 365 days, Quartuccio has won the U.S. Nationals in Pro Mod, the U.S. Street Nationals in Pro Mod, and now the RVW title at Lights Out 16. Quartuccio’s nickname “the serial killer” seems to be fitting when he’s behind the wheel of anything with doors.

The Tidwell-owned Pro Line Racing-powered Camaro used every bit of boost the giant ProCharger hanging off the front could produce lap after lap at Lights Out. When you mix Quartuccio’s driving skills with his tuner Steve Petty, and car owner Scott Tidwell, you have a formattable team. That team-first mentality is what drives Quartuccio’s success and piles up the win lights.

During qualifying at Lights Out Petty had Quartuccio’s Camaro on point every time it took the tree. The first qualifier saw Quartuccio lay down a 3.538 at 209 mph, which landed him in the number two spot behind Paolo Guist’s 3.498 effort. During the second round of qualifying Quartuccio got to be a part of history. Guist reset the radial tire doorslammer world record with a 3.479, while he lit the boards with a 3.497. That was the quickest side-by-side eighth-mile door car pass ever. In the final qualifier Quartuccio reset the radial tire record with a 3.473 blast at 212 mph. That record-setting run showed Quartuccio’s hand and just demonstrated how dominated his car really was going to be. The 3.473 run was not only quicker than Guist’s run, but Quartuccio indicated his car could repeat this performance in these conditions, a true tip of the hat to the horsepower he has on tap.

Once eliminations started, Quartuccio and his team seemed to find another gear. An opening round bye run with a mechanical issue saw Quartuccio run a 3.670. In round two, Quartuccio had a date with Stevie “Fast” Jackson, who wasn’t even sure if he was going to run on Saturday due to a catastrophic engine failure. In a close race, Quartuccio bested Jackson’s 3.588 with a 3.543. In the semi-final round Quartuccio faced off against Ned Dunphy, who had been running strong at Lights Out. Quartuccio ripped off a 3.495 to beat Dunphy’s 3.657 and stamp his ticket to the final round.

The final round saw Quartuccio matched up with the number three qualifier John Ricca. Ricca’s Camaro hadn’t seen a set of radials until Lights Out, but he managed to run a 3.494 to lock down the third spot during qualifying. When the tree dropped, Quartuccio grabbed a slim advantage and never looked back running a 3.498 to beat Ricca’s 3.507.

Ken Quartuccio’s dominant RVW win at Lights Out 16 is going to go down in history as one of the most impressive radial tire race weekends ever. This performance at SGMP could be the catalyst that kicks off a Radial Outlaw Racing Series championship run for Quartuccio in RVW.