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The Shakedown at the Summit returns to the Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, and with some truly impressive purses in every heads-up category, the action on the race track is expected to be as hot and heavy. Keep it tuned right here to Dragzine as we bring you coverage throughout the weekend from one of drag racing’s premier annual events.
A big thanks to our presenting sponsor Fuel Air Spark Technology, whose support makes our coverage possible!
We are getting things started here at Norwalk for the first day of the Shakedown At The Summit. The plan is to have two rounds of qualifying today, and the weather is PERFECT!
NHRA Pro Mod regular Mike Janis made the trip to Norwalk for the Shakedown for a shot at the record $40,000 payout. This event is also allowing Janis to catch up with many customers he doesn’t normally get to see in person. He is also testing his brand new 4.900 bore space motor that he has been testing on the dyno.
Joe Albrecht won the Yellow Bullet Nationals the first time out in his GTO and will be running in Outlaw Limited Street this weekend. This car was campaigned by Richard Sexton, so the car has history, and Albrecht expects to continue to do well this weekend.
Melanie Salemi and her team were doing some work on her blown Pro Mod before the first qualifier today. Last night Salemi was able to run a 6.17 ET after clicking the car off early.
Last year’s Pro Mod class winner Paolo Giust looks to repeat in 2016. Giust has made the switch to a lock-up style converter to gain more ET and MPH in the quarter-mile, and this will be the first time they run the car out the backdoor for a full pass.
Camren Massengale is fresh off his Real Street title win at LS Fest, and will be running in Ultra Street this weekend. They have put some bigger jets in the car and will be trying some new things with their combo to turn things up a notch.
Darren Hilterbran has been jumping around this year running everything from Nitrous X, MX235, to even some No Time action. This weekend he will be running in X275 as his only class. He has been working on some suspension adjustments and expects to be running towards the front of the pack.
Josh Klugger is running in Outlaw Limited Street this weekend with his Radial vs World Mustang. In the first round of qualifying Klugger was able to run a 4.33 and that was good enough to secure the number two spot.
The number one spot for Outlaw Limited Street went to Albrecht after running a 4.28 at 191 mph. The GTO seems to have a lot left on the table for the second qualifier with this first pass being VERY soft at the hit.
In X275, Jamie Stanton laid the law down and was able to rocket to the number one spot in his Camaro with a 4.58 at 158 mph. Right now he has number two qualifier Darren Hilterbran covered by a full tenth after the first round.
Shawn Pevlor is putting more laps in on his Mustang in Ultra Street this weekend. After the first qualifier he sits number one with a 4.83 at 147mph
Brad Tyson laid down the best pass during the first round of Pro Street in his 1993 Mustang with a 4.85 at 172. He currently leads number two qualifier Charlie Cooper who went 4.65 and David Harmer with his 4.77 first round effort.
Mike Decker Jr. came out swinging in the opening round of Outlaw 10.5 running a 4.18 at 185 to take the number two spot in his blown Camaro.
Mo Hall led the charge during Outlaw 10.5 qualifying with a 4.16 at 179 mph. Hall’s qualifying effort was good enough to beat Decker Jr. out by just two hundredths.
Kevin Fiscus was one of the first cars out in Outlaw Pro Mod, and lit the board with the first five second pass of the session. The 5.95 at 242 was good enough to land Fiscus in the number three spot for round one of qualifying.
John DeCerbo took his nitrous-fed 1968 Camaro to the second spot in Outlaw Pro Mod with a very clean 5.92 pass at 241 mph.
Billy Harper is making his first appearance in some time at Summit Motorsports Park count this weekend. In the first session of Outlaw Pro Mod Harper went right to the top spot with an effortless 5.90 pass at over 245 mph
Enzo Pecchini made one of the biggest moves up the ladder during the second Outlaw Limited Street qualifying session. His 5.32 effort moved him from the number 11 spot, all the way up to the number six spot.
Mark Micke absolutely dropped the hammer on the Outlaw Limited Street field with a booming 3.99 pass at 202 mph. That put Micke in the number one spot, and he was the only driver to crack into the three second zone during qualifying today.
In the second round of X275 qualifying most struggled with the track, but Scott Carter was able to get a clean pass in. Carter ran a 4.95 to move from the bottom of the qualifying sheet, up to the number five spot.
Camren Massengale got his tune-up figured out and ran a 5.01 at 141 mph during the second frame of Ultra Street Qualifying. That improvement moved Massnegale all the way up to the second spot behind Pevlor, who ran a 4.80 in round two of qualifying.
Pro Street racer Ed Parker stepped up from the number 10 qualifying spot, all the way to number one in the second session. Parker was able to run a 4.47 at 161 staying ahead of second qualifier Charlie Cooper who improved on his first run with a 4.55.
Outlaw 10.5 qualifying saw lots of racers making moves up the sheet in the second session. Chris Cadotto ran an impressive 4.19 at 178 in his truck, landing in the seventh spot.
Nick Agostino went off-roading into the sand trap after his 4.09 pass during Q2 of Outlaw 10.5. The 195 mph he laid down ended up being the fastest of the session.
Phil Sliskovic took the number one qualifying spot from Mo Hall with a blistering 4.05 pass in Outlaw 10.5.
Melanie Salemi took advantage of the second qualifier and went from not in the field, to number four with a 5.91 pass.
Paolo Giust had a very scary incident at the top end of the track in his C7 Vette. The car made hard contact with the wall and burst into flames after skidding down the top end. Giust got out of the car under his own power and appeared to be okay.
So far Tom Bailey is sitting on top of the Money Shot attempts with a 6.01 pass. Kevin Fiscus tried to overtake Baily, but had to abort the run.
Mike Janis had a rough second qualifier in Outlaw Pro Mod when the rearend of his Camaro exploded and put a lot of gear oil down. Right now Janis is still on the outside looking in, and is not qualified going into Saturday.
Don Walsh Jr went from not in the field after a broken blower belt in Q1, straight to the top of the leader board in Q2. Walsh Jr. ran a 5.85 at 224 throwing the laundry early on a very strong pass.
