All Daniel Pharris needed was a pair of 88mm turbochargers, one Pro Line Racing 481X engine, and a combination of Shane Tecklenburg and Josh Ledford to set up the tuneup on the EKanoo Lexus. The car, set on the line by event promoter Tyler Crossnoe, clipped off an insane 4.18 at 185+ mph. So far, Pharris is pacing the field during testing in the Limited Drag Radial class.

A win just a few weeks back at Lights Out 9 has X275 racer John Keesey feeling real good about his chances this weekend, The Pennsylvania native runs an unusual combination—a stock valve angle, Trick Flow High Port-headed Bennett Racing/KBX 400U engine—but for good reason. He says that the car is lined out perfectly right now thanks to the KBX team’s efforts and a combination of the ATFSpeed transmission/converter combo along with the 85mm turbocharger from Forced Inductions. The car is even able to swap back and forth from X275 configuration to Ultra Street with a simple turbo change and weight adjustment. He’ll be one to watch this weekend, as the car’s been 4.40-flat and Keesey is looking to break it into the .30s in X trim.

Mark Micke and Max were hanging out in the pits with the Sweet Sixteen-winning Malibu owned by Jason Carter. Had an interesting chat with him, where he explained that the Sweet Sixteen format made it easier for the team to be consistent, as they were running rounds far more often than at a traditional race—about every hour and a half or so, which made it easier to make tuning calls as the track was more consistent between hits. He had a bit more in it than he needed during his first test hit today at OSCR, as he knocked off the tires pretty quickly, but there’s no doubt that the team will have their program figured out before elimination day here.

Jim Monson went for one heck of a ride today in the Limited Drag Radial class, which was full of outstanding performances. Monson, who has an engine that’s been recently revamped by Billy Briggs Racing Engines, has the “8 psi tuneup” in it, which turned into the “12 psi tuneup” on launch, and you can see the result. The car, which also wears a pair of 88mm Bullseye turbos tuned up by Reed Patridge at Work Turbochargers, has had a ton of work done to it lately. Monson has sourced a number of parts from Jerry Morgano and had Dave Zimmerman of Team Z Motorsports on the phone tonight discussing shock settings in an attempt to tame the car down some.

Super Dave Adkins is a trendsetter, using a billet LS engine in the Radial Vs. The World class. At the Sweet Sixteen race, they broke a tool steel camshaft, then replaced the engine for this race and went a 4.02 at 186 today on a partial-power pass. He told me running the LS at this level is a challenge as they are developing parts and pieces as they go. The ultra-light car was previously a Pro Nitrous car, and they are working to figure out the track and what the chassis likes.

Yet another part of the cost to run at the top levels of Limited Drag radial is this broken cylinder head on Matt Bell’s Redline Motorsports entry. The rocker stand pulled out of the head, so the team yanked the engine and one of his crew members went off to pick up the team’s second engine so they could make the round call tomorrow. Bell turned in a 4.16 at 190 mph on the first test pass with a pair of new Forced Inductions Garrett 88mm turbochargers, and Bell says there’s still plenty left in the car as the tune isn’t optimized for the new turbos yet.

Although Rich Bruder didn’t get to make a qualifying pass tonight due to the early track shutdown, he did crack off a 4.37 earlier in the day on a pass where he lifted well before the finish line. Will we see a 4.20 in X275 this weekend? If the track holds out tomorrow, my bet is yes.