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Thursday
It’s day two here at SGMP for Lights Out 10 and the staging lanes were packed out this morning with racers eager to test.
Josh Klugger has his new car here and made a qualifying run yesterday, scoring a 3.83 at 210, after spending Monday and Tuesday this weekend testing at Orlando Speed World Dragway with very good results. The team is working on getting the chassis set up where they want as there is plenty of power available, verified as “fast” over at Fuel Tech’s hub dyno. The actual HP numbers are a closely guarded secret, kept much more secure than Hillary’s emails. The Skinny Kid built chassis is powered by a 548 cubic inch Pro Line Racing Hemi topped with Allen Johnson heads in what is a collaborative engine program and is fed by Garrett 98 MM turbos and backed by a Proformance transmission. John Homier wired the car with Ryan Rakestraw’s RK Performance doing the turn key work to finish it all up and then it was off to Fuel Tech for tuning. The core crew consists of Johnny Drama, Steve Cooks and Josh with Steve Petty and Jamie Miller and Steve Petty punching keys and offering their expertise along with Chase Driscoll and Mark Menscer also assisting with chassis tuning. Pictured from left to right, Josh Klugger, Johnny Drama and Steve Cooks.
We stopped by the Turbos Direct booth and chatted with Mike Merrell to see what is new with the Garrett turbos. They had a few on display including the newest model, the G42 series which replaces the GTX 4202 is an all new design except for the center shaft bearing, good to 1450 HP. Garrett has really made inroads into the drag racing market the past several years and has several top contenders using their product including Marty Stinnett, Mark Micke Josh Klugger and others.
Mark Dykeman is here once again in the same pit spot but sporting a brand new car, the Gray Goose… also a Procharged Camaro but now a 5th gen. The chassis is from DMC Race Cars with HED power under the hood. Folks involved with Dykeman’s program include main sponsor Mac Fab Beadlocks, Menscer Motorsports,, Motion Raceworks, Procharger and Westgate Performance. Dykeman hails from Tewksbury, Mass. The crew was busy changing the blower drive gear ratio so we will have further pics and info on the combo later this weekend.
We got to chat with crew chief extraordinaire Billy Stocklin, finding him over in Randy David’s pit,who is now the owner of this 69 Camaro with a long history starting with Darren Hoyle in the ORSCA Limited Street days. The rig is actually Billy’s racing set up and he has known Randy for near 30 years since the two met through a mutual friend Ed Morrell who does cylinder head work involved in mud racing back in the day. The car has changed hands and classes thought the years competing in X275 and Limited Street by the likes of Kyle Huttell, Taylor Lastor, Fletcher Cox and Randy David who campaigned the car in Limited 275 in Texas, winning a bunch of races until the class was phased out. Now being campaigned in Ultra Street under the new rules allowing big blocks in with jet limits and Rherer Morrison power. The transmission is a Proformance unit with a Chance converter. Stocklin’s plans for 2019 will be continuing as crew chief on Steve Jackson’s NHRA car and campaigning this Camaro with Randy David.
“We picked up a pretty complete race car and with the help of Matt Mungal at MC Fab, he’s helped up get this thing lined out and the chassis squared up fro us. Of course Billy on the key board helping out on the Holly EFI system just been phenomenal. We get help from Dave Vasser at Nitrous Outlet, Dave over at Proformance Transmissions keeps everything in gear and Neal Chance with outstanding torque converters. It’s been a hard road but we have definitely been testing this thing to come out here and hopefully make a good showing.” Randy David told us. He got started in racing when he was four or five years old with his father. “This probably is one of the coolest car I have owned with all the history behind it, it makes me proud to own this thing and carry on the tradition with it.” From left to right, Billy Stocklin, Randy David and driver Mike Terry.
Alton “Ace” Clements has a few new things going on this year with his Renegade/Ultra Street Mustang including switching to alcohol fuel, some chassis upgrades to the front half of the car with tubular frame rails and zoomie headers. The car is powered by an 8.2 deck SBF and boosted by a Vortech YSI 94 and now managed by an FT 600 Fuel Tech engine management unit. Some safety items were also implemented in the off season including a fire suppression system, air shiftier and relocating the trans brake button to the steering wheel so Alton can keep his hands there. Clements plans to race with the NMRA and test the waters in Ultra Street at select events close to home. The team pictured from left to right. Alton Clements Sr., Brian Griffen, Ed Rice, Fran McCarthy and Alton Clements.
David Wolfe and Dewayne Mills were paired up during testing this morning with Wolfe scoring a 3.87 at 210 and Mills running a 3.86 at 208.
Terry Barkley made the trip from California to run Radial vs The World at Lights Out 10. His stunning 2000 Camaro was built and is tuned by Carl Stevens Jr at Xtreme Race Cars. Last year Barkley came to South Georgia Motorsports Park with a wounded racecar, but for 2019 he has a fresh bullet in the chamber and is ready to win. “This year we’ve come to the event more prepared than ever. Last year we went testing before the event at Orlando and hurt the engine and had to have a spare engine shipped to us. We’ve got a spared engine for the car along with other major components. To get ready for the race on the performance side of things we made some tweaks to the rearend and transmission ratios. Our goal coming in this year is to win, period. That’s why we do this and this year we think with the changes made the car will be a contender.”
Justin Swanstrom Takes On Radial vs The World
Justin Swanstrom carved his name into the tree of grudge racing by having a reputation of never backing down from a race. With the help of his father and team, Swanstrom terrorized the no time world racing for some huge pots of money at tracks all over the east coast. Having an attitude where you are willing to take on anyone has led Swanstrom back to class racing and the bare-knuckle brawl that is Radial vs The World.
Swanstrom made his RVW debut at the U.S. Street Nationals where he quickly proved his 3.73 pass on a 275-sized radial tire wasn’t a fluke. The biggest lesson Swanstrom learned at the U.S. Street Nationals is that RVW racing isn’t for the faint of heart.
“The competition is a lot tougher in Radial vs the World compared to what we’re used to. Everybody in this class runs well all the time, I knew we could run well too, but the competition is stiff. We were able to go out and run a 3.72 on our first hit at Bradenton and qualified number two. That felt really good and gave us a nice boost of confidence being our first event. We ended up kicking the tires in eliminations but that’s how racing goes,” Swanstrom says.
The transition from grudge and no time racing to class racing hasn’t been difficult for Swanstrom. In the past, he’s done some class racing and knew what to expect coming into RVW. Even with that past experience, it can be difficult to jump into such a highly competitive class like RVW. Swanstrom has kept his mind clear and that has helped prepare for the challenges that RVW can present to a team.
“To be able to race in this environment with all of these big name racers is an honor for me. The biggest difference going from grudge to class racing is money. You can gamble for a whole lot more in grudge racing. Another big difference is the sheer amount of passes you make in class racing. I’ll make double the amount of passes this year compared to last year just with the qualifying hits alone. We don’t test as much just so we can save wear and tear on the engine at these big events.”
Picking up the learning curve for this level of racing has been made easier with all of the extra hits at the track Swanstrom and his team gets to make. To have the ability to make all the passes needed to get a handle on the car Swanstrom has secured a core group of sponsors that support him.
“I couldn’t do this without all the sponsors that we picked up to go Radial vs The World racing. I made the transition to get my name out there more and be able to get sponsors. I’ve got companies like Speed and Truck World, Team Z Motorsports, Fast Forward Racing Engines, Pat Musi Racing Engines, Santhuff Shocks, Carolina No Time, Signature Metal Fab, R&R and Fab, and Payso Productions helping out. I’ve been able to form a great team around me and I think we’re going to have a successful year,” Swanstrom says.
Looking into his crystal ball for Lights Out 10 Swanstrom can see the need to have a fast racecar to win this weekend, but one that can also be a bracket car with its performance. The ever-changing conditions at SGMP will be what separates the fast from the champions.
“I think it’s going to take the ability to run a 3.70 to 3.74 to win this race. You have to game plan for different conditions, so Friday we are going to work on our race tune-up to run in that consistent 3.70 range. Having that data is going to make it easier for us to run in that ET range consistently this weekend.”
Kevin Rivenbark Lets It Rip On Radials
The 2019 racing season has been one of big changes for Kevin Rivenbark and the GALOT team. They have transitioned from roots blowers as their power-adder of choice, to a Proline engine and ProCharger to bring the boost. Lights Out 10 also marks the first time Rivenbark has entered an event on radials and he made a splash by going number one in the first round of qualifying with a 3.66 pass.
To get a feel for what the Camaro would do on small tires Rivenbark and the GALOT team tested at Orlando to get some laps in. That pre-Lights Out testing allowed the team to collect valuable data and see what direction they needed to go on radials.
“When we went to Orlando we made five hits total with radials on the car. We started out with a 4.08 pass and ended up running a 3.71 during the test session there. The car has been down the track every pass on radials and it feels like it’s on rails. To me it just seems like the car is just working well since we made the switch,” Rivenbark says.
To go from Pro Mod to radial trim Rivenbark had to make changes to the shocks, wheels, and the four-link set up. When you put a car on radials it will separate the body from the suspension when things are working well. This is totally different from how a slick tire setup will try to crush the suspension and body into the track. Being able to account for this in the adjustments made the switch to radials easier for Rivenbark and it has made the car easier to handle.
“When we made the switch it was my first time I’ve ever been on radials and last night was the sixth pass ever with this car on them. It’s different than big tires, it feels a lot more solid since it doesn’t squat at all. The feeling is different but I’ve been enjoying it so far and really want to see what we can do with the car,” Rivenbark explains.
Power management on a radial tire is probably the most critical component in getting a high horsepower car down the track. This type of management required is vastly different than what a set of big slicks likes, so Rivenbark put an emphasis on making sure they had it right from the start.
“You can’t leave as hard on a radial as you can with a slick. You have to leave softer and then get after it a lot more in the middle and at the top end. With the blower and engine combo we’re running the ProCharger still makes good boost when we’re on the chip at the line, but not as much as a roots blower. The ProCharger doesn’t like a lot of rpm like a roost blower does so that changes power management big time. It’s a lot easier to manager this blower with the Proline engine on radials,” Rivenbark says.
So far the switch to radials for Rivenbark has been fairly seamless.
“As a driver, I like running on radials and I love that it’s something different. I’ve run on slicks for years and this is a fun change of pace. After getting feel for it I think there’s a lot of ET left in the car. We went 3.61 on big tires at Bradenton and I think we will be able to match that here. They say you’re faster on radials but we don’t have enough passes on radials yet to see what it’s capable of.”
Tim Slavens Sets The Radial vs The World Record
It was starting to look like the Pro Mods would finally show their full potential on radial tires at Lights Out 10 and take the Radial vs The World record from Mark Micke and Jason Carter’s Malibu. That narrative was shattered in just 3.621 seconds by Tim Slavens and his 1969 Camaro. With that pass and big 217 mph, Slavens announced he is truly a force to be reckoned with in the small tire world.
At the U.S. Street Nationals Slavens turned a lot of heads when he lit the boards with a 3.64 pass, a new personal best for him in RVW trim. Being able to taste the rare air of the 3.60s on a radial tire was a big accomplishment for Slavens and his team, but that was just the preamble for what they could do on radial racing’s biggest stage.
“A couple weeks ago when we were in Bradenton and went 3.64 that was a big deal for us. Last night we were able to get down the track with a 3.75 so we knew we could swing for it a bit tonight. We just loaded the 3.64 tune into the car and tickled it in a few places where we saw an opportunity for improvement. It worked out and everything came together to lay down that 3.62. The 60-foot was a little bit slower than the Bradenton pass, but the car made up for it in the middle,” Slavens says.
For the past few seasons, Slavens has been seeing a marked improvement in his performances. The better numbers on time slips and how consistent the car has become was born from improvements in his program with parts and people. For 2019 Slavens made some big changes to key components and those played a pivotal role in picking up the record.
“The biggest change we made for this year was going to the Neal Chance converter, that has helped us a lot. We also went to a bigger set of injectors so we could take advantage of more boost the engine was making. The new set of Menscer Motorsports struts we just put on the front of the car made a big difference on how it handles, and that let us put more power in,” Slavens says.
Getting to this point has been a very tactical affair for Slavens and his team. They treat every pass as an opportunity to learn something about what the car likes or doesn’t like. By avoiding the scenario of having a pile of junk time slips Slavens has been able to build a solid database of information that allows him to build tunes that work.
“We’ve always been conservative from the standpoint of you don’t learn anything if the car isn’t going down the track. We have some really good baseline data to see what the car will do and that works wonders for us. It has given us a set of tune-ups that will get the car to run anywhere from a 3.70 to a 3.76, so now we’ve been just chipping away at those tune-ups to get it in the 3.60s,” Slavens explains.
The million dollar question is, does Slavens’ Camaro have more left in it?
“Looking at the data quickly after that 3.62 pass there’s still some areas in the graph where we can make some improvements. We haven’t really maxed the car out on boost yet because we haven’t asked it to make more. I don’t know how much room there is, but we can try and make some small tweaks to optimize what’s left on the table. The car is also 60 pounds overweight so we might try to pull some weight out and see if that helps,” Slavens says.
Even with the new record in hand Slavens plans on staying the course with only making reasonable adjustments to the car. The ultimate goal is to win the event, the records would be the extra icing on the cake.
“We’re going to be working on consistency so it can run fast and not be on the ragged edge. Since we have some good data we might see if we can push it a bit faster, but we could be at the threshold for what it could do. The big thing is we don’t want to beat ourselves this weekend.”
We chatted with Dennis Macpherson from DMC Race Cars briefly to get caught up on the Buick now owned by Dustin Jackson and Andrew DeMarco's White Girl Wasted Mustang, now sporting a blowah sticking out of the hood. Dennis tested with Dustin in Orlando. Dustin qualified last night with a 3.89 which he improved on to a 3.82 at 198 MPH, surpassing the car's previous performance by a smidge. They have some different stators to test this weekend so the team will use future qualifying attempts to test that out and make do their best to make A to B licks. Demarco made a qualifying pass last night and today scored an improved 4.60 at 161.
Troy Smith and the Veterans Adventure Group are back at in 6.0 Index this year but sporting a new engine fresh from Sunset Performance Engines with a host of donated parts from multiple manufacturers, Troy worked with Mark Fretz from Brodix getting a set of cylinder heads plug wires, and Jeff Brotherton, also with Brodix provided headers for the Camaro. Scott Scravonski from Competition Products provided the bearings. Crower rods, CP pistons, Total Seal rings, Comp Cams steel rocker arms, Trend pushrods. A Git Em Garage 1600 CFM twin blade carburetor were also sourced. Hughes Performance provided a matched converter and flexplate. The engine made 979 HP at Sunset Performance and was set in the car three days ago before they made the trip to SGMP. It’s been a lot of work getting it this far and they are still doing some wiring to finish it all up before they can fire the engine in the car.
TRZ Motorsports has been a long time supporter of this event and radial racing in general. They have some new parts offered than ks to a new CNC mill they have had right about a year now. They also have developed a front suspension for Corvettes and a rear suspension for CTS Caddy's. That platform has become quite popular with cars now getting into the low 1.2 60' times and braking the factory parts. I mean no one probably imagined Cadillac's going quite that fast. They are also in development for billet spindles. TRZ has been in business nearly twenty five years getting started making parts and suspension parts for the General Motors G Body platform. TRZ has been an innovator and pioneer in radial racing and been a big part of it's success. “ I remember when you basically knew everyone and there was thirty cars in a class and 4.80's were fast, setting records on the 315 Mickey Thompson radial tire, now it's insane, there are eighty cars in a class and the performance is crazy fast. Every race it feels there are brand new cars. Someone went a 3.66 yesterday and I don't know who it was, not a Mills, or a Klugger, or Micke, not a well known name in the radial scene.” Todd Brash. That man would be one Kevin Rivenbark, a known Pro Mod racer driving for Galot Motorsports and part of the program with Galot and Pro Line Racing developing a Procharged engine combo that was promted in part by James Lawrence, the owner of Power Auto Media. Drag radial racing has spawned a revolution and everyone here this weekend is a part of that.
Jason Riley runs in the DPX 235 class and hails from Nashville, Tennessee. He runs under the KBX Racing banner with a Bennett Racing small block Ford and also gets assistance from Procharger running an F1A 91 head unit. The transmission in a FTI powerglide with a Pro Torque converter. Riley got started racing in 2000 with a Ford Lightning pickup modded with bolt ons. He purchased this car in 2007 as a street car with an AOD and stock block 351 Windsor with Vic Jr heads with a T trim blower running 9.90’s He ran NMRA True Street for several years before he hurt that engine and stepped up this new combo and got serious running here last year in DXP 235. The team is regrouping a bit for 2019 and plans a run at 235 series points. “I’d like to thanks Justin McChesney with KBX, he has been a big help for me, him and John Kolivas, John Bennett and Walt Sipp with Procharger and my buddies that always come to help me.” – Jason Riley
Jeff Sitton scored a 3.69 at 204 to land in fourth position in PTC Radial vs the World.
Craig Sullivan did not even test here this weekend and it’s his first time on radials. He scored a great 3.88 at 188 MPH for his effort.
Thursday Night Qualifying Results
Tonight we have qualifying results from five classes, PTC/XS Power Batteries Radial vs the World, Procharger/Precision Turbo X275, Strange/UPR/Mac Fab Limited Drag Radial, NX Nitrous, Fire Core 50/Ultimate Converter Concepts/Salvato Designs DXP 235 and Vortech/KBX/Induction Solutions Ultra Street. These were the completed rounds as of 11:30 PM.
Radial vs the World, X275
Limited Drag Radial, DXP 235 and Ultra Street.
Martin Connelley leads the field of DXP 235 cars so far with a 5.04 at 138 MPH, right now the field is spread apart pretty good with even the top ten spread apart by three tenths. The little tiny tires make this an especially difficult class with the rules package and limited power management options.
Lil Country Justin Swanstrom has jumped from no time right into the top half of Radial vs the World. The grudge game has always been fast but how fast was always a guessing game as few dared to tread into clocks on racing. The past few years have really switched things up in that area as grudge racers have purchased top performing cars and made their own way as well. The Grudge game is no joke and Carolina NT puts on a fantastic show which will also be showcased here this weekend.
Kenny Hubbard has switched combos from nitrous to a Procharger combo. The build from Matt Mungal is one gorgeous piece of awesomeness. Hubbard sits eleventh in X275 with a 5.45 at 139.
Daniel Pharris is entered in two classes this weekend, Limited Drag Radial and Radial vs the World. he managed second position in LDR with a 4.13 at 184. MPH
Shane Stack, a long time participant here and in radial racing back in the ORSCA days is qualified eleventh in LDR with a 4.44 at 167, look for him to improve as qualifying continues.
