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No Mercy VI day three is under way with records dropping like flies in nearly every class. Today’s weather is similar with mostly cloudy skies and limited direct sun on the track which helps keep the surface in good shape. We will have round one eliminations coming this evening so stay locked to Dragzine for our same day coverage brought to you by Comp Cams.
The fence line was already full with spectators this morning with Saturday bringing the largest crows of the event.
We strolled through the manufacturers midway this morning stopping by Mac Fab Beadlock Conversions hard at work. The team has been busy this weekend prepping Tommy Kirk’s “Blue Goose” and doing conversions on site as they have the past several years here.
Menscer Motorsports has a full service booth here this year to make repairs and adjustments on site. Mark Menscer has made a name for himself quickly in the industry with many top racers using Menscer tuned components as a critical part of their race program.
Induction Solutions has a vendor and racer support trailer here this year. Here owner Steve Johnson goes over some plugs for an Ultra Street racer and discussion timing changes for some cylinders after a shut off run with some new tuneups.
Frank Meshaw ran a personal best 4.06 this weekend backing it up with a 4.07 in the Meshaw/Fratena Racing 1988 Trans Am. Last night the car wasn’t up to par failing to spool up. Inspection revealed a small crack in one head which they repaired and were buttoning things up when we dropped in.
Bill Futch is behind the wheel of this Mustang entered in the No Time Shootout for car owner Diego Hernandez. The south Florida based team has a twin turbo big Chevy power plant machined by Progressive Race Engines and assembled by Oscar at PRD with Carlos Zaldivar tuning.
JW Performance has some new things on display this weekend including a new TH400 case with some updates and a new foundry doing the casting. Also on hand is their brand new billet TH 400 valve body and a fully aftermarket front pump for a power glide.
Jason Richards has made the swap to a four link from leaf springs and upgraded the engine in an effort to compete in ODR, he is also entered in Outlaw 275 this weekend where he is qualified second with a 4.34 at 173.
Mickey Tessnear pulled one out this morning scoring the Leaf Spring record with a 4.52 at 163 MPH with his 1966 Nova. The show stopping car was built in house at Mickey’s Chassis Works in Oklahoma. Sponsors and help of the car comes from Santuff, Steve Morris Engines, Ace Racing Transmissions, M&M Transmissions, David Technologies and Magnafuel.
Steve Jackson led Radial vs the World qualifying in this session being the only car to run in the 4.0’s with a 4.05 with a fresh bullet after swapping in a shortblock and having heads flown in after hurting the engine last night. His team mate Jeff Sitton was also looking good but started to wheel stand and he shut off early. Killin Time Racing will be the ones to beat this weekend.
TJ Gatlin runs this gorgeous 1971 Nova in X275 with a Hans Feustel Racing Engines small block Chevy topped off with Brodix BD 2000 heads fed by an 85 mm Precision turbo backed by a Proformance Racing Transmissions and a Pro Torque converter making about 1,800 RWHP. The chassis was done by Mickey’s Chassis out of Norman, Oklahoma. The one front clip is from Unlimited Products. He has run as fast as a 4.57 but had some issues this weekend loosing the front pump in the trans and a broken rocker arm. The car is popular with the crowd due to it’s factory appearance including vinyl roof.
The tower had some technical issues today and were unable to print final qualifying sheets or round sheets at all. We do have the hand written results from the classes that completed round one eliminations before we had to call it after a car oiled the left lane and ran up against the midnight curfew before the staff was able to clean up. Radial vs the World, Nitrous X, Ultimate Street and Outlaw 632.
Final Qualifying Results
Once again the opening ceremonies were performed by the Cook County High School Hornets Marching Band performing the Star Spangled Banner to a packed house.
We kicked things off with Outlaw 632 going into round one eliminations. Number one qualifier Troy Blake faced off with Vinnie Larosa’s Plymouth Duster. Larosa did his job on the tree running a personal best in the 5.0’s but was no match for Blake’s 4.52.
Bruce Johnson and Jennifer Brooke Rice (shown) faced off with Johnson earning the win with a 4.51 at 155 to Rice’s 5.02 at 143. Rice had trouble stopping and wound up in the sand at the top end. She was ok, the car was a little dirty and didn’t suffer any real damage.
Eugene Rodriquez faced off with Adam Annot in his Scotty’s Racing Technology powered Tampa, Florida based 1993 Mustang in Ultimate Street scoring a 5.063 at 138 win to Annot’s 5.38 at 135.
