It was the seventh running of the Street Car Super Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in what has become the premier heads-up race west of the Mississippi. The event’s humble beginnings started with the notion of being a West Coast–based event that is a big deal, much like many events in the eastern part of the land. In the seven years of existence, the Street Car Super Nationals has blossomed into an East versus West showdown as several East Coast hitters make the cross-country trek each year. The promoters of the PSCA racing series put the SCSN extravaganza together and the racing categories are a mixture of the PSCA series rules with an outlaw influence. The late season race date before Thanksgiving provides cool conditions for exceptional performances.
The Pro Street field always leads the crowd of quick racers and this year the top players dipped into the 5.90s with regularity. All three power adders were represented in the coveted time zone—supercharged, nitrous oxide, and turbocharged. As the smoke cleared and the track cooled off, the 32-car field was set with a 6.43 bump spot. Of those 32 qualified positions there were 23 Chevy vehicles entered for eliminations. We aren’t going to pretend here, there wasn’t one qualified car that rolled off the Chevy assembly line but the speeds and performances dictate the bodies to be lightweight and aerodynamically altered. The owner’s intent of being a Chevy vehicle is there so we will roll with that fact. Many of the powerplants under the hood are also loosely built off Chevy-style engines but not an actual Chevy engine—we’ll just chalk that fact up to how far this style of racing has progressed in the past decade.
Mike Maggio and company were...
Mike Maggio and company were number-one qualifier and finished runner-up in Pro Street with its ’701/2 Camaro from Duncan Race Cars. Noted Pro Mod racer Kirk Kuhns is the crew chief and the team ran 5.76 in non-Pro Street trim during a pre-race test session. It was the third-quickest run for a door-slammer in the world.
Bryan Metzenheim is crew chief...
Bryan Metzenheim is crew chief on the Troy Coughlin twin-turbocharged Camaro and the team operates out of the Jeg’s mail-order racing operation. Coughlin ran his first 5-second run in turbocharged trim with his NHRA Pro Modified car. They also went a few rounds in Pro Street competition.
Mike Maggio pushed his ’701/2 Camaro replica to the top spot with a 5.91 at 249 mph. Maggio turned to Chris Duncan Race Cars to build the ride and he hired Pro Modified stand-out Kirk Kuhns to make the calls as crew chief. He was following closely by another Chevy entry, a ’69 Camaro belonging to Goodguys promoter Marc Meadors. The Tim McAmis–constructed, Pro Modified–style car stopped the clocks in just 5.94 seconds at a speed of 244 mph. Jose Gonzales was the lone non-Chevy car in the top five qualifying positions as his Pontiac GTO cleared the top end at 254 mph, and that was linked up with a 5.95 e.t. Shannon Jenkins shoved his Speedtech Nitrous entry in the field after several attempts at getting down the tricky track. The Al Anabi Racing Pro Modified racer was fourth with a 5.96 at 238 mph. Troy Coughlin ran his Jeg’s-sponsored ’68 Camaro into the 5s for the first time with a 5.98 at 255 mph. The 255-mph effort was top speed of this Pro Street meet and perhaps one of the highest mph runs in all of door-slammer history.
Anything can and will happen in the Pro Street ranks as we watched cars go every which way but straight on occasions. The drama and side-by-side action peaked in the finals when Gonzales and Maggio were the only two heavyweights standing at the end of eliminations. Both were proven 5-second machines and each was eying up the $20,000 winning prize. Maggio and his crew swapped engines for the final as the Twin-Screw supercharger put too much boost into the team’s main bullet. It was a dramatic thrash as the team fought the clock to get it swapped. The NHRA Nitro ranks make it look easy but the game changes for the weekend warriors who make up the Pro Street division. The team got the car fired up and into the staging lanes with only minutes to spare. Maggio and his team would come up short as the cooling track surface from nightfall caused the car to go into tire shake and he watched as Gonzales grabbed the win.
When $20,000 is on the line,...
When $20,000 is on the line, it tends to attract some heavy hitters and one of them was Shannon Jenkins with his Al Anabi Racing ’68 Camaro built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars. The Reher-Morrison–powered Pro Modified race car was the quickest nitrous car on the property but a strange starting line mishap had him losing on a holeshot in the quarterfinals.
Larry Larson worked hard over...
Larry Larson worked hard over the weekend as crew chief of Steve Matusek’s Pro Street Mustang as well as hitting the strip and street with his own ’66 Nova. Larson is best known for his Drag Week accomplishments but he is also a top chassis builder for the Pro Modified, small-tire, and street-legal scenes.
The only eighth-mile category...
The only eighth-mile category was the Outlaw 8.5 class, which had limited rules, save for the fact you had to stick the power to the ground with a pair of 26x8.5 slicks. Entertaining to watch, some of the cars stand straight up on the bumper and others had the launch perfected. Low 5s got it done in this class. Here’s class winner Eric Gustafson, who took the win light with a 5.382 at 133 mph!
We love Armen Maghdessian’s...
We love Armen Maghdessian’s ’57 Chevy with its leaf-spring rear suspension and 7.90 time slips from the nitrous-gulping AES 565ci engine.
Steve Fulgham’s ’75 Corvette...
Steve Fulgham’s ’75 Corvette gets it done on straight-up legitimate 255/60-15 street radials—not drag radials. The car ran in the low 9s with ease but spun the tires in the quarterfinals.
Seemingly out of nowhere the...
Seemingly out of nowhere the D-Bar-D Racing ’701/2 Camaro came out and unraveled low 6-second times with a best of 6.09 at 235 mph. Former Pro Stock hotshot Joe Lepone, who is responsible for keeping the car’s Pat Musi 865ci engine tuned up perfectly, also drives the car.
The Street Car Super Nationals was more than just a Pro Street fistfight as we were impressed with the level of cars that came from far and near to take a chance to collect the prize money and garner attention as a winner. The big winner for Team Chevy was Rich Hoyle in a ’63 Chevy Nova as he took home the $5,000 top prize in Extreme Drag Radial. Hoyle was one of the few nitrous entries in the turbo and supercharger dominated drag radial category.
Longtime Pro Street competitor...
Longtime Pro Street competitor Randy Adler made the haul west from his Chicago area shop to Vegas. Lynwood Wood owns the car and Adler’s brother helps tune it. The team has run 6.00 in NMCA Pro Street action and was right there with their best time at the Street Car Super Nationals but lost in the quarterfinals. CHP
Another outstanding highlight of the weekend was the impromptu meeting on the real Strip of Las Vegas between two insane street machines belonging to Larry Larson and Joe Barry. The two Hot Rod magazine Drag Week superstars decided to cruise around town for a few hours and we were happy to tag along. Keep a close eye to the pages of CHP for a feature on Barry’s sensational ’56 Chevy. Both cars performed admirably and didn’t have one hiccup on the grueling haul up and down the strip.
The west side of the country certainly shows it knows how to throw a street-legal bash and bring out the quickest cars for great side-by-side fun.
Chris Storlie runs 7.50s and...
Chris Storlie runs 7.50s and cruises the streets of Oregon but unfortunately missed the cut for the 32-car field in Outlaw 10.5.
Chris Storlie runs 7.50s and...
Chris Storlie runs 7.50s and cruises the streets of Oregon but unfortunately missed the cut for the 32-car field in Outlaw 10.5.
Moznik Brothers Racing brought...
Moznik Brothers Racing brought out two El Caminos for Outlaw 10.5 action. The black El Camino here is the quicker of the two cars and is powered by a 737ci nitrous engine from Fulton Competition. The blue El Camino is a two-time Outlaw 10.5 winner at the Street Car Super Nationals.
One of the neatest cars in...
One of the neatest cars in competition is Randy Walker’s new ’74 El Camino that was built by Matheis Race Cars. The Pro Street racer is a diehard nitrous junkie and he even flew in professional Pro Mod racer Charles Carpenter to handle the crew chief duties. The new ride ran in the low 6s but the team has its goals set on running 5.90s with an 865 ci powering the car.
Chris Alston ran a best of...
Chris Alston ran a best of 6.68 at 212 mph from his un-aerodynamic ride, an impressive feat that makes him the quickest Centrifugal supercharged car in Outlaw 10.5 history—nationwide. Alston recently switched to a Vortech V-28 supercharger system.
Al Jimenez and the Fab Shop...
Al Jimenez and the Fab Shop ran Extreme Drag Radial with this ’72 Camaro. It has a big-block engine with a ProCharger F3R supercharger on board and is good for 7.20s on the leaf-spring suspension.