For the third of four races in the Ultimate Outlaw Shootout series, we arrived to Cecil County Dragway on Friday afternoon for an exclusive test session.  The caliber of cars that made the trip from all over the country was impressive, and we knew we would be in for a great race come Saturday. This installment of the series was brought to us by Pritchett Controls and Racingjunk.com

If you haven’t attended an Ultimate Outlaw Shootout race, then you are missing out on the experiences that come with it.  There is just as much action outside of racing at these races as there is on the track.  In this race recap, you will hear us talk about family quite often, because at the Ultimate Outlaws race, the racers, fans, and staff are one big family.   Pritchett Brother’s racing opens the doors for all of us who love heads up racing to join each other and experience something we are so passionate about, together.   The feeling you get from being at one of these races, is the reason that GDR and many racers will tirelessly follow this race series to whatever state, country, or planet that Nate and Adam decide to go to.  We hope you get the opportunity to join us and see what we mean at Budd’s Creek (MIR) on Friday, September 16th for Racer & Fan appreciation day sponsored by Fastmover Motorsports , followed by the Season Finale of the Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series on Saturday, September 17th. 

On Friday Night, the race teams and Ultimate Outlaws staff returned to the Nauti Goose in Northeast, Maryland, for the annual Pre-Race party and get together.  We all had a great time as always, spending some time together shooting the breeze off the track and enjoying some beverages. Quite a few of us may have enjoyed too many beverages, judging by some of the first round qualifier reaction times..  but that’s OK 🙂  A big thanks to our friends at Pritchett Brother’s racing and Coast Chassis Design for making the party possible.

Pritchett Controls Ultimate Outlaw Shootout Series – Cecil County Dragway 2011 – Photo Gallery   (qualifying and run sheets are at the end of the gallery)

Outlaw 10.5

26 cars were on the property to battle for the 16 car field, from Virginia to Massachusets.  Mo Hall, who has been battling going A to B lately, had some suspension components repaired and it showed as he went straight down the track in all 3 qualifiers and took the #4 overall qualifier with a 4.420 @ 172mph pass.  Unfortunately, on the last pass, he broke the input shaft on his transmission and had no parts for repair so he his spot went to an alternate.  Tom Kasper was right behind Mo Hall with a 4.425 @ 178mph, but he also had some problems during qualifying that put him on the trailer and his spot was also taken by an alternate.  Reigning champ Scotty Guadagno was in the top half of the field as usual with a 4.427 @ 166mph.  Two more familiar nitrous cars made the field as well, the first was the Caldwell Motorsports Mustang driven by Charlie Dolbin with a 4.43 @ 169.  Lou Sciortino, who has been steadily improving during the last few races and testing as much as possible, made a respectable 4.489 @ 161mph pass to take the #9 qualifier spot.

Three impressive passes were made in the heat to take up the top 3 qualifier spots.  In the number three position was Richard Sexton, the only C-rotor screw blown car in the class, rocketed down the track sounding like an alcohol funny car to a 4.364 @ 179mph pass.  Number two was the Milan Michigan winner and Piedmont runner-up Jason Enos, with an awesome 4.350 at a staggering 181.5 mph. The story of the day though was Billy Gordon, who has been at Cecil a few times in the past few weeks testing, and obviously his testing paid off tremendously.  Billy went a 4.326 @ 179.92 to take the number one qualifier spot and pole position heading into eliminations.  Pete, Tim, and Denny from Coast Chassis Design, title sponsors for Outlaw 10.5, continued to work out the bugs on the Mercedes and unfortunately did not make the field.  The car is still new and barely has any passes on it, we are sure we’ll see it set some records in no time. 

Outlaw 10.5 Round 1

With Tom Kasper and Mo Hall not able to make the call, Mike Decker and Doug Harris were in the show.  Decker was not able to make a pass, Tim Essick took a broke bye and had a tiny bit of trouble getting down in the twin turbo small block machine, with a 5.108 @ 155.  Brad Harris went red by .079 against Richard Sexton, who went 4.384 @ 180mph.  Doug Harris continued to work on the new setup, he had an aborted pass against Michael Martin who went .069 on the tree and had an elapsed time of 4.525 @ 162mph.  In a broke bye, the #1 qualifier was a little off the pace but the mph was there, Billy Gordon ran a 4.488 @ 178mph.  Ron Green went red against Scotty G, he had a better elapsed time but it was over at the line, SCotty going 4.491 @ 173mph to move on to the next round.  Tommy Ferrick did his job at the tree against the #2 qualifier Jason Enos, Ferrick .079 to Enos’ .121.  Enos was able to drive around and went a 4.382 @ 177mph for the quickest pass so far in eliminations and the win.  Finishing off the Piedmont winner, Mark Swanson, was Charlie Dolbin.  Both had their traction issues, Dolbin took a win with a 5.067 @ 149mph.

Outlaw 10.5 Round 2

Tim Essick may have caught Michael Martin napping at the tree, but Martin made a clean pass, candles lit, with a 4.717 @ 166mph to take the win over Essick’s failed 6.583 run.  Jason Enos took off with a .019 advantage over Charlie Dolbin and never looked back, continuing to get faster and running a 4.323 at an amazing 184mph to Dolbin’s 5.145.  TJ Kasper smoked Billy Gordon on the tree, an .033 to a .127.  Gordon, the #1 qualifier, had the power to get around him but not this time, he spins while TJ also doesn’t run his best pass but takes the win with a 4.448 @ 177mph. Finishing off the round were the remaining two blue cars, Richard Sexton’s GTO and Scotty G’s Camaro. Scotty, as usual, get a big jump on his opponent, leaving on Richard with a .057 advantage.  Sexton however has the ridiculous horsepower and was able to drive around him with a 4.324 @ 182mph.  Michael Martin would be the only remaining nitrous car at this point.

Outlaw 10.5 Semi-finals

Air temperature and track temperature have changed vastly by now compared to earlier in the day, thanks to the sun going down.  The number two and three qualifiers pulled in first – Jason Enos and Richard Sexton, in what was set to be the biggest matchup of the day yet.  Sexton improved his reaction and gets the jump on Enos and was ahead of him for a good bit, but he got out of it and Jason took off past him with the fastest pass of the day yet, a 4.289 @ 184mph to Sexton’s 4.962 @ 111.  Michael Martin, the lone remaining nitrous car, lined up against TJ Kasper in the Proline powered twin Precision turbo machine.  Martin nails the tree with a .022 to Kasper’s .059.  Martin rode the wheelie bars hard in the right lane, the front end never coming down until the car drifted towards the centerline so much that he had no choice to lift.  TJ was also on the gas hard, his car drifting towards Martin, both dangerously close but Kasper recovered and took the win with a 4.390 @ 184 to Martin’s 5.226.  Headed to the finals were two Proline powered, twin turbo mustangs!

Outlaw 10.5 Finals

Jason Enos, leader in the points at this point, was facing TJ Kasper who races quite often at Cecil and is fresh off a win from June’s makeup race.  As both cars built up boost and pulled in, judging by today’s runs and also what we have all seen from both cars in the past, there was no way to predict a winner.  Enos pulled in first, followed by TJ, the tree dropped and it was a race.  Kasper got a huge jump on Enos, a .048 to Jason’s .124.  That jump was all he needed, Enos was motoring down the track hard but could not catch Kasper, even with a 4.283 @ 184.17.  TJ runs a 4.304 @ 179.68 to take the holeshot win and put Christy & Kasper motorsports in the winner’s circle for the second week in a row. 

Enos is leading the points right now but mathematically has not locked it up yet; if he goes rounds during the season finale at MIR, we may crown him the 2011 Champion.

8.50 Index

8.50 Index is not as strong outside of the Northeast, but at Cecil County, the 8.50 Index program is strong and full of tough contenders that race weekly in the region.  One of those racers is Harry Gerb from H&J, who with the help of his wife Jackie and crew chief Mike, has been very successful in the class.  Today was no exception, as Harry went to the number one qualifier spot with an 8.509, only .009 seconds off the index.  Another hard working racing family who supports the Ultimate Outlaw series to no end, and is also the reigning 8.50 Index Champion, is Mike Pyott.  Mike took the number 5 spot with an 8.534.  While we’re on the family subject, how about the Fonse Performance crew! They sponsored extra money at this race and bring quite a large extended family to the track at every race, enjoying the entire race from the fence lining the track at Cecil. Al Jr. went 8.516 to take the number three qualifier spot in his naturally aspirated Camaro.  Mike Good, as the name implies, is a well experienced bracket racer who crossed over into the 8.50 Index program and has done quite well for himself. Mike took the #2 spot with a 8.513 pass.  The Gallagher Brothers, who always travel far to race with us, took the number 4 spot with an 8.530.  The top 10 qualifiers in the 16 car field were all in the 8.50s – making it hard for us to predict how eliminations would go!

8.50 Index Round 1

Unfortunately a few racers were hurt; Mike Pyott, Mike Good, and Shawn Gallagher all had singles in round 1.  They all took advantage of the pass to see where their cars were – Pyott went 8.543 @ 159mph, Good goes 8.552 @ 150mph, and Gallagher an oh-so-close 8.470 running it out the back door at 167mph.  Marc McCloud caught Luis Martinez at the tree, but then had issues. Luis headed down the track and went 8.538 @ 144, his signature hazard flashers coming on at the launch. Darrell Varner and Craig Cusamano left about equal, Varner dumping at just the right time and taking a win with a 8.630 to Cusamano’s 8.654.  Joe Timinski caught the #1 qualifier shining his rims on the starting line again, but Harry Gerb was able to drive around him and put a much needed 8.529 on the board for the win, to Timinski’s 8.616.  John Goss goes red against Al Jr. from Fonse Performance, Fonse runs a 8.626 @ 147, he’ll need the temps to continue to cool off to find some power for the next round.  Finishing off the pairs was Marty Brown Jr, and Frankie Santos. Santos goes red, the kid runs a breakout 8.479 @ 159mph, just about where he wants to be.

8.50 Index Round 2

Marty Brown Jr. leaves just .001 behind Mike Good, which is very hard to do. Good takes the stripe for the win, an 8.526 to Brown’s 8.543.  Shawn Gallagher has problems and Pyott gets the win light as the tree drops, that doesn’t stop him from hammering down and seeing where he was – an 8.484 @ 159 does the trick.  Darrel Varner gets smoked at the tree by Al Fonse, Fonse goes .017 to Varner’s .126.  Varner runs a dead on 8.500 but it’s too little too late, Fonse gets the win with a 8.547.  Finishing up the round was #1 qualifier Harry Gerb versus Luis Martinez.  Martinez could not take the tree, Gerb gets the win running an 8.563 @ 147, he’s tuned in just right for the semis.

8.50 Index Semi-finals

The #1, #2, #3, and #5 qualifiers remained in the race at the semis – four very tough racers that earned it.  The first pairing was Mike Good and Al Fonse. Good nails a .010 light to an also good .035 light from Fonse.  All we heard from the starting line on this race was some loud race cars on and off the throttle, playing games at the top end.  Fonse gave Good the stripe, Good wins with a 8.616 to Al’s 8.658.   Mike Pyott leaves with an .030 advantage over Harry Gerb, Harry runs him down and goes 8.562 to Pyott’s 8.619.  Pyott may have lost this round, but he has all but locked up the points championship in 8.50 Index for the second year in a row, provided he remembers to come to MIR in September! 

8.50 Index Finals

It doesn’t happen often, but we are left with a final in which the number one and two qualifiers made it through the extremely tough field to battle each other.  Two extremely clean rides pulled into the beams, Harry Gerb’s Firebird and Mike Good’s Vette.  Harry finally had a great reaction time while an uncharacteristic .078 came out of Good.  Good does a great job of running down Harry but he had no chance, Harry goes 8.505 @ 157, almost dead on, to take the win with an 8.538 package.   Great job to see our friends from H&J in the winner’s circle yet again!

 

X275 Drag Radial

With track temps over 125 while the sun was out, and running ridiculous horsepower on tiny tires, the X275 guys really had their work cut out for them to make it to the field and also do well during eliminations, without doing burnouts or pedaling on every pass.  Cecil did a great job on the track prep and took a huge variable out of the tuning for these guys.  18 cars were on the property battling to make the show.  Mike Romeo, a regular in the 10.0 Index class and also makes appearances in 8.50 Index, turned up the wick and made it into the X275 show on the bump spot, with a 5.511 @ 128mph pass.  From Mike to the Top, was a .5 second difference, making a great field and show for the fans.  All the way at the top was no stranger, the 2010 Ultimate Outlaws X275 champ Chris Evans in the Procharged “Big Green” Mustang with a 5.037 @ 142 pass.  Another regular in the winner’s circle at Cecil County was in the #2 spot, Ron Rhodes, with a 5.094 @139 pass. Top mph in qualifying went to another supercharged ride, Rich Bruder, with a 5.110 @ 145mph pass in the #4 spot.  Jon Rittenhouse came up from Virginia to take the #3 spot with a 5.103 @ 142.  Take a look at the qualifying sheet just to get an appreciation of how close this field was!

X275 Round 1

Traction is the name of the game here, conditions from qualifying have changed a little bit.  Craig Walls nails the tree with a .028 light and never looks back on Mike Cerminaro who spun, Walls going 5.249 @ 136 for the first round win.  Glennie Buckler goes red on our friend Jeff Moyer, Moyer makes a nice wheels up 5.245 @ 132mph pass after making sure the light went green.  #3 qualifier Jon Rittenhouse does his job at the tree but spins, Willie Jimenez takes advantage and makes a clean 5.442 @ 135 pass.  Ron Rhodes was dead late against Kyle Buonocory, lucky for Rhodes he has the nitrous blasting and was able to drive around Kyle.  Ron goes 5.126 @ 139 to Kyle’s 5.697 pass.  Ken Ewer gets a great jump on Rich Bruder but is not able to hold off the power, Bruder goes right down broadway with a round fast 4.996 @ 145mph pass.  Mike Romeo gets going but spins, Chris Evans is able to go around and run a 5.091 @ 141mph pass.  Larry Rhodes is not able to take the tree, Rob Falcone goes 5.935 with some traction problems.  Finishing up the round was John Ashnault and Dan Whetstine.  Ashnault has been steadily improving and always has the DiSomma crew around.  In a huge upset, he leaves Whetstine when the yellows drop, Whetstine runs a 5.191 but it is wasted, Ashnault takes the holeshot win with a 5.275.

X275 Round 2

Jeff Moyer will have to change his screen name, he’s not the King after spinning the tires against Ron Rhodes. Ron turned up the juice and goes 5.192.  Rob Falcone and Willie Jimenez hesitated for a second before going, Falcone taking the win with a 5.378 to Jimenez’s 5.407.  Craig Walls absolutely chops the tree with a .003 to Chris Evans’ .117 light.  Evans, the #1 qualifier, tries to run him down but both cars were pedaling the whole way.  Walls wins with a holeshot 5.777 pass to Evans’ 5.698. Finishing up the round was Rich Bruder and John Ashnault. Ashnault yet again makes a straight pass, a 5.225 @ 140, but he was not catching Bruder’s beast. Bruder goes 5.055 @ 145 for the win.

X275 Semi-Finals

Ron Rhodes is back in the semis again, on his quest to go back to the Cecil County Winner’s circle.  He does it, catching a dead late Rob Falcone and wins with a 5.227 to Falcone’s 5.367.  Craig Walls does his job on the line and gets out first, runs an awesome 5.148 pass, but Rich Bruder outpowers him and goes 4.998 @ 145 for the win.  Bruder and Rhodes back in the finals!

X275 Finals

By now, it has cooled off quite a bit at Cecil, and we were fixing to see quite a good race from the #2 and #4 qualifiers.  Both cars light their bulbs, and as the tree dropped, Rhodes took off early and went .160 red, wasting a 5.053 pass.  Bruder goes .034 green and runs a 5.002, a 5.036 package, to take the win for the night. Bruder’s car has some serious power, but in the season finale, we will be headed to X275’s favorite track, Maryland International Raceway.  We’ll see if he can run two in a row or if one of the other teams will challenge the twins!
 

Outlaw Drag Radial

The Ultimate Outlaw Shootout series always draws racers from near and far.  Today, we definitely hit the nail on the head with the far part in ODR!  Kevin Fiscus, a loyal racer with the series, made the trip up from Florida for the test session on Friday. Abdullah Al-Shatti was also in the house, along with his race team all the way from Kuwait!  Dave Hinzman aka Hooker, made the trip from Ohio along with his buddy Tommy from Mickey Thompson.  Hooker took the #1 qualifier spot with a 4.647 @ 162mph pass.  Don Burton, running twin Prochargers, took the #2 spot with a 4.721 @157 pass.  Kevin Fiscus was in the number 3 spot with a 4.736 pass, but at a blistering 171.75mph! Ricky Fox in the Fulton powered Mustang goes #4 with a 4.766.  Abdullah Al-Shatti and team continue to work on the Radial setup, going #5 with a 4.786.  Rounding up the bottom half of the field are Scott Bitzer (4.920 @ 157), John Carter (5.029 @ 170 Proline Powered), Wild Bill Dutka (5.161 154 J&E Powered), Paul Major (5.666 @ 152), Kevin Fourtner (5.684 @ 126), and Toby Chapman (8.961 @ 56). 

Outlaw Drag Radial Round 1

Kevin Fiscus spins a bit against Kevin Fourtner but is able to recover and take the win, running a 5.026 @ 144 to Kevin’s 5.849.  John Carter leaves with a slight advantage on Scott Bitzer, you know Steve Petty has the boost turned up on the Precision Turbo / Proline powered machine.  It was not enough, Carter spun and Bitzer was able to get around him with a 4.862 to Carter’s losing 4.921.  Paul Major timed out against Ricky Fox, not getting fully staged fast enough.  Ricky takes the freebie and makes a nice 4.746 @ 158 pass.  Bill Dutka and Abdullah Al-Shatti took their jolly old time getting going, Dutka .131 to Al-Shatti’s .199 light.  Dutka spins and gets back in it, but Al-Shatti gets around him and wins with a 4.730 @ 161 to Dutka’s 4.838 @ 162.  Finishing up the round were the top qualifiers who earned competition singles.  Don Burton runs a nice 4.748 @ 159.  Hinzman’s single was not as smooth, though.  About 100 feet out, his rear tires completely locked up, and he did an amazing job, somehow bringing the car to a stop on the track without nailing the wall.  He was off to the pits for a grind to see if they could fix the car for the next round.

Outlaw Drag Radial Round 2

Number four qualifier but local legend Ricky Fox upsets the powerful Kevin Fiscus on the first pair, Ricky getting out first with a .013 advantage and never looking back. Fox goes 4.647 to Fiscus’ 4.723.  Fiscus is still high up in the points, after a win at Milan.  Don Burton takes out Abdullah Al-Shatti, both racers leaving quite late but don going 4.673 for the win.  Dave Hinzman has a great team behind him, made some parts changes, and made the call for the second round.  He made a great pass in the left lane, a 4.697 @ 161.  Unfortunately in the right lane, Scott Bitzer’s car made a sharp turn and went through the 1/8th mile blocks sideways, and made a huge impact with the retaining wall.  Scott was OK, but his car is hurt pretty bad.  Please be sure to see the threads on YellowBullet.com to get Scott some help to make it back to the track.  Scott has worked tirelessly on his new setup and we were devastated to see what unfolded on the track, if you can bear to watch, here’s the link to the video.  

Outlaw Drag Radial Semi-Finals

Dave Hinzman, who we thought would have had to hang up the fire suit early in the race, made a fast repair for round 2 and earned his way into the semi-finals to face Ricky Fox.  Hooker gets out first with an .009 advantage over Fox.  Fox does his best running a 4.672 @ 160, but Hinzman had just enough power to win with a 4.659 @ 162.  Don Burton made an aborted pass, on a single to the finals.

Outlaw Drag Radial Finals

Another race with #1 and #2 qualifiers facing each other, just like the 8.50 Index class.  Two supercharged Mustangs pulled to the beams.  Hinzman murders the tree with a .001 light but spins, Burndown Don takes advantage and shoots down the track running a 4.699 to take the win for the day.

 

See you at Maryland International Raceway on Sept 16th-17th for the season finale!