LYNCH GOES 4.31/180!

Just a few weeks after going 6.57 at 231 mph at Englishtown, NJ, to set the quickest and fastest quarter-mile pass ever at 3,000 pounds on 10.5W tires, Woodstock, Georgia's Tim Lynch continued his heroics Nov. 4, at the eighth-mile Carolina Dragway, near Jackson,

SC. After officially lowering the ORSCA Outlaw 10.5 record to 4.32 seconds in qualifying number one, Lynch experienced tire shake in eliminations and was ousted from round two. He returned for a test pass later in the day, however, and laid down a jaw-dropping 4.31 at 180.02 mph, unofficially making it the quickest and fastest eighth-mile pass in Outlaw 10.5 history. 

Later, crew chief Steve Petty explained the only difference from qualifying to eliminations was they switched to new Mickey Thompsons. "All we did was put the old tires back on and it went a .31," Petty said. "Guess we should've left it alone."  (Ian Tocher photo) [11/7/2007]

JOHNSON JOINS EXCLUSIVE CLUB

Tony Johnson of Conyers, GA, became just the second Outlaw 10.5 driver ever to dip into the 4.30s over an eighth mile with his second round win at the recently completed ORSCA event at Carolina Dragway. Johnson's beautiful, blown 526 Hemi-powered '69 Camaro covered the distance in 4.384 seconds at 176.74 mph to join Tim Lynch's twin-turbocharged Mustang in very exclusive company. By the way, there's nothing vulgar about the butterflies on Johnson's engine--he's backed by Atlanta Speed Shop. (Ian Tocher photo) [11/7/2007]