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Bob Glidden (near lane) took on his son Bill in identically prepared ‘09 5.4 liter Ford Mustang Cobra Jets for an afternoon race, it was difficult to tell who won the match. Neither driver could get hold of the track surface with Bill leaving “Pops” in the dust on the starting line.
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Our photographer Adam Cranmer shot these top end photos of Tony Christian as he takes a wild ride after the parachutes failed to deploy in the third round of Saturday qualifying.
Christian who, in his long driving career has been through this kind of issue before, managed to skillfully spin out his speeding Grand Am skidding to a sideways stop (inset left) just in front of the top end hay bails. The car and driver were OK and will make it to the first round of Super Pro Street on Sunday versus Craig Miller.
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Day two of the Orlando’s World Street Nationals showed just how good this track is, of course made better by the first class track crew who fine-tuned the surface throughout the day. The results were New Yorker Vinny Budano’s Super Pro Street leading 6.363/219.58 charge during Saturday’s second session after the Shafiroff-tuned team struggled in earlier sessions. Mark Micke was sneaking up on the top spot, but had to settle for #2 with a close 6.382.
The tight Outlaw 10.5 field is lead by Chuck Ulsch’s Camaro at 6.555 followed closely by Tim Lynch’s Mustang Cobra 6.580 in what was a classic Chevy –vs– Ford battle all day. The money in the grandstands is probably on these two hitters meeting in Sunday’s final round.
Paul Major leads in Drag Radial competition in his stout Z06 Corvette with a 7.330 at 207.08 miles per hour and with the way this car is performing here at Orlando may improve in Sunday’s elimination rounds.
In Heavy Street Pennsylvania’s Kenny Doak super-clean ’69 Camaro is the top of the class running 7.235 at 202.52 miles per hour. If the weather cooperates on Sunday Doak’s 526 inch Chevy could very well be pictured in the winner’s photo.
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George Louvaris (far lane) in his 540 inch ‘81 Camaro carries the front wheels well past the Christmas Tree in what the packed crowd has come to expect from this particular class.
Later in the evening during the final session of Drag Radial qualifying, Danny Griffin’s ’89 Mustang launched skyward, but didn’t fare as well coming down hard. The landing crushed the 410 inch Ford’s oil pan and spread oil down most of the right lane resulting in an hour long delay for track clean-up.
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The Speed World track crew has worked their asses off so far this weekend, this clean-up was from about half track through the top end and cleaned up in short order better than at the start of the day.
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Gino Bia was qualified #8 in Heavy Street in his ‘72 Olds-powered Barracuda with a 7.555 at 183.52 MPH until all hell broke loose in the next two photos.
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Gino Bia bounces back off the right guardwall headed into the left lane as he runs over (left rear) what is thought to be a ballast weigh knocked off from under his Cuda.
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Gino Bia smacks the wall.
Here’s the video of Bia’s crash on video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imvLDefPatU
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Vinnie Budano and the boys from New York grab the #1 position after four sessions with a 6.363 at 219.58 MPH in in his ‘68 Camaro with a Scott Shafiroff Race Engines 737 SpeedTech nitrous motor.
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It’s been a tough weekend for Scott Cannon who has only been able to get down the track in one of the four sessions so far this weekend. His ‘70 Superbird is now inside the quick 32 with a 7.002/215.31 MPH pass in the 27th position.
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The 600 inch ‘69 Camaro of Matt Salminen moved up on the 10.5 ladder with this 6.878/206.57 MPH run, now in the #6 slot.
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Brian Weddle’s Maryland-based ‘67 Camaro launches hard to a 7.691/184.50 MPH pass, he now sits 21st in Outlaw 10.5.
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Archie Marasco’s ‘89 Mustang got down the track today landing in the nineteenth qualifying spot with an 8.251/177.70 pass.
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Heavy Street racer Michael Hupp towed from Indiana and his ProCharger assisted ‘80 Malibu with a 440 inch Chevy currently sits fifth at 7.414/190.67 MPH.
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Floridian Gino Bia readies his ‘72 Cuda powered by a supercharged 525 inch Oldsmobile. Bia is in the eighth slot in Heavy Street with a 7.555 at 183.52 MPH.
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Wayne Smozanek’s beautiful ‘41 Willys sports a 540 inch supercharged Chevy in Heavy Street and is in the show at #20 running 8.256 at 175.68 MPH.
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The ‘04 Mustang of Carlton Thompson improved in the first Saturday round running a 7.237 at 196.47 MPH up the ladder to eighteenth.
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Stanley Albritton Jr moved up into the quick 32 with this 7.054/199.85 pass, now sitting 27th in his ‘03 Pontiac Trans Am with a nitrous 615 inch Chevy.
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Jimmy Keen moved up the charts into the #1 qualifying position in his nitrous 400 inch Ford Mustang with a 6.435 at 222.99, with two possible session left to go who knows how low we can go here.
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Steve King from Strasburg, VA improves in the morning qualifying session in his 521 inch Hemi-powered ‘68 Camaro grabbing a 6.594 at 233.32 MPH. King moves up to the #7 slot for now… if weather permits promoter Carl Weisinger says we may squeeze in three sessions for all classes today!
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Kentucky’s Greg Cason in his 632 inch ‘68 Camaro launched off the starting line hard this morning, but was unable to improve on Friday’s 6.797/202.09 MPH charge.
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Tony Baudier’s crew unloads the “Bumble Bee” Camaro getting ready to qualify in another day of more picture-perfect weather here at Orlando Speed World.