“I’ve had a lot of wheelstands, but that was the first one that ever scared me,” said “Purgin” Spurgeon Adkins after his 1989 EZ Street Mustang took him for a wild ride at U.S. 19 Dragway. “By the time I realized it was going to go that high, it was too late. I was afraid it was going to come down on its side. The Cordele, GA-based driver said he saw sparks flying into the cockpit through the passenger-side air vent when the car came back to earth. The impact bent both front struts and broke the right shock tower and mount. “This is bad right now because we were planning to go to Orlando next week,” Adkins said. “I just hope we can get it fixed in time.” (Photo sequence by Pro Photo Productions) |
Some of his competitors were clearly disappointed at being beaten to the ground-breaking E.T., but it was Shane Stack’s speed that raised the most eyebrows, since it exceeded the official EZ record by nearly seven mph. A quick post-race check by ORSCA Tech Director Ray Donald (left) included a 94 mm template (held by Stack) inserted into the turbo opening to confirm Stack’s legality. The incrementals were: 60 feet = 1.33; 330 ft = 3.356; 1/8-mile = 4.977/153.55.
“I’ve been studying a lot because I really wanted to be the first in the fours,” Stack said. “It probably surprised a few people here that we were the first to do it, but I always thought we could. And that was just a 1.33 60-foot, so that wasn’t even the best we could do.”
With a $1,000 bonus available to the top qualifier in Outlaw 10.5 if he could get it done with a track record, most teams turned the wick up for the nighttime session. Ken Rainwater fired the first volley past the previous 4.57 record held by Mike Hill, going 4.536 at 164.08 in a string-straight run with his twin-turbocharged Mustang. Jack Barfield (4.550) and teammate Marcus Birt (4.570) also eclipsed the old mark, while Hill almost made it with a wild 4.576 that saw him use up practically every inch of the left lane along the way.
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