PRO 10.5
Just seven cars qualified for the Pro 10.5 race, led by Steve Kirk’s 2000 Camaro at 4.550 and 161.59 mph. Unfortunately, only five were able to stick around for the rain-postponed raceday, giving Kirk, Marcus Birt, and George Bell bye runs into the second round. Only Jack Barfield, the 2004 ORSCA Outlaw 10.5 champion, had to race his way into the semis by beating Lance Styck and his turbocharged 2004 Mustang.
Birt, driving Tim Tindle’s ’69 Camaro in his first race as a teammate to Barfield in a similar ride, stunned everyone—except perhaps himself—with a 4.498 seconds semi-final win over Kirk. It marked a personal best for the driver, the best run ever for the car, and the best ever for the newly formed Team Skull, led by crew chief Randy Conner for both cars.
“I wasn’t really surprised because I knew they had put a good tune-up in it,” Birt said. “We figured it would run. Maybe not a .40, but a low .50, so it ran what we thought it would. What’s more impressive is that’s really only five true hits on the car since we’ve had it. Really, this is the first weekend we’ve been out with it.”
It didn’t take long for new teammates Jack Barfield (near lane) and Marcus Birt to find each other in a final round. “No team orders,” Barfield declared shortly before their match. “May the best car win.” He went on to beat Birt for Pro 10.5 bragging rights in the special exhibition class at Valdosta.
Meanwhile, Barfield bounced Bell from the other semi-final, setting up the first final-round meeting of the B-squared drivers. Once there, both drilled the tree, leaving with .016 and .011 lights, respectively. Birt, who once again chose the left lane, quickly lost traction and drifted toward the wall, forcing him to lift while Barfield raced on to a 4.587-seconds win at 157.54 mph.
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“We took a lot of power out this morning from both cars,” Barfield said. “Because of the changing conditions we hurt our car yesterday and I think we just hurt it again on that pass there.” Regardless, the Savannah, GA-based driver said he’s “real excited” about the upcoming season. “We think we’ve got a fine team here with everybody that’s here today, and then we have Tim Tindle at Tindle Enterprises. We’ve got a fine driver in Marcus and I know we’ve got a great team we’ve put together here with Randy Conner, Jim Chamberlain, Bill Cleary, and Mike. I think we’ll be a force to be reckoned with this year.”
Additionally, Barfield said he “really enjoyed” his first ADRL experience. “I would definitely love to see this continue.” Kirk agreed. “Man, I love it, this is an excellent series. (ADRL president) Kenny (Nowling) has got an excellent program and I think these cars fit in real good in this deal.”
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