LSX Shootout 2008 - Saturday Coverage

[mark@lsxtv]

We are on our second day of the GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout. It is even hotter then it was yesterday. There are two more qualifying rounds for heads up, and the qualifying for Index classes will happen during round three of qualifying.



We caught number one qualifier in All Motor, Joe Huneycutt warming up his motor for qualifying round two.



We are happy to report that Martin Cox was able to get his nitrous fed Trailblazer SS down the track today. Martin managed to break into the 9s with a 9.99.

[mark@lsxtv]

A new beginning starts at the LSX Shootout for Drag Radial driver Rob Valden. This 2000 Firebird owned by Edgar Cato only had 4000 miles on the chassis before they decided to turn it into a drag car. The 422 LSX engine has run a best of a 10.00 @ 137 MPH. This is the first time down the track while on the nitrous. They plan to ease into it, depending on how the car can hold the power, but want to end up with a 500 shot at the end of the day. The team is hoping for low 8s on this true stock suspension F body

[mark@lsxtv]

What you see on the track is not a UFO. It is the T Top out of Rob Valden's Firebird. A car with a good cage in it can still flex enough to cause this type of destruction, and that was the problem. Also due to their chassis flex, the windshield crack has grown just a little more.





John Ventresca was the top wheel stand of round two qualifying. John put it on the bumper but managed to keep from hurting parts, well except for the muffler coming off. The pass showed as a DQ for crossing the center line but John says the pass seemed good.

[mark@lsxtv]

Paul Major Finally put down a solid run of a 7.715, .001 off Tom Kempf's second place run. Though when the crew got back to the pits, they realized that one of the turbos was completely locked up. This is where the advantage of having turbos in your trunk makes servicing them easier.



Number five qualifier Steve Turley had some issues pushing water pass the head gasket. He was pulling the rockers off so he could re torque everything. Steve ran a 7.952 @ 184.80.

[mark@lsxtv]

GM PERF LSX ALL MOTOR Q2

Position Car # Driver Name ET MPH Fastest MPH
1 2002 Joe Huneycutt 8.961 154.58 154.58
2 2003 Judson Massingill 9.08O 152.50 152.50
3 2006 Kevin Patterson 9.365 143.67 143.67
4 2004 Chris Fowler 9.74O 138.12 138.12
5 2005 Ashley Gable 9.75O 135.32 139.41
6 2008 John Ventresca 10.101 136.75 136.75
7 2007 Steve Hopkins 12.873 62.54 62.54

GM PERF LSX DRAG RADIAL Q2

Position Car # Driver Name ET MPH Fastest MPH
1 1003 Steven Fereday 7.663 185.79 185.79
2 1777 Tom Kempf 7.714 186.48 186.67
3 1012 Paul Major 7.715 188.33 188.33
4 1816 Jim Filipowski 7.722 188.25 188.25
5 1005 Steve Turley 7.952 184.80 184.80
6 1008 8.365 163.79 163.79
7 1006 Mark Koehler 8.403 174.59 174.59
8 1009 Brian Krzewinski 8.408 165.23 165.23
9 1002 Rob Valden 8.476 155.88 164.33
10 1347 Mike Brown 9.368 109.37 109.37

[mark@lsxtv]

This was the theme of round three qualifying, tire spin. The track is hot and greesy, which doesn't make for good traction on Drag Radial cars.



Steven Fereday did manage to extend his number one position by a slight margin, running a 7.663 @ 185.79



Tom Kempf is still holding up the number two spot in Drag Radial with a 7.714 @ 186.48. Kempf qualified second last year but ended up with the 2007 championship.



Third qualifier in Drag Radial, Paul Major was having...... major problems. So far this weekend they have managed few solid runs. Other runs consisted of tire spin, a broken transmission and two broken turbos. The turbo failed for the second time during qualifying round three, as they had to repair it with borrowed parts after round two. Needless to say, Paul isn't a happy camper.



Joe Honeycutt has been on a stellar performance in All Motor all weekend. He still sits at the top of the list with a 8.961 @ 154.58. Joe is one of the few racers that have been putting down consistent runs all weekend.





On the other hand, number two qualifier in All Motor, Jud Massingill has had anything but an easy weekend. We gave a full report of his misfortunes yesterday and they continue through today. Clutch adjustment problems hurt their morning qualifying pass while their third pass left them with a smoked clutch. The team would have to replace one of the discs.





Number 8 qualifier Brian Krzewinski was under the hood swapping valve springs in his Drag Radial Firebird. He states the car is out of steam and only revving 7200 RPM with some floating valves. He says that it will go 7800 RPM with the stiffer springs. This is all being ran through hydraulic rollers still. We wish him luck on that

[mark@lsxtv]

Chief GM designer Tom Peters was on hand today for some autograph signing. Tom is the man responsible for the 2010 Camaro and C6 design. We put him to the test on sketching a 2010 Camaro track car. With a marker and ball point pin, this is what he came up with. It was really amazing to watch him draw this and was all done in about five minutes. We did a interview with Tom and will be processing it here shortly.

[mark@lsxtv]

GM PERF LSX DRAG RADIAL Q3

Position Car # Driver Name ET MPH Fastest MPH
1 1003 Steven Fereday 7.663 185.79 188.17
2 1777 Tom Kempf 7.714 186.48 186.67
3 1012 Paul Major 7.715 188.33 188.33
4 1816 Jim Filipowski 7.722 188.25 188.25
5 1005 Steve Turley 7.837 186.82 186.82
6 1008 Martin Cox 8.289 165.03 165.03
7 1006 Mark Koehler 8.403 174.59 174.59
8 1009 Brian Krzewinski 8.408 165.23 165.23
9 1002 Rob Valden 8.476 155.88 164.33
10 1347 Mike Brown 9.368 109.37 109.37

GM PERF LSX ALL MOTOR Q3

Position Car # Driver Name ET MPH Fastest MPH
1 2002 Joe Huneycutt 8.961 154.58 154.58
2 2003 Judson Massingill 9.08O 152.50 152.50
3 2006 Kevin Patterson 9.405 143.51 143.75
4 2004 Chris Fowler 9.74O 138.12 138.78
5 2005 Ashley Gable 9.75O 135.32 139.41
6 2008 John Ventresca 9.815 138.50 138.50
7 2007 Steve Hopkins 12.873 62.54 62.54

[mark@lsxtv]

LINK TO GALLERY - INCLUDING INDEX AND TRUE STREET