The 2006 version of the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Races (PSMCDR) was held in nicer weather this year than last. Temperatures were in the mid/upper 70's for both Friday and Saturday. The weather became a little cooler with some cloud cover early Saturday which led to a number of cars breaking out. Remember, we have a .3 second ET and 3mph "breakout" rule.

Karen and I were joined by fellow racers: Steve from KS-1970 440-6 'Cuda, Tom from PA-1973 340 'Cuda, Lon from PA-1969 440-6 RoadRunner, Darren from IN (minus GS350), Mark from IN-1970 SS454, Ty from NY-1970 350 Z-28, and Donny from MI-1966 L-79 StingRay. We had a number of other cars/drivers/friends/family stopping by thru out the weekend. The grass pits were the place to be!!!!

As for the old GTS......I was disappointed with this year's performance. After ending last year with a 13.77 and then running some 13.89 at US131 before my carb problems in June, the GTS couldn't break into the 13's. The best ET was a 14.10. Most were in the 14.20-14.25 range with mph being off from last year as well. The problem seemed to stem from some very poor 60 ft. times. Usually the GTS is in the 1.98-2.01 range. At the 2006 PSMCDR I kept breaking loose and rolling out with some dismal 2.24 60ft times. Most of the other drivers were complaining of lack of traction at the line as well. Some guys were breaking loose at the top end as well!! There were some minor mechanical problems this year compared to last year's engine and transmission shredding by other racers!!

Another ~note~ of interest at the 2006 PSMCDR was the fact that the top 3 cars were in the 11's. PLUS, two of the fastest four qualifiers were all 1969 427 L-88 Corvettes along with Bob K.'s 1970 Hemi 'Cuda. Three years ago, Wayne Nelson's L-88 was the first PURE STOCK car in the 11's. COPO Pete Simpson's ZL-1 Camaro, Bob K's 440-6 SuperBee, and Jeff Peterson's 426 Max Wedge Sport Fury were the perennial favorites for the first three spots every year. This year??? They were in the Top 10! WOW! How the tables have turned! It's almost all in the 60ft times and the Corvette's have the superior chassis and suspension for the drag strip!! Julie Pennington's 1969 L-88 was the Number ONE car for the weekend. Rumors were already floating around the track that her Corvette was drawing upon husband Terry Pennington's F.A.S.T. ZL-1 Camaro experience to get an edge on the competition. To squash those, and any subsequent, rumors, the Penningtons tore their L-88 apart for PSMCDR official inspection. They pulled the intake, exhaust manifold, one head and the cam for measurement and approval. It passed with flying colors! That took a lot of nerve and patience to do that in the two hours after the event ended. "Tip of the hat" goes to the Penningtons for their honesty and sportsmanship.

My "shoot-out" match-up this year was Chris Jones from MI with his cool 1970 Torino SCJ 429 4 gear car!! We matched up with 14.28/14.24 ETs. I took both races in our match-up. HOWEVER it was not a fair race. Chris' 429 developed an inability to pull over 4500 during Friday's qualifying. He was way down on performance Saturday. Chris and a bunch of helpers were pulling apart the Torino's fuel system from tank to carb in the hotel parking lot Friday night. Chris and I discussed this Saturday morning and we decided that he would still run the car even though it wasn't up to par. Lots of people paid their money to watch their favorite musclecars race that day so we gave them a race!! Wait'll next year Chris!! **UPDATE**- It appears that Chris has found the problem with his Torino. Apparently the wiring for the factory tachometer (or the tach itself!) was causing ignition malfunction. That'll kill 1500 rpm for sure!!!

THE PICTURES!!!

The grass pits are becoming popular!!
PSMCDR "newbie" Ty and Keli Taccone's 1970 LT-1 Z-28.
Another view of Ty's stunning Z!
Pit mate Mark Barker's 1970 SS.
Dave Hielala's all original Ram Rod 350 Oldsmobile!

The "sensation" of the weekend was Brian Stefina's 1958 Mercury with a 430 "Super Marauder" with 3-2 bbls and a three-on-the-tree shifted trans. Brian managed to get the skinny tire Merc down the 1/4 in the 14.0's!!! Listening to some folks in the packed grandstands I overheard a comment comparing Brian's Merc to looking like a locomotive lumbering down the track and picking up speed!!!
Here's the '58 against Mark Barker's SS Chevelle!!
Right side of the Merc's engine!
Driver side view of the 430!
Not your typical muscle car interior!!

Back to your regularly scheduled PSMCDR picture viewing.........
Another crowd favorite-Ted Harbit's 1963 289 Studebaker Lark!
Nice 1969 SS396/375 in the pits.
Couple of "muscle trucks" joined us this year! A 1972 Ford 429 Ranchero GT owned by Mike McPhillips!!
Here's the other "truck"-1965 El Camino SS327!
I believe that 8 1967-69 Firebirds were on hand! Here's a burgandy 1967 400.
Light Green 1967 Firebird!
The 400 under the green 'bird's hood!
Our friend Casey's former W-31 F-85
Cool orange Cougar Eliminator!
New face in the PSMCDR crowd-nice green AMX!
And now a red AMX!!
Speaking of Ramblers....what a match-up! A pair of low 13 second SC 360 Hornets!!
Mr. Simpson's 1970 Monte Carlo SS454
Bruce's Shelby GT500 had a 428 under the hood!

Mini Shoot-out Pictures!
Thanks to my buddy Dave DeCoster we have photos of almost every match-up for the Saturday Shoot-outs!! Unfortunately, I do not have the names and info on EVERYONE of the 136 entrants. Once I get the official race results from Dan and Bob I can put names to the cars!!! Stay tuned!! In the meantime, here are the pairings!! These are in the order of qualifying times. Slowest to the fastest.

Dave Naugle's 1973 Torino 351 vs. John Raab's 289 Studebaker Lark
Chuck Kem's 1963 R2 Avanti vs. Jeff Glasco's Pontiac Grand Prix 400 SJ
Mike McPhillips 1972 Ford 429 Ranchero GT and Michael Lane in his 1965 421 Pontiac 2+2 square off!
Ron Waligora's 1969 400 GTO vs. John Hlivko's 1969 440-6 Super Bee.
Tom Cannon's 1972 340 'Cuda survivor vs. Dennis Jensen's 350 Cutlass S.
Ty Taccone's 1970 350 Z-28 vs. Steve Courter's 1971 400 Pontiac GT-37.
Art Dempsey's 1967 400 Firebird vs. Tim Hewett's 1970 Challenger 340-6 T/A.
Mike Waligora's 1965 SS327 El Camino vs. Tom Payne's 327 1964 Impala.
Frank Rice's 1957 Custom 300 Supercharged 312 "Y" block "F" code 1957 Ford also shifted via three-on-the-tree!
John Wenetta's 383 1969 GTS vs. Charles Lombardi's 1963 409 Impala SS.
Royce Peterson's 1968 427 Cougar vs. Bill Kulenkamp's 1971 Torino Brougham with a 429.
Frank Remlinger's slow 340 GTS gets ready.
Dale Waligora's 1970 SS454 Chevelle vs. Dave Heilala's 1968 350 "Ram Rod" Oldsmobile.
Doug Rustin's 1968 400 Firebird vs. Ann McNew's 1970 455 Buick GS convertible.
Dave Watt's Fresh resto 440-6 RoadRunner vs. Bob Witt's 390 Rambler S/C Rambler.
Mrs. Clary's Olds 350 Cutlass S vs. Jody Traylor's H.O. 350 Firebird.
Jim Parcella's Buick Centurion Stage 1 455 vs. Dan Della Libera's 1968 440 Dodge Charger.
Bruno Beltrame's 1967 427 StingRay vs. Mark Weymouth's 1970 Hemi Challenger. Survivor showdown!
Dave Byer's 1970 SS396 vs. Ron Tuttle's 1970 429 Mercury Cyclone.
Robert Ball's 1970 Oldsmobile 455 Pace Car vs. Roger Willard's 1966 Caprice 396.
Jack Lee's 1969 440 4-gear GTX vs. Richard Corsello's 1968 390 AMX.
Ed Nowakowski's 1970 429 Torino GT convertible vs. Harry Rehberg's 1970 Saturn Yellow Buick GS455.
Ed Phifer's 1972 Buick Stage 1 vs. Dan Naugle's 1969 Torino 428 Talledaga.
Jim Karam's 1965 327 StingRay vs. Steve Caruso's 1972 Buick GSX 350.
Norm VerHage's 1968 340 'Cuda convertible vs. Jeff Aman's 1971 442 W-30.
Donny Brass' 1966 L-79 327 vs. Ted Kozak's 1971 455 GTO Judge.
How would you like your 1971 AMC Hornet SC/360? Mark Chapman's Green or Mark Weymouth's Blue?
Peter Papazian's double green 440 GTX takes on Brad Rising's 1969 400 Firebird!
Where were all the GTO's? The ONLY 1965 Goat of Bruce Hayes' vs. Darrel Detwiler's 1971 442.
Pair 'o Pontiacs! Tom Miller's 1969 350 Firebird vs. Don Harber's 1972 455 LeMans Sport!
Mario Dimonte's 1970 455 Trans Am vs. Clark Lumsden's 1972 SS454 Chevelle.
Doug Chapke's 1963 289 Studebaker Lark R2 vs. Jack Powell's 1971 442!
JB Mattison's 1967 400 Firebird vs. Paul Richard's 1957 283-2x4bbl Corvette.
Eric Simpson's 1971 SS454 MonteCarlo vs. Doug Mesman's 1967 400 GTO.
Alex Shull's 1971 442 convertible vs. Mark Maybee's 1969 428 Mach 1.
Green vs. Green. Ray Kaufman's 1970 Cutlass F-85 350 vs. John Frazier's Hemi 426 1969 RoadRunner.
Devin Conlee's 1969 455 Hurst Olds H/O vs. Greg Jone's 1968 Chevy II SS396.
Paul Aragona's 1974 455 T/A vs. Lon Siegworth's 1969 1/2 440-6 Roadrunner.
"Dan the Hired Gun" piloting Steve Hodges' 440-6 'Cuda vs. Ron Hammer's 1971 455 GTO.
Jim Maher's 1967 SS396 Chevelle vs. Eric Maher's 1968 302 Z-28!
Gary Place's 1969 SS396 Chevelle vs. Jim Robertson's 1970 Buick GS455.
Jim Bowman's "Rare" Hemi Orange 440-6 SuperBee vs. John Glasgo's 1969 400 GTO.
Studebaker hero Ted Harbit's Red Tomato 289 R2 vs. Jeff Morgan's 1971 454 Corvette. Compare the aerodynamic noses!!
First time out for Stan Palma's 1967 427 Fairlane vs. Joe Shepard's 1972 Buick GSX 455!
Brian McDowell's 1969 300 Deluxe 350 Chevelle vs. Tom Artes' 1969 428 Mach 1 Mustang.
Tony Ragla's 1969 SS396 Nova vs. Jim Mino's 1968 400 Firebird.
Chuck Lombardi's 1966 SS396 vs. Rick Watson's 1968 400 Firebird.
Ken Reibel's 1966 427 Stingray vs. Benoit Holloway's 1970 428 Cougar Eliminator.
Poncho match-up. Bruno Beltame's other car-1969 Ram Air GTO vs. Paul Glasco's 1970 "Magnum400" Tempest.
Lot of green! Bryan Bottger's 1970 442 W-30 vs. Scott Wiltse's 1969 440-6 Super Bee that isn't Hemi Orange!
Chris Robertson's 1970 Buick GS455 vs. Mr. Clary's 1970 LS-6 Chevelle.
Multi carbs for everybody!! Paul Petcou's 1969 440-6pk Super Bee vs. Jeff Peterson's 426 2x4 Max Wedge 1963 Sport Fury.
Jim Spetzman's 1969 440-6 Super Bee vs. Rob Clary's 1969 Yenko 427 Camaro.
Pete Simpson's ZL-1 427 Camaro vs. Larry Weymouth's 1971 LS-6 454 Corvette.
"Mr. 6 Pack" Bob Karakashian's 1970 Hemi 'Cuda vs. Jim Mattison's 1969 427 L-88 Corvette.
#2 vs. #1 qualifier. Jim Johnston's Cortez Silver L-88 vs. Julie Pennington's Orange L-88!

Official Race Results!!!!

Click here to view the race results spreadsheet!! Start the bench racing season early!!

Speaking of "Bench Racing".........Quality VHS tapes are available thru Jerry Palma for only $15 each. That includes postage!! Such a deal!! Jerry recorded almost ALL of Friday's T-n-T/qualifying plus ALL of the head's up 2 out of 3 shoot-outs from Saturday!! If you are interested in acquiring a copy (or two or three) email Jerry Palma (of the Racing Palma Clan) at THIS LINK-CLICK HERE!!!!

Hope you enjoyed the picture show!! See you NEXT YEAR!!
Frank Remlinger-1969 Dodge GTS 340

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