Etown

Mopar SuperCar ShootOut Race One

The first event of the year was a big success, with 10 Legal Mopars running for the Top Eliminator spot. With blue skies on Saturday and Raceway Park’s staff’s excitement in hosting the first race of the new series, they extended the Qualifying to four rounds. In between rounds, the competitors were flocked with reporters from the major Mopar Magazines. They were asking questions, taking photos of the group, individual car and driver shots and even a mild burnout was done- only to be stopped by Event organizer Ralph Barbagallo before the FAA had a chance to see the rising smoke.

At the end of the day, one man stood the tallest. Ed Cook, with a clean sailing 11.34 E/T @ over 123.MPH, became the Number One Qualifier. They all still had one more chance to dethrone Big Ed on Sunday morning. With crisp blue skies and no cross winds to deal with, the field took the fifth and final qualifier. And, no surprise, Big Ed Cook, on his Birthday, remained the number one Mopar to take down.

Now with the field set, Raceway Park’s staff kept one eye on the changing weather and the other eye on making sure this event ended with a first ever Mopar SuperCar ShootOut Champion. They catered to class’s every need. The racers were even able to follow the slick tire class in their first two rounds of battle.

After the smoke settled, the final round was set. The Big Guns prevailed and the ShootOut was ready to commence between the last two left standing. Ed Cook, in his sinister Black A12 Road Runner, with Bonsanti Power under the frail fiberglass lift-off, was ready for battle. Ralph Barbagallo pulled out all the stops for the gun fight that would settle this chapter. Behind them, Scott McKenzie and Mike Nasi were ready settle a late night grappa issue on the 1320. They all headed to the staging lanes ready for battle.

After one final talk to the Staging lanes official, Ralph made sure that all four Mopars would run only on the best track conditions. Ralph knew that one of them would be setting a new 6BBL record, and only the best track conditions would make this possible.

Only eight cars were left to run before they were given the nod by the Staging Lanes Official. Their fire jackets were on and helmets ready to be buckled when the rain came and sent them racing for their trailers. After an hour or so, Walter, the track manager, came over the intercom and gave the bad news; the weather was here to stay for a while and this event was officially rained out. With this information, Ralph and Scott knew they had been defeated with no chance to settle any score. So, they both congratulated their opponents and went on to have a great Feast that lasted longer than the heaviest rain.

Mopar SuperCar ShootOut Qualifying Order.

1. Ed Cook 1969 Road Runner 440+6bbl Auto 11.349E/T @ 123.94MPH
2. Ralph Barbagallo 1970 Road Runner 440+6BBL Auto 11.493 E/T 120.66 MPH
3. Brian Wilsey 1970 AAR Cuda 340+6BBL Auto 11.742 E/T 116.12 MPH
4. Tom Cannon 1971 Super Bee 440 Six Pak 4 Spd. 11.754 E/T 118.85 MPH
5. Mike Nasi 1971 GTX 440+6BBL Auto 11.786 E/T 117.74 MPH
6. James Cook 1969 Road Runner 440+6bbl 4 Spd. 11.868 E/T 119.34 MPH
7. Scott McKenzie 1969 Road Runner 440+6bbl Auto 11.902 E/T 115.45 MPH
8. Chris Kuskowski 1972 Duster 340 4V Auto 12.442 E/T 111.54 MPH
9. Greg McNichol 1969 Coronet R/T 440 4V Auto 12.725 E/T 108.67 MPH
10. Billy Atwood 1969 GTX 426 Hemi 4 Spd. 13.673 E/t 109377 MPH

Round One
W- Ed Cook 11.365 E/T 123.68 MPH
Chris Kuskowski 12.249 E/T 112.85 MPH

W- Ralph Barbagallo 11.599 E/T 120.87 MPH
Scott McKenzie 12.000 E/T 114.72 MPH

W- Brian Wilsey 11.836 E/T 115.35 MPH
James Cook 12.149 E/T 120.65 MPH

W- Tom Cannon 11.650 E/T 120.75 MPH
Mike Nasi 11.868 E/T 117.51 MPH

Round Two
W- Ed Cook 11.372 E/T 122.99 MPH
Tom Cannon 11.884 E/T 118.90 MPH

W- Ralph Barbagallo 11.554 E/T 120.28 MPH
Brian Wilsey 11.954 E/T 114.32 MPH

Consolation Round One
W- Mike Nasi 11.884 E/T 116.34 MPH
Chris Kuskowski 12.270 112.00MPH

W- Scott McKenzie 11.995 E/T 113.35 MPH
James Cook 11.904 E/T 119.79 MPH

Final Round Top Eliminator
W- Ed Cook Quickest E/T 11.365
Ralph Barbagallo Quickest 11.493

Consolation Final Round Winner
W- Mike Nasi Quickest E/T 11.786 E/T
Scott McKenzie Quickest E/T 11.995

Two out of Three Match Race Winner
Greg McNichol

FASTest Big Block Ed Cook 1969 Road Runner 440+6BBL 11.365

FASTest Small Block Brian Wilsey 1970 AAR Cuda 340+6BBL 11.742

Car Show Winners
1ST Scott McKenzie 1969 Road Runner 440+6BBL
2ND Chris Kuskowski 1972 Duster 340