Mopar SuperCar ShootOut Series
Race III- Mopar Nationals By
Sharleen Barbagallo
Have you ever been to the Mopar Nationals?
For all you diehard Chrysler enthusiasts, this is THE place to go.
Attending the Mopar Nats is akin to making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Only, the religion is the car hobby, the pilgrims are Mopar fanatics, and
they worship at the altar of the Pentastar.
The event is held on the sprawling grounds
of National Trail Raceway Park in south eastern Ohio. With the sights
(of all the Mopars), the sounds (of all those revving engines) and the
smells (of exhaust and Cam 2) when the event is in full swing, it’s a sensory
overload. It’s not for the faint of heart; it is for the hardcore Mopar
enthusiast. It’s 3 ½ days of non-stop Mopar excitement.
Gary
Gerard piloting his AFXer "Flashback" in the SuperCar Exhibition Class
One field is devoted to judged show cars,
and there is always a substantial number of OE and modified cars participating
in this portion of the show. In the swap meet area you’ll see lots of independent
guys vending parts who seem to have emptied out their garages, as well
as all their buddy’s basements and garages. You’ll also find every large
scale vendor in the country that you can imagine at this event.
There are multiple special interest vehicles
in various tents and areas throughout the show field. The “Fun Field” is
where all the non-judged show cars park. It’s where everything from
#1 condition to #3 condition – old and new cars park. The Fun Field is
actually several areas interspersed between the swap meet, drag racing
pits, the car corral and special interest areas. The fun field areas
are a smorgasbord of Mopars. It is constantly morphing and the cars are
forever changing as, each day, vehicles migrate in and out of the show.
The volume of cars attending the show is staggering. Anything you
can think of, and anything that you’ve never seen before, will most likely
show up at the Nats.
Cutting a large swath right down the middle
of the National Trails Grounds is the quarter mile drag strip. You can
hardly believe how many cars show up to race at this event. The drag racing
is a large part of what makes the Nats unique. The activities revolve around
the ¼ mile. Racing generates a lot of excitement, and it really
helps to make the Nat’s experience so thrilling. You could never
get bored at this event, but you certainly could get tired. If you do get
tired of all the walking around and looking at everything, head to the
grandstands and watch some drive-it-like-ya-stole-it racing.
Better yet, take your car down the track for
some all out racing competition. One of the featured classes at this years
Mopar Nationals was the SuperCar ShootOut. This was the third race in the
Mopar SuperCar ShootOut series. The first two races of the series were
held on the east coast. The first race took place at the historical Raceway
Park Englishtown, NJ, where SuperStar Ed Cook took home all the iron. The
second race was held at Quarter Aces Drags strip and was part of the Chryslers
@ Carlisle event. In an all 440+6BBL final, Ralph Barbagallo edged out
Scott McKenzie at the stripe.
The SuperCar field at the Mopar Nat's was filled
with familiar racers and new hungry racers who wanted to score their first
victory of the series. Dave Dudek brought two Mopars to this event, the
first one a sinister 1971 Demon 340, the second car was a over the top
1970 Hemi RoadRunner. These two Mopars are owned by the Alonso brothers.
Unfortunately, SuperCar Series Fans were unable to see the RoadRunner on
the Track. Dave had issues with the Demon's Tranny and devoted all of his
time repairing the tranny, with the help of all of the SuperCar Racers
and nearby parts vendors.
The racing and show wound down each day around
5 pm. But,the fun didn't end then, it simply migrated over to the nearby
town of Heath. The party heated up into the wee hours each night in the
form of cruising the main drag thru the center of town. Thousands of people
congregated along the shoulders of the road for the never-ending parade
of Mopar Iron that was proudly driven past the appreciative crowd (who
were even more appreciative at the occasional display of burnout prowess!).
To the surprise of the many enthusiasts, SuperCar Racer Scott McKenzie
piloted his pristine A12 Road Runner down to Heath after a day of racing.
Many gathered around Scott's RoadRunner commenting on how they saw Scott's
RoadRunner run in the elevens on "those tires" during the day, and amazed
that a car running that strong and looking as good as any trailer queen
back at the car show would actually be driving out on the streets that
night.
Heath has welcomed everyone attending the Mopar
Nats with open arms. They allow the party to go on, keeping things under
control, without killing the fun. Because of this, Heath has become the
“IT” spot. The bonus is that it’s much closer to the Race Track than Brice
Road. So, for those in the know, Heath has become the new Brice Road.
All of these things combined - show cars,
swap meet, racing, special interest cars, cars for sale, cruising, nightlife-
make the Mopar Nats a thriving and significant Must-Attend event.
If you’ve never been, start making plans now to attend next year’s event.
You’ll get to experience all the sights and sounds of this legendary event
for yourself. Once you attend, you’ll find yourself drawn back each year…like
a Mopar Moth to a Pentastar Flame.
Mopar SuperCar ShootOut Series
Race III Results
Qualifying Order
#1 Ralph Barbagallo 11.52 @ 118.79MPH
#2 Dave Finn 11.66 @ 119.06 MPH
#3 James Cook 11.89 @ 119.10 MPH
#4 Tom Cannon 12.05 @ 117.09 MPH
#5 Scott McKenzie 12.29 @ 111.89 MPH
#6 Dave Dudek 12.97 @ 111.73 MPH
#7 Bob Kuskowski 14.12 @ 100.41 MPH
#8 Ed Cook 14.91 @ 97.4 MPH
Bob Kuskowski piloted his 1967 Hemi GTX
4 SPd against
Ed Cook in his 1969 Hemi Charger 500 4 SPd.
After Three Rounds, Hemi Bob took home the
Mopar Nat's Award
for Quickest Hemi, Top Eliminator in Show
and Match Race Winner.
The Next pair of Mopar Muscle to the line
was Scott McKenzie, in his
1969 Road Runner 440+6BBL auto, Against
Dave Dudek, driving the
1971 Demon 340 Auto, the Quickest Small
Block.
After three rounds of close racing, Scott
McKenzie took home the Consolation Winner
honors in his match race against Dave Dudek.
Number three and four qualifiers, James
Cook and Tom Cannon, were the next pair
to do battle on the National Trails Strip.
James Cook took the Tom Cannon to school
again, with hands down victories, and
was crowned Runner-Up.
Just completed, this 1963 Dodge Polara 426
Max Wedge, owned by Dave Finn,
is the latest creation by SuperCar
Sponsor, Mike Bansanti, at HP Motors.
With head work done by Porter
Racing heads, there was no question this Max
Wedge came out for one reason: to win race
three of the Mopar SuperCar ShootOut.
Dave Finn, getting used to Bansanti power,
piloted his Polara to the number
Two qualifing spot, with an 11.66 E/T @
119 MPH. Ralph Barbagallo qualified in the
number one spot with an 11.59 E/T @ 118
MPH.
After two rounds of competion to decide
Top Eliminator and Overall Winner
of the Mopar Nationals, both drivers found
themselves in a third round battle to decide it all.
In round three, both racers found themselves
in Ice Road Trucker Territory.
Peddling his way to Top Eliminator Honors
and Quickest Big Bock was Ralph Barbagallo.
