Words and photos by Ian Tocher
With files from Tim Glover
10/28/04

Like boxers in a slugfest, the heavyweights of Outlaw 10.5 racing traded blows Oct. 23-24, in a non-points event hosted by the Outlaw Racing Street Car Association (ORSCA), at Commerce, GA. ORSCA points leader Jack Barfield landed the first hit in Saturday's opening-round of qualifying with a 4.615-second trip over Atlanta Dragway's eighth-mile course. A few pairs later, however, Steve Kirk countered with a 4.598 pass, marking the first official 4.50 for the class (Kirk made an unofficial 4.59 about a month earlier during testing at Carolina Dragway).

Jack Barfield's stellar 4.615 was only good enough for third place in what turned out to be the quickest Outlaw 10.5 field ever assembled.

In Saturday evening's third and final qualifying session, Tim Lynch of Woodstock, GA, fresh off a big win a week earlier at Orlando's World Street Nationals, set the crowd abuzz when he lowered the elapsed time to 4.591 seconds. Not to be outdone, Kirk and his car owner Rex Green pulled out all the stops and moved the mark down to a stunning 4.568 at 160.73 mph. Kirk later said his car weighed in at 3,065 pounds for the record-setting feat, well above the class weight minimum.

Following this pass, Tim Lynch's vehicle briefly reigned as the quickest
10.5 car on the planet.

All told, 26 Outlaw 10.5 cars attempted to qualify at "Georgia's House of Speed," with Josh McClelland's 4.727 at 156.28 mph securing the 16th and final race day position. Other top qualifiers included Darren Hoyle, who was best of 14 entries in Limited Street, Billy Smith in EZ Street, Trent Sanders in 6.0, and Keith May in the 7.0 index class. There also was a $3,000-to-win Outlaw Pro Mod class in the works, with Columbus, GA's Dan Parker running 4.075 at 180.07 mph to take the top spot in Mike Hill's nitrous-assisted '63 Corvette.