Blower or nitrous? Jeff Lamantia has the answer. He eliminated five-time NSCA champion Marc Dantoni in the first round.

DRAG RADIAL

Drag Radial's Mike Modeste, the four-time National Street Car Association Limited Street champion and multi-time performance record-holder, rebounded from a frustrating 15th-place start in the 16-car field to win the Drag Radial crown and $5,000 with a 7.970/177.23 effort as opponent Chris Little's Mustang broke.

Modeste dispatched Scott Bitzer in the semi-finals. Bitzer was the 2006 runner-up. “Mustang Mike” Modeste also set Low E.T. at 7.806 seconds.

This was his first time trying drag radials and Modeste said his experience "was Hell all day, doing big wheelstands and trying to take power out. Also, we had belt issues and tranny issues. But we pulled through."

The Brooklyn, NY, driver's foray into the unknown drew Hance's praise: "He doesn't run drag radials. He put 'em on at The Shakedown. That just shows you what a great competitor he is -- unfamiliar [circumstances], put a car together, and just made the calls all day. Mike Modeste, pound-for-pound, is one of the best drag racers in the country. 

HEAVY STREET

NSCA Super Street powerhouse Bill Lutz had told Hance before he even arrived to put his name on the event's first $5,000 Heavy Street class check. And sure enough, the Ohioan who has earned the on-track title "King of Columbus," picked it up at the payout window after overtaking Jorge Rodriguez and winning handily with a 6.868-second E.T. at 209.26 mph.

Lutz dominated the Heavy Street class setting Low E.T. at 6.813 and Top Speed of 210.01 mph.

"Not only did Bill Lutz win the Heavy Street, he swept all the awards. He's going home a happy man, and rightfully so. He put on some show," Hance said. 

"This is real racing -- real heads-up drag racing," Raceway Park dragstrip manager Eddie Krawiec said. "To walk out of here with Tim Lynch with the fastest pass in the world on 10.5 tires . . . John Nobile, fastest Mountain Motor Pro Stock car in the world . . . I could go on with all the technical world records that walked out of here. It just puts a smile on our faces."    

Hance has the complete cooperation of Krawiec, who's known to NHRA fans as the Pro Stock Motorcycle Vance & Hines Team newcomer who earned a berth in the first Countdown to the Championship. Raceway Park regulars know Krawiec as a local guy who makes sure they race safely and on the best-prepped quarter-mile possible. He's the Neighborhood Guy Who Made Good. And though he is preparing to move to Brownsburg, Ind., to be more hands-on with his Harley-Davidson, he said he'll always return to help with The Shakedown at E-Town, providing it doesn't conflict with his schedule.