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Chassis builder Dave Sheppard made a great 4.475/170.71 qualifying pass to place his blown ’69 Nova second on the list for raceday, but it was a costly effort as the left, front bank of his engine pushed a head gasket out, burning both the block and cylinder head. Working late into the night on Saturday, Sheppard (in glasses) and his team held on to faint hope the damage was minimal, but their weekend was prematurely finished. |
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Kimberly, AL’s Ken Rainwater showed up at “Georgia’s House of Speed” with a new look on his Outlaw 10.5 Mustang. The previously stealth-black, twin-turboed terror now sports a slick, polished metal motif with blue flames licking its flanks. Rainwater also replaced the painted-on front grill with a real Mustang piece to further enhance its “street appeal.” Rainwater started from the fifth slot and made it all the way to the semis against Ulsch after previously dispatching Neil Hawkins and Ulsch teammate Sexton following a first-round bye.
Well, the deed is finally done. Just a couple of days before the Atlanta event, Craig Miller picked up his ’92 Camaro from John Bonner at The Race Factory in Hampton, GA, after Bonner cut off the car’s stock front suspension and replaced it with lighter “stock-type” parts. Not only did the surgery eliminate considerable weight from the front end, it also dropped the ride height by about five inches, Miller said. After qualifying ninth, the Savannah, GA-based racer suffered an uncharacteristic first-round loss to Anthony New and his ’88 Mustang when his Camaro failed to shift into high gear.
Defending ORSCA Outlaw 10.5 champ Steve Kirk also showed up at Atlanta with a new look on the 2000 Camaro he drives for John Ferguson. Kirk started from the 10th position and narrowly got past Mike Curtis and his ’66 Vette in round one, but fell to Hill in round two, shutting off early with tire shake about halftrack. “It just knocked the tires off when the timer for the third stage (of nitrous) came in,” Ferguson explained. “We’re behind a bit on these hot tracks and we’ve got to get better soon if we want to go anywhere this year.”