Street Car SuperNationals, part 1

Words by Darr Hawthorne - Photos by Donna Bistran, Steven Bunker and Tim Marshall

Consistent performance and quick reaction times made Dominican Republic native Jose Gonzales the Pro Street class winner Nov. 20 at Mel Roth’s Street Car SuperNationals, held at the Strip at Las Vegas.

Gonzalez and his turbocharged 2006 GTO qualified third among the record fifty-five class entrants. On the way to his final round match with number-one qualifier Mike Maggio and his ‘70.5 Camaro Gonzalez ran 5.977, 5.942, 5.942 and 5.966. He finally slowed to 6.005 against Maggio’s off-pace 6.732 in the final.

“All the credit goes to Steve Petty and this ProLine crew, they were the ones who made this car consistent,” said a proud Gonzalez back in the pits after the victory. “I never expected to win. I came out here just to have fun.“ On his first trip to the Street Car SuperNationals, he picked up the winner’s check for $20,000.

Brad Brand and his ’07 Mustang made history by grabbing the “First in the Fives” Mickey Thompson Tires $1,500 bonus for his first round Pro Street run of 5.970 ET at 242.02 mph on M/T 10.5 drag tires. With all his contingency sponsors, Brand collected a total of $7,800 for making that historic pass.