X275

The X275 class was a difficult heads-up classes to qualify for unless you raced a Mustang. That marquee dominated qualifying with at least six of the top ten qualifying spots.

X275 had the most entries of any heads-up class with 57 drivers going for one of only 32 qualified spots. Sheridan, Wy., racer Rob Goss qualified his 2009 Mopar with a stellar 4.396/164.53 effort but he was never able to come within a tenth of that number during eliminations. Top Speed for the class (166.23 mph) was set by Georgia Mustang racer and number-six qualifier Charles Hull. The bump for the 32-car qualified field was a 4.804 lap by Dean Vallese.

When Eliminations began on Sunday, getting traction regardless of lane was an issue for some racers but generally not those qualified in the top half of the ladder. The eight X275 racers that qualified quicker than 4.501 advanced to the next round as did most of the Top 16 qualifiers. In the second round the same formula was followed with two exceptions: Number 20 qualifier and veteran small tire racer Texan Todd Moyer strapped a .04 holeshot on number-four qualifier Dean Marinis, who had some traction issues and lost with a 5.219 to Moyer’s 4.54, and number-nine qualifier Jack McCarty took out number-eight qualifier, Charley Johnson, when Johnson spun the tires.

The quarter-finals saw the power balance shift to the lower qualifiers.

Tyree Smith from Lewisburg, Tenn., got in the way of one of the hitters when he upset number-three qualifier Rich Bruder from New Jersey. Like many races that day, the loser struggled with getting his chassis package dialed in to the ultra well-prepped track surface and spun the tires or did a series of wheel stands. Number-two qualifier Jamie Stanton was easily beaten by number-seven qualifier Ron Rhodes when he couldn’t get down the track.

Jarrod Johnson had low ET of the round using a 4.476/160 lap to thrash Todd Moyer’s respectable 4.503/157.65. Number-one qualifier Rob Goss got over a .004 light by Jack McCarty and ran down him down in the lights with a 4.537/160.44 to McCarty’s 4.592/160.16. The semifinals saw Jared Johnston from Raymore, Mo., use a quicker RT (.032) and a 4.457/161.50 lap to hold off a charging Rob Goss, who managed to get to the semifinals despite never running quicker than 4.50. He ran a 4.528/157.41 in the semis. On the other side of the ladder Ron Rhodes advanced by Tyree Smith despite Tyree running his best pass of eliminations (4.524/155.48) but Rhodes’ 4.488/157.47 coupled with a .007 RT was more than enough for the win.

Ron Rhodes

In the dark of the evening the two racers pushed up to the lanes and did their burnouts through the crowd gathered on the starting line. Unfortunately, the final round didn’t live up to the pre-race drama when Rhodes left and drove straight down the track in his small block-powered ’68 Chevy. Johnston suffered the same fate that many racers had that night and was unable to maintain traction and coasted across the line with a 7.70/85mph clocking.