Mark Paquette extended his McIntosh Machine & Fabrication Pro Street win streak to three, taking the stripe over surprise finalist Brandon Coley. Paquette said he would tune his turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa to a 4.60 for the final, and that’s exactly what he ran. Coley’s nitrous ‘Busa slowed on the big end after gaining a slight advantage at the tree.
Paquette only qualified fourth, well behind teammate Bud Yoder—the defending Pro Street champion and number 1 qualifier. But Yoder didn’t have the right answer for Paquette’s .004 light and 4.57 in the semifinals.
Coley barely escaped round 1 against a hard-charging Rudy Sanzottera and his Quicktime Motorsports turbo ‘Busa. Sanzottera spun early and Coley struggled late. Recovered, Rudy twisted the throttle and took the stripe with a 6.55 at 129 mph to Coley’s 6.57 at 79 mph—nearly slower than a mountain-descending Tour de France bicyclist. The difference was back at the tree—Coley’s .040 to Sanzottera’s .087.
Coley then raced past Justin Doucet, who spun, gathered it back up, but came up short in the other semi.