In Round One, bracket race winners were penciled in to compete against the top non-winners in the Quick 8 competition. No. 50, George Anderson (MidStates Cobra), took on Pete Tork's No. 69. Anderson red-lighted with a reaction time of .462 and wasted a great run of 11.819 against his dial-in time of 11.89. Tork's reaction time was a near-perfect .559, and he hit a top speed of 132.71 mph to finish in 10.941, close to his 10.80 dial-in. In other Round One action, Lake defeated the No. 6 Mustic's Buick-powered Snake when Mustic red-lighted with a reaction time of .492. Bonadio was upset by Blevins by a slim 0.0118 seconds, as both nearly hit their dial-ins (Bonadio: 11.555 e.t. to a dialed-in 11.40. Blevins: 14.035 to a dialed-in 13.90). Randy Schranz's (Shell Valley Cobra) won in a walk-over.
In one Semi-Final showdown, Blevins' M460 (13.90 dial-in) defeated No. 17 Schranz (10.20 dial-in) by 0.2064, though Schranz hit 126.05 mph and crossed the finish line in 10.306 to Blevins' 14.023. In the other Semi, Tork, dialed-in at 10.80, blasted by No. 29 Lake (12.95 dial-in) by 0.4303 seconds. Tork, with a reaction time of a cat-quick .564 seconds, reached a top speed of 128.87 and posted an 11.260 time to Lake's 12.95.
Then, all eyes were on the finals, with Tork the sentimental favorite and Blevins cheered on by the Mustang faithful. Smoked tires, Christmas Tree lights, thundering engines, and 14 seconds later, Blevins and his 'Stang emerged victorious.
In the Pro Quick 8, Bonadio came out on top after defeating No. 3 John Gyann's CanAm Exotics Lola T-70, Tony Martin's '00 Backdraft Cobra, and Clois Harlan's No. 21 B&B Snake. Martin defeated No. 9 David Serchuk (Shell Valley), and Harlan blazed to the finals by beating No. 17 Schranz and No. 39 Rich Anderson (Shell Valley), who moved on to the second round when he edged George Anderson in an all-Nebraska heat, 11.514 to 11.716.
In Street competition, the ever-present Tork blew away all foes, beating No. 65 Keith Williams (Everett-Morrison Cobra) and No. 177 Dave Koepp (FFR) as well as taking a tight final from No. 7 Bill Belcher (Superformance). Belcher got to the finals by besting No. 73 Rick Merz's GTD GT40 and No. 19 Chuck Nickloy's Premiere-built Kirkham. Koepp eased past the No. 63 Pass Vette of Jim Pass, and Nickloy defeated No. 10 David Demangone's Shelby Cobra.
In the Prepared Class Quick 8 results, Bob Mustic's V-6-powered Johnex won the title by beating No. 05 Michael Hall (FFR), the tough-to-beat Rich Pickles (No. 12 Contemporary), and Dennis Warden (No. 16 FFR). Warden reached the finals by edging No. 18 Scott Johnson (Everett-Morrison) and the always-competitive Wayne Turpin (No. 98 Contemporary). Turpin topped 135 mph and beat No. 31 Gary McDaniel (FFR). Pickles won over No. 66 Bill Scholl (FFR).
All told, the Cobras blew away other kit cars models with only Bonadio's Dio, Pass' Vette, and Merz's GT40 posting Top 8 finishes in any of the three classes.
After three days of safe, exciting racing, the climactic King of the Hill final and subsequent trophy presentations left the crowd feeling satisfied and a bit drained. However, the 58 kit car drivers and half-dozen Mustangers chorused that they'll be back this year for Run and Gun 17, which promises to be an even bigger, better, more fun event, with a cruise to St. Louis, driving school, and other surprises planned.
We can't wait...and we hope you'll be there with your car. We'll cover it all here in KIT CAR and on our Web site, www.kitcarmag.com, where expanded coverage and more photos are posted.
Run and Gun 17 will be held September 21-25. If you like cars, kit cars, Mustangs, racing, dragstrip action, an autocross, a road course, and four days of fun, it's the can't-miss racing event of 2004.
Dragstrip DominatorsRun and Gun '03King of the HillJonathon Blevins (Factory Mustang): King of the HillPete Tork (FFR Cobra): King of the Kit Car Hill