 Bill Bonadio showed that you...  Bill Bonadio showed that you dont need a Cobra to enter the winners circle. His CARS Dio Tipo No. 61 won the title of King of the Hill for winning the dragstrip bracket-race finals. |
 The King of the Hill championship...  The King of the Hill championship came down to two non-Cobras: Bonadios (No. 61) CARS Dio and Mike Millers (No. 150) GSR Grand Sport. Bonadios 325hp 302 Ford engine proved better than Millers 434ci Chevy, estimated at 500hp. |
 In an all-Vette final, the...  In an all-Vette final, the Pro competition saw Miller (No. 150) edge Jim Spencers D&D Grand Sport. Spencer had a power advantage with his 383ci, 550hp Chevy engine, but was edged by Miller at the finish line. |
 The Street class final saw...  The Street class final saw Steve Pass (No. 5, FFR) edge Doug Reed (No. 3, Superformance) at 11.70 (119.57 mph) to 11.78 (119 mph). |
 Scott Gages FFR (No....  Scott Gages FFR (No. 16) takes a preliminary heat against Bob Lightseys Hunter Cobra (No. 502). Gages Cobra has a 331ci, 400hp Ford powerplant, while Lightsey is outfitted with a 530hp Chevy 502 motor. |
 George Anderson is always...  George Anderson is always in the hunt for the title. His No. 50 MidStates has a 550hp Ford 427 engine. Here, he tests Doug Reed (No. 3). Reeds Superformance is propelled by a 460hp Ford 392 engine. |
 Bill Worden hits the strip...  Bill Worden hits the strip in his (No. 4) SMC Cobra 427, powered by a Boss 351 Cleveland that pops out 446 hp. Clois Harlans B&B Manufacturing Cobra (No. 88) is powered by a 335hp Ford 302. |
 Wayne Turpin won his class...  Wayne Turpin won his class with a 10.466 e.t. in his Contemporary Cobra (No. 27). Turpins powerplant is a 500hp 482 Shelby engine. He dragged against Lewis Paynes CMC Snake (No. 10). Paynes Mustang 5.0L engine pumps out 350 horses and got him home in 12.795. |
 Bob Selfs Contemporary...  Bob Selfs Contemporary Cobra (No.188) ran an 11.098, powered by a Shelby Ford FE 482ci, 650hp plant. Bob Mustics Johnex (No. 6) had a best time of 11.4 with a Buick 274 V-6 engine that puts out about 300 horses. |
 Aaron Quine was one of the...  Aaron Quine was one of the favorites in his Altair Grand Sport. The Chevy 350 engine pumps out 350 horses. Here, he faced Jim Schenk (No. 55), whose 225hp Factory Five is motored by a Ford 302. |
 The propane-powered Snake...  The propane-powered Snake of Randy Schranz is from Shell Valley (No. 17). Schranzs Cobra has a 550hp Chevy 355 under the hood. In time trials, he faced perennial-contender Dennis Olthoff and his Superformance 427 S/C. Olthoffs 351 Ford engine has been stroked to 408 cid and thunders out 480 hp. |
 Chappy Moody (No. 70) drives...  Chappy Moody (No. 70) drives an L.A. Exotics Cobra with a 477 Ford engine pumping out more than 700 horsepoweraided by a Holley 1,000-cfm carburetor. Moody is seen here racing against Dave Borden (No. 94) in his FFR. Borden runs with a 400hp Ford 302 small-block. |
 Charles Howard, who ran a...  Charles Howard, who ran a perfect light in his MidStates Cobra in the 99 Run And Gun, has his Cobra set up with a 400hp Ford 427 big-block. |
 James Harden pulled an 11.919...  James Harden pulled an 11.919 e.t. in his 427 big-block Ford MidStates Cobra (No. 71). |
 Richard Lakes ERA Cobra...  Richard Lakes ERA Cobra (No. 29) is fine-tuned with a Shelby 452 engine that churns out 340 hp. |
 Todd Biermanns MidStates...  Todd Biermanns MidStates Cobra (No. 18) is electrifying with its 500hp Ford 427 big-block under hood. |
 Steve Pass got his FFR 427...  Steve Pass got his FFR 427 S/C (No. 5) home in 11.427, thanks to a 550hp Ford 347 engine. |
 Randy Schranz revs up his...  Randy Schranz revs up his propane-powered Shell Valley Cobra (No. 17). |
 David Serchuk has completed...  David Serchuk has completed his Shell Valley Cobra (No. 9) with a Ford 351 that is good for 385 hp. |
 Richard Obens FFR Snake...  Richard Obens FFR Snake (No. 44) crossed the line in 12.939 with a 360hp Ford 302 inside. But he was no match for the GSR Grand Sport of Mike Miller (No. 150) and his 500hp Bow Tie 434. |
 Lewis Payne prepares to race...  Lewis Payne prepares to race his CMC Cobra (No. 10) against Bob Mustics Johnex (No. 6). This contest pitted a Mustang 5.0L engine (Payne) against a Buick V-6 (Mustic). |
 Rich Pickles brings home trophies...  Rich Pickles brings home trophies every year from Run And Gun. Last year, he won his class on the dragstrip with an e.t. of 10.562 in his 550hp Ford 468powered Contemporary (No. 12). Set to do battle with him is Clyde Bass (No. 54) and his Everett-Morrison Cobra, which is propelled by a 300hp Ford 289 small-block. |
 Bill Belchers Superformance...  Bill Belchers Superformance (No. 7) runs with a 375hp Ford 351 engine. In this time trial, he was edged by David Borden (No. 94) in his FFR. Bordens powerplant was a 400hp Ford 302 small-block. |
 Allan Tork (No. 67) took this...  Allan Tork (No. 67) took this heat in a battle of Snake versus Vette against Jim Spencer (No. 1). Torks Factory Five Cobra is set up with a 420.8ci Donavan engine that pumps 600 horses. Spencers Studio X Grand Sport sports a Chevy 383 that pops out 550 horses. |
 R.W. Miller s Shelby...  R.W. Miller s Shelby Cobra (No. 13) took on Don Gibsons FFR 427 S/C. Millers Snake has a 427 Shelby under the hood thats good for 500 horses. Gibsons kit Serpent has a 400hp Ford 392 doing the work. |
Run And Gun 01 was a celebration of four days of driving, mechanical ingenuity, camaraderie and fun, in the shadow of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, was once again the staging area, as nearly four-dozen kits, turnkeys, replicars, and original designs squared-off for a racing triathlonautocross, championship road course, and dragstrip competition. The usual top guns smoked their tires and faced some new challengers and challenges.
To recap the action as reported in the Mar.[?] 02 issue of Kit Car, this was more than a run of the Snakes, as Cobras were battled by a bevy of Corvette Grand Sports, a new Mustang GT350 replica, a new-design Dragon, an S1 (Lotus-inspired car), a Lister, a Dio, Ferraris, and GT40s. Top performances in the first two venues included:
Autocross: Overall winner Dennis Olthoff (Pro Big-Block) in 35.6 seconds with his Superformance Cobra; Second was Dave Borden (Prepared Power Adder) in 36.201 with a Factory Five Snake; Third was Bill Bonadio (Pro Power Adder) in 36.988 with his CARS Dio.
Road course: Fastest overall time was Chuck Beck (Pro Small-Block) in 1:06.01 [measurement?] with his Beck Development Lister; Second was John Gyann in 1:08.75 (Pro Small-Block) in his new The Chassis Shop Mustang GT350; and Third was Dennis Olthoff (Pro Big-Block) in 1:09.73.
While racing on the CART-IRL-NACSAR road course is, perhaps, the main draw to this event, the real excitement comes from the shootout on the dragstrip and the competition for King of the Hill.
These talented speed demons spun their rubber, revved their formidable powerplants, and sped down the quarter-mile at rates exceeding 130 mph. The competition was fierce.
The dragstrip competition is broken down in two ways. First, drivers pick up their best times to gain points toward Top Dog trophies for the Triathlon. Then the real fun begins. The top drivers in each class meet head-to-head for bracket racing to determine King of the Hill.
For the uninitiated, bracket racing is a great equalizing competition that rewards driving consistency rather than the fastest car. If your car is dialed in to run the quarter-mile in 12 seconds and the driver in the other lane has a car that runs it in 10 seconds, then you would get a 2-second head start over that driver. During the race, you cant go faster than you have announced you would go and you cant take off before you get the green light. Often, the faster car loses because the driver either red-lighted (took off before the green light) or broke out (went faster than his announced time). The final factor is reaction time. You want to take off as close to the flashing of the green light as possible without red-lighting.
Running a perfect light means that you have taken off as close to the sighting of the green light as possible without taking off too soon. A reaction time of 0.500 seconds is a perfect light. No one ran a perfect light run last year; in 1999, however, Charles Howard ran one, and Stacy Pendergrass ran one in Run And Gun 2000.
In the best-time competition, former Can Am driver Chuck Beck recorded the fastest time in his 350hp Chevy-powered Beck Development Lister; he had a sizzling 10.147 e.t. and won Pro Small-Block over Randy Schranz and his propane-powered Shell Valley Cobra (10.777). Wayne Turpin recorded the second-fastest time at 10.466, winning Prepared Big-Block in his 500hp Contemporary Cobra. Turpin beat Bob Selfs 650hp Contemporarys 11.098 to win the class.
Rich Pickles and his 550hp Contemporary ran the third-best time to win Prepared Power Adder in 10.562, defeating Chappy Moodys 10.659 (700hp L.A. Exotics Cobra).
Mike Miller posted the fourth-fastest trip down the strip with a time of 10.562 in his GSR (Grand Sport Replica) Grand Sport, taking Pro Big-Block honors. Millers 500hp Vette topped Dennis Olthoffs 480hp Superformance Cobra, which ran 11.444.
Bill Bonadio won the Pro Power Adder class in his nitrous-aided 325hp CARS Dio in 10.61, sneaking by Greg LaPoints 670hp Factory Five Cobra (10.931 e.t.). Allen Tork won the Street Big-Block class in his 600hp Donavan-engined FFR with a time of 11.201. Tork edged George Andersons 550hp MidStates Cobra, as Anderson ran the strip in 11.901.
Bob Mustic won the Prepared Four/Six-Cylinder class in 11.4 in his 300hp Johnex Cobra, while Steve Pass was the fastest Street Power Adder at 11.427 in his 550hp FFR.
Mike Ciccotelli won Prepared Small-Block in 11.748 in his 350hp Beck Lister. Ciccotelli took his class by more than a second, as Lewis Payne posted a 12.795 time in his 350hp CMC Cobra.
Scott Gage won Street Small-Block in 12.085 with his 400hp FFR, nipping Bill Belchers 12.123 (375hp Superformance). Cliff Cooksey won Street Four/Six-Cylinder in 15.2121 with his 100hp Superformance S-1.
The Quick 8 Pro class came down to a Vette versus Vette challenge, with Mike Miller beating Jim Spencer at 10.529 (127.35 mph) to 11.87 (119.20 mph). The Street Quick 8 was a tense battle that saw Steve Pass slip by Doug Reed with 11.70 (119.57 mph) to 11.78 (119 mph).
The Prepared Quick 8 ended with a battle between Bill Bonadio and Wayne Turpin. Bonadios Dio prevailed over Turpins Cobra when Turpin red-lighted and Bonadio coasted home in 11.75.
The King of the Hill competition was tense. After Miller topped Clyde Bass in round one, Allen Tork edged Todd Biermann, Bill Bonadio beat Doug Reed, and Steve Pass got the better of Bob Self. In round two, Miller eliminated Tork, and Bonadio got past Self.
The final round saw two non-Cobras square off: Bonadios Maseratti Birdcage-inspired Dio versus Millers Corvette Grand Sport. Bonadio dialed in at 11.20 and Miller announced 10.50. The tree lights flashed and Bonadio smoked off with a reaction time of 0.570. Miller passed the start line in 0.774. Bonadios 11.225 and 112.62 mph was good enough to take the crown from Millers 10.679 and 126.47 mph.
For Bill Bonadio, in his CARS Dio Tip 61, the 01 King of the Hill title was his. He bested the Snakes, the Vettes, and four-dozen friends, competitors, and fellow kit car enthusiasts. He says he will be back in 2002 to defend his title.
This years Run And Gun will be back at Gateway International on September 16-19. Mark your calendar and be there
and be part of the shootout. You could be the next King of the HillBonadio is waiting
and so are more than four-dozen other drivers who are hungry for the crown.
For information on Run And Gun 02 at Gateway International Raceway on September 16-19, contact:
Gail Nungesser, Gateway International Raceway, 618/875-7540
Wayne Turpin, 812/477-2355
Holiday Inn Collinsville (host hotel), 1000 Eastport Plaza Dr., Collinsville, IL 62234, 618/345-2800