2011 AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge - Balance Of Power

It all came down to the final day of qualifying, with some of the competition’s noted heavy hitters yet to come to bat. In Street, the lineup included RM Competition and Weingartner with Chevy small-blocks, Automotive Machine and Performance with a Buick, TPIS running an LS, and Power Shop with a Clevor Ford. One by one they ran, but none could bust the numbers set previously to qualify for the finals. The story proved different in Xtreme however, with McKeown and BES running SC1 Fords, Race Engine Design and SAM’s both fielding SB2 Chevrolets, and finally multiyear champion Jon Kaase with an incredible Shotgun Ford. When the numbers were tallied, McKeown, BES, and SAM all made the qualifying field, dropping the previous leaders out of contention. Kaase’s monster Ford produced a spectacular 1,182 hp from its 604 ci, but fell short of the mark. McKeown, BES, and SAM were all solidly over the 2 hp per cubic-inch level, leaving little doubt that these Xtreme engines lived up to their name.

Leading up to the finals, it was anyone’s guess how things would shake out. In Street, we had Storlien with his Porting Dynamics LS pitted against the SAM Ford and RED’s LS. Of the three it seemed Storlien had the most left in his tune, but the SAM was solidly ahead in qualifying, while Bret Bowers and RED are never ones to underestimate. Disaster struck the RED team, however, when the engine would not communicate with the EFI management system. The engine was barely capable of running during final eliminations, but it did complete the required pulls to lock in the Third Place position. Storlien wisely decided not to risk it, and ran the engine in a conservative tune for Second Place. SAM entered the finals with a substantial lead in qualifying for the Street division, and methodically ran through the final elimination pulls, finishing with almost exactly the same score earned in qualifying for a compelling victory.

We enjoyed seeing these builders show their stuff with two different categories of competition. The Street engines reinforced what we already believe—outrageous power can be made with moderate specifications and components. The Xtreme class breaks new ground on the type of engines in the game at Engine Masters, and it illustrates the kind of insane power these guys are capable of when they are set loose. At over 2 hp per cube for the leaders, there is no denying the engine-building talent. We will soon be featuring some of these engines in-depth throughout the year to give you the full scoop on where that power and torque is coming from.