Bragging rights for the LSX...
Bragging rights for the LSX Shootout traded hands this year from 2007 champ Tom Kempf (foreground) to Steven Fereday after the top two qualifiers met in a winner-take-all showdown late in the evening at Memphis.
With 20 years under its belt, fans of the National Muscle Car Association have had a lot of memorable moments. Records have fallen, controversies have raged, and legends have been made as the spectacle of street car racing has unfolded before them. Nothing in recent years, however, has produced the magic from years gone by as the GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout, which was held for the second time in conjunction with the NMCA World Finals in Memphis. It was a big show that was made even bigger, thanks to all the excitement generated by the LSX Shootout.
All the big names from last year were back with a number of new faces showing up in the mix as well. In LSX Drag Radial, last year's two finalists both returned to make some noise, despite the more restrictive rules from 2007. Paul Major started things off by running a stunning 7.592-second pass at 190.97 in the first round of eliminations before suffering an event-ending top end fire the next round. In what could have been a successful defense of last year's title, Tom Kempf came from the second qualifying position to make the final rounds for the second year in a row.
A certain fourth-gen black Camaro from the Late Model Racecraft stables in Houston stood in Kempf's way, however. Owned by a racing enthusiast in the Middle East, driver Steven Fereday and crew chief Josh Ledford dominated talk in the chat rooms for months before they arrived, and once there, they delivered. Fereday led qualifying with a 7.663 best at 185.79, and simply dominated in every round of competition leading up to the finals.
Nevertheless, it was a much tighter race for the 2008 LSX Drag Radial title than some might have expected. Fereday got off the starting line first with a slight holeshot advantage and needed every bit of it as Kempf was right beside him down the entire quarter-mile. As they crossed the finish, the scoreboards flashed a 7.586 at 188.52 for Fereday, and a 7.610 at 191.10 for Kempf. Fereday was the winner, but it took low e.t. of the meet for him to pull it off. Kempf, on the other hand, ran top speed of the weekend in a vain attempt to get around him. It was a final that was deserving of all the buildup that LSX Drag Radial had received leading up to this event.
Steven Fereday and Josh Ledford...
Steven Fereday and Josh Ledford simply owned LSX Drag Radial at this year's event with this stock suspension Camaro. Fereday qualified first with a 7.663 at 185.79, and ran an even quicker 7.586 at 188.52 to edge Tom Kempf's close 7.601 at a fastest 191.10 mph.
While GMPP's LSX All Motor class was about the same size as last year, Joe Honeycutt was the class of the field with the only sub 9-second run all weekend as his 8.961 at 154.58 led qualifying. Honeycutt ran over last year's winner, Kevin Patterson, in the semifinals with a 9.209 to a 9.348 victory, while Chris Fowler disposed of last year's other finalist, Judson Massingill, to make the finals against Honeycutt. Fowler didn't have the performance to match Honeycutt, so he tried to make it up on the tree. Honeycutt was right there, however, as he left first, and recorded a 9.203 time to lead wire to wire for the All Motor Shootout title.
In the GM Performance Showdown, 56 entries crowded the staging lanes to fight it out in what was one of the most entertaining street car events seen in a long time. With 12 different heads-up index classes for racers to choose from, racers were competing for $1,000 to win along with an LSX Bow Tie block, and a lot of recognition. After a brutal five rounds of competition, Cliff LeBlanc took his 1999 Trans Am to the finals when Isaac Gomez redlighted, while Rob Farley ran an 11.512 off his F/LSX 11.50 dial-in to win over Charlie Polly. In a final round between two different F/LSX entries, LeBlanc lost after running under his index as Farley crossed the stripe with an 11.545 at 106.81 mph. It was a great win in an even greater class.
New for 2008 was the LSX Truck and SUV category, which saw a wide variety of vehicles from all over the land. Running off the H/TLSX index, Jimmy Young's LSX-powered 1996 S-10 pickup was the champion with a 12.543 on a 12.50, while Toby Self broke out with a 12.921, which was too quick for his 13.00-second I/TLSX class index.
Of course, there was a lot more going on, with event and season championships up for grabs in the 11 other NMCA categories being contested at the World Finals. As eliminations wore well into the night, the darkness seemed almost nonexistent compared to the glow of what was simply a super weekend and an even greater year for NMCA racing.
Tom Kempf came up just .016...
Tom Kempf came up just .016 of a second short of successfully defending his LSX Drag Radial title from last year. Kempf got past Mark Koehler, Jim Filipowski, and Paul Major before coming up on the short end against eventual winner Steven Fereday.
NMCA actually offers LSX fanatics...
NMCA actually offers LSX fanatics a lot throughout the season leading up to Memphis, as seen with John McPartlin's 1998 Trans Am. McPartlin came from the third-best qualifying position in Late Model EFI, to runner-up against Doug Winters. That victory helped Winters seal the 2008 class championship.
Steve Turley's Camaro qualified...
Steve Turley's Camaro qualified fifth in LSX Drag Radial with a 7.837, but wasn't able to get out of the 8s during eliminations. Turley got by fellow Ohioan Mike Brown in the opening round, and then Paul Major, before coming up short against event winner Steven Fereday in the semifinals.
Running sub-7.60 passes at...
Running sub-7.60 passes at 3,425 pounds to win the LSX Drag Radial Shootout requires gobs of power. The Late Model Racecraft team got that done with a 408-cid LSX with a single Precision 106mm G-trim turbo. Backing that up was a Rossler Powerglide with a Neal Chance converter.
Paul Major's phenomenal 200-plus-mph...
Paul Major's phenomenal 200-plus-mph drag radial Corvette was one of the heavy favorites coming into Memphis, but disaster struck him in round two after a big finish line fire. Major stepped up from the third qualifying position to record a strong 7.592 in defeating Brian Krzewinski with this remote-mounted twin turbo Vette.
Nothing quite appeals to street...
Nothing quite appeals to street freaks as BFGoodrich Mean Street, which is for small-block, non-power-adder cars on a stock suspension, with a DOT radial tire. Don Baskin won Memphis with wheels-up launches like this, and used a strong second half of the season with two wins in four final round appearances to finish as runner-up to class champion Jeff Swanson.
Naturally aspirated freaks...
Naturally aspirated freaks have always gravitated toward COMP Cams Pro Stock-and with good reason. High-revving engines in stock-suspension cars without wheelie bars are quite the spectacle. Felton Thompson's high-flyin' 1966 GTO qualified well with an 8.71 at 154.57, and left a lot of smiles on people's faces despite losing in the early rounds at Memphis.
John Macaluso capped a great...
John Macaluso capped a great season at Memphis with a new class record, event victory, and a season championship in Street Race with his 1993 nitrous 'Stang. Macaluso beat Heath Shemwell in the finals with an 8.832 at 156.21, to Shemwell's 9.297 at 151.89.
Chris Fowler's sanitary looking...
Chris Fowler's sanitary looking 1990 Camaro with 427 cubic inches of LSX power under the hood knocked Steve Hopkins and Judson Massingill out of the LSX All Motor program before falling to fellow Texan Joe Honeycutt in the finals.
Jeff Knox made a big mark...
Jeff Knox made a big mark in Tremec True Street history by becoming the first ever driver to finish with a 7-second average. Jeff averaged 7.994 seconds at nearly 180 mph over three time runs with his 598-cubic-inch big-block nitrous Chevy after completing a 30-mile cruise.
Pro Street saw a changing...
Pro Street saw a changing of the guard as Mark Micke (near lane) sealed the 2008 season title with this win over defending champ Vinny Budano with a 6.303-to-6.403 victory. Micke dominated most of the season before winning the championship with an alcohol-injected 526 BBC ProCharger combination.
GM Performance Truck and SUV...
GM Performance Truck and SUV was a new addition to this year's LSX Shootout, and Jimmy Young was there to reap the benefits. Young used all his luck to survive, despite breaking out from his 12.50 index twice in his 1996 S-10 pickup to beat Toby Self in the finals.
Toby Self's 1968 Chevy pickup...
Toby Self's 1968 Chevy pickup was arguably one of the coolest vehicles on the grounds at Memphis. With a lowered stance that belies the truck's understated looks, Self's LSX-powered machine dyno'd at 565 hp, which was enough to push him into the 12.80s at over 109 mph.
SuperChips Open Comp is a...
SuperChips Open Comp is a bracket category that's open to a wide variety of street cars. Frankie Radake took this 468-powered Camaro to the win at Memphis over William Tartavoulle. With the points earned from his first event win of the year, Radake was able to finish third in the overall championship points race.
Joe Honeycutt turned a lot...
Joe Honeycutt turned a lot of heads when his world-beating Camaro was the only LSX All Motor car to break into the 8s during qualifying. After an 8.864 single at 153.58 mph in the first round of eliminations, Honeycutt marched on with a win over Kevin Patterson's Firebird, and then a 9.203 to a 9.719 event victory over Chris Fowler.
Cameron Coble needed things...
Cameron Coble needed things to fall his way in order to secure the 2008 Xtreme Street championship at Memphis. In what is normally a low 8-second class, Coble made some big noise by lowering the e.t. record down to a 7.851, and winning the event over close rival Danny Shemwell in a winner-take-all race for the championship.
There weren't many Mustangs...
There weren't many Mustangs in a sea of GM products running True Street at Memphis, but E. J. Williams put on a show, nevertheless, as he finished with a 9.915 average after three time runs. There were just three cars in the 9-second range out of the 107 entries in True Street.
From the full field of 16...
From the full field of 16 Pro Streets on the grounds, none got as much attention as Tony Baudier's twin-turbo 2010 Camaro. Baudier ran a 6.829 at 212.26 on just his fourth pass before going out in the first round.
Charley Polly's SLP-prepped...
Charley Polly's SLP-prepped 2000 Camaro SS was the low qualifier in a field of 56 entries during the GM Performance Showdown with an 11.501 best. Running off the F/LSX 11.50 index, Polly got through four rounds of eliminations before losing on a slight holeshot to eventual champ Rob Farley.
NMCA's Tremec True Street...
NMCA's Tremec True Street program continues to draw a wide variety of the fastest street cars in the country at each stop throughout the season. Trucks, classics, street rods, late models, and muscle cars are all welcome.
During the golden age of drag...
During the golden age of drag racing, Super Stock was a class that sold a lot of muscle cars off dealership showroom floors. That's why Nostalgia Super Stock continues to be a big part of the NMCA today, as seen with Ava Thompson's 1966 GTO, which was runner-up in this class at Memphis.