Friendly Frank Varela was had at work on his Hellion Turbo Coyote Modified entry this morning. He and car owner Dwayne James along with the rest of the “B” Team had the engine out earlier this week to change the secondary timing chains. With 40 runs on the old chains, the team felt it was important to swap them out rather than run into any issues on the track. 

John Urist working on the tuneup this morning. Despite showing up with no time to test prior to the event, he clicked off a 7.14 during this morning’s open time trials. Looks like he’s ready for the Street Outlaw battle this weekend. 

This is Gino Cavallo’s first Street Outlaw race with the former Zack Posey-owned machine. Cavallo has completely revamped the car to include a 430-cube SBF engine filled by a 94mm turbocharger. The car has been 190MPH before and they don’t feel there will be any struggles to perform well this weekend with Dan Bills doing the tuning. 

This is Louie Sylvester’s second race with the Modular powerplant under the hood of his Factory Stocker. During this morning’s test session he clicked off a 10.96 at 122MPH on the machine, which was completely revamped by Aaron Stapleton at Fast Forward Race Cars. 

JD Coon’s still working on getting his Kenne Bell-blown Renegade machine onto the pace. He currently has a 4R100 transmission in the car but is considering swapping to a Turbo400 in an effort to lose some weight and get the wheelspeed down. The gear ratios in the Turbo 400 are very different from the ratios in the 4R100. 

A meeting of the Coyote Stock minds – Brandon Alsept, Jacob Lamb, Ed Curtis, and Darin Hendricks discussing strategies – or what’s for lunch, we’re not sure. 

After a number of races working with a Liberty five-speed transmission, Jim Breese has made the switch to a Rossler Turbo400 in an effort to get a better handle on the car. His goal for the weekend is to get into the 8.20s and get down the track cleanly. 

It’s been a mad thrash for Pure Street racer Mike “Goose” Gucciardo over the last several weeks. The decision to paint the car over the offseason almost turned into a major event, as a number of issues nearly kept the team out of competition this weekend. He was working on finishing up the car, and the painter was actually on his way with the last few panels to put on the car. Goose is just happy to be on the property. And the car sure does look good in the rare Mimosa hue. 

We caught up with Open Comp racers Larry Geddes and Brent Blacker this morning. The two longtime competitors were kicking back and analyzing the atmospheric data for the day.

In Street Outlaw, John Urist put the Mustang contingent at the top of the ladder, lighting the board with a 7.094 at 197 MPH in the heat of the day. Dwayne Barbaree, fresh off and engine rebuild, took the second spot with a 7.16 at 195 MPH.

In his first event in Factory Stock, Justin Fogelsonger put his Booze Brothers Racing-sponsored machine into the third spot with a stout 11.04. This car was formerly raced in Coyote Stock by Joseph Jones and shaken down by Charlie Booze himself earlier this year in Coyote Stock in Maryland. Justin put it into Factory Stock as the Coyote-based rules have him in a competitive place.

Dyno Joe Cram has his Texas-based hotrod at the top of the Coyote Modified ladder after the first round. Cram thrashed on the car between races and is sporting a brand-new rear suspension from Team Z Motorsports that he finished installing just this week. His 8.62 at 161.83 MPH is three tenths ahead of second qualifier Camren Massengale. Points leader Frank Varela didn’t get a qualifying time due to leaving the starting line before the tree came down.

The best wheelstand of the round award goes to Johnny Lightning-backed Coyote Modified racer John Kauderer. The New York resident is here competing in his 2014 Cobra Jet and cranked off an 8.95 to land in third in the class.

Teddy Weaver is the only Pure Street racer to break into the nine-second zone so far, clicking off a 9.90 at 135 to lead the field into the second round.

With Shane Stymiest home this weekend mowing the lawn, Joe Charles was able to top the Coyote Stock field in the first round. Charles’ 10.47 bested number-two qualifier Darin Hendricks by .068-second.

Matt Williams’ first-ever Coyote Stock pass netted an 11.65 at 115.33 MPH to fill out the last spot on the ladder. The longtime Factory Stock competitor switched over to Coyote Stock after a catastrophic engine failure earlier this year.

How about the return of longtime NMRA racer Farmer Steve Gifford this weekend? The longtime Pure Street racer was one of the brainiacs behind the Coyote Stock concept, along with noted tuner Ken Bjonnes, and he’s finally got his machine together and out to the track. His multi-year layoff didn’t slow him down – he qualified sixth with a 10.73, banging gears the whole way down the track.

Charlie Cooper continues to impress in Renegade. He topped the ladder in round one ahead of points leader Bart Tobener with an 8.20; Tobener stopped the clocks with an 8.22.

The “Coolest Car In Factory Stock” award goes to Steve Moberley, who’s campaigning a bad-ass 1979 Fairmont equipped with a Coyote powerplant between the fenders. Moberley is still shaking the combination down and crossed the stripe with an 11.75.

Frank Varela salvaged his day and rocketed to the top of the Coyote Modified ladder in the second round of qualifying this evening. He cranked off an 8.401 at 164.13 MPH to take the top spot away from Joe Cram.

Tommy “4X” Godfrey joined Teddy Weaver in the nine-second zone in Pure Street this evening, cracking off a strong 9.966 at 135-plus. Godfrey is not one to let anyone beat him for long; he seems committed to Pure Street as he was during the process of winning four straight Factory Stock championships.

Joe Marini shot to the third spot in Coyote Stock, leapfrogging Drew Lyons and Mike Bowen and lighting the boards with a 10.57 at 127.43 MPH.

Charlie Cooper didn’t hold on to the top spot in Renegade for long; Bad Bart Tobener rocketed to an 8.02 at 172.32 MPH in tonight’s second round of qualifying. Tobener has dedicated himself to winning the Renegade championship this season and is well on his way to doing so.