2003 US 131 MOTORSPORTS PARK
F.A.S.T. RACE
The first F.A.S.T. race of 2003 was held at the gorgeous, new facility at US 131 Motorsports Park in scenic Martin, Michigan. This was the first race since the new cylinder head casting check rule was written. All cars running better than 11.70 had their valve covers removed and castings checked. 50 Cars were entered. Coming from ten (10) different states and Canada! All for a one day event that is, in essence, a gathering of friends who share a devotion to stock appearing muscle cars. Go fast and look bone stock is the theme of this dedicated group.
There were two divisions. The F.A.S.T. group were the quicker factory "appearing" gang, and the F/S group were the Factory Stock class! Qualifying E.T.'s ranged from high 14's all the way down to mid 11's!!!!! MPH figures ran as high as 126mph! That's cooking considering this pack runs on stock sized rubber. That's right, bias-ply skinny tires all the way around! Within the two divisions were another pair of classes. There was a "Quick 8" class in each division. These 8 were the fastest qualifiers in their division and they ran a elimination ladder to determine the winner. The remainder of each division were paired up in a mini-shootout 2 out of 3 format.
Again, the winter months proved fruitful as ETs plummeted into the 11.40's! The track surface was well prepared as many participants recorded their best ET's ever. The event ran on a good time schedule DESPITE the lousy Michigan weather. Who would have thought that Memorial Weekend would involve temps in the mid 40's!!! and rain! We had a three hour rain delay with the rain moving in right after Tech Inspection. Rained for about an hour and a half, then another hour and a half watching the efficient staff at US131 dry the track. This, coupled with a 15mph headwind, made for a brisk day of racing.
So, who was the TOP DOG??? Wasn't a Buick GS455. Wasn't a ZL-1 Camaro either. It was an all Mopar final round!! The top honor went to Dave Dudek in his Plum Crazy 1970 Hemi Challenger winning over Joel Nystrom's 1967 Forest Green Hemi GTX. Joel left Dave at the line, but missed third gear allowing Dave to drive around Joel and take the win! Dave ran a 11.59 @ 123.99mph to Joel's 11.76 @ 122.26mph!
The F/S (Factory Stock) Class Quick 8 final didn't have a Mopar in sight! It was ALL CHEVY and ALL CANADIAN with Pete Simpson's ZL-1 COPO 1969 Camaro edging out Jimmy Johnston's SS396 Nova!!
F.A.S.T. Qualifying Order
| Qualifying # / Name | State | Car | Transmission | ET | MPH |
| 1- Dave Dudek Jr. | Michigan | 1970 Dodge Challenger, 426 Hemi | Manual | 11.44 | 124.25 |
| 2- Joel Nystrom | Minnesota | 1967 Plymouth GTX, 426 Hemi | Manual | 11.46 | 124.97 |
| 3- Terry Pennington | Indiana | 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, 427 ZL1 | Automatic | 11.48 | 118.00 |
| 4- Greg Gessler | New Jersey | 1972 Buick GS, 455 Stage 1 | Automatic | 11.57 | 119.00 |
| 5- Paul Glasgo | Ohio | 1970 Pontiac Tempest, 400 | Automatic | 12.11 | 114.30 |
| 6- Bob Lindquist | Michigan | 1970 Buick GS, 455 Stage 1 | Automatic | 12.14 | 113.30 |
| 7- John Glasgo | Ohio | 1971 Pontiac T37, 455 | Automatic | 12.15 | 113.70 |
| 8- Jack Irons Sr. | Michigan | 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner, 426 Hemi | Manual | 12.28 | 118.58 |
| 9- Mike Wowk | Ohio | 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner, 440-6 | Automatic | 12.32 | 111.11 |
| 10- Jeff Peterson | Ohio | 1970 Plymouth Duster, 340 | Automatic | 12.49 | 108 |
| 11- Dave Dudek Sr. | Michigan | 1969 Plymouth GTX, 426 Hemi | Automatic | 12.53 | 111.04 |
| 12- Danny Kellems | | 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, 396 | Automatic | 12.90 | 109.16 |
| 13- Keith Egan | | 1970 Buick GS, 455 | Automatic | 13.00 | 104 |
| 14- Jim Goode | Michigan | 1963 Plymouth Fury, 426/425 wedge | Automatic | 13.26 | 105 |
| 15- Steve Hodges | Kansas | 1970 Dodge Challenger, 426 Hemi | Manual | 13.45 | 105.1 |
| 16- Randy Boyer | Michigan | 1972 Chevrolet Corvette, LT1 350 | Automatic | 13.70 | 102 |
F.A.S.T. Quick-8 Eliminations
| Winner: | Dave Dudek | 1970 Dodge Challenger, 426 Hemi | 11.59 @ 123.99 MPH |
| Runner Up: | Joel Nystrom | 1967 Plymouth GTX, 426 Hemi | 11.76 @ 122.26 MPH |
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| #1 Qualifier: | Dave Dudek | 1970 Dodge Challenger, 426 Hemi | 11.44 @ 124.25 MPH |
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| Low ET of event: | Dave Dudek | 1970 Dodge Challenger, 426 Hemi | 11.44 |
| Top MPH of event: | Joel Nystrom | 1967 Plymouth GTX, 426 Hemi | 124.97 |
Factory Stock F/S Shootout With Qualifying Times&MPH!
- 1 Mike Welsh 1970 AMC AMX--No Show
- 2 Jimmy Johnston 1969 Chevy Nova 396/375--12.27 @ 111mph
- 3 Pete Simpson 1969 Chevy Camaro ZLI 427/435--12.09 @ 113.6mph
- 4 Rob Clary 1969 Chevy Camaro Yenko 427/425--12.87@ 106.65mph
- 5 Don Haranczak 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner 440/400--12.43 @ 111.4mph
- 6 Bob Kanas 1967 Olds 442 400/350
- 7 Dan Jensen 1970 Chevelle SS 454/450--12.54 @ 111mph
- 8 Ivan Pennington 1969 Camaro 427/425
- 9 Dave Dudek Sr. 1969 Plymouth GTX 426/425--12.16 @ 115mph
- 10 Doug VanKalker 1972 Buick GS 455/270
- 11 Jim Spetzman 1969 1/2 Dodge SuperBee 440/390--12.49 @ 110mph
- 12 Tom Miller 1970 Pontiac Lemans 400/330--13.39 @ 100.98mph
- 13 Darrell Detwiler 1971 Olds 442 455/340
- 14 Casey Marks 1970 Olds F-85 425/325--13.09 @ 103.69mph
- 15 David Heilala 1968 Olds Ramrod 350/325--13.94 @ 100.97mph
- 16 Tony Goodman 1968 Pontiac Firebird 400/340--12.31 @ 110.55mph
- 17 Kelly Petcou 1970 Dodge Challenger 440/390--12.68 @ ??
- 18 Paul Petcou 1969 Dodge SuperBee 440/390--12.89 @ 108.99mph
- 19 Bob Karakashian 1969 Dodge SuperBee 440/390--12.43 @ 111mph
- 20 Bob Karakashian 1970 Plymouth Cuda 426/425
- 21 Brian Stefina 1964 Mercury Marauder 427/425--13.46 @ 104mph
- 22 Doug Sawyer 1970 Dodge Challenger 340/290
- 23 Alan Foust 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner 426/425
- 24 Russell Small 1969 Hurst/Olds 455/380--13.85 @ 99.17mph
- 25 Jeff Sawruk 1969 Pontiac Custom S 350/330--13.27 @ 103.42mph
- 26 Frank Remlinger 1969 Dodge GTS 340/275--14.31 @ 96.8mph
- 27 Susan Skalba 1970 Dodge Charger RT 440/390
- 28 Don Cossey 1964 Plymouth Fury 426/415--No Show
- 29 Greg Canfield 1970 Plymouth Superbird 426/425
- 30 Tim Clary 1970 Chevelle SS 454/450--12.95 @ 107.9mph
- 31 Robin Spieth 1970 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV
- 32 Tom Cannon 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340/290--13.33 @ 106.36mph
- 33 David Hakim 1970 Plymouth Road RoadRunner 440/390--12.85 @ 106mph
- 34 Larry Dupuis 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge RA455--13.39 @ 101mph
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