2005 NEW LEBANON, NEW YORK - F.A.S.T. RACE
May 28th-29th
Congratulations Wayne!
1st 10 Second F.A.S.T. pass
10.97 at 126.88 This was the first East Coast F.A.S.T. race. Hemmings Muscle Machines invited the F.A.S.T. racers to their annual 'MUSCLEPALOOZA' Muscle Car Spectacular, which also included regular bracket classes and a full car show. Many enthusiasts that were previously not familiar with F.A.S.T. were introduced to F.A.S.T. racing and comradery. Quite a few new F.A.S.T. cars made their racing debut. Eighteen cars made the first round call. The top eight qualifiers raced in the quick-8 eliminator and qualifiers 9 thru 18 raced in a best of 3 shootout match race.
This race drew local F.A.S.T. cars and several from as far away as Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Canada, Deleware, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Steve Hodges posted his first 11 second F.A.S.T. pass, posting an 11.95 at 120.17 mph. Tom Cannon is still the KING of small blocks with his 1970 Dodge TA Challenger 340 six pack. Wayne Nelson qualified number 1 with a stout 11.09 followed by Joel Nystrom's awesome Hemi 1967 GTX 4 speed.
F.A.S.T. history was made in round one when Wayne Nelson layed down the First TEN SECOND F.A.S.T. pass. Running 10.97 @ 126.88
Final round was all Chevy, in fact it was all Corvette. Two 1969 427 L88 Corvettes, Wayne's Blue automatic and Jim's Silver 4 speed car.
Hemmings treated the F.A.S.T. racers to food and drinks in the tower after Saturdays qualifying session. A good time was had by all!
| Winner: | Wayne Nelson | 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, 427 L88 | 11.01 @ 126.68 |
| Runner Up: | Jim Johnson | 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, 427 L88 | 11.68 @ 120.69 |
 | | | |
| #1 Qualifier: | Wayne Nelson | 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, 427 L88 | 11.09 @ 126.12 |
| | | |
| Low ET of event: | Wayne Nelson | 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, 427 L88 | 10.97 |
| Top MPH of event: | Wayne Nelson | 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, 427 L88 | 126.88 |
Yes, Wayne Nelson won the inaugural Lebanon Valley Dragway race and set a new F.A.S.T. ET record of 10.97 @ 126.88 mph.
Weather on Saturday was mostly bright sun and in the 70's, except for a few dark clouds that later rolled in around 3:30 pm, which resulted in a 10 minute downpour. Although the weather quickly brightened right back up, quite a bit of water fell in that 10 minutes. The track crews spent over an hour drying the track and finally called the remainder of the day.
All of the F.A.S.T. racers and their families were then treated to an all you can eat Pizza party in the tower with plenty of liquid refreshments. Racers enjoyed viewing Mike Kamm’s 2004 Year One Commerce Challenge DVD.
Sunday's weather was flawless and the show ran right on schedule. It started off with two additional qualifying runs for all F.A.S.T. drivers, which saw Wayne's L88 Corvette sitting on the poll with an 11.09. Joel Nystrom's Hemi GTX was in the #2 slot at 11.31. From all outward appearances, it seemed like the final round would eventually boil down to this pair.
But surprisingly, the final round was an all fiberglass affair with Jimmy Johnston's 4-spd. L88 as runner up!
As this was not an “OFFICIAL” YearOne F.A.S.T. sanctioned event, Wayne did not win the $1000 YearOne Reward for the first LEGAL F.A.S.T. car to run in the 10’s at a YearOne F.A.S.T. sponsored event!
However, Wayne did not leave empty handed!!!!
One of our many new F.A.S.T. drivers at this event, Gene Wilsey took it upon himself to generate $500 of prize money to award if the 10 second barrier could be broken at this race. He secured $250 from his local Capital Area Mopar Club and another $250 from Clifton Park Dodge World. Well the way I understand it, on Saturday it was announced that Hemmings would up the ante by adding another $500 to the pot!
Lebanon Valley F.A.S.T. race
May 28-29, 2005
Qualifying order
(Quick 8)
1 Wayne Nelson 1969 Corvette L88 11.09 126.12
2 Joel Nystrom 1967 GTX Hemi 11.31 125.17
3 Ralph Barbagallo 1970 Roadrunner Hemi 11.52 122.36
4 Jim Johnston 1969 Corvette L88 11.86 118.62
5 Tom Cannon 1970 Challenger 340 11.88 118.85
6 Steve Hodges 1970 Challenger Hemi 11.95 120.17
7 Bob Lindquist 1970 GS 455 Stage1 12.02 117.06
8 Pat Wendling 1969 Firebird RA-IV 12.06 118.32
(Best of 3 shootout)
9 Gene Wisley 1970 AAR Cuda 340 12.69
10 Peter Germani 1971 GTO 455 12.95 106.72
11 Lane Carey 1970 Torino 429 12.99 107.73
12 Wayne Smothers 1969 Superbee 440 13.05 107.42
13 Mike Kamm 1969 Custom-S 350 13.81 101.64
14 Greg Gessler 1967 GTO 400 13.83 100.82
15 Ken Malette 1970 GS 455 Stage1 13.84 98.63
16 Charles Lombardi 1963 SS 409 14.02 100.44
17 John Gavin 1968 Dart 340 14.17
18 Mike Cannon 1970 Mustang 390 14.54 100.97
(Did not make fist round call)
Chuck Lombardi 1966 Chevelle 396 14.20 94.60
Bill Gonzo 1969 GTO Judge RAIV 14.76 93.97
(Quick 8)
Round 1
W Nelson 10.97 126.88 .174
Wendling 12.76 117.12 .293
W Barbagallo 12.11 121.53 .167
Hodges 12.35 119.69 .194
W Lindquist 11.91 118.31 .063
Nystrom 16.67 64.20 .149
W Johnston 12.03 119.04 .059
T.Cannon 11.97 118.17 .263
Round 2
W Nelson 11.02 126.54 .137
Barbagallo 12.54 117.95 .021
W Johnson 11.66 119.96 .262
Lindquist 12.08 118.38 .182
Final round
W Nelson 11.01 126.68 .354
Johnston 11.62 120.69 .057
Half of the $1000 for Wayne!!!
Chuck Lombardi’s sharp 1966 SS396
Charles Lombardi’s 1963 409 Impala
A couple of Fords in F.A.S.T.!! Lane Carey’s 1970 429SCJ
Mike Cannon tunes the 390 in his 1970 Mustang
Mike Kamm’s 1969 Pontiac 350 Custom S ran a 13.74 @ 102.50
John Gavin’s 1968 Dodge 340GTSport
Joel Nystrom congratulates Wayne Nelson on his 10 second pass!!
Pat Wendling (L) turns to F.A.S.T. Champion, and Buick Icon, Greg Gessler(R)
to help him solve a new drivetrain vibration problem in his 1969 RamAir Firebird.
Tom Cannon(L) and Gene Wilsey park their 340-6 Mopars side-by-side.
|