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F.A.S.T.
Spring Nationals
US 131 Dragway in Martin, Michigan was again host to this ever growing event. Despite high fuel costs, an impressive number of cars participated and even a 2 hour rain delay on race day, did not keep the spectators away! Fridays weather was clear with temps in the upper 70's. US 131 was Hooking this year, good enough for a 10.7 ET on Bias-ply tires and broken drive line parts! Friday was an all-day test and tune session, where racers had the opportunity to make as many quarter mile passes down the track as they pleased. Just like last year it was decided to count all runs on Friday towards qualifying, to create a more realistic ladder for qualifying. Many racers ran their personal bests. Dave Dudek's Hemi Roadrunner was flying at the Spring Nationals, right off the trailer he recorded a stellar 10.79! The F.A.S.T. class had some very quick cars in attendance, with 12 cars qualified in the 10-11 second bracket. The F.A.S.T. Quick-8 field had an 11.56 bump spot, all Quick-8 cars qualified with MPH's over 120! Every year as new cars are built, the F.A.S.T. quick-8 field gets tighter and quicker, and the racing action gets even more exciting. This was the first F.A.S.T. event with our new F.A.S.T. series sponsors, National Parts Depot and ZDDPlus.
Steve Vanderwall's 1967 Ford Fairlane recorded his first 11 second F.A.S.T. pass and was seen walking around the track with his new F.A.S.T. 11 second club hat. Dave Finn brought out his newly built 1963 Max-Wedge car. He was busy working out the bugs and fine tuning the car each pass. It's a car to watch as he has already gone over 120 MPH! Just wait until he gets used to driving the car and gets it all dialed in.
Qualifying was all day on Friday and Dave Dudek lead the F.A.S.T. class by a large margin. Dave's first pass of 10.79 easily held as the number 1 qualifier. Qualifying second was Terry Pennington in his 1969 L88 Corvette. Terry's car was battling traction issues and recorded a quick 11.26, spinning thru 1st and most of 2nd gear! The third thru sixth positions were separated by less than .002 of a second. Don Giannone, Steve Hodges, Greg Gessler and Ken Veit all ran between 11.36 & 11.37. Ed Cooks original A-12 car recorded a 11.42 and Scott Pennington rounded out the F.A.S.T. Quick-8 qualifying field with an 11.56.
F.A.S.T. Quick-8 round 1 stunner was Number 7 qualifier Ed Cook taking out #2 qualifier Terry Pennington with a superior reaction time. Don Giannone and Ken Veit had a super close race in round 1. Both racers ran a 11.57, but Don's quicker starting line reaction netted him the win.
Round 2 saw Steve Hodges red light against Dave Dudek and Ed Cook took out Don Giannone 11.52 to 11.58, making the final round all Mopar.
The F.A.S.T. finals was all Penstar, with 2 Black 1969 Plymouth Road Runners lining up at the starting line. New York's, Ed Cook and his 440-6pak taking on the number one qualifier Dave Dudek in his 69 Hemi. Dave took the win with another 10 second pass as Ed red lit.
(Under construction, more info, pictures and F/S results to follow)
F.A.S.T. Qualifying Order
| Qualifying # / Name | State | Car | Transmission | ET | MPH |
| 1- Dave Dudek Jr. | Michigan | 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 426 Hemi | Automatic | 10.79 | 131.56 |
| 2- Terry Pennington | Indiana | 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, L88 427 | Automatic | 11.26 | 130.02 |
| 3- Don Giannone | Pennsylvania | 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle, 396 | Automatic | 11.36 | 124.54 |
| 4- Steve Hodges | Kansas | 1970 Dodge Challenger, 426 Hemi | Automatic | 11.36 | 123.60 |
| 5- Greg Gessler | New Jersey | 1972 Buick GS, 455 Stage 1 | Automatic | 11.37 | 123.26 |
| 6- Ken Veit | Pennsylvania | 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, 427 | Automatic | 11.37 | 125.34 |
| 7- Ed Cook | New York | 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 440-6 | Automatic | 11.42 | 123.69 |
| 8- Scott Pennington | Indiana | 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, ZL1 427 | Automatic | 11.56 | 120.29 |
| 9- Tom Cannon | Pennsylvania | 1971 Dodge Super Bee, 440-6 | Manual | 11.67 | 119.94 |
| 10- Mike Nasi | Connecticut | 1971 Plymouth GTX, 440-6 | Automatic | 11.74 | 117.17 |
| 11- James Cook | New York | 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 440-6 | Manual | 11.80 | 120.66 |
| 12- Jeff Patterson | Ohio | 1970 Plymouth Duster, 340 | Automatic | 11.86 | 117.47 |
| 13- Scott McKenzie | New York | 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 440-6 | Automatic | 12.09 | 114.85 |
| 14- Steve Vanderwall | Indiana | 1967 Ford Fairlane, 427 | Automatic | 12.09 | 114.53 |
| 15- Dave Finn | New York | 1963 Dodge 440, 426 Max Wedge | Automatic | 12.16 | 116.39 |
| 16- Jay Delaigh | Georgia | 1974 Pontiac TransAm, 455 | Manual | 13.10 | 109.78 |
Note: Other registered cars broke or withdrew from competition
F.A.S.T. Quick-8 Eliminations
F.A.S.T. Consolation Eliminations
(for first round Quick-8 losers)
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