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F.A.S.T.
FALL Nationals
This was the third year that the F.A.S.T. and F/S racers have made the trek to the Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Virginia. VMP is noted for having excellent traction. Mother nature was busy and rained during the weekend of the scheduled event. Luckily the weather forecasters got this one right and the F.A.S.T. organizers could reschedule the event 2 weeks later, before the nor'easter blew thru. The race was rescheduled for October 30/31st, and the racers nicknamed this the Halloween race. Having to reschedule a race is never a good thing and can hurt racer and fan attendance as people schedule days off from work and family obligations to attend F.A.S.T. races. Changes make it hard as some racers could not attend the rescheduled race due to prior commitments. But when it a nor'easter blows thru, rescheduling is the best alternative. Holding the race during the Halloween weekend brought the usual joking. The ever colorful Tom Cannon posted on the F.A.S.T. Forum "So its gonna be on Halloween, we have to wear costumes. I'm gonna put a automatic in my car and go as a little girl" Tom is a hard core 4 speed guy and he tries to 'give it' to the racers running an automatic transmission whenever he can.
October 30th rolls around and Mother Nature is again threatening with rain predicted for Saturday the 31st. In an attempt to circumvent the rain, its decided to condense the event into one day in order to run eliminations before the rains hit. Friday the 30th started out with the usual F.A.S.T. test and tune/ qualifying.
Ed Cook had his black Road Runner running strong, posting back to back 10 second passes! Jay DeLaigle made the long haul from Georgia with his ultra clean 1974 455 Pontiac Trans Am. Jay got his fuel system issues worked out and was reworded with a new personal best ET of 11.75. Iggy Alonso had his 1970 Hemi Road Runner, unfortunately Iggy was still experiencing fuel delivery problems, keeping him from posting some quick times. Joel Nystrom brought his 1967 Hemi GTX all the way from Minnesota after a hiatus away from F.A.S.T. racing. Joel GTX was the first FAST Mopar to run a ten second ET and he even did it with a four speed! Ignition troubles prevented Joel from making a full pass today. Mike Nasi from Connecticut qualified in the number 3 position with an 11.35 at over 121 MPH! James Cook ended his day when he hurt the 4 speed trans in his car.
Unfortunately, the rain arrived early and forced a rare F.A.S.T. event rain out. Racers made several qualifying passes, but due to the rain, eliminations never got started. The VMP track was hooking but the heavy moisture ladened air was keeping the record books closed for most racers.
F.A.S.T. F/S Qualifying Order
| Qualifying # / Name | State | Car | Transmission | ET | MPH |
| 1- Dave Dudek Jr. | Michigan | 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 426 Hemi | Automatic | 10.51 | 133.39 |
| 2- Ed Cook | New York | 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 440-6 | Automatic | 10.95 | 125.54 |
| 3- Mike Nasi | Connecticut | 1971 Plymouth GTX, 440-6 | Automatic | 11.35 | 121.13 |
| 4- James Cook | New York | 1969 Plymouth RoadRunner, 440-6 | Manual | 11.38 | 125.12 |
| 5- Jay DeLaigle | Georgia | 1974 Pontiac Trans Am | Automatic | 11.75 | 117.12 |
| 6- Rick Mahoney (F/S) | Pennsylvania | 1968 Pontiac Firebird, 400 RAII (Blue) | Automatic | 11.79 | 115.15 |
| 7- Harry Chargois | Virginia | 1969 Dodge Super Bee, 383 | Automatic | 11.83 | 117.44 |
| 8- Mike Cannon | Pennsylvania | 1970 Ford Mustang, 428 | Manual | 11.91 | 119.40 |
| 9- Jim Mino (F/S) | Pennsylvania | 1968 Pontiac Firebird, 400 RAII | Manual | 12.32 | 117.07 |
| 10- Tom Cannon | Pennsylvania | 1971 Dodge Super Bee, 440-6 | Manual | 12.45 | 116.20 |
| 11- Joel Nystrom | Minnesota | 1967 Plymouth GTX, 426 Hemi | Manual | 12.88 | 96.81 |
| 12- Iggy Alonso | Florida | 1970 Plymouth RoadRunner, 426 Hemi | Automatic | 17.00 | 106.00 |
 | | | | | |
| ** Scott Tieman/Mahoney | Pennsylvania | 1968 Pontiac Firebird, 400 RAII (White) | Automatic | ** | |
NOTE:
**The white 1968 Pontiac Firebird (F.A.S.T. entry) run by Scott Tieman and Rick Mahoney was disqualified due to a rule infraction regarding the engine block and refusal of further tech inspection. All runs made by this car at this event are not F.A.S.T. legal.
F.A.S.T. Quick-8 Eliminations
(NO Elimination run, Event Rained Out)x |