2001 DSM Shootout

First I'd like to thank the Buschur family for allowing me access to the timing tower. Without this access, I'd have much less to share.

For the first time in the history of the DSM shootout, we had more than a handful of 3S competitors. We had roughly 40 cars make an appearance with about half of them racing. Expectations were perhaps too high as claims of 9 & 10 second cars filled the 3SI board for several months leading up to the event. Many of the big guns that were supposed to run had either broken down, didn't finish the car on time, or simply didn't show.

Arty with his "1,000 hp" car fell into the category "not done yet" as did I. He did however trailer it in from NY for all to see. Take a look at those monster ball bearing Garretts.

For the first time in recent history, Jack Tertadian didn't claim the fastest 3S title since his car was also relegated to a trailer. After making an 11.4 shakedown run a week before the shoot-out on his fresh engine, he blew #1 piston with a small shot of NOS. While EGTs and O₂s looked OK, he believes he was knocking like a banshee with timing too far advanced with his new ARC unit (which he seems to like). For the second time in two years, a lack of data-logging his 2nd gen has led to burnt pistons. What a shame, he was ready to run 10s at the shootout with the aid of a little NOS. The JE piston on the cam cover is from last years bout with knock.

Trevor's 11 second ride was put out of commission a couple days before the shoot-out when a van unfortunately plowed into his front right corner. It was in process of being fixed during the shoot-out and kept Trevor home. And I'm not sure what happened to the several AAM "TD05" cars that were supposed to run. I heard rumors of a 10 second car that failed its second transaxle just prior to the shoot-out.

We had 3S cars competing in several different classes including our very own 3S Quick 8 (main attraction), a 3S heads up class (for all those who didn't make it into the quick 8), and then several decided to bracket race with the DSM folks.

After three rounds of qualifying (three attempts to get your best time), The Quick 8 stacked up as follows (reaction time doesn't matter for qualifying, only 1/4 ET):

Owner & Vehicle	60 ft (seconds)	1/8 E.T. (seconds)	1/8 mile (MPH)	1/4 E.T. (seconds)	1/4 mile (MPH)
1) Matt Monet, '95 R/T TT	1.754	7.600	94.79	11.724	120.56
2) Jose Soriano, '91 R/T TT	1.860	7.652	93.20	11.822	118.38
3) Trent Karr, '93 R/T TT	1.798	8.131	84.62	12.704	107.72
4) Matthew Duco, '92 R/T TT	2.483	8.591	88.83	12.766	119.75
5) Jeff Wong, '96 VR-4 Spyder	1.812	8.349	83.50	13.023	105.07
6) Brian Fontana, '91 R/T TT	?	?	?	13.346	107.58
7) John Adams, '94 R/T TT	1.957	8.733	79.98	13.625	100.61
8) Mark Winemiller, '93 R/T TT	2.395	9.255	80.82	13.970	106.41

The 8 qualifiers comprised of 7 Stealths and 1 VR-4 (a heavy Spyder that could move). Note that some of the quick 8 people listed above were only able to run one of the three qualifying sessions since they were stuck in other lanes for test & tune. In fact some cars such as Jeff Williamson's 12 second VR-4 couldn't make even one qualifying pass because he was stuck in the wrong lane. While looking at these times, keep in mind that track temps were well into the 90s.

A decent looking quick 8, with many of the 13 second cars later showing they could hit 12s with ease. And look at Matthew Duco's trap speed!, if only he had a clutch that could hold a sub 2.0 second 60 ft. They ran the quick 8 on a Pro Tree (.400 second light) that matched the #1 qualifier vs #8, #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6, and #4 vs #5 (it pays to qualify high). From here on out, racing is heads-up meaning that whoever crosses the finish line first wins (lowest R.T. + 1/4 E.T.) as long as you don't red light (under .400 R.T.).

Owner & Vehicle	R.T. (seconds)	60 ft (seconds)	1/8 E.T. (seconds)	1/8 mile (MPH)	1/4 E.T. (seconds)	1/4 mile (MPH)
1) Matt Monet, '95 R/T TT	1.061	1.689	7.399	96.03	11.500	119.72
8) Mark Winemiller, '93 R/T TT	0.734	1.916	8.327	82.59	12.908	108.60
2) Jose Soriano, '91 R/T TT	0.875	1.770	7.747	90.60	11.996	116.92
7) John Adams, '94 R/T TT	1.205	2.002	8.788	79.77	13.684	100.27
3) Trent Karr, '93 R/T TT	1.218	2.350	9.924	75.21	15.093	100.66
6) Brian Fontana, '91 R/T TT	DNR	DNR	DNR	DNR	DNR	DNR
4) Matthew Duco, '92 R/T TT	0.892	2.350	8.519	89.12	13.081	103.11
5) Jeff Wong, '96 VR-4 Spyder	0.933	2.117	8.937	81.04	13.689	103.73

No real upsets, the #1, 2, 3, & 4 qualifiers all advanced over the lower seated participants.

Owner & Vehicle	R.T. (seconds)	60 ft (seconds)	1/8 E.T. (seconds)	1/8 mile (MPH)	1/4 E.T. (seconds)	1/4 mile (MPH)
1) Matt Monet, '95 R/T TT	1.096	1.865	7.938	86.85	12.300	115.41
4) Matthew Duco, '92 R/T TT	1.146	2.186	8.398	77.74	14.615	67.81
2) Jose Soriano, '91 R/T TT	1.114	1.800	7.576	94.67	11.720	118.66
3) Trent Karr, '93 R/T TT	1.534	2.233	8.762	83.23	13.386	106.46

So it would be Matt Monet from Dynamic Racing (in his "slow" car) vs Jose Soriano in the final. Matt's '95 TT featured a pair of his DR 650/r turbos which even in the hot humid ambient were producing 24 psi boost. As many of you know, Jose was running GT Pro 368 turbos but was only running 17-18 psi due to tuning issues with his higher boost settings.

Owner & Vehicle	R.T. (seconds)	60 ft (seconds)	1/8 E.T. (seconds)	1/8 mile (MPH)	1/4 E.T. (seconds)	1/4 mile (MPH)
1) Matt Monet, '95 R/T TT	0.802	1.691	7.420	95.11	11.571	117.65
2) Jose Soriano, '91 R/T TT	1.618	2.186	8.262	83.17	12.922	105.92

The winner of the 3S quick 8 would be Matt Monet. Jose was caught off-gaurd at the line when the pro tree lit-up before he was ready and there was no catching Matt after his 1.691 60 ft. Matt deserved top honors with the best launches (several 1.6x), best ET (11.500), and best trap (120.56) of the day.

While many may be disappointed with the times, remember that this represents a huge improvement in participation. Congratulations to all that competed. Next year, I think it is realistic to again double the number of cars running and have the quick 8 filled by 11 second cars and quicker! If you don't qualify for the quick 8, much fun can be had in the 3S heads up class or bracket racing against the DSMs.