Bret Kepner

These results reflect the record holders, qualifiers, and final round contestants at each of the
Street Car Shootout Series events held each Tuesday at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

All vehicles compete utilizing Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) approved tires. All other modifications are permitted. Tuesday SCSS Track Records can be set during official qualifying or championship rounds. The Official Street Car Shootout qualifying period begins at 6:30 PM and concludes at 9:00 PM, (barring unforeseen circumstances). At 9:20 PM, the four quickest qualifiers meet in no-handicap eliminations with the championship final round held at 9:45 PM. Each of the Top 16 qualifiers receives a "Fastest Street Car Qualifier" decal. The SCSS trophies and decals are presented by Gateway Raceway.com. Additionally, the two quickest Sport Tuner drivers, (open to all passenger cars except Rear-Wheel-Drive vehicles with engines of eight cylinders or more), also meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by St. Louis Street Racers.com and the two quickest Super Truck drivers, (open to all trucks and utility vehicles), meet in a no-handicap championship round for trophies presented by Gateway Raceway.com. All finalists in all categories also receive free digital images from the event courtesy of Bret Kepner Photos.com and one free entry to a future SCSS event.


GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS

2008 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES TRACK RECORDS

Class Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
RWD Tony Tobnick, Cedar Hill, MO 91 Mustang 359 Ford 8.341 10/16/2007
RWD Tony Tobnick, Cedar Hill, MO 91 Mustang 359 Ford 166.11 10/16/2007

4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 9.147 4/15/2008
4CYL Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 152.16 10/16/2007

TRK Larry Richards, Hillsboro, MO 52 3100 427 Chevy 9.278 9/4/2007
TRK Larry Richards, Hillsboro, MO 52 3100 427 Chevy 149.07 9/4/2007

DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 9.875 9/25/2007
DSL Chris Calkins, Union, MO 70 C-10 403 Chevy 139.41 9/25/2007

RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 10.048 9/26/2006
RTY Eric Cheatham, Belleville, IL 93 RX-7 79 Mazda 137.95 9/26/2006

AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 10.234 9/11/2007
AWD Adnan Omerovic, St. Louis, MO 95 Talon 122 Eagle 140.52 9/11/2007

6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 11.041 10/11/2005
6CYL Rob Nolan, Granite City, IL 87 Regal 231 Buick 124.56 4/11/2006

FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 11.057 10/16/2007
FWD Adam Corbitt, St. Charles, MO 85 Golf 123 Volks 131.91 10/16/2007




APRIL 15th, 2008 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES QUALIFIERS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date

EVENT 03 04/15/2008

1 Jon Huber St. Louis MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford 9.147 145.06
2 Gary Tripp Imperial MO 69 Camaro 496 Chevy 9.936 137.30
3 Brett Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 406 Chevy 10.124 136.83
4 Hal Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 406 Chevy 10.236 131.42
5 George Wahby Fenton MO 74 Pinto 350 Chevy 10.464 129.42
6 Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy 10.633 111.97
7 Chris Lambert Belleville IL 03 Mustang 281 Ford 10.839 131.36
8 Raymond Arthur Edwardsville IL 67 Camaro 496 Chevy 10.999 140.25
9 Nathan Grant Edwardsville IL 02 Camaro 346 Chevy 11.076 123.05
10 Steve Vanhook Foley MO 63 Nova 355 Chevy 11.108 123.24
11 Jacob Scroggins Bunker Hill IL 02 Mustang 281 Ford 11.253 128.26
12 Asmir Catic St. Louis MO 03 Mustang 281 Ford 11.262 126.92
13 Brad McCrary Mascoutah IL 90 Mustang 302 Ford 11.358 122.22
14 Denny Christman Arnold MO 91 Talon 122 Eagle 11.397 124.50
15 Aaron Reel Warrenton MO 95 Firebird 350 Pont 11.515 123.97
16 John Brawley Granite City IL 93 S-10 355 Chevy 11.767 117.30



APRIL 15th, 2008 STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES FINAL ROUND

Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH

W Gary Tripp, Imperial, MO 1969 496 Camaro 0.261 9.544 143.19
RU Brett Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 406 S-10 Could Not Appear


Gary Tripp, the Imperial, Missouri, racer whose red ‘69 Camaro had not visited the winner’s circle in one and a half seasons, scored his second career victory in his fifth career final round in the third event of the 2008 Street Car Shootout Series competition at Gateway International Raceway. The event included the first SCSS record of the new season and a race filled with bizarre circumstances which led to plenty of surprises. Although the Super Sixteen field was qualified under 11.77 seconds, the “bump spot” could‘ve been substantially quicker were it not for a variety of bad luck, breakage and poor timing which affected many drivers.

For the second time in three weeks, atmospheric conditions were spectacular. A corrected elevation ranging from 625 feet above sea level to almost 290 feet below combined with a stiff 20 mph tailwind to allow an amazing seventy-two percent of the massive entry list to record career-best elapsed times or speeds! Action was delayed by a least one oildown and, while traction was plentiful, the GIR crew spent an inordinate amount of time cleaning exhaust condensation from the racing surface while constantly battling dropping temperatures which eventually presented a tricky 61-degree racetrack.

Early timed trials, however, were conducted on a 78-degree surface in gorgeous weather. The very first pair of cars down the track included Jason Scroggins’ yellow ‘02 Mustang clocking a best-ever 11.26 at a whopping 129.17 mph! When the official qualifying period began, the first big numbers were posted by SCSS veteran George Wahby, making his first runs at GIR since experiencing a harrowing front tire explosion at the finish line during the May 29th, 2007, SCSS event. A best-ever effort of 10.46 seconds at 129.42 miles per hour from the LT1 Chevy-powered ‘72 Ford Pinto led the field but Wahby was forced to retire almost immediately with driveline problems.

The immaculate white-and-blue ’78 Camaro Z28 of Omer Phelps clocked a great 10.50/136.02 to threaten Wahby’s pole position but the Chevy was disqualified when GIR Tech Officials found the machine lacking required safety equipment. The fans were surprised when reigning SCSS Season Champion Tim “Moose” Mallicoat found his 565-cubic inch ’68 Camaro dancing toward the centerline on a run reminiscent of the squirrelly runs it exhibited before its new chassis layout was debugged during the opening SCSS event of the season. Mallicoat was forced to lift off the throttle and coast to a 10.63 at only 111 mph after a strong 1.33-second sixty-feet elapsed time. Soon after, Ray Arthur’s low nine-second “Suspicion” ‘67 Camaro made its second squirrelly run of the event and struggled to hit a 10.99 at 140.25 mph.

It was Brett Marshall, the son of the winningest racer in SCSS history, who finally grabbed the lead from Wahby with a 10.12/136.83 from father Hal’s renowned white ‘86 Chevy S-10 pickup. Hal, himself, wheeled his new red ‘86 S-10 to a 10.52/130.12 soon after. When crowd favorite Jon Huber pulled to the starting line, however, spectators quickly realized that the World’s Quickest Four-Cylinder Mustang could easily steal the top qualifying spot. The turbocharged 178-cubic inch behemoth, sporting no sponsorship lettering of any kind, carried the front wheels to a 1.52-second sixty feet ET but the four-banger went silent nearing the eighth-mile mark. “It just stopped running down there”, said Huber after the coasting 11.99/77.99 pass, “and I’m not really sure why. It spun the tires a bit but it was pulling hard when it shut off”.

In fact, not a single machine threatened Brett Marshall’s white S-10 for the next hour. With only twenty minutes remaining in qualifying, Huber returned to the starting line for another attempt. The silver ‘79 Mustang again launched with the front wheels in the air en route to a 1.47 sixty-feet ET. At the halftrack mark, however, the Ford was still thundering; a 5.90-second, 122.93 mph eighth-mile clocking was his quickest ever on D.O.T. tires! The crowd roared as the diminutive four-banger charged hard to the finish line and shattered its own six-month-old 9.16-second SCSS Four-Cylinder ET Record with an astounding 9.14 at 145.06 mph!

Mallicoat returned for his second attempt only minutes later but the black “Hellraiser” Camaro again headed for the retaining wall only three hundred feet off the starting line. The “Moose” again aborted the run and coasted to an eighteen-second ET, failing to qualify in the top four positions! Hal Marshall improved to a 10.23/131.42 in the last few minutes of qualifying and Gary Tripp’s 496-cubic inch Camaro left the line in a big wheelstand but coasted to a 9.93 at only 137 mph when the two-speed PowerGlide automatic refused to shift. However, the run was enough to qualify between Huber and the Marshall family for a spot in eliminations.

Bret Kepner

When the official qualifying period ended, it marked the first time in eighty-eight completed SCSS events that a machine powered by anything other than a V8 engine sat atop the field. Although he was poised to decimate both the Street Car Shootout and the Sport Tuner Showdown, (for which the 9.14 blast also qualified), Huber’s horrific Tuesday night luck struck again. Upon returning to the pits, Huber found almost no oil pressure in the four-cylinder. “We’re done”, he told the staging stewards when he failed to appear in front of the main grandstands. “We’re loading up. Put an alternate in the field”.

Amazingly, that proved a difficult task. As the temperature dropped after sunset, the strong winds made for an uncomfortable evening for many. Several alternates had already left the property and several others experienced breakage of their own. Both Mallicoat and Arthur declined to compete with their troubled machines and, for the first time ever, officials eventually had to go outside the top sixteen qualifiers to fill the four-car eliminations field! It was Richard Cochran’s black ‘81 Camaro Z28 which answered the call from the eighteenth position to line up with Tripp in the first match of the semi-finals!

Cochran’s small block improved from its 11.94/107.25 qualifier to an 11.92/114.37 but, even with more transmission problems, Tripp scored the first win with a 9.78/131.81. “I have no idea what’s going on”, said Tripp upon returning in front of the grandstands. “We planned to go to the Super Chevy Show at Memphis this weekend but I’m not even sure this thing will make a full run in the final round”. In the other half of the semi-finals, Brett and Hal Marshall were prepared to wage another round of their season-opening family grudge match but both agreed to allow their semi-final meeting to double as the Super Truck Showdown final round, as well. “We’re both qualified for both fields”, said Hal, “and there’s not much reason to run ’em twice. Besides, I can take the kid in this match, no problem”.

The “kid” had other plans. Although competing in only his second event, Brett Marshall managed to produce something never before achieved in SCSS competition. Although Hal was obviously pumped for the match by displaying an 0.035 Reaction Time against his son, Brett Marshall smacked his old man with the first perfect Reaction Time in series history. On top of that, a career-best 9.94/137.27 simply ran away from Hal’s 10.39/129.97!

Receiving assistance from good friends and SCSS regulars Ben and Jack Nungesser, Gary Tripp could only hope his transmission held together enough to get another mid-nine second run on Brett Marshall. In the final round, however, Tripp pre-staged and waited for a challenge which never came. As Marshall pulled to the starting line, the 406 small block in the pickup simply stopped running as a puddle of oil and water grew on the track underneath the oilpan. For his first SCSS event win since the September 19th, 2006, Tripp yanked the front wheels high and clocked a skating 9.54/143.19. Celebrating with his young daughter during the trophy presentation, Tripp heaved a sigh of relief. “At least now we have something to work on”, he chuckled. “It’s times like this when you appreciate your friends. Jim Evans and the guys at RCE have always stuck by me and I can’t forget my official sponsor, Nungesser Properties. Ben and Jack have always been there for me”.





NOTES FROM THE SCSS: Possibly the biggest story of the event doesn’t even show up on the qualifying list. Tony Huff the Collinsville, Illinois, veteran of five years of SCSS competition failed to earn a record fiftieth “Fastest Street Car” qualifier decal but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Since his victory at the April 1st season-opening event and last week’s rainout, Huff’s brother, Dale, sold the Silva Bullet team’s 8.4-second show-quality ‘67 Chevelle for a large cash offer. In just six days, Dale, Tony and crew chief Bill Silva built a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air which they pulled into the pits late; it was actually in the staging lanes when qualifying ended. The new 500-inch primered Chevy took its maiden voyage in late timed trials with an easy 1.38 sixty-feet ET and a 9.39/142.07...Anybody complaining about an inability to find traction needed to look no farther than Brad Kimbler’s amazing silver 2000 Camaro. Although it just missed qualifying for the field in the seventeenth spot, Kimbler’s homebuilt LT1 from Washington, Missouri, uses all stock parts and yanked the left front wheel on every pass en route to 1.69 sixty-feet ETs and a best of 11.90/114.90 without a hint of spin--on stock-dimension Riken Raptor tires!…Chris Lambert’s ‘03 Cobra hit a best-ever 10.83/131.36 to join both the SCSS Ten-Second and 130 MPH Clubs…Five more qualifiers, Steve Vanhook, Jacob Scroggins, Brad McCrary, Denny Christman and Aaron Reel all clocked career-best runs and increased the SCSS 120 MPH Club to 159 members…Isaac St. Clair’s ten-second ‘72 Chevelle was another machine which ran into nonstop problems and failed to qualify…Tyler Richardson’s show-quality ‘69 Malibu was another which could’ve easily made the field had it not suffered ignition problems while coasting to an 11.99 best at only 85 mph…Michael Pyatt ran the fastest speeds of any nonqualifier; his ‘94 LT1 Corvette clocked a 12.46 at 119.39 mph…Shannon Beimfohr, racing her ‘03 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup for Edwardsville (IL) High, won her first High School Eliminator title over reigning season champion Dan Harris’ DeSmet H.S. (MO) ‘97 Thunderbird. Beimfohr, a champion Junior Dragster pilot along with her two sisters, ran “dead-on with a zero” in the semi-finals and had an 0.015 RT in the final round…Along with the first-ever low qualifying position, Jon Huber also became the first pilot of anything other than a V8-powered car to set Low ET and Top Speed of the Meet at any SCSS event.




STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (as of APRIL 16th, 2008)

Pos Points Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine

1 (3) Tim Mallicoat Collinsville IL 68 Camaro 565 Chevy
2 (3) Brett Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 406 Chevy
3 (3) Hal Marshall Collinsville IL 86 S-10 383 Chevy
4 (2) Tony Huff Collinsville IL 66 Chevelle 510 Chevy
5 (2) Dan Schell High Ridge MO 85 Monte Carlo 438 Chevy
6 (2) Kevin Autenrieth Bethalto IL 91 S-10 434 Chevy
7 (2) Jon Huber St. Louis MO 79 Mustang 178 Ford
8 (2) Gary Tripp Imperial MO 69 Camaro 496 Chevy
9 (2) Asmir Catic St. Louis MO 03 Mustang 281 Ford
10 (2) Denny Christman Arnold MO 91 Talon 122 Eagle
11 (2) John Brawley Granite City IL 93 S-10 355 Chevy

NOTE: Points toward the 2007 Street Car Shootout Series Season Championship are awarded on the basis of one (1) point for qualifying in the Super Sixteen field with one (1) bonus point awarded for qualifying in the top four positions. Ties are broken by (1) the earliest date upon which the final point total is earned, (2) quickest elapsed time recorded during the current SCSS season and (3) fastest speed recorded during the current SCSS season.

Bret Kepner

APRIL 15th, 2008 STLSR.COM SPORT TUNER SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND

Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH

W Denny Christman, Arnold, MO 1991 122 Talon 0.888 11.836 113.44
RU Blaine Finnegan, Belleville, IL 2007 183 BMW 335i 0.434 14.623 108.13


Jon Huber’s turbocharged 178-cubic inch four-cylinder Mustang may have run 9.14 at 145.06 mph but, after a disturbing lack of oil pressure in qualifying, it didn’t win the St. Louis Street Racing.com Sport Tuner Showdown. However, after his opening-day performances, it was no surprise that Denny Christman earned his first STSS trophy.

A member of the HillCo Axles team with SCSS All-Wheel-Drive Record Holder Adnan “Otto” Omerovic, Christman’s turbocharged 4G63T-powered ’91 Talon was the only other Tuner to qualify in the Super Sixteen field. Although his best qualifying pass of 11.39 was only slightly slower than the 11.35 he clocked during the April 1st event, his 124.50 mph speed was a sizeable improvement. While Omerovic made a test pass during early timed trials on his fabled 140 mph record-holding Talon, the run was far from efficient. “It’s not even tuned yet”, said Omerovic, “and we’re just making sure everything works right”. Omerovic spent the event supporting Christman’s attempt at his first win and Huber’s retirement certainly helped that cause.

For the first time since a rules revision allowed them to compete in the Sport Tuner Showdown, the rear-wheel-drive six-cylinder machines were a force with which to reckon. While Christmas followed Huber in the final qualifying order, it was five-year SCSS veteran Bill Page whose turbocharged ‘87 Buick Regal Grand National which took third with a 12.74/105.19. Page was followed by Blaine Finnegan’s sleek black 2007 BMW 335i which stepped up almost a half-second from its 2007 pace to hit a best-ever 12.76/110.92. Jim Delaney’s well-known front-wheel-drive supercharged six-cylinder ’98 Regal GS was fifth with a 12.88/107.24, followed by career-bests from Brian Albers’ ’95 Talon, (13.02/108.61), Steve Russell’s ’91 Mitsubishi Galant, (13.20/104.50), and Ryan Sedej’s “Blue Beast” ’04 Neon SRT-4, (13.21/111.81).

When Page’s Regal failed to report for the final round in front of the main grandstands, Finnegan’s unique twin-turbocharged three-litre inline six was called as an alternate. Finnegan grabbed a substantial holeshot in the battle of two first-time finalists but his normally consistent BMW fell to tirespin for the first time during the event, slowing to a 14.62/108.13 against Christman’s 11.83/113.44. “It just didn’t want to pull on the top end in the final”, said Christman during winner’s circle ceremonies. “The 113 mph speed proves that. I’m actually running a pretty small turbo with only thirty pounds of boost but we think there’s more in it. I actually assemble rearend housings at HillCo; we do a lot of different stuff other than axles. There are several guys from HillCo here tonight so that made winning that much better”.






APRIL 15th, 2008 GATEWAYRACEWAY.COM SUPER TRUCK SHOWDOWN FINAL ROUND

Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH

W Brett Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 406 S-10 0.000 9.941 137.27
RU Hal Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 406 S-10 0.035 10.393 129.97


After qualifying in the top two spots only nine hundredths of second apart, a rematch of the championship match from the 2008 season opener was guaranteed in the GatewayRaceway.com Super Truck Showdown. When Hal Marshall debuted his new red ’86 S-10 pickup and put his 35-year old son, Brett, in the seat of the winningest machine in SCSS history, not many fans expected to see the younger of the Marshall clan score a win in his first event but he soundly thrashed his father for his first event title.

After a 10.12 at a booming 136.83 mph led the field, Brett watched as Hal slid to within a tenth of a second with his own 10.23/131.42. John Brawley, at the helm of Ray Arthur’s gorgeous new “S-10 Revenge” ’93 model, qualified third with an 11.76/117.30 while longtime STSS racer Don Hilderbrand put down a career-best 12.73/104.78 with his unusual 455 Oldsmobile-powered ’67 Fleetside. Mike Menne’s Hemi-powered ’07 Jeep Grand Cherokee rounded out the top five with a 13.39/102.29.

When Brett and Hal elected to run their Super Truck Showdown title in the midst of the Street Car Shootout semi-finals, everybody knew Hal would be hunting for revenge. The family’s cheering section, always the largest at SCSS event, knew the bout could be the closest of all the championship matches. The already-rowdy Marshall Family Reunion went berserk, however, when Brett posted the first perfect Reaction Time in SCSS history, (against Hal’s brutal 0.035 RT), and then reeled off a 9.94/137.27 against dad’s 10.39/129.97 for his second consecutive Truck Showdown title. “Just remember”, insisted Hal after the final round, “he’s ‘on the bottle’ and I’m not! He’s been treatin’ that truck too easy and he needed to lean on it a bit. I can promise you, though…This ain’t over“.






Photos of the April 15th Street Car Shootout Series event are now available for viewing at Bret Kepner Photos.com.






Gary Tripp, Imperial, MO 1969 496 Camaro



Brett Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 406 S-10



Denny Christman, Arnold, MO 1991 122 Talon GTi



Blaine Finnegan, Belleville. IL 2007 183 BMW 335i



Hal Marshall, Collinsville, IL 1986 406 S-10



Jon Huber, St. Louis, MO 1979 178 Mustang
New SCSS Four-Cylinder Elapsed Time Record of 9.14 seconds!