Over at Atlanta Dragway in the ORSCA-sanctioned eighth-mile event, Darrin Hoyle qualified his nitrous-assisted ’69 Camaro on top of an 11-car Limited Street field with a 4.801-seconds pass at 156.72 mph, then advanced to beat Keith Szabo in the final round.
The 6.0 index final was an all-Chevy affair, with Tony Murphy and his ’64 Nova (near lane) going up against defending ORSCA class champ Michael Strickland and his ’95 Camaro. Murphy dedicated his effort to his son currently serving with the military in Iraq, but after a great race in which he posted a .001 reaction against Strickland’s .004, his 6.053/110.97 combination came up seven thousandths short after Strickland went 6.043/114.62 in the right lane.
Chassis builder Dave Sheppard placed his blown ’69 Nova second on the Outlaw 10.5 qualifying list with a great 4.475/170.71 pass, but it was a costly effort as the left, front bank of his engine pushed a head gasket out, burning both the block and cylinder head. Working late into the night on Saturday, his team held on to faint hope the damage was minimal, but their weekend was over.
Jack Barfield, the 2004 ORSCA Outlaw 10.5 champ, wowed the dragstrip crowd with this huge wheelie during qualifying in his 862 c.i. 2002 Camaro.
