Brett LaSala, Eric LaFerriere and Billy Sitaras Among Top Qualifiers After Three Days of Action at the 25th Annual TX2K at Texas Motorplex
A sold-out show of over 400 cars and trucks, dozens of states represented, and truly incredible performances marked qualifying over the first three days at the TX2K event at its new home, Texas Motorplex in the city of Ennis, Texas.
Aaron Miller is wheeling his 2016 Viper in BOTH the drag racing and roll racing action, clocking a 6.77 at 213 mph on the drag race side, and a 220 mph blast in roll racing qualifying!
Making a move from the now defunct Houston Raceway Park, Texas Motorplex would welcome thousands through their gates to witness some quick times and fast speeds in the drag racing and roll racing segments.
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Drag Racing
The Street Car class is broken up into multiple sections based on performance, and the quickest class had a couple 6-second cars battling for the top spot. It was held from the very first session by Sick Week Modified class champ Brett LaSala, as the ‘Snot Rocket 2.0’ produced a 6.46 at 226 mph for the number one qualifying position.
Brett lead a pack of four rides in the 6-second zone in the Street Car class courtesy of a 6.46 at 226 mph from his Sick Week-winning ‘Snot Rocket 2.0’ Mustang.
The Street Car class also three more fields of sixteen cars, and those are currently led by Jarod Holt with his ’97 Supra at 7.75 for the second group, the third one finds Joseph Cordes and his 2003 Corvette on top thanks to a 7.908 at 191 mph blast, and the final class has Jhalil Johnson in the top spot with an 8.48 at only 130 mph.
Chad Gower heads for the sky in his Heavyweight ‘85 Chevy pick-up. The supercharged truck is qualified with an 8.31 at 160 mph blast.
For cars and trucks at a minimum of 4,000 pounds, the Heavyweight class is the battleground of choice. In addition to that 4,000-pound minimum weight, a maximum 200 pounds of ballast is ruled upon, and the class is almost exclusively filled with late model muscle cars, with a couple trucks as well.
Zdung Ho has his 2016 Charger atop the Heavyweight class with a 7.56 time slip.
Zdung Ho put his 2016 Charger at the top of the qualifying sheet with a 7.56 at 181.82 mph pass, and the field is current anchored with a 9.31 from Daniel Van Voris’ Ford F-150 pick-up truck.
A90 is a class built around the Mark five Supra, and before this event, there hadn’t been any A90 Supra models that had clocked a 7-second pass at either TX2K or FL2X.
Mikey Botti, who was in the 8.2-second range at last year’s FL2K event, has invaded the sevens in Texas, and leads the A90 class with a 7.82 at 180 mph pass.
By the end of qualifying on Thursday afternoon, four cars had clocked a 7-second pass, with Mikey Botti’s Massachusetts-based 2020 Toyota Supra the best of the bunch with a 7.82 at 180 mph run for the top spot. The 16-car field would require an 8.933 to get in, and that time slip belonged to John Visconti.
The class that started TX2K, the 2JZ class, finds rules based around the engine, and a 2900-pound minimum weight with the driver onboard.
The quickest and fastest pass at TX2K belongs to Eric LaFerriere, who is leading the 2JZ class with an insane 6.40 at 229 mph blast!!
Three cars invaded the 6-second range, but Eric Laferriere would be the best of the bunch, dropping a 6.40 at 229 mph for low et and top speed of the meet in the drag racing classes with his ’97 Nissan 240.
GT-R Unlimited is a class with the simple rule of using a GT-R platform. Beyond that, there are no rules for weights, engines, turbo size, etc. It’s a “run what you brung, and hope you brought enough” class, and in a unique situation, George Dodworth is qualified in the top two spots with two different GT-R models. The quicker and faster of the two rides is a 2009 GT-R, clocking a 6.74 at 223 mph.
David Rohrschneider stands atop the GTR 68 class, thanks to a 6.89 at 212 mph clocking.
The second GT-R based class, the GT-R 68, requires a 3550-pound minimum weight, and no larger than a 68-millimeter turbocharger.
Despite those restrictions, one driver shined a little brighter than the 17 others, as David Rohrschneider produced the lone 6-second pass in qualifying, a 6.89 at 212 mph, to lead the field, while an 8.35 at 177 mph is the bump spot for Samuel DeVries.
Ryan Pederson (left) and Nick Cole-Mann wait their turn at the track. Both rides have clocked a 6-second pass in qualifying, with Cole-Mann’s 6.82 leading the field.
Three cars invaded the 6-second range in the highly competitive Stick Shift class. Requiring that all entries to use a H-pattern-style gearbox, Nick Cole-Mann, Jonathan Atkins and Ryan Pederson would row the gears through the quester mile is less than seven seconds, with Cole-Mann’s ’91 S-10 pick-up the best at 6.82 seconds and a 212 mph speed.
The largest of the drag racing classes is DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission), and with three fields of sixteen cars that would survive to play in eliminations, some seriously quick times were recorded.
The level of track prep at Texas Motorplex is resulting in a bunch of personal best runs, including Brooke Berini’s 2009 GT-R that invaded the 7-second field for the first time with a 7.91 at 181 mph.
For the first time in event history, the top field would be an all seven second affair, with Ricky Crossley’s 2020 Audi R8 leading the way thanks to a 7.54 at 197 mph blast. The second field found fellow Audi R8 owner Joe Ahumada at the top of the pack with a 7.97 at 189 mph pass, and the third field would complete the Audi sweep, with Becca Marso’s 2018 Audi TTRS model clocking an 8.77 at 154 mph lap.
Roll Racing
For those that prefer the rolling start, TX2K gets a healthy contingent of Roll Racing class participants. Normally seeing several cars clocking a 200 mph blast isn’t uncommon, but before this year, the most at any TX2K event was seven.
Joe Ahumada and his 2018 Audi R8 earned a spot in the Sport class eliminations field thanks to a 194.98 mph blast in qualifying.
This year’s TX2K nearly quadrupled that mark, as 27 cars made a legal lap above 200 mph. The field is broken into four classes, and the 56-car bump spot is held by Robert Werner’s GT-R with a 188.08 mph blast.
The best speeds go into the Elite 8 class, with the top spot held by previous winner Billy Sitaras, who laid down a 225.95 mph lap with his 2012 Nissan GT-R. The 216-car Unlimited class was also full of 200 mph cars, a new record, and Tyler Mixon’s 2022 Lamborghini was the best of the bunch at 208.86 mph.
The 2020 Lamborghini of Manny Costales leads the Sport field with a 195.75 mph speed.
Chris Bixler would lead the Super Sport field with a 200.37 mph result from his 2017 Audi R8, and the final field has Manny Costales at the helm of the Sport class thanks to a 195.76 mph result.
TX2K will continue racing today through Sunday, with Roll Racing final eliminations scheduled for Friday, and final qualifying for Drag Racing class today and Saturday, with final eliminations Sunday.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com