Drag-and-Drive Participants Make Appearances at World Cup Finals Import Vs. Domestic Event at Maryland Int’l Dragway
With just two drag-and-drive events left to run in the 2023 season, some enthusiasts are looking to not only Southeast Street-N-Yeet next week, King Of The Open Road the next weekend, but other big events, to get in their last licks of the year.
One of the events that constantly produces awesome racing and record times is the World Cup Finals Import vs. Domestic event at Maryland International Raceway.
Maryland in November means cooler temperatures, and combined with Jason Miller’s track prep, normally results in personal bests and racing that leads to packed grandstands.
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One round of qualifying was completed on Thursday, and Friday marks the second of three days of qualifying. Some notable performances have already been witnessed.
Leading the way is Cleetus McFarland in the El Camino known as ‘Mullet.’ Last year’s winner in Warriors versus Tres Quarto (3/4 chassis) class, McFarland ran his best pass in the final round, a 6.47 at 222 mph.
With some changes to rules for 2023, the El Camino will be competing this year in the Renegade versus Modified class, a much quicker group. Mullet rolled to the starting line in lightweight trim, sporting a carbon fiber front end and doors with Lexan windows, plus a smaller radiator, to maximize performance.
His first run would be a solid one, as the scoreboards showed a 6.35 at 233.96 mph for Mullet, with the scales tipping at 3400 pounds after the run was complete.
Another ride out of the McFarland camp at World Cup Finals would be the ‘McFlurry’ Fox Mustang, looking to do work in the Street Fighter class. Recently making the switch from the Godzilla powerplant to a TKM coyote engine, the Mustang spun the tires on its first qualifying run Thursday.
Another 6-second capable ride on the grounds is Brett LaSala, with the ‘Snot Rocket’ Mustang. Coming off his recent win at FL2K, the Mustang rolled to an easy 7-second pass during testing, and will be mixing it up in the Warriors versus Tres Quarto class.
Glenn Hunter, a multi-time winner in drag-and-drive competition, returns to the place he first broke into the 6-second range with his clean ’56 Chevrolet.
Competing in the Warriors versus Tres Quarto class, Hunter logged a 7.41 at 184 mph on the first qualifier, earning him the ninth spot on the qualifying sheet. “Still need a bunch of adjustments and tuning clean up, but still qualified number nine,” said Hunter.
JoAnna Iacobelli, who ran her first drag-and-drive at this year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, made the trip from SEMA in Las Vegas back east in time to get her supercharged Mustang to World Cup Finals.
Still sporting the 10R80 overdrive transmission and weighting in just over two tons, the Mustang hasn’t made a clean hit in Maryland yet, spinning on her first run, and then flooding the spark plugs before qualifier number two. Iacobelli is competing in the Mean Street category.
Ned Dunphy, who debuted his SMX-powered Dodge Viper on the recent Hot Rod Drag Week, is in Maryland to do battle in the Outlaw versus Extreme class, where mid 5-second times are almost a must to be competitive. On his first qualifying run Thursday, Dunphy ran an early-shut-off 6.44 at 204 mph pass.
Jeremy Howell is in Maryland competing with his ‘FlatFox’ Mustang, still sporting the flat-plane crank 5.2-liter single turbo powerplant with a stick shift transmission in the tunnel.
The winner of the Stick Shift class at Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes, Howell pulled a big wheelstand on his first pass, coasting the rest of the way down the track.
You can watch all the action from World Cup Finals Import vs. Domestic event over the next 2-1/2 days on FloRacing.com.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks, Cleetus McFarland and Jeremy Howell.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com