Goldstone, Taylor Quickest at Cordova as Whitaker Runs First Six
Bryant Goldstone retained his lead after a long day at Cordova Dragway, making four passes during the second stop of Motion Raceworks Sick Summer.
A 6.607 (6.506 average) was reward for Goldstone’s efforts as he fought through each challenge. A boost line issue took away his chances on his first pass, while a wild second pass saw the twin-turbo Javelin get loose through the top end. The fourth pass proved the ticket, coming shortly before the lanes closed.
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Alex Taylor moved into second overall with her first six of the week, a 6.803 to bring her average to a 7.017. While Taylor doesn’t have the horsepower to quite match Goldstone’s times, she will be waiting for the drag-and-drive veteran to stumble.
Taylor’s move up came at the expense of Garrett Mitchell, whose ‘Mullet’ El Camino encountered a lifter problem overnight. After making a 7.61 pass on seven cylinders, Mitchell planned to make repairs at Motion Raceworks, but a later teardown revealed a broken main cap, forcing his withdrawal.
Alan Whitaker delivered the run of the day with a stunning 6.980/205mph blast from his SMX-powered Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Heavy Metal class. The Monte is a true work of art and is about as much of a street car as anyone could possibly want.
Speaking of sixes, Michael Manuel’s under-the-radar Camaro stepped up with a personal best 6.990 (7.047A), earning him the lead in Modified!
Tom McGilton stayed atop Pro Street with a 7.590/193mph (7.491A), as did Doug Cook (above) in Super Street with a 7.073/207mph (7.057A).
Dan Hardt took over the lead of Stick Shift, as the Mustang bounced to an 8.739 (8.679A). Bryan Crane dropped to second, with an 8.835 (8.727) the best he could muster on day two. Robert Gruber made the quickest pass of the day in the class on an 8.684 but had to pull apart his motor during the drive to repair a camshaft and some valve train damage.
Ken Cuttle Jr remains your Naturally Aspirated number one with a 9.527 (9.491A), with Trevor Branden also staying numero uno in Sick Week Freaks thanks to a very quick 8.040 pass (8.245A), which we believe is the quickest in class history.
Rowdy Radial looks to have a war brewing with Nathan McMaster (5.201A), Matt Arwood (5.259A) and Blayne Stark (5.280A) all trading blows during day two.
Also looking close is Gassers vs Hot Rods vs Beetles, where Wayne Baker’s ’63 Nova gasser (9.113A) barely leads Mark Fisher’s ’32 Ford hot rod (9.127A).
Matthew Frederick has had a great week so far in his ’73 Camaro, leading Street Race 275 with an 8.503 average, while Sick Street Race currently belongs to Cameron Alley with an 8.514 average — though TJ Linebaugh (8.518A) is right on his tail.
Rajveer Ahuja has the tightest spread in Pro DYO at 0.001, while Greg Jones is sitting atop DYO with a 0.002 spread. Brian Rawlinson won the Bullseye award with a near-perfect 14.415 while chasing the day’s number of 41.
The day’s drive saw teams head north to the small town of Fulton, where the local police and fire departments set up a burnout pad under a giant American flag. After checking their traction, Sick Summer’s machines carried on to the De Immigrant Windmill for a photo.
Next up came Motion Raceworks, who offered tours and handed out shirts for racers. More than a few teams took advantage of the facilities to carry out repairs, not the least of which was Bob Gruber, who we mentioned previously. Despite the motor being torn apart, the team were jamming out and enjoying a few beverages as they dived into the carnage.
The final stop for day two was at Hot Rods by Havlik. These guys are drag-and-drive OGs and their workshop is fast becoming a mainstay of Sick Summer.
And with that, day two was done! More pictures below, and you can check out full results here. Day three will take place at Tri-State Raceway near Earlville, Iowa. See you there!
