Breaking Doorslammer ET Record Not Good Enough for El General So He Does it Twice

Topics:  Street Car Super Nationals, Jose Gonzalez

Brandon W. Mudd
High Side Media
Pacific Street Car Association
November 17, 2012

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Brandon W. Mudd
PR@HighSideMedia.com
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LAS VEGAS -- All the talk Friday at the Pacific Street Car Association’s Street Car Super Nationals VIII at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was about Hughes Performance Pro Street racer Don Walsh Jr., and his chances of becoming the quickest doorslammer in drag racing history. The Detroit native definitely had a shot, with runs of 5.748 and 5.745 seconds, respectively. On Saturday, Jose Gonzalez said he would see Walsh’s 5.745 and raise him a 5.732 in the day’s first round of qualifying, topping the old record set by Scotty Cannon in 2008.

In the final round of qualifying, the Dominican Republic native known as El General went all in by dropping another record-setting ET, running a 5.730-second lap. Walsh didn’t go away quietly, though. Despite running a 6.06 in the first round of the day, he kicked out the jams in the final qualifying round, running a 5.736 second ET. It wasn’t enough to topple Gonzalez from the top spot, but it was still three mph faster than the Dominican.

So on Sunday, who wins? Faster or quicker?

Both were modest, but at the same time, acknowledged they both were expecting a lot from their cars. But world record ETs?

“Honestly, we never expected it; it came out of the blue,” Gonzalez said at his pit after qualifying. “I mean, I gotta give thanks to my guys. My job was basically pretty easy. Pro Line has that car running like a bracket car.”

The funny thing about his landmark lap? Gonzalez said he suffered tire shake almost immediately after his launch. “We had some bad tire shake at 50 to 80 feet, so it slowed it down a little bit at the 60,” he said. “We were able to pick it up a little bit in the mile per hour down low to the eighth mile. But we were a little loose so we couldn’t make that run like we wanted to.”

Walsh took a second from working on his Ford Mustang to talk about his runs this weekend. He may have been surprised at the final time, but he wasn’t surprised he was quick.

“We’ve been working towards this all year. This has different turbos on it than we run in NHRA, so we knew it would make some more steam. I didn’t know it would go this fast, but we’ve been working towards it for awhile. I’m really pleased with how it’s working out.”

Both were quick to acknowledge the other as great competitors and a threat for the win on Sunday, but both also said there more than just two stout cars in the field, the names of Troy Coughlin, Mike Maggio, and Mike Bowman among the drivers named.

“We have very tough competitors here and really great racers, so I think it’s something we have to take round by round and step it up when we need to step it up and run it a little bit conservative when we need to,” Gonzalez said. “It’s just taking it round by round.”

“We’re real happy with how we did with three qualifying runs under 5.75,” Walsh said. “We’re ecstatic with that. I feel like we’re going into tomorrow with a good car. Honestly, we just worry about our lane, it’s all we can control.

“There are a lot of good cars here, it’s not just three or four good cars. There are a lot of cars that can win it tomorrow. A car that runs consistent will win the race; that’s typically how it works out. We just want to bring a good racecar consistently to the line tomorrow and see what we can do.”

In Outlaw 10.5, the top three stayed the same with Doug Sikora keeping his 2000 Ford Mustang at the top spot with his ET of 6.350 seconds, followed by Mike Murillo and Billy Glidden.

Other Street Car Super Nationals top qualifiers were Kelly Davis (.002 Index, Mustang Maddness); George Rayguza (5.132 ET, 142.07 mph, Outlaw 8.5); Tony Aneian (8.140 ET, 165.29 mph, Hot Street); Jeff Young (7.463 ET, 189.07 mph, Wild Street); Willard Kinzer (6.733 ET, 230.92 mph, Extreme Drag Radial); Dan Fischer (10.601 ET, 10.60 Index, Triple Index); and Ken “Dak” Spears (9.601 ET, 9.60 Index, Super Index).

Gates open at 7 a.m. local time with racing kicking off at 8. Once again, BangShift.com and CompetitionPlus.com are providing free online streaming of the event for those unable to attend in person.

For all the run sheets from the event, click HERE.

The Street Car Super Nationals is a one-of-a-kind event bringing racers from all across the US and Canada to race for some of the largest cash purses in the sport. Add in another $250,000 in posted contingency and bonus awards and it's a who's who in the staging lanes. Past and current champions from the ADRL, IHRA, NSCA, NHRA Pro Mod, PSCA, Orlando, Shakedown at E-town and many others will be in attendance for this can’t-miss event.

Purses include $20,000 to the winner in Pro Street, $10,000 to the winner in Outlaw 10.5, and $5,000.00 to the winner in XDR/TT-5. All told, the event will see more than 40 Pro Street/Pro Mods, 32 Outlaw 10.5's, and another 250+ of the baddest hot rods on the planet in addition to the Lucas Oil Car Show Series.

For more information on the eighth annual Street Car Super Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, go to StreetCarSuperNationals.com or visit the official page on Facebook at Facebook.com/StreetCarSuperNationals. Fans can also visit LVMS.com or go to their official page on Facebook at Facebook.com/TheStripAtLVMS.

Fans of the Pacific Street Car Association can find updates and photos of PSCA racers and events by checking out PSCARacing.com, Twitter.com/PSCARacing, and Facebook.com/PSCARacing. Videos of PSCA drag racing action can be found at YouTube.com/PSCARacing.

Racers and fans can also visit the PSCA’s official page on Facebook to find photos, stories, and videos of the best drag racing in the country!

Get PSCA Stuff: Represent the Pacific Street Car Association and West Coast drag racing by visiting our online store! The official PSCA store has everything for fans and racers of all ages, including hats, shirts, DVDs, and more at huge discounts. Click HERE to start shopping!

-PSCA-

About the Pacific Street Car Association:
Entering into its 13th season, the Pacific Street Car Association, based in Las Vegas, has been a staple of West Coast drag racing since its inception. With seven heads-up classes, four bracket classes, and three index classes, the PSCA provides some of the best racing in the country for both fans and racers. The PSCA season is capped off by its Street Car Super Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, now in its eighth year.

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