Georgia NMRA '08 - Points South

The top six Hot Street racers were all in the 8.80s, which is what we've come to expect from the all-motor class. Mike Demayo stood at the top of the mountain after qualifying with an 8.80 at 150 mph. He utilizes a 360ci combination, the smallest in the class, but that obviously affords him a weight break over his larger-displacement running mates. Mike made a full pass on his first-round bye run to make sure everything was OK with the car since he was unable to make many passes otherwise during the weekend. He survived a squeaker against Charlie Booze in the semifinals, and then went uncontested in the final with Robbie Blankenship not making the call due to component failure.

Robbie Blankenship changed converters prior to arriving at Reynolds, but he changed it back to the previous converter when he discovered he wouldn't get any test passes. Robbie's Matuckas Motorsport Race Cars-built '04 Mustang still qualified with an 8.84, but everyone was in the thick of it in Hot Street. Luck went his way in the first couple of rounds, but he knew he needed to throw everything at it for the final against Mike Demayo. Robbie changed carburetors after the semifinals, switching to one that made more power on the dyno. However, that carburetor's throttle got stuck on the air pan in the burnout box, which kept Robbie from giving it a go. He is still getting acquainted with the new car. It kept getting quicker at Reynolds, so he believes it is on the right path.

Ryan Hecox not only busted a transmission during test and tune at Reynolds, but while being towed back to the pits, the transmission locked up, which took out the car's ring and pinion-giving credence to the phrase "when it rains, it pours." He was able to replace the transmission, but since he runs a 9-inch rear in his car, it proved more difficult to find a corresponding 4.88 gearset. Ryan did have an extra 4.88 at the hizzy, but Maryland is quite the jaunt from Reynolds, so Wheelchair Wayne went to the Hecox household to overnight the gears for Saturday delivery at Silver Dollar Raceway. Of course, Saturday was rained out, and the gears arrived at the track just before everyone went out for food. They were set up back at the hotel and installed Sunday morning. Ryan's car ran well during eliminations, but not well enough to beat Brandon Alsept to the line in the final.