2008 King of the Street Competition

Is yours the baddest street 'Stang in America? Does your Mustang put down in the neighborhood of 750hp to the wheels? Maybe your Mustang makes that number by 5,000 rpm, but does it possess grocery-getter drivability? Can it run 9s on Nitto NT555R Extreme Drag radials? Have you read previous KOTS articles and thought, "Those Mustangs are nothing compared to my 'Stang!" If you read these questions answering a resounding "yes" to every one, now's your chance to prove it.

For the 2007 King of the Street we had several cars making in the neighborhood of 700 horsepower at the wheels. However, the majority of those cars found themselves at the lower end of the finishing order because something was amiss elsewhere on the car. A 700hp Mustang that does everything else right-Now we're talking, but it better do everything right to even have a chance of scoring at or near the top of the King of the Street mountain.

Speaking of the KOTS mountain, Jeff Mingledorf and his Modular Powerhouse-built '03 Cobra convertible ascended to the top for the 2007 competition. Jeff's Cobra made 932hp, and idled in traffic for over 30 minutes. We know of few cars capable of duplicating that feat. But Jeff's Cobra also did everything else well. The only shortcoming Jeff's car had was on the drag strip, but that portion of the competition didn't cost him the win. Jeff won it by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin, but as they say, "A win is a win." The Dynospeed Racing guys were right on Jeff's heels, and the finishing order could've been different, but to use one of our favorite lines, "It is what it is."

King of the Street is a spirited, yet fun competition to pick the most powerful Mustang, and to see which Mustang can put down the most power to the chassis dyno rollers and still maintain streetable civility. That means you get positive grades for an instant cold start, a stable idle, working A/C, and a booming stereo, while we deduct grades for manual steering, a non-overdrive tranny, a spool, and other race hardware. We are looking for the most streetable, most powerful Mustang in the country.

How do you get in on the action? The first step is putting together an application package. We'd like to see a few photos of the car, including the engine, as well as a list of the car's modifications and accomplishments (dyno sheets, timeslips, etc.). From those stacks of cars, we'll narrow it down to 12 or so lucky contestants to square off on the same day on the same chassis dyno. We'll have our crack staff members critique your Mustang to see how well it measures up to KOTS standards. Then we'll see if Associate Editor Mike "The Splitter" Johnson can miss a gear or two behind the wheel of your Mustang, and hope he doesn't run over anything in the process.

Still not scared? Well, get those packages or emails together in a hurry. We need your application by September 1st, so we can give you sufficient notice to make your travel plans. Plus, that date is to give KOTS sponsor Nitto Tire time to send you a pair of its NT555R Extreme Drag radials in the size of your choice. We're planning to have KOTS '08 Thursday October 2nd and Friday October 3rd, during the NMRA World Finals in Bowling Green, Kentucky (for more info, check out www.nmraracing.com).

We have a few new things in store for this year's event, including a new associate sponsor in Winningauto.com, a Dynojet capable of measuring at least 1,250 horsepower, among a couple other new wrinkles to make for the most exciting KOTS yet. So, even if you aren't invited to participate, you can watch the event unfold at Beech Bend Raceway Park. Send your apps to: KOTS 7, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, FL 33619 or 5.0mailbag@sourceinterlink.com.