2007 Nitto Tire King of the Street - Battle For The Throne

Joe Ottinger

'06 Mustang GT
Panama City Beach, FL
Horsepower: 2
Ride and Drive: 9
Engineering: 8
Drag Race: 1
Fit and Finish: 8
Popular Vote: 5
Total Score: 44.25

Joe Ottinger's '06 Mustang GT almost became a Nitto Tire KOTS casualty even before the competition started. The Panama City Beach, Florida, resident had his car at Modular Powerhouse for a final stab at more power only to suffer a bent supercharger snout when nitrous was introduced as a second power adder. A replacement snout was lost in shipping and Modular Powerhouse's Tim Barth couldn't rob one from another car so he had to make do with what it had. Tim fixed the snout as best he could and headed to the competition. Joe and Tim were late, but under the circumstances we didn't hold it against them.

We're glad Tim was able to get the car to the competition because Joe's GT was the lone S197 in the KOTS, and he represented the era well. The factory black paint looked deeper than Donald Trump's pockets. We're a sucker for black Mustangs wearing chrome wheels, so right off the bat Joe's car struck a chord. At the same time, the lack of any graphics or stripes may have hurt the car's Fit and Finish score, but more on that later.

The Ride and Drive segment is where Joe's GT really shined. The car features a DVD head unit, which not only controls the audio system (including an iPod interface), but the screen also provides a place to see what's coming up from behind. Yep, that's right--Joe's GT boasted a rear camera, although we were of the opinion it was set up backward because the cars were on the wrong side. Perhaps if the camera was flipped it would've corrected that problem, but by then it was too late. Nonetheless, the camera added a distinctive touch unmatched by any of the other competitors cars.

Even with the SPEC Stage 3+ clutch, the car was easy to drive, and the interior featured Speed of Sound gauge pods with Auto Meter's finest within them. Joe's GT featured a rollcage with swing-out door bars, so entry and exit was a nonissue without sacrificing safety. The car featured the stock seatbelts and more serious race-fare harnesses. Since we were just going for a Sunday drive during the Ride and Drive portion, we used the stock belts, and we were happy they were still in the car. Joe's GT scored a 9 in the Ride and Drive.

However, because of the supercharger snout issue and the inability to use the car's Zex nitrous system, Joe's GT was only able to muster 585 hp on the mobile Dynojet. That scored him a 2 in the Horsepower segment. Tech Editor Jones awarded Joe's GT an 8 in Engineering, and thanks to the belt coming off again during the second dyno pass, Joe decided not to chance making a quarter-mile pass in the car so he scored a 1 in the Drag Race portion. Joe apparently had a few friends at Bowling Green, and as such he scored a 5 in the Popular Vote segment. Had Joe's GT been at full strength for the KOTS, we're quite sure his finishing order would've been a lot higher, but it is what it is.