NMRAPaul
02-23-2007, 06:49 PM
Vortech brings the green - $20,000 at stake
The season-opening race is always an exciting event, but the kickoff for 2007 in Bradenton, Florida will also mark the beginning of what promises to be one of the most action-packed (and potentially lucrative for the racers involved) special events the NMRA has ever seen – the Shootout Series. During Saturday’s qualifying rounds, the top racers in DiabloSport Pro 5.0 will face off to grab their share of ten grand in the inaugural event of the series, the Vortech Pro 5.0 Shootout. “The NMRA has never seen anything like this,” says Vortech Engineering’s Ricky Best. “We’ve been looking for a way to increase Vortech’s participation in the NMRA, and we couldn’t ask for a better way to do that than by sponsoring the first Shootout in the NMRA’s top class.” As if the $5,000 bonus shootout winner’s purse wasn’t incentive enough, Vortech has gone the extra mile and offered an astonishing additional $10,000 to the Pro 5.0 racer who can win both the shootout on Saturday and the regular eliminations on Sunday. “Between the shootout, Sunday’s event winner prize money, and our ‘double-up’ bonus, there’s a twenty grand payday waiting for the driver who can run the table in Bradenton,” Best explains.
The Vortech Shootout, featuring DiabloSport Pro 5.0, will take the top eight drivers from the 2006 points championship and pit them against one another during the regular Saturday qualifying rounds, paired using a Pro-style ladder. Here’s how the opening matchups look:
Driver: Mike Hauf
2006 Rank: Champion
Vs.
Driver: David Schorr
2006 Rank: 8th Overall
The inside line:
Mike Hauf earned his 2006 championship every step of the way, locked in a tight points battle all year with perennial Pro 5.0 favorite and 2-time champ Don Walsh, Jr. With three top qualifiers in ‘06 and the momentum of a winning season behind him, he’ll be hard to stop. His potential first-round opponent, David Schorr, is a question mark – Last year in Bradenton, he fell to Hauf in the semi-finals, and went on to make just two more races before taking the rest of the season off. If he’s back with another big-block monster, it could make for an interesting race.
Driver: Don Walsh, Jr.
2006 Rank: Runner-Up
Vs.
Driver: Dave Hance
2006 Rank: 7th Overall
The inside line:
Our second shootout pairing might be the dark-horse match of the day. A crash at the end of the 2006 season put defending champ Walsh out of contention, and after planning to take 2007 off to regroup, we’re told that the car won’t be in any shape to take the beams in Bradenton. Of course, $20k is one heck of an incentive to beg, borrow, or steal a car, so don’t count Walsh out just yet. Standing to benefit from a Walsh no-show is 2006 Vortech Outlaw 10.5 champ Dave Hance, who pulled double duty by running Pro 5.0 last year as well and finishing seventh. Should Walsh bow out, Hance would face the first alternate, potentially squaring off against class vet Tom Jacobs. Whether it’s Hance vs. Walsh behind the wheel of an unfamiliar car, or Hance against Jacobs’ newly-retooled effort, this could be the race to watch.
Driver: Tony Bischoff
2006 Rank: 3rd Overall
Vs.
Driver: Joe Morgan
2006 Rank: 6th Overall
The inside line:
Tony Bischoff keeps saying that he wants to get out from behind the steering wheel and back to building motors full-time, but we’re not going too far out on a limb when we say that the only man who’s never, ever lost a Pro 5.0 race won’t be able to resist the chance to pick up $20k in a single weekend. Bischoff wasn’t the King of Qualifying in ’06, but it will be interesting to see whether he can turn it up on Saturday for the shootout. The icing on the cake will be the man he faces first – fellow nitrous racer Joe Morgan. Sixth in ’06 despite switching to a new chassis and chasing down gremlins at every turn, Morgan got his mojo working by the end of the year and may just be the guy to end Bischoff’s unprecedented streak, in a straight-up bottle-to-bottle fight.
Driver: Burt Kelkboom
2006 Rank: 4th Overall
Vs.
Driver: Chuck DeMory
2006 Rank: 5th Overall
The inside line:
Our final opening shootout pair brings together another two evenly-matched combinations – this time, Burt Kelkboom and Chuck DeMory will be doing it naturally-aspirated IHRA Pro Stock style. Kelkboom smelled blood in the water in Atco last year, but a bad starter meant a lost shot at an appearance in the winner’s circle. DeMory notched the Maple Grove win, but dropped off the radar at the end of the year. If DeMory’s back in Bradenton, this one will be too close to call – both drivers have consistently been held back by bad breaks, and it may come down to who’s luck is running cold when they meet in the shootout.
That’s our take on the Vortech Shootout featuring DiabloSport Pro 5.0 – Don’t miss the July issue of Race Pages, where we’ll bring you the full story from the Bradenton NMRA season-opener, and take a look at how our predictions panned out.
The season-opening race is always an exciting event, but the kickoff for 2007 in Bradenton, Florida will also mark the beginning of what promises to be one of the most action-packed (and potentially lucrative for the racers involved) special events the NMRA has ever seen – the Shootout Series. During Saturday’s qualifying rounds, the top racers in DiabloSport Pro 5.0 will face off to grab their share of ten grand in the inaugural event of the series, the Vortech Pro 5.0 Shootout. “The NMRA has never seen anything like this,” says Vortech Engineering’s Ricky Best. “We’ve been looking for a way to increase Vortech’s participation in the NMRA, and we couldn’t ask for a better way to do that than by sponsoring the first Shootout in the NMRA’s top class.” As if the $5,000 bonus shootout winner’s purse wasn’t incentive enough, Vortech has gone the extra mile and offered an astonishing additional $10,000 to the Pro 5.0 racer who can win both the shootout on Saturday and the regular eliminations on Sunday. “Between the shootout, Sunday’s event winner prize money, and our ‘double-up’ bonus, there’s a twenty grand payday waiting for the driver who can run the table in Bradenton,” Best explains.
The Vortech Shootout, featuring DiabloSport Pro 5.0, will take the top eight drivers from the 2006 points championship and pit them against one another during the regular Saturday qualifying rounds, paired using a Pro-style ladder. Here’s how the opening matchups look:
Driver: Mike Hauf
2006 Rank: Champion
Vs.
Driver: David Schorr
2006 Rank: 8th Overall
The inside line:
Mike Hauf earned his 2006 championship every step of the way, locked in a tight points battle all year with perennial Pro 5.0 favorite and 2-time champ Don Walsh, Jr. With three top qualifiers in ‘06 and the momentum of a winning season behind him, he’ll be hard to stop. His potential first-round opponent, David Schorr, is a question mark – Last year in Bradenton, he fell to Hauf in the semi-finals, and went on to make just two more races before taking the rest of the season off. If he’s back with another big-block monster, it could make for an interesting race.
Driver: Don Walsh, Jr.
2006 Rank: Runner-Up
Vs.
Driver: Dave Hance
2006 Rank: 7th Overall
The inside line:
Our second shootout pairing might be the dark-horse match of the day. A crash at the end of the 2006 season put defending champ Walsh out of contention, and after planning to take 2007 off to regroup, we’re told that the car won’t be in any shape to take the beams in Bradenton. Of course, $20k is one heck of an incentive to beg, borrow, or steal a car, so don’t count Walsh out just yet. Standing to benefit from a Walsh no-show is 2006 Vortech Outlaw 10.5 champ Dave Hance, who pulled double duty by running Pro 5.0 last year as well and finishing seventh. Should Walsh bow out, Hance would face the first alternate, potentially squaring off against class vet Tom Jacobs. Whether it’s Hance vs. Walsh behind the wheel of an unfamiliar car, or Hance against Jacobs’ newly-retooled effort, this could be the race to watch.
Driver: Tony Bischoff
2006 Rank: 3rd Overall
Vs.
Driver: Joe Morgan
2006 Rank: 6th Overall
The inside line:
Tony Bischoff keeps saying that he wants to get out from behind the steering wheel and back to building motors full-time, but we’re not going too far out on a limb when we say that the only man who’s never, ever lost a Pro 5.0 race won’t be able to resist the chance to pick up $20k in a single weekend. Bischoff wasn’t the King of Qualifying in ’06, but it will be interesting to see whether he can turn it up on Saturday for the shootout. The icing on the cake will be the man he faces first – fellow nitrous racer Joe Morgan. Sixth in ’06 despite switching to a new chassis and chasing down gremlins at every turn, Morgan got his mojo working by the end of the year and may just be the guy to end Bischoff’s unprecedented streak, in a straight-up bottle-to-bottle fight.
Driver: Burt Kelkboom
2006 Rank: 4th Overall
Vs.
Driver: Chuck DeMory
2006 Rank: 5th Overall
The inside line:
Our final opening shootout pair brings together another two evenly-matched combinations – this time, Burt Kelkboom and Chuck DeMory will be doing it naturally-aspirated IHRA Pro Stock style. Kelkboom smelled blood in the water in Atco last year, but a bad starter meant a lost shot at an appearance in the winner’s circle. DeMory notched the Maple Grove win, but dropped off the radar at the end of the year. If DeMory’s back in Bradenton, this one will be too close to call – both drivers have consistently been held back by bad breaks, and it may come down to who’s luck is running cold when they meet in the shootout.
That’s our take on the Vortech Shootout featuring DiabloSport Pro 5.0 – Don’t miss the July issue of Race Pages, where we’ll bring you the full story from the Bradenton NMRA season-opener, and take a look at how our predictions panned out.