Power Couples – It’s a 6-Second 200 MPH day for Nick and Alex Taylor, Along with Steve and Val Morris, to Lead the Day One Results of the Mickey Thompson Turn & Burn!!
After a couple days of testing at the Mickey Thompson Turn & Burn at Summit Motorsports Park, the drag and drive portion of the event got underway on Thursday.
By the end of the day’s racing action, five cars would collect 6-second time slips, before heading out for the street portion of the day’s activities, as well as a pair of checkpoints. And for the racers that got them, they got to share them with family members on site.
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The 6-second passes started with Alex Taylor, who wheeled her 1955 Chevrolet to low elapsed time of the day with a 6.636 at a 220.87 mph speed, the top speed of the meet. That would give her the lead on the Unlimited Iron class, and the Taylors got the ’55 Chevy ready for street miles.
Just over ten minutes later, Alex’s husband Nick came to the starting line in his ’91 Camaro. After just two runs on his new big block combination in testing on Wednesday, Uncle Sam clicked off a PB 6.789 at 208.46 mph run, his first 200 mph run, and putting Nick at the helm of the Unlimited class.
But the run didn’t come without problems, as the Camaro was deprived of the driver side window, as well as the rear window, before the finish line. And, to it off, the driveshaft was twisted. The Taylors thrashed to find solutions to fix up ‘Uncle Sam’ and be back for Day Two, and managed to get to the second checkpoint before dark.
A little over an hour later, a trio of drag radial-equipped cars hit the track. Leading the line-up would be David Diehl, who wheeled the LS-swapped Mustang to a 6.878 at an early chute-deploying 200.20 mph, sending brother Nick Diehl into a high-fiving frenzy!
The next car behind David would be Val Morris, and the Sick Week winning Camaro produced a 6.954 at 206.35 mph, giving her the second spot in the Pro Modified Radial class, and her first 6-second pass.
The third ride would be Val’s husband Steve Morris, who had recently swapped the ‘Boostmaster’ station wagon to drag radials, and clocked a 6.952 at 207.34 mph. That gave all three SME-engined rides a 6-second ticket.
The Diehl’s excitement of a new PB and leading the class would be short lived, as they discovered a faulty injector that cost them a cylinder, forcing an early withdrawal. That moved Val into the top spot in Pro Modified Radial class, with Tom Bailey in the second spot with his Hellcat-powered 1976 Dart thanks to a 9.16 at 147 mph run.
A pair of Gasser classes were on the docket for Turn & Burn, with a familiar name at the top of the list. Jeremy Bonnett, a former Sick Week winner, put his ’33 Willys named ‘Last Penny’ down the track to an 8.806 at 151.83 mph pass, giving him command of the A/Gas class.
The B/Gas class would see a Willys at the top as well, but this one would be a 1941 model belonging to Sam Borresford, and a 10.933 at 122.77 mph pass.
The 8.50-second limited classes can be the most competitive in drag and drive events, and the Turn & Burn event’s 275 Radial class would start off the same way. The leader from Day One would be Rick Russell and his 1979 Dodge Lil Red Express pick-up, with a personal best 8.609 at 153.98 mph.
Rick’s lead would only be a narrow one-thousandth of-a-second margin over Eric Foght in second, as his ‘83 Oldsmobile Cutlass delivered an 8.610 at 164.43 mph run.
Former Sick Week winner Bill Spangler made good use of his Ford Fairmont’s new twin turbo Godzilla power, collecting an 8.658 at 159.78 mph run to put him third in class.
The Pro DYO (Dial Your Own) and DYO categories will have to wait for day two to figure out who has the most consistent car in each. But some familiar names in the mix between the two classes, including Morgan Evans and her unique Hurricane-swapped D150 Dodge pick-up, the Rymarz family with a trio of entries, and drag and drive veterans Mike Turner and Mike Finnegan.
CHECK OUT FULL RESULTS FROM DAY ONE BY CLICKING HERE!
The first of two checkpoints would be the Ohio State Reformatory in nearby Manfield. In addition to housing thousands of people, the Reformatory also has been used for filming six different movies, including the popular Shawshank Redemption.
Stop number two would be title sponsor for the Norwalk-based drag strip, Summit Racing Equipment in Tallmadge. A meet and great and display of several rides gave enthusiasts a chance to meet some of the drivers, and check out the massive inventory on hand at Summit.
We will start day two with a visit to Derby Downs and a soap box derby, before returning to Summit Motorsports Park for an afternoon / evening of racing that leads into a music and fireworks finale.
We’ll have more coverage throughout the next three days on our social media channels, as well as the Sick The Magazine website.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com