Jeremy Ortiz Leads Friday Results with ‘Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 No-Time Class Win, Big 3 Racing Puts Fours on the Board, and Seven Classes Get Qualifying Underway on Day Two of Sick On The Green!
Beginner’s luck is used to describe someone that rolls to success in a class, sport or otherwise contest with no experience in the class.
And although Sick Summer competitor Jeremy Ortiz would participate in his first ‘Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 No-Time class for the first time during Sick On The Green at Beech Bend Raceway Park, his recent results label him as anything but a beginner or lucky.
Following a solid pair of outings where Ortiz captured an Extreme Radials class win at Muncie Dragway, then claimed the ‘biggest win of my racing career’ at Street Car Braggin Rights (SCBR) a couple weeks ago.
He came to Sick On The Green to do battle in the Street race 8.60 index class, and double down on the ‘Lil Gangsta’s class. “We didn’t have any data, so I ran the test and tune Thursday,” said Ortiz. “We had a game plan for Friday, and I just managed to execute well. I still can’t believe how this month is going; hope to keep the wins coming Saturday.”
Lots of quick rides populated the Sick Street Car Challenge class, and Lamar Swindoll looked to keep the upper hand with his nitrous-fed ’72 Camaro, clocking a 4.85 on his first run.
He held the lead until the final session, when the loudest car on the property, Chuck Stefanski, brought his supercharged Pontiac Lemans station wagon to the starting line, and produced a 4.74 to take the quickest spot.
Fellow Big 3 Racing owners Bob Hess Jr. and Rick Trunkett also got the track figured out with 4-second runs to land in the top five, with Hess going 4.91 in his ’82 Mustang after a couple runs with big wheelies.
Joe New also got his turbocharged Cutlass into the 4-second zone, with a 4.94 best from the ‘72 Oldsmobile.
After turning in their first time slips to receive cruise directions, all Sick Street Car Challenge participants completed the mandated miles on the Kentucky streets at their leisure before returning to the track.
With two rounds of qualifying in the books, Paul Sienkiewicz leads the Street Race 8.60 index class, while Cody Walker is at the front of Street Eliminator 10.10 index. John Langer’s 7.67 lap from his ’69 Trans Am is tops in the Small Tire Pro Stock class, and Drew Lyons leads Coyote Stock with a 9.72.
The Fords of Mark Schiffner and Will McCay are at the top of the list in qualifying for the Driven Racing Oil Nostalgia Super Stock / Muscle Car Combo and Open Comp, respectively.
Saturday brings one more round of morning qualifying to set the fields in seven classes, including our new Tremec Transmissions Stick Shift class. The Sick Street Car Challenge will get a couple more shots at the race track to complete their three-run average and determine category winner today for a share of over $30K in payouts.
‘Lil Gangsta’s will get their second chance at a big payout, as today’ free entry run for $10K to win will stage up round one this afternoon.
You should come join us for the final day of Sick On The Green event, with all classes getting ready for final eliminations, ‘Lil Gangsta’s and Sick Street Car Challenge action heating up, plus the Sick Spit Detailer Show & Shine car show!
CLICK HERE for more details on Sick On The Green at Beech Bend Raceway Park – tickets are available online or at the gate!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com