In the 3/09 issue we brought you a report from the 17th annual Fall Show & Go - an event that took place at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ in 10/08. Fast-forward to April 5 and we were back in the bleachers to enjoy the action again.
As usual, this bi-annual event included a car show with 75 classes for both air- and water-cooled VWs and Audis. However, we again skipped the polish and paint for the high-octane action on the adjacent quarter-mile strip.
Temperatures were into the 60s and a brisk wind was blowing throughout the day. While it meant you required a sweater to spectate, track conditions were perfect for a solid day of racing.
Arriving at 8:30am, we hung out in the pits and caught up with the racers to see what was new for '09. We found some new cars and plenty of familiar faces, guaranteeing a good time
The organizers had again created a number of classes for both bracket (dial-in) and heads-up racing. However, the prize money had fallen as the economy began to buckle. The Trophy class was basically run-what-u-brung, while the Bucks class was a little more interesting with $250 up for grabs.
In the heads-up classes, Street Modified was open to 16 street-legal VW or Audi cars with full interiors. They had to be street muffled and use DOT tires, but all other modifications were acceptable. For a full field there was $100 to the winner, but for some reason this class is always under-subscribed.
Without wishing to disrespect the other entrants, the Outlaw Quick 8 class for super-modified racecars was the headline act. Competitors in a VW or Audi had to adhere to NHRA safety rules, but slicks and open exhausts were permitted along with any modifications. If the conditions were right, this is where we might see cars breaking into single-digit times, and where the old rivalries of air- versus water-cooled powerplants would meet head-to-head.
The racing started at 10am and there were plenty of drivers willing to put their skills to the test against a highly competitive field. Fortunately, there were fewer breakdowns than last year, so less delays for clean-up meant the action was relentless all day.
We'd like to thank everybody who responded to our previous coverage. We heard plenty of comments similar to those expressed by Kevin from Lugtronic who thought it was good for the VW racing scene, since attendance seemed to be down with the uncertain economy. Yet he was excited to see the coverage and was happy to see the racers who had made it out, confident there would be some great competition.
If you have an opinion on our drag racing coverage, email us at eurotuner@sorc.com Or if you think there are other forms of Euro motorsport we should be covering, please contact us at the same email address.
Trophy
The run-what-u-brung Trophy class always attracts the most cars, with 50 drivers going for glory. Since this is bracket racing, it rewards consistency rather that out-right speed, so anybody can have a go.
In essence, you estimate (or "dial-in") your car's quarter mile time and run against another car. The winner is the driver who finishes the closest under his dial-in time. This means the fastest car doesn't always win, but it's still exciting racing.
With a full entry list, drivers would be required to compete in five rounds before eventually reaching the final.
In the first round, the fastest elapsed time (ET) went to Nick Sgambelluri from Schenectady, NY. He ran a time of 12.43sec at 111.06mph in his '01 Audi S4, which was close enough to his dial-in (DI) of 12.20sec to give him the win.
Nick would advance all the way to the fourth round before coming up against Jesse Farquhar from Monson, MA. And although Jesse's Jetta only ran 18.546sec at 70.28mph (compared to Nick's 11.936 at 115.92 - the fastest ET of the day in this class), Jesse would be closer to his 18.5sec DI and would advance through the fifth round to the final.
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