Records Fall at Hemmings Muscle Palooza VII ShootOut
Sunday, May 25, 2008, proved to be a day for the record books
in West Lebanon, NY. On this windy, sunny day, MuscleCars invaded Muscle
Palooza VII. The pits were filled with the newest stars of the class. Names
like Kuskowski, Gavin, Payne, Cannon, Cook, Benson, Von Am, McKenzie and
Klemann, among others, tightly filled the pit stalls that were reserved
by the track officials under orders from Hemmings Muscle Machines. The
track was prepped from end to end, over and over. They made sure no one
would be saying this track had no hook. Only the unprepared and novice
drivers would have issues with the surface. The seasoned stars of the class
schooled themselves on exactly what amount of horsepower the starting line
and second gear shift would take. They used every qualifying pass to gauge
the limits of their machines. At the end of the qualifying sessions, only
hundredths separated the top qualifiers. All the proven racers thought
at the end of each qualifying sessions that their E/T could not be beat,
only to realize their moment in the spotlight would only last until the
next qualifier. At the end of the three qualifiers, only two men stood
tall: Ken Veit and Steve Von Am. These two racers won the honor of Top
Qualifiers in their respected fields.
Once Gene Wilsey, Ladder Coordinator for the event, mapped
out the road to top eliminator, we were off to see who would be Hemmings
Muscle Palooza’s Top Eliminator. The pairings started: Vanderwall vs Fredericks,
Chevy vs Ford, Cannon vs. Giannone, Barbagallo vs Cook. At the end of round
one, the field was split with top of the field qualifiers winning their
matches and first round casualties going on to continue battle in the consolation
race. After the iron cooled and the mills checked to make sure they would
perform with no questions, Wilsey called out the names, “Barbagallo vs
Cook, Veit vs Giannone, Von Am vs Cannon, Duster vs Fairlane, bring them
up to the lanes! Cook, Nasi, you two are next. McKenzie, Cannon let’s get
them up to the line. Fredericks, McNichol, follow Cannon and McKenzie.
Gavin, Daros let’s get them to the Lanes, we have a semi final to run!”
After the Polyglas’s wept, only four races were left to crown the Champions
of the Day. Gene Wilsey called out to the competitors again, “Cook you
have lane choice over Veit, Von Am you to have lane choice over Vanderwall.
Cannon let’s get that Six Pak to line, you’re running Cook. And Gavin,
you’re running the Red R/T.”
We all watched as the finals started. Veit and Cook boiled
the tires to the same tune in the burnout box. As they looked over at each
other and rolled into the beams, Cook prestaged first, then Veit. Veit
lit up the second bulb, then Cook. Then the Tree came down and instantly
Cook went up in smoke, the power to much for the G-70s to handle. Viet
came out strong, his one-two shift was right on. Through the beams he went,
the scoreboard lit up and told it all: Veit 11.18 Cook 11.59. Veit, Top
Eliminator!!!!!!!
The second pair rolled up to the line: Small Block Mustang
Coupe vs Big Bore Fairlane. They staged instantly, the tree went down and
with ease. Von Am won his first ever Quick Eight Eliminator.
With two races left, we were all wondering who would prevail,
Cannon or Cook? Cook slammed the slightly Curved Hurst shifter into second
gear and started his burnout. With a loud bang coming from the tranny,
Cannon started his burnout. They both rolled to the line, carefully lighting
the second bulb. When the tree finally sent them into a gear slamming battle
to see who would come out on top, the scoreboard lit up: Cannon 11.55 Cook
11.75. Cannon Wins!!
When the last pair of contenders made their way into the
burnout boxes, many were thinking, will the little yellow Dart be able
to over take the big red R/T? With a minimal burnout, the Dart rolled
forward while waiting for the Big R/T to finish punishing the G-70s that
had no choice in the way they were being treated. Finally, the R/T finished
his burnout. They both prestaged, staged; then, in an instant they were
off! The Dart’s in front, the Dart won! The Dart Won!
All of the Drivers returned to the pits and exchanged
many hugs and congratulatory handshakes. As the day’s festivities came
to an end, the bench racing started. Then, the Featured cars of the 7th
Muscle Palooza were loaded onto their trailers and readied for the trip
home. One by one, they disappeared into the sunset, with many memories
to help them navigate the ride home. This day was one of the best days
in history. Some chose not to attend, but the ones that did have memories
that will live for many years, if not a lifetime……
Qualifying Order
1. Ken Veit 1969 Camaro COPO 427 Auto 11.16E/T 125MPH
2. Ed Cook 1969 Road Runner 440+6BBL Auto 11.18E/T 124MPH
3. Ralph Barbagallo 1970 Road Runner 440+6BBL Auto 11.25E/T
122MPH
4. Tom Cannon 1971 SuperBee 440 Six Pak 4 Spd 11.61 E/T
120MPH
5. Don Giannone 1966 Chevelle SS396 Auto 11.77 E/T 120MPH
6. James Cook 1969 Road Runner 440+6BBL Auto 11.80 E/T
120MPH
7. Mike Nasi 1971 GTX 440+6BBL Auto 11.97 E/T 116MPH
8. Scott McKenzie 1969 Road Runner 440+6BBL Auto 12.01
E/T 114MPH
9. Steve Von Am 1970 Mustang 351 Cpe Auto 12.03 E/T 114MPH
10. Chris Kuskowski 1972 Duster 340 Auto 12.13 A/T 113MPH
11. Steve Vanderwall 1967 Fairlane 427 2x4v Auto 12.20
E/T 113MPH
12. Mike Cannon 1970 Mustang CJ 428 4 Spd 12.39 E/T 116MPH
13. John Gavin 1968 Dart GTS 340 Auto 12.52 E/T 110MPH
14. John Frdericks 1970 Super Bee 383 Auto 12.65 E/T
110MPH
15. Greg McNichol 1969 Coronet R/T 440 Auto 12.69 E/T
110MPH
16. Ted Daros 1970 Chevelle SS454 4 Spd. 12.89 E/T 110
MPH
17.Dalton Beaulier 1968 Road Runner 426 Hemi Auto 12.90
E/T 108MPH
18. Harry Chargois 1969 Super Bee 383 Auto 13.40 E/T
102MPH
19. John Suess 1969 Hurst Olds 455 Auto 13.57 E/T 101MPH
20. Bill Gannon 1970 Buick GSX 455 Stage 1 Auto 13.76
E/T 103MPH
21. Jeramy Benson 1969 Lemans HO 350 Auto 13.84 E/T 99MPH
22. Hal Oaks 1966 Impala 327 Auto 13.89 E/T 96MPH
23. John Payne 1965 GTO 389 Tri Power 4 Spd. 14.04 E/T
102MPH
24. William Rendeler 1969 GTO Judge 400 Ram Air III 14.35
E/T 99MPH
25. Pete Snelgrove 1969 Chevelle SS396 4 Spd. 14.76 E/T
95MPH
26. Bob Kleman 1966 Ford Fairlane 427 4 Spd. 15.32 E/T
90MPH
FASTX
1. Billy Atwood 1965 Plymouth Hemi AFX 9.53 E/T 132 MPH
2. Brian Silverman 1965 Dodge Hemi AFX 10.99 E/T
3. Gary Gerard 1965 Plymouth Hemi AFX 11.00 E/T
Round By Round Results
Quicker Eight Round One
Ken Veit 11.29 Over Scott McKenzie 12.26
Don Giannone11.614 Over Tom Cannon 11.618
Ed Cook 11.14 Over Mike Nasi 11.91
Ralph Barbagallo 11.36 Over James Cook11.75
Round Two
Ken Veit 11.24 Over Don Giannone 11.93
Ed Cook 11.13 Over Ralph Barbagallo 11.21
Final Round
Ken Veit 11.18 Over Ed Cook 11.59
Quick Eight Round One
Steve Von Am 11.97 Over Ted Daros
12.79
Mike Cannon 12.49 Over John Gavin
12.67
Chris Kuskowski 12.10 Over Greg
McNichol 12.65
Steve Vanderwall 12.85 Over John
Fredericks 12.65
Round Two
Steve Von Am 12.39 Over Mike Cannon
12.96
Steve Vanderwall 12.55 Over Chris
Kuskowski Broke
Final Round
Steve Von Am 12.20 Over Steve Vanderwall
12.58
Consalation Race Quicker Eight Semi Finals.
Tom Cannon 11.60 Over Scott McKenzie
11.94
James Cook 11.85 Over Mike Nasi
12.34
Finals
Tom Cannon 11.55 Over James Cook
11.75
Consalation Race Quick Eight Semi Finals
Greg McNichol 12.71 Over John Fredericks
12.61
John Gavin 13.16 Over Ted Daros
12.71
Finals
John Gavin 12.42 Over Greg McNichol
12.73
Two Out Of Three Match Race
Dalton Beaulier 12.90 Over Harry
Chargois 13.40
Hal Oaks 13.84 Over Jeremy Benson
13.93
John Payne 14.08 Over William Rendeler
14.35
Bill Gannon 13.88 Over John Suess
13.58
Bob Klemann 13.88 Over Pete
Snelgrove 14.65
