Road Runners, Barracudas, Mach 1 Mustangs, Corvettes and Camaros at US 131

US 131’s summer of acceleration gets off to a very F.A.S.T. start this week (May 31-June 1) when Michigan native Dave Dudek and his 1969 Plymouth Road Runner take on all comers in the annual Muscle Car Spring Nationals featuring America’s original factory hot rods.

Part of the Factory Appearing Stock Tire (F.A.S.T.) series founded by Dudek, a St. Clair Shores racer who’s won more than 40 times on the nostalgia muscle car circuit, the Spring Nationals will showcase racing in three different categories.

The FAST class is where the quickest and fastest come to play and where you’ll find Dudek and his Road Runner opposing rivals Lane Carey (1971 Mach 1 Ford Mustang), Terry Pennington (L88 1969 Corvette) and Rich Mahoney (1971 hemi-powered Plymouth Barracuda).

Although restricted to stock size, bias ply tires and factory casting and displacement limits, sub-10 second quarter mile times are the norm with Pennington’s sizzling 9.77 at 139 mph during last year’s Spring Nationals the current benchmark.  Before the Corvette’s heroics, though, Carey’s Ford held the record for almost eight years at 9.84 seconds.  Dudek has run 9.90 at more than 140 mph in his Road Runner.

A cut below the FAST cars, are Factory Stock entries that are held to a much more stringent set of rules including no lightweight internal parts and no ported heads.  Nevertheless, such vehicles cover the standard course in under 11 seconds.  Finally, exclusive to US 131, is the Modern Muscle class which is open to any muscle car from 1980 to the present which obviously includes COPO Camaros, current era Cobra Jet Mustangs and Challenger Hellcats.  Modern Muscle is the only F.A.S.T. class in which cars can use drag radial tires.

Other likely contenders include Scott Tieman with his 1968 Ram Air Firebird, Dale Waligora (1969 ZL1 Camaro), Joel Nystrom (1967 hemi Plymouth GTX), Ed Cook (1963 Max Wedge Plymouth Savoy), Brian Wilsey (1971 Plymouth Duster), James Cook (1969 Plymouth Road Runner), Ed Cook Jr. (1969 Road Runner), and Dan Giannone (1966 Chevy Chevelle 396).

Gates open at 9am both days, on the track from 10am-4pm.  Adult tickets are $20 daily.  Children 12 and under are free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

Friday and Saturday US 131 MSP will host an open Test & Tune from 6pm-11pm.  This open to anyone wanting to race down “The Fastest Track in Michigan.”  Gate admission is $10 daily for adults, children ages 6-12 are $5 and under six are free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

 

-www.us131msp.com-