This weekend was a hot and long one for the Outlaw 8.5 shootout at Sacramento Raceway... here is the press release:
DJ Reid & team AfroMaro take home
another Outlaw 8.5 Win
Sacramento, CA
(September 17, 2012) Roosevelt once said, “Speak softly and carry a big
stick; you will go far”. However, as the likes of DJ Reid, Eric Gustafson,
George Raygoza and Tim Rigby motored in Sacramento Raceway this weekend, “stomp
loudly and carry little shoes” proved to be more appropriate. As the dust eventually
settled, it was a mixture of Chevrolet, Procharger and Hoosier that would
propel Outlaw 8.5 veterans DJ Reid & Eric Kvilhaug to the winner’s circle
for the $5,000 purse.
Outlaw 8.5, a class that requires participants to use
nothing larger than a 26x8.5 slick, was the talk of the grounds as event
spectators didn’t know what to think of these cars and their drivers, stated by
the announcer’s booth to be “… madmen sitting on tires about 7 inches too short
and 8 inches too narrow”. That chatter
soon turned to bewilderment as DJ Reid and crew set low E.T. in the first round
with a 5.28 E.T. at over 148 MPH! As the day progressed, they would continue to
power through Mike Orban of Santa Maria, and Anthony Valentino of Southern
California, to eventually meet the #1 qualifier from Orland, CA, George Raygoza,
in his 1971 big block, nitrous-powered Chevrolet Nova. In the end, nitrous proved
to be inadequate as Reid motored to the top the field by one full tenth to
Raygoza’s 5.28 with a 5.18 @ 151 MPH.
This would make Reid the fastest man to ever to bolt on the 26x8.5 tire in
competition. The final round pitted two classic Chevy’s against each other.
Corvette vs. Camaro. SBC vs. SBC. Nitrous vs. supercharger. Tim Rigby of
Tehachapi CA, in his 1963 Corvette, stepped up his tune-up for the final in an
attempt to match DJ Reid’s previous 5.18 round win. When the smoke cleared, Reid
and Kvilhaug repeated their prior performance with a 5.19 @ 148 while Tim’s
chances slipped away when he spun shortly after launch.
After a long weekend of racing, Reid took home the bonus
cash for low E.T. under the 5.20 mark from Schmidl Performance and the big
payday for the event win. With a quick change in rear rubber to the 275 radial,
the team plans to be at it again in two weeks when they take on all comers on
leaf springs and 275 radials at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta,
Atlanta for No Mercy III.
###
If
you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule and interview,
please contact DJ Reid at 408-393-7612 or e-mail at dj@afromaro.com
So after some feedback about the less than stellar appearance of the car, we decided to whip up a quick paint job that while not elaborate, should take a bit of heat off on the appearance.
Thanks to Mikey and his dad for their quick and professional know how!
