"We have found that rarity doesn't breed desirability," stated Lasseter. "The 1986-87 'cold air' turbos were the high watermark for performance. However, older turbos sans intercoolers are much rarer, with lower production numbers and aftermarket attention." It is common knowledge that the cold air cars have gotten so fast, that unless owners have a trailer to bring the cars to Bowling Green, they might as well stay home. Massive performance gains in the arena of 10-second quarter-mile passes are much more prevalent today than even five years ago. A factory stock Turbo Regal will consistently run high 13s to low 14s all day long. But, throw in a set of drag slicks, preferred alcohol injection, adjustable 20- to 25-lb wastegate, fuel pump, and adjustable fuel regulators, and high 12s above 103-104 mph are a cinch. Most of the cars brought out to show and race have been modified even slightly, and some are pure customs, where a swapped Buick Turbo 6 replaces engines from a Corvair H4, to a Chevy V-8 in a 1969 Camaro. The testing and tuning got started early, with full power passes happening as early as Tuesday afternoon in preparation for the big weekend action.
Racing results showcased the immense power of some of the pro, and not so pro setups. Super 16 Winner David Dupuis of Debary, Florida, won his bracket with a 10.096 at 137.20 mph. S16 Turbo winner Lawrence Conley of Humble, Texas, took the low qualifier spot at 8.172 @ 167.30 mph. The Big Gun Shootout saw Jerry Chambers of Edmond, Oklahoma, take on Allen Liverman of Ahoskie, North Carolina. The almost evenly matched cars saw Chambers getting the edge with his 8.575 @159.02 mph to Liverman's 8.584 @ 158.46 mph. Crowd favorites Turbo Street Outlaw had Dave Fiscus of Batavia, Ohio, edge out Cal Hartline of West Melbourne, Florida, with an 8.83 @ 157.36 mph versus Cal's 8.98 @ 149.02. GSCA big dog Red Armstrong of Olmstead, Ohio, beat Bob Hinson of Montgomery, Alabama, in TSE with a 9.55 @146.59 mph to Bob's 9.66 @ 139.76. In TSM, Port Orange, Florida's Don Palumbo dominated with a 10.22 @ 134.34 after Dick Kereny rolled through the lights. In the all-Turbo Trans Am Turbo Street Alcohol Injected class, Jack DiLorenzo of Englewood, Florida, beat Joe Reif of Paola, Kansas, with a 10.61 @ 132.36 over Joe's 11.9 at 112. TSS-wise, Bob Hansen of Mentor, Ohio, laid down an 11.33 @ 131.20 to best Greg Kirchner of Parma, Ohio. Not to be outdone, Craig Powell of St. Louis zipped up the Supercharged bracket with a 15.083 at 90.54 mph in his Riv.