Drag Racing
Drag racing was conducted on Sunday afternoon, and by then the temperature had climbed to the mid-90s, effectively slowing down the field. The majority of racers ran in a Super Sport a foot-brake bracketstyle class. Two heads-up classes were also created, one for naturally aspirated cars (Super Natural) and one for power-adder cars (Super Pro). Although some of the fastest Impalas in the country weren't represented, the racing action was intense, with hundredths of a second often spelling the difference between an early exit and a chance to win out.
Conclusion:
From an activity standpoint, the greater St. Louis area had much to offer, but for Impala owners there was nothing more alluring than gathering together with a large contingent of friends and participating in all the interesting events. For Impala SS enthusiasts who like hard-hitting racing action, it's hard to pass up the opportunity to road race, autocross, and drag race all in one weekend. Just as amazing was seeing expertly detailed show cars come out of the judging area and burn up the road course mere minutes later. It didn't matter whether you were a novice or seasoned racing veteran, because the idea was to take out your prized possession and do the best you could, all for the same reasons you probably purchased the car: it's fun and it makes a statement.
For those who missed this year's event, the 2008 ISSCA Nationals will join Chevrolet in celebrating the 50th year of the Impala badge June 27-29, 2008, at the Gateway Center and Gateway International Raceway. In addition to the aforementioned '91-96 models, registration will be broadened to cover all Impalas from 1958-2008. The event will again include the car show (held at the Gateway Center), sound-off, road course, autocross, and drag races (held at the Gateway International Raceway).
Justin Kruer of Franklin, IN, had one of the nicest black '96 Impala SS's to grace the road course and car show alike. Powered by a 355ci mill with LT4 heads and a hot cam, the car features 18-inch Torq-Thrust II wheels and a US Body twin-snorkel Ram Air hood. As the original owner, Justin says the car ran a best of 13.30 in the quarter-mile and currently has 117,000 fun-filled miles. He placed First in the car show street category for vehicles with 100 to 150K miles on the odometer. | 
Bruce Stephens of Wentzville, MI, fell out of the running in the prepared class with his "Punisher" after blowing a radiator hose while exiting a corner during road racing. The black-and white '94 9C1 car cascaded DexCool from the driver-side fender before quickly shutting it down mere seconds later, thus averting a long delay to clean up the track. Bruce recovered from the blown hose to place First in the Autocross competition the next day. | 
Shawn Drake in his Dark Green Gray metallic '96 Impala SS got too hot coming through a corner in the road course and overcorrected a tad too much, throwing himself into a sweeping clockwise spin that sent cones flying and eventually landed him in the infield grass. Other than a temporary spike in adrenaline levels for the owner and a bit less rubber on his street tires, both the driver and 2-ton grass-cutting machine came away uninjured and ready to do battle once again. |