As we look back on the weekend that was the COMP Cams Shakedown Nationals XVIII, presented by: FuelTech USA – the common theme of the weekend was world records. From rainfall totals on Thursday to a full slate of big numbers to complete the event – everything was in mass quantity at the Shakedown for 2020.
To welcome fans into the facility, all of which abided by our COVID requirements for the majority of the weekend. It was great to look in the grandstands and see smiling faces, hear cheers when big runs happened and more. Racers came from as far as California to be a part of this epic event, brought to you by a number of marketing partners including COMP Cams, FuelTech USA, Atomizer Fuel Systems, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels and more.
Let’s get straight into a quick recap regarding the record book – Stevie Jackson and David Reese went back and forth all through qualifying and eliminations but after the semi-final round of a head-to-head match-up, Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson earned his nickname yet again with a 3.505 second shot to earn the National ET Record in Radial vs. The World. In Pro Modified, Jim Halsey laid down the quickest run in history for a nitrous oxide assisted Pro Mod with a 3.602 second shot in his quarter-final exit beside Todd Tutterow.
Fast forward to Pro275, Ron Green piloted his ’67 Camaro known as Infamous to 3.760 to qualify number one and lay claim to the world record in Pro275 after a back and forth battle with Jeff Miller, Mark Micke and Scotty G., putting their names in the mix of 3.7x players on the 275 tire. Lou Sciortino out of New York proved that nitrous oxide is still the way to go in Outlaw 10.5 with an astounding 3.73 second shot in the second round of eliminations to reset the Outlaw 10.5 record, previously set earlier in the week by Mark Benston, Jr. X275 was a seesaw battle back and forth for the record but it finally landed in Bridgewater, MA runner Manny Buginga’s hands with a 4.175 blast in the second round to defeat Robert Williams. Buginga’s run outpowered Charles Hull’s 4.18 and Rob Goss’ 4.19 but Buginga was also the first to the teens with a 4.19 in qualifying. Ultra Street was flat out flying this past weekend and the record exchanged hands a number of times but finally fell in Louie Felippides hands in the ever-important final round against Mike Freeman. Felippides went 4.538 to crush the previous number, held by Freeman from the semis, with a 4.55. Justin Reggio claimed the new MPC Real Street record with his ’03 Cobra running a 4.889 second blast in qualifying to sit atop the sheet and the record books.
With losing Thursday and Friday morning due to Hurricane Sally’s over six inches of rain dumped on the facility, the decision was made to force two qualifiers for all categories as quickly as possible and go directly into eliminations. By making this move, it put a ton of pressure on all of the racers, crew chiefs and teams to make the right decisions to go down the racetrack and get into the field. From one top tier performance after another, the hits just kept coming on the ultra-prepped concrete surface at Virginia Motorsports Park with VP Racing Fuels providing the hook and book traction compound.
From small tires to big tires, the COMP Cams Shakedown Nationals XVIII, presented by: FuelTech had it all. Listed below are our final round results along with links to full round-by-round results and final qualifying standings on our results page, right here on RaceVMP.com.
Pro Modified: Ron Muenks over Matthew Deitsch
Radial vs. The World: Stevie Jackson over Luis de Leon
Pro 275: Ron Green over Mark Micke
Outlaw 10.5: Blake Copson over Mark Benston, Jr.
Limited Drag Radial: Daniel Ray over Shane Stack
X275: Rob Goss over Jeff Helsinger
Ultra Street: Louie Filippides over Mike Freeman
Real Street: Shane Stymiest over Freddy Harding
Limited 235: Danny Niceley over Jason Terrell
Top Sportsman – Ultimate 48: Bootie Harris over Bill Riddle
No Clock Small Block – Elite 8: Kenny Leach
Thank you again from the staff at Virginia Motorsports Park for the support of the COMP Cams Shakedown Nationals, presented by: FuelTech. We are excited to announce that you will get to see action like this twice in 2021 with the addition of the Outlaw Street Car Reunion coming to VMP in April and the Shakedown returning once again in September. Stay tuned as more information comes together soon!
