Real Street Eliminator VI

The long wheelbase under Scott Parkhurst’s Malibu wagon didn’t help much in the autocross, but he pulled off a serious horsepower number and tied for the win in the Launch Box, and that was enough give him the top trophy for the Muscle Car class.

The long wheelbase under Scott Parkhurst’s Malibu wagon didn’t help much in the autocross,

The Winners

Dan Neinstadt arrived at RSE this year focused on winning. Last year, he ended up in Third Place behind two strong Corvettes. When we moved the two-seaters to their own class, Dan saw his chance to win RSE. He aimed first at the autocross, barely missing out on a win by less than a 0.15 second. He waited until Sunday morning when the air was cooler to do his dyno test, which probably bumped the power up a little with an excellent 612hp run. Finally, he kept hammering until he took the Launch Box win for the Late-Model class. All that totaled 80 points for the championship. His buddy Rod Strumbel put up a great fight, with his Achilles heel being the dyno, where his 493 hp was only good for Fifth place and zero points.

The race was much tighter in the Muscle Car class. Scott Parkhurst's big wagon surprised us not only with its horsepower but also with its Launch Box performance. Parkhurst slipped positions on the autocross enough times that it looked like John Wegner might be able to take command with his negotiated win around the cones. So it came down to the Launch Box. Parkhurst added to the drama by tying Wegner on the Launch Box, giving him 10 precious win points by virtue of his higher horsepower number, which is the tiebreaker. That produced another dead heat, with both earning exactly the same number of total points. Again, the horsepower tiebreaker came into play, giving Parkhurst the win in the tightest finish in recent Real Street history. Wegner came in Second in the Muscle Car class back in '09, which just shows how competitive Real Street has become. But instead of just reading about it, why don't you plan on racing with us next year? It's a lot of fun and a great test of street-car skill. We'll hold a place for you.

Last year, Dan Neinstadt missed clinching the dyno contest by 1 horsepower, eventually leading to a Third Place finish in the Late-Model class. He vowed to do better, and did, only missing a win in the QA1 Autocross finishing. It was his Sunday morning, 612hp dyno pull that clinched the overall title.

Last year, Dan Neinstadt missed clinching the dyno contest by 1 horsepower, eventually lea

This year, we separated the Corvettes and Vipers from the rest of the Late-Model field to give the two-seater cars their own class. We haven’t talked much about Joe Swearingen’s black ’02 ZO6 Corvette, only because he won by default. He was the only Vette with legal tires. Some days, it pays to read the rules.

This year, we separated the Corvettes and Vipers from the rest of the Late-Model field to

Volunteers and Sponsors

As they did last year, our pals Doug Eisberg (right) and Eric Rosendahl (center) from San Diego helped with Launch Box, as did another Car Craft family member Don Young (left) who drove up from Cedar Falls, Iowa. Bill Irwin also helped out this year, driving from his shop in Thayer, Iowa, though he escaped before we had a chance to shoot this photo. Of course, we also want to acknowledge the Land O' Lakes SCCA club for its continued help with both the professional-run autocross course and Launch Box. And, of course, we couldn't have put all this off without help from Lucas Oil, E3 Spark Plugs, QA1, and Mobil 1, who sponsored each of our three events. Thanks to everyone who helped make the event a success.