The Winners When we revamped the latest version of Real Street, the plan was to reward consistent performance. In fact, the numbers said it was possible to capture an RSE crown without winning a single event. We really didn’t expect that to happen—but this year it did. As in past years, if we have a tie for a position, the tiebreaker goes to the car with the most horsepower. And as always, horsepower played a big role. Joel Route was Third in the horsepower game, Second on the autocross, and Second in Launch Box, which was enough to best the rest of the field, including early favorite Brandon Schilling’s white Shelby Mustang clone. There were other surprises as well, including Brett Lindert’s quick autocross time and Dan Howe locking in Third place. It’s intrigue like this that makes RSE unpredictable. In Muscle Car, the big guns quickly made their positions known with Jimi Day’s AMX apex-quick on the autocross, with Josh Leisinger gaining ground with every run. But the AMX didn’t spin the horsepower rollers quick enough, and that cost him Second Place. The spoiler alert again played its hand with Nathan Shaw quietly collecting points in all three events to finish Second. In the end, it was the Leisinger Camaro that bested the Muscle Car field by snatching both the QA1 autocross and Launch Box. We heard rumors that Josh took advantage of coaching from a Land O’ Lakes SCCA driver, indicating that driver skill is a very important factor when it comes to finding the ideal line amid the cones. In fact, the Camaro would have won the Late Model and Corvette class as well! In the Corvette duel, AJ Mehta bested Eric Winsor and the difference came down to 20 hp! So if this sounds like more fun than should be allowed, you should be already thinking about next year and what it will take to claim the Real Street Eliminator trophy. Get started now. July 2013 isn’t that far away. Mickey Thompson’s latest Street Comp tire looks like it should be a winner on the street and be competitive on the autocross and Launch Box with a tread wear rating of 300 and a directional tread pattern.Mickey Thompson’s latest Street Comp tire looks like it should be a winner on the street a Peter Barton told us he’d never driven an autocross before, and Launch Box was something totally new, but what he lacked in performance he more than made up for with pure enthusiasm.Peter Barton told us he’d never driven an autocross before, and Launch Box was something t Joel Route proved that, with a little help from your fellow competitors, consistent performance was enough to take home the 2012 Late Model class trophy.Joel Route proved that, with a little help from your fellow competitors, consistent perfor AJ Mehta earned the top spot in the Corvette/Viper class after battling it out with Eric Winsor. Apparently, the Vipers took a sick day.AJ Mehta earned the top spot in the Corvette/Viper class after battling it out with Eric W Real Street is as much about driver skill as it is about car setup and tuning. Josh Leisinger obviously had the machine, but had to back that up with a little wheel ability of his own. By the end of Sunday, Josh won the top Muscle Car spot by earning it.Real Street is as much about driver skill as it is about car setup and tuning. Josh Leisin Late Model Position/ Owner Vehicle HP Autocross Launch Box Total 1st: Joel Route ’07 Mustang 460 (10) 23.10 (20) 3.05 (20) 50 2nd: Brandon Schilling ’09 Mustang Shelby 673 (30) 23.461 (0) 3.06 (10) 40 3rd: Dan Howe ’84 Monte Carlo 290 (0) 23.116 (10) 2.99 (30) 40 Muscle Car Position/Owner Vehicle HP Autocross Launch Box Total 1st: Josh Leisinger ’70 Camaro 562 (10) 21.483 (30) 2.96 (30) 70 2nd: Nathan Shaw ’71 Nova 655 (20) 23.464 (10) 3.04 (10) 40 3rd: Jimi Day ’69 AMX 397 (0) 21.563 (20) 2.98 (20) 40 Corvette/Viper Position/Owner Vehicle HP Autocross Launch Box Total 1st: AJ Mehta ’06 ZO6 Corvette 548 (30) 24.492 (20) 3.12 (30) 80 2nd: Eric Winsor ’99 427 Corvette 528 (20) 22.058 (30) 3.33 (20) 70 Mickey Thompson Award This year, the Mickey Thompson tire company wanted to get involved with Real Street after announcing the availability of its new ultra high performance (UHP) Street Comp radial tire that is intended for superlative street driving. Mickey Thompson wanted to award a set of tires to a deserving Real Street Eliminator competitor. We considered awarding the tires to a class winner, but we thought we’d spread the wealth by choosing a more deserving RSE competitor who could use the help in the traction department. After reviewing all the lap times, we decided that Peter Barton and his ’91 Mustang not only best fit our performance criterion, but he was also one of RSE’s most enthusiastic supporters. He told us early on, “I probably won’t win, but it’s just great to be here!” Congratulations, Peter, and thanks to Mickey Thompson for helping make Real Street even more deserving of its name. That’s Doug Eisberg on the left yanking the front end alongside Eric Rosendahl, both of whom put in long hours in the sun recording times and officiating Launch Box for this years’ RSE. EndThat’s Doug Eisberg on the left yanking the front end alongside Eric Rosendahl, both of wh Big Thanks First of all, we’d like to thank Land O’ Lakes region the Sports Car Club of America club and all its members for putting on a superb autocross event. We’d especially like to thank Regional Executive Kathy Gillen and members Mary and Mark Utech, Carrie Carlson, Jimmy Griggs, Pat Mackey, and all the Land O’ Lakes club members who made the QA1 Autocross such a success. Since it’s near impossible to run the Launch Box and cover all the activities during RSE, our friends, Eric Rosendahl and Doug Eisberg, flew out again this year to help keep up with Launch Box’s frantic pace. This year, we used a different timing system that was much more reliable than our old radar gun system. Our Iowa buddy, Bill Irwin, also pitched in when it was really hectic. Thanks guys, we couldn’t have done it without you. « | 1 | 2 | 3 | View Full Article By Jeff Smith Enjoyed this Post? 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