Red lights settled finals in three of the seven events billed at the Street Shootout and Sport Compact Shootout, held recently at the Kaua‘i Raceway Park in Mana. Manny Lawrence, piloting a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, punched the Top Gun on
Red lights settled finals in three of the seven events billed at the Street Shootout and Sport Compact Shootout, held recently at the Kaua‘i Raceway Park in Mana.
Manny Lawrence, piloting a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, punched the Top Gun on a .007 light to run a 7.97, breaking out on his 8.03 dial, in at 118.24 miles per hour.
But his opponent, Calvin Costa in a 1923 Ford T Bucket, red lighted to give the Top Gun class to Lawrence, the first of the three classes settled by a red light.
Elena Kealoha piloted her 1956 Volkswagen bug on a .036 light to run a 12.90, breaking out on her 12.95 dial-in at 103.88 mph, but took the Sport Compact class when her opponent in the finals, Ricky Uemura driving a 1993 Honda Civic 1.8-Liter, red lighted at the line.
Isaac Carvalho took the Muscle V8 class on a red light, driving his 1995 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 (350 cubic inch) on a .172 light for a clean run of 13.22 over his 13.18 dial-in at 104.4 mph, but his opponent, Shandon Takayama in a 1969 Chevrolet Z-28 Camaro (383 cu. in.) red lighted.
Franklin Fontanilla, rolled out his 1968 Chevrolet Camaro on a .134 light to run an 11.34, breaking out on his 11.35 dial-in at 118.24 mph. That .01 second break-out was less than his opponent, Sam Fernandez in a 1979 Opal, who broke out on a 10.52 ET on a 10.59 dial-in at 118.24 mph. The difference gave Fontanilla the Pro ET class with the lesser break out.
Zailea Lawrence-White, the granddaughter of Top Gun winner Manny Lawrence, brought home the family’s second top trophy when she took the Junior Dragster class on a .535 light to reach 65.00 mph over Lawson Fernandes, who left on a .104 light to run an 8.79, breaking out on his 8.82 dial-in at 67.77 mph.
Matt Torry topped the Street class in his 2006 Dodge Charger RT, leaving on a .009 light to run a 14.80 on his 14.40 dial-in at 90.85 mph.
Jacob Gandeza took the Bike class by a scant 24 inches on his 2008 Suzuki GSXR (1000 cc), which left on a .161 light to run a 10.93 on his 10.83 dial-in at 135.14 mph.
Gandeza’s run edged out Larry Palmeira aboard a 2007 Kawasaki ZX 1400 (1400 cc), which left on a .223 light to run a 9.95 on a 9.90 dial-in at 137.2 mph.
Torry’s run edged out Ryan Stiglmeier in his 2007 Ford Mustang, which left on a .240 light to run a 15.81 on his 14.33 dial-in at 92.83 mph.
This was the first race following a rained-out event in March.
The night before competition, GIRA hosted a test-n-tune night for two stated purposes: to get street racing off the streets and onto the track and to allow racers and mechanics an opportunity to test and adjust their cars in preparation for the final races.
Although rain dampened the test-n-tune with a shorter opening than originally scheduled, GIRA considered it a success due to the turnout and hopes to host more test-n-tune nights.
The Diesel Truck Shootout is scheduled for May 7 at the Kaua‘i Raceway Park in Mana.
For more information, call Bobby Barros, GIRA president, at 635-6034.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
