SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2009

Texas Motorplex played host to Round-3 of the 2009 Battle of the Imports event series and the statement "Texas Heat" was definitely an understatement. With temperatures soaring as high as 105-degrees with almost as much humidity, the track fell victim quickly to temperatures close to 150-degrees making it extremely challenging for racers and track officials to maintain throughout the day. Located in the town of Ennis, approximately 45-minutes south of Dallas, competitors came from as far as Kentucky to take part in the inaugural event.

Local hero Kenny Tran (Garland, TX) had troubles from the beginning with a faulty intercooler coupler landing him in the number-seven spot. Long time rival Chuck Seitsinger (Oklahoma City, OK) qualified number-one with a traction limited 8.799 at 160.14 MPH.

Another local Tony Palo (Rowlett, TX) took his Street-Comp fitted Acura Integra and slapped on some 26-inch tires and found himself lined up against Tran in the first round.

Respectably, Palo ran a 9.485 at 162.82 MPH but was out performed by Tran's 8.361 at 171.51 MPH. Fans were hoping to see a finals matchup between Seitsinger and Tran but Setsinger broke and could not make the first round. In the end, Tran would face Philip Wight (Ft. Worth, TX) and put him away easily with a 8.534 at 170.84 MPH to Wight's 10.691 at 142.18 MPH.

Hal Hiner (Lexington, KY) made the trek and qualified number-two in the Injected Performance Nissan 350 Z with a 9.559 at 156.63 right behind local racer Ross Baird (Ft. Worth, TX) who qualified with a better 9.320 @ 154.62 MPH in the 94 Toyota Supra.

Both of these racers have run mid to high 8-second passes but Baird broke in the first round leaving Hiner the heavy favorite to take the win. In the end, it was Hiner that crossed the stripe with a 9.558 at 152.74 MPH.

Jonathan Reynolds (Springfield, VA) was the only 9-second entry in Street-Comp and qualified number-one with a 9.714 at 156.72 MPH but a cracked head kept put him sidelined when the show began.

Aaron Lopez (San Antonio, TX) took the win against Jose Jimenez (Houston, TX) with a 10.164 at 148.53 MPH to Jimenez' 13.879 at 68.17 MPH. Lopez ran multiple 10.1-second passes but was traction limited on his quest for single digit E.T.'s.

Loan Nguyen (Burke, VA) went straight to work and qualified number-one with a 11.273 at 126.00 MPH and never looked back. Nguyen won again with a 11.950 at 122.36 MPH to Aaron Lundquist's 13.165 @ 101.48 MPH.

With the heat continuing to pound and with no relief in sight, the inugural event finally came to a close without a single incident other than a few people fainting from the heat.

As the "battle" shifts back to the west, Round-4 takes us to Sacramento Raceway where Westcoast racers have been waiting for more than 6-months to get on the track. The carshow action continues as the search for the Buddy Club Team Award continues.