Georgia Drag Racing News

Information about Georgia drag racing history, personalities, activities and events from GeorgiaDragRacing.com.

Monday, July 24, 2006

REVISED----HUBINETTE WOWS CROWD WITH DRIFTING DEMONSTRATION, GARCIA DOMINATES ON TRACK ACTION

EVENT: Tunerfest event at Atlanta Dragway in 2006
by Tim Glover

(Commerce, GA - July 22) Thousands of spectators attending the Tunerfest Shootout, presented by Importatlanta.com and held at Atlanta Dragway, enjoyed a multitude of activities throughout the event, including Dragging, Drifting, a Chassis Dyno, a Car Show and a manufacturer's midway.

In an amazing display of controlled chaos called drifting, the "Crazy Swede", Samuel Hubinette, who originates from Sweden and was the 2004 Formula D drifting champion, thrilled onlookers with his demonstration of precise driving while the rear tires were spinning furiously. Although his '03 Viper SRT appeared to be out of control, Hubinette placed the car precisely where he wanted it at any moment, shredding several sets of high performance BF Goodrich G-Force T/A 295/35 ZR18 Radials in the process. Hubinette was not the only drifter doing demonstrations of their driving ability. The team of Maxxis Batlground fielded several cars as well, keeping
the crowd entertained. The event announcers held several trivia contests, and winners were thrilled with receiving a "ride along" with Hubinette during some of his drifting exhibitions.

The drifting demonstration was not the only arena producing clouds of tire smoke. Some participants enjoyed making passes down the dragstrip to see what their modified machinery would do. Chris Anderson's Suwanee, GA based '95 Toyota Supra clinched the Quickest ET and Fastest MPH awards with a 9.448 second pass at 163.33mph. Juan Garcia from Norcross, GA, brought his '91 Honda CRX to the track to see how it would fare, and went home with the
closest to 10 second award, courtesy of a 10.595 second pass. Garcia's turbocharged, intercooled, lightened and sprayed machine almost danced down the track en route to the 10.595 second number at 143.51mph. Brittany McCullers ('92 Honda - Conyers, GA) and Benjamin Harrison ('06 Dodge RAM - Doraville, GA) tied for the Best Reaction Time award with a .502 second react. McCuller's recently modified Honda had just come off the Chassis Dyno
with a 219 rear wheel horsepower report, but it damaged a rod bearing during its racetrack excursion and had to be parked for the remainder of the day. She was thrilled to learn at the end of the day she had won the reaction time award. Benjamin Harris had never been to the racetrack before, and enjoyed winning something his first time out in his stock '06 Dodge RAM.
Tiffany Edwards from Gainesville, GA won the closest to 11 second award with her dragster, which ran 11.527 seconds. The closest to 12 second award went to Charles Wang ('03 Mitsubishi Evo - Kennesaw, GA - 12.097 seconds). Matthew Hodge ('03 Neon SRT-4 - Marietta, GA) earned the closest to 13 second prize with his 13.038 second pass. Brady Jansen came all the way from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and earned a bit of gas money for the trip home with his 14.045 second pass in a '90 Accord after receiving the closest to 14 second award.

The car show was popular with all participants, featuring numerous makes and models, both domestic and imported. Awards given included Best of Show and Best Mopar, along with trophies for the many different classes. Jeffrey Wright of Marietta, GA brought four of his Club Scinergy Scions to the show, including a bright yellow, supercharged Scion XB. Scott Parker showed his teameci.com '04 Nissan 350Z, which featured custom paint by Shane Rickert of
Cumming, GA, a Kinetix induction system, Nitrous Express nitrous oxide injection, and Alphasonik sound system components. Although North Georgia College senior Cam Farris' Douglasville, GA based '06 Corvette was mostly stock, the custom audio system which filled up much of the area behind his seats set the ROTC History major's machine apart from the crowd. Brent Richey's unusual looking wide stance '72 Karmann Ghia was not as highly detailed as others, but his car is driven daily to school.

Many aftermarket parts for imports were available on the manufacturer's midway, along with custom wheels and audio systems. The sound systems going all day ensured there would not be a quiet moment until the show was over.

The on-site chassis dyno proved to be extremely popular with event participants, and was booked solid less than 45 minutes after the gates opened for the event. Before injuring the engine in her recently modified '92 Honda, Brittany McCullers was thrilled to see the 219 rear wheel horsepower report after her dyno pull.

Sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), Atlanta Dragway is located just off I-85 at Exit 149 in the Banks Crossing area of Commerce, Georgia. Information on all 2006 events may be obtained by calling the track office (706-335-2301) or logging on to
www.atlantadragway.com .

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Quickest ET 9.448 Chris Anderson '95 Toyota Supra Suwanee, GA
Fastest MPH 163.33 Chris Anderson '95 Toyota Supra Suwanee, GA
Best Reaction Time .502 Brittany McCullers '92 Honda Conyers, GA
Best Reaction Time .502 Benjamin Harrison '06 Dodge RAM Doraville, GA

Closest to 10 ET 10.595 Juan Garcia '91 Honda CRX Norcross, GA
Closest to 11 ET 11.527 Tiffany Edwards dragster Gainesville, GA
Closest to 12 ET 12.097 Charles Wang '03 Mitsubishi Evo Kennesaw, GA
Closest to 13 ET 13.038 Matthew Hodge '03 Neon SRT-4 Marietta, GA
Closest to 14 ET 14.045 Brady Jansen '90 Accord Detroit Lakes, MN