SVTP’s annual Mustang Week burnout contest set a new standard
By Steve Turner
One of the most exciting events on the official Mustang Week schedule is the SVTPerformance.com Burnout Contest. Obviously we are a bit biased, but from the size of the crowds that watch each year and the volume of their reactions, we’d have to say that people enjoy this display of tire slaying.
There was special significance to Matt Meredith lining up in the SVTP Burnout Contest. He worked with us on a surprise for his girlfriend Kristen Dill. She had often joked that if they were to get married that she would want a polished Whipple supercharger instead of an engagement ring. Little did she know that Matt had smuggled a polished 2.9 in the spare tire well of his 2007 Shelby GT500.
Those that attend every year know this is not your typical burnout contest. This is not a test of wills between the participants’ front brakes and the rear tires. Instead, contestants are challenged to keep the tires spinning and keep the smoke flowing as long as they can. This scenario sets the stage for impressive feats of car control and tire destruction.
We encourage creativity, as the voting is determined by crowd response, so the more you can play up to the audience, the better chance you have to win. That often means that tires burst, cooling hoses give way and, sometimes, head gaskets surrender. It is quite a spectacle, and you can watch the whole thing in this video from our friends at Stang Vids…
There’s also some SVTP Burnout Contest action taken from above by Bullitt Auto Detail’s drone right here…
After Matt smoked his tires and slid around, he stopped in front of that polished Whipple supercharger that Kristen had unknowingly driven to Mustang Week with. At that moment she knew what was up. Matt brought her out and popped the question, but he didn’t just have a blower, he had an engagement ring too. She said yes, and it’s a moment the couple will never forget.
Of course, the SVTP Burnout Contest also offers an alternative to all the street shenanigans that can give the best week ever a bad name. Fortunately, it seemed there was less street silliness and more on-track insanity in the burnout contest.
As SVTP’s SID297 succinctly put it when interviewed by Myrtle Beach ABC affiliate WPDE, “If you want to show off, this is the place to show off. Don’t do it on the street.†You can watch the interview here…
In the end, it was a Lightning tuned by Pro Dyno that smoked out the Mustangs to take the crown in the 2015 edition of the contest. As a reward, he won a great prize—a full set of wheels from Race Star Industries!
Justin Conner carried his primered ’88 coupe down the straightaway before going wild. His co-pilot was hanging out the window with his phone as the Trick Flow-cammed Fox did work.Khion K’s 1996 Mustang GT pumped out a wall of smoke. Eventually the 5.4-swapped SN-95 stalled and had to roll off into the grass. Usually, a car that gives its all is worth a few more sympathy votes, but this year’s contest was so competitive that wouldn’t be enough.Another Fox from the Conner clan drifted down the front straight in front of a wall of smoke, as James Conner destroyed the tires on his 1990 LX. Pumped up with a Ford Performance X cam, this Fox coupe had no trouble slaying its tires.Lamar Albritton’s 1965 Mustang is no show car, but it definitely put on a show for the crowd. He really laid down the smoke and sustained the burnout for a long time! And, hey, the car might be rusty, but it does have a fiberglass hood and a new windshield, so it’s a work in progress.We have seen a few Mustangs with Lightning engine swaps over the years, and these tall Two-Valve 5.4s don’t quite fit under a Mustang hood. They do produce plenty of tire-shredding torque though. Curtis showed great car control, and strategically rode the spinning tires until his car was posed right in front of the SVTP banner. Nice work.You do have to be brave to take your newer Mustang and shred the rear tires, but Dakota Dobson had no problem creating a wall of smoke with his 2012 Mustang GT. The silver S197 is revved up with a custom SCT calibration that simulates a lumpy cam.Thomas Jarrell came loaded for bear in his 2003 Lightning. He bolted a second set of wheels and tires onto his Pro Dyno-tuned truck and didn’t take his foot off the gas until both rear tires popped. Yes, both tires, and that didn’t stop him. He kept driving. In years past popping one tire would wow the crowd, but blowing two gave Thomas a definite edge.After a sustained show of burnout force, Christian Papa’s 1998 Cobra popped its right rear tire. As he let the revs come down, the overheated engine needed relief. The coolant spilled out all over the pavement, and his car was escorted to the grass. In years past overheating and popping a tire would have sealed a victory, but it seems popping two tires trumps everything.Mustangs of almost every era did battle with one Lightning for the bragging rights that come to the winner of the SVTP Burnout Contest. Jonathan Sumer came all the way from New Jersey to smoke the tires in his 2002 Mustang GT. His ride is mildly modded with a BBK cold-air intake and a Magnaflow exhaust, but it had plenty of power to burn the tires.Clean and green, Carson Cockman’s 1992 coupe was part of a pack of cars that did the Fox lineage proud in the SVTP Burnout Contest. Sporting a freshened, 306ci small-black and a Flowmaster exhaust, the LX looked like a stocker, but shredded tires like Pro Stocker!If you are like us, you might be hesitant to let someone borrow your new Mustang. However, when Jonathan Nerren—a previous winner of the SVTP Burnout Contest and a member of Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s drift crew—asks for your 2015 Mustang keys, you might want to think about it for moment. Randy Fuller wasn’t scared. He let Jonathan borrow his Stealth Coyote, and Jonathan put on quite a display of tire slaying and car control, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the double-blowout performance of the Lightning.From one Lightning fan to another: Thomas Jarrell accepts his 2015 SVTP Burnout Contest championship accolades from our leader, SID297. For his trouble, Thomas won a set of wheels from Race Star Industries.We have a feeling Thomas was prepared to pop a tire or two. Not only did he have a spare set of wheels and tires installed, but the crew from Pro Dyno was also on standby with the truck’s daily rear wheels and tires and a floor jack. They had Thomas back on the road in no time.
