Street-weight Coyotes squared off for fun and prizes at Orlando Speed World Dragway
By Steve Turner
When Justin Starkey at VMP Tuning approached us about covering an event centered around real street-weight Coyote-powered Mustangs, we were all for it. A day at the track watching these high-winding 5.0-liter Mustangs blasting down the track is our kind of day. Moreover, we liked the idea of seeing what real-world cars can do appealed to us.
Here are all the participants that came out to run in the first Street Coyote Shootout. It was a refreshing day at the track, as the feel was surprisingly relaxed for a race. There was zero drama, and everyone seemed to enjoy the racing camaraderie.
Ever since Justin’s wife, Rebecca, started running well with her streetable 2011 Mustang GT automatic, he was seeking a place for it to fit in. It appealed to his customers, but her car wasn’t cut out to run with the all-out race cars. It seemed many of his customers were in the same boat.
“Four years later, there is still no class or racing organization that truly supports the Coyote street car. Adam at Revolution Automotive did the first shootouts, and there have been a few since. We’re looking to develop consistent events that occur several times per year,†Justin told us before the event. “Professional racing organizations are aimed at purpose-built cars that require huge budgets. VMP has always been about performance for your dollar, I don’t want to do something that my customers can’t re-create.â€
“I started off the day with 9.6 at 144 mph right on the first hit, making me second-place qualifier, Sai explained. “For some reason after the first pass I was fighting traction issues and had to keep turning the power down to adjust to track conditions.†Apparently his adjustments paid off, after a first-round bye courtesy of Jim Braun’s broken rear, Sai took out Randy Christian’s ProCharged machine in the second round before facing Bret LaSala’s turbo machine in the finals. The race was as close as they come. “In the finals I took the W over Bret by a margin of .01 which was an awesome extremely close race,†Sai added.
So, the idea was hatched to put together an informal event at Orlando Speed World Dragway, which would include classes for 2011-2015 Coyote Mustangs, both naturally aspirated and power-adder equipped. There were also provisions for EcoBoost cars and Coyote trucks. It was all set for the weekend before Thanksgiving, but as the day approached, the forecast looked dire and the track suggested postponing the event.
As such, the date was moved to the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, that meant a few participants that had traveled long distances to race would be unable to make the rain date. So, as the day arrived, the Street Coyote Shootout was down a few racers. However, those that did come out had a great time and were able to benefit from a bounty of trophies and raffle prizes organized by Justin.
As one of the main men at Forced Motorsports, it’s no surprise that Sai tuned his own ride. Highlighted by an On 3 Performance twin-turbo kit, his 2012 Mustang GT features a stock Coyote engine, a 6R80 automatic trans with a Circle D converter, and a full complement of BMR Suspension components.
“We achieved what we set out to do, we got some cars together and raced!†Justin said. “With the help of our sponsors—including one, Power by the Hour, that even came on site to support the event—it turned out great.â€
It was a beautiful day at the track that included some impressive performances and close racing, and laid the groundwork for the possibility of a follow-up event next spring.
“We are looking at a February event in Florida and also an event sometime next year at Maryland International Raceway in Maryland, since that is Revolution Automotive’s home track,†Justin added.
Bret LaSala not only took home a trophy for his car’s good looks, but he put his GHIG machine in the fourth qualified spot with a 10.09 at 137.34 mph. When Nick Bolli had troubles, Bret rode a bye run into the second round. There he faced Christian Morillo’s nitrous-injected machine, which ran in the 10s. However, Bret stepped up with a 9.99 at 138.71 mph blast to take the win. That put him into the finals against Sai Li’s 9-second turbo ride. Fittingly, the power-adder class final was as close as you could imagine, but Bret ended up on the short end.Backing up its Gotta Have It Green good lucks, Bret’s Snotrocket sports a CPR Turbo kit featuring a single Borg Warner S475 turbo feeding the Boss 302 manifold atop a stock Coyote engine. His mild combo ran a best of 9.79 at 141.67 at the Shootout.Randy Christian believed his 2011 Mustang GT was the quickest car running a ProCharger P-1SC supercharger. He recently upgraded to the larger D-1SC supercharger with an eight-rib drive and his car is running even quicker now. A Boss intake, MBRP exhaust, E85 fuel in the tank, and a Circle D converter in the auto trans round out his combo. Christian qualified in the third slot thanks to a 9.81/135 hit—his personal best. That matched him up with Scotty McLeod’s 10-second ride in round one. Christian advanced to face eventual winner Sai Li, so you know how that race ended.While most of the cars at the race featured stock Coyote engines feeding on big boost, SVTP member Christian Morillo (BlueSmokem5.0) took a different approach. He opted to start with a built engine from T&T Motorsports and spray it with a 250-shot from a Nitrous Express kit. His car sports a full exhaust, an upgraded suspension, and a 6R80 with a Circle D 4C converter. With a full interior it weighs in a 3775 pounds with driver and clicked off an impressive 10.16/136.50 qualifying pass to land the fifth spot.Making the trip up from Port St. Lucie, Florida, Scott McLeod qualified his 2012 Mustang GT in the sixth spot thanks to a 10.49 at 137.15. Sporting a VMP TVS, Injector Dynamics ID 1000 injectors, a JLT CAI, a BBR X-pope, MMR oil-pump gears, and more. Scott was chasing some gremlins, but he was still able to run his best e.t. to date—a 10.42 at 138—during eliminations. “Not bad for a daily driven car that I drove to Mustang Week!†Scott said. However, even his best run wasn’t enough to take out Randy Christian’s 9-second GT.There is just something about quick Mustang droptops. The number-one qualifier was none other than Nick Bolli’s VMP TVS-boosted 2011 Mustang GT convertible. He ripped off a 9.40 at 137.09 mph to claim that spot. He had single in the first round, but on that pass he had some issues and he wasn’t able to run Bret LaSala in the second round.Speaking of issues, Rebecca Starkey had a frustrating outing to Orlando Speed World Dragway. She had hoped to take advantage of the good weather to break her low-9-second 2011 Mustang GT into the 8-second zone. Alas, her crank damper was eating belts like it was going out of style, so she never really got off a clean pass. Rest assured the issue will be corrected so she can get back to pursuing that first 8-second pass.Running his own custom twin-turbo kit (his build thread is in the SVTP 2011-2014 Mustang forum), a tune by Sai Li and E85 in the tank, Jim Braun’s 2012 Mustang qualified in the seventh spot with an 11.04 at 142.84 mph. He was still dialing in the combo when the spider gears in the diff let go. “As I’m driving into the burnout box I hear something in the rear end pop, it almost felt like a spool rear end when turning, I ignored it and continued on with my burnout,†Jim explained. “I do a nice smoky burnout and roll up to the line, put it on the two-step, let the clutch out and—bang—I hear a loud noise come from the rear followed by some grinding.†As such, he couldn’t make the call against Sai Li in the first round, but he did win gift certificates from Piedmont Motorsports and Power by the Hour, which should help offset the loss of the diff.While most of the action was in the Street Power Adder class, there were a few naturally aspirated players, and Dave Stauder’s 2012 Boss 302 was at the head of the class thanks to an impressive 11.13 at 123.81 mph. Driven by its tuner, Tony Gonyon of Tuners Inc in Orange Park, Florida, Dave’s car rode a single into the finals against John Jalbert’s 2014 Mustang GT. Tony got the jump, and John’s ride didn’t have the beans to run it down.Other than the Steeda cold-air intake and a Watson Engineering oil separator, Dave’s Boss 302 appears pretty unassuming. Clearly that’s not the case, as the car was dangerously close to running a 10-second e.t. at the shootout (It did become the first NA Boss to run 10s back in January.). It runs Kooks long-tubes, a Kooks mid-pipe, GT500 mufflers, 47 lb/hr injectors, and an L&M 82mm throttle body. His Boss manifold is port-matched. Underneath it is enhanced with an MGW shifter, a Blowfish shifter bracket, and CHE suspension mods.Speaking of unassuming, Mathew Uzzan’s 2014 Mustang GT looked pretty stock. It even ran on the factory front wheels with sticky tires out back. He qualified in the number-two spot thanks to a 12.53 at 112 mph, which lined him up against against Jon Jalbert. A hurt clutch in Jon’s car meant Mathew’s bolt-on GT would face Dave Stauder’s Boss. It ended as you’d expect. However, despite the setback, Mathew had fun. “I absolutely enjoyed myself from the second I got there to the second I left,†he said.While it Mathew’s car is pretty stock, right down to the tune and the MT-82 manual trans, it does feature a full complement of BMR Suspension upgrades. He added control arms, relocation brackets, a Panhard bar, and sway bar relocation brackets to maximize traction to the SVE drag wheels fitted with Nitto 555Rs.After qualifying in the third spot with a 12.56/116 pass, Jon Jalbert’s JLT CAI-equipped GT lost a clutch and pushed Mathew Uzzan into the finals to face Tony Gonyon.With a shortage of turbo Mustangs on hand, the EcoBoost class was populated by the two Focus STs on the property. Hector Navarro of Central Florida Motorsports cut down the tree and held the advantage to the strip to take the win with a low-14-second run. He also contributed to the raffle prizes, giving out five of his company’s unique crankcase breathers.
Another on3 success story.