Two hundred and seventy two miles per hour is bad fast whether you are at Bonneville or in a top alcohol dragster. Two hundred and seventy two miles per hour is the fastest anything has ever gone on a quarter mile drag strip with functional doors, a full body, and suspension under it. The run you are about to go on inside the Q80 Racing team’s Pro Line Racing Engines powered Camaro is the single fastest run for a car like this in the history of drag racing. The driver of the car is Turky Al-Zafiri and he does a fine job guiding the land based missile down the track on what seems like a damned smooth lap at Gateway Motorsports Park outside of St. Louis, Missouri. He has to steer the thing a little early in the run but when she comes all in and really starts humping on top end of the track, Turky is just along for the ride and primed to throw the parachutes out.
Last weekend at the SCSN Anarchy at the Arch event we had a couple of questions answered that people had long been asking. Specifically, questions surrounding what a basically unlimited pro mod would do if turned loose on a quarter mile track. For reasons that will become even more clear in the next couple of days, the majority of “outlaw” pro mod racing is done on eighth mile length courses because it controls the speeds and allows organizations to keep with the “wide open” nature of the category. It also tends to keep the prying eyes of insurance companies and sanctioning bodies at bay….not any more.
As the 272mph run along with the laps down into the 5.40s were literally unprecedented events in drag racing history there was reason for celebration. People saw something that they had never seen before and those that watched our broadcast along with the folks at the track saw something we will likely not see for a very, very long time again. The buzz immediately following those runs was that NHRA had paid attention and that some new rules/regulations would be coming down the pipe. The lack of an SFI chassis certification for these speeds and elapsed times is the biggest things that jumped out at us. The 5.40s are a place no one dreamed of being in the past but there were a pair of cars slugging back and forth in that zone during the St. Louis race. It was incredible to watch, even when you knew that the inevitable was coming at some point this week.
Congrats to the Q80 team, congrats to the crew at Pro Line, congrats to the track workers at Gateway that prepped that thing to the teeth. That trifecta of greatness lead to some of the most amazing outlaw pro mod footage ever captured on film! Ride along with Turky in this video and see what 272 looks like through the windshield of a Camaro in St. Louis –
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THE VIDEO OF TURKY AL-ZAFIRI’S 272 MPH SHOT AT GATEWAY –
The NHRA can blow it out their “you know what” this is exactly why we DON”T need the NHRA anymore. Let these guys go and bring some excitement back into the sport.
What’s very noticeable is that there is hardly anyone there to see it. Its the same in the rest of the photo’s from the event, there’s hardly anyone there. Why is that? Its a genuine question I’m not having a pop, I’m from the other side of the pond and I’m curious, why so few?
Three things factored in:
1. It was hot and humid no matter what time of day it was. Even when this run was made (early morning) it was about 82*F with 100% humidity.
2. St. Louis is currently a hotbed of controversy and violence. Not surprised that a lot of people avoided the area due to the Ferguson incidents.
3. As I’m to understand things, Gateway was mothballed for quite some time and opened up for this event. It’s likely that the little/no knowledge of this event didn’t help matters.
Thanks Bryan, I wondered if Ferguson had anything to do with it,thought it might be a factor but didn’t think it would be the whole story.
High temp and humidity during the event. Gateway Raceway never advertises in the local area. Drag racing in St. Louis has a very small fan base (Dirt track events at a small facility near Gateway draws larger crowds on average). The really bad operation before the track closed had a huge number of people get out of drag racing. They only bracket race once a month at most and try to focus on larger venues now but seem to be failing at it. Ferguson had very little affect on the surrounding areas and no effect in Illinois.
First, I from the area…….been going to Gateway when it was racing in the opposite direction and we would park on the levee to watch.
Second……….they did a terrible job of advertising. When I told my car buddies about the ‘stupid fast’ times they all were saying they hadn’t heard about the event.
Yes the track had gone through several owners over the years and they pissed a lot of people off during that time.
Give it some time and they’ll be back but they’re gonna have to do better job advertising.
When my son and I got there Friday night I bet there weren’t 30 people in the stands but the $35 ticket and $7 beers might’ve been a factor to…….BUT well worth the price after we settled in.
Lastly, if you come to St. Louis in the Summer………chances are it’s gonna be hot and humid. I’m used to it.
I don’t think the Ferguson fiasco held folks back…………pretty sure that crowd doesn’t frequent Gateway much.
I was there Fri and Sat. I must admit, when I got there Fri PM I was a bit disappointed. Even with the heat, that quickly disappeared with some great racing action. Thanks to all that worked hard to pull it off.