Dirt
Street Car Supernationals Still Shines a Dozen Years Later
By Brandon W . Mudd
NHRA Pro Mod regulars Sidnei Frigo and Troy Coughlin were all but guaranteed to leave the Street Car Super Nationals with big trophies and bigger paychecks . Coughlin , a twotime winner of its Outlaw Pro Mod class , was looking at the possibility of the first-ever 280 mph doorslammer pass and was hands down the quickest car on the property . Frigo was the No . 1 qualifier in the traditional Pro Mod class and ran a race-low ET of 5.687 seconds at a top speed of 261.83 mph .
Coughlin didn ’ t make the finals and Frigo was beaten by the ninth-overall qualifier . Bench racing on paper before the meet is never a good idea .
Mike Bowman earned the win light against the Brazilian Frigo with a pass of 5.788 seconds at 259.06 mph and SCSN veteran Mike Maggio finally broke through for the victory after defeating John Stanley , who red lit . Making the defeat even more painful for Stanley , who fouled out by . 049 seconds , was the fact he laid down a pass nearly a full tenth quicker than his opponent .
The event , hosted annually at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the past 12 years , is unique as both a drag race hosting huge names within the sport and as a marathon event closing out the drag racing season . Mel Roth , the promoter and the president of the event ’ s sanctioning body , the Premier Street Car Association , is the glue that holds the event together along with his wife , Heather , and a seemingly-inexhaustible staff . Roth is at the starting line , filming pass after pass on Facebook Live . He ’ s in the tower , talking to the announcers regarding which sponsor has stepped up for some on-the-spot cash for lowest ET of that particular qualifying round . He ’ s taking verbal abuse from drivers and crew for any number of transgressions , many of them resulting from a poor run that couldn ’ t possibly be their own fault .
“ Loved seeing Maggio get that win ,” Roth said when it was over . “ I mean , I like watching all of
the winners react , but I ’ ve known Mike a long time . He ’ s been to every one of these but one . So ’ s Bowman actually . It was a great race .”
PHOTOS : PAUL GRANT
30 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 115