High Tech Imports vs. American Muscle

Adams take on the day:


"However, even with five litres of four cam, 32 valve V8 at the sharp end,
the S4 is no drag racer"- 911 & Porsche World (May 2000)

"Eat Me" - Stuttgart Airforce (June 2000)

This morning, the below listed individuals decended upon Seattle
International Raceway to participate in the Hi-Tech Import vs. American
Muscle drags, in the first annual Pac NW Shark Drags event.  Individually,
these pilots came from far and wide, some driving long distances (thanks
Chris, Terry, and Louie) to join together as the "Stuttgart Airforce" 928
Drag Racing Team.

Originally slated for 16 sharks to participate, we lost half our numbers due
to last minute mechanical problems and schedule conflicts.  The Stuttgart
Airforce is as follows:

Louie "The Professor" Ott  -90 GT
Terry "The Enforcer" Redinger - 89 S4 A/T
Ray "The Scalpel" Henson - '88 S4 A/T
Rob "Dolby" Fossett - 85 S A/T
Phil "Gorilla" Wilson - 87 5 spd
Chris "Concorde" Ford - 91 S4 A/T
Tom "Midlman" Middleton - 87 S4 A/T
Pat "Predator" Edwards - 85 S 5 spd

Jim Viglietta and Paul Wilhem were also kind enough to come by and support
the team.

We all met outside the gates of SIR at around 7:30am.  Nice to see everyone
once again, and we all chatted for about an hour before deciding to enter
the track for tech inspection. Some new faces appeared as well. Pat Edwards
was driving his freshly painted 85S with an S4 nose, revised front air dam,
and 18" wheels.  Phil Wilson pulled up in his Venetian Blue S4 5 speed.
Sorry Phil, I can't remember your model year, is it an '88?

Before the first dial in run, the general consensus seemed to be that the
S4's would be pulling in low 15's, Louie thought he might squeeze a 14 flat
out of his GT.

The very first shark that I saw run was Ray Henson's '88 S4 A/T.  Ray runs
chips, a K&N, and RMB (if I remember correctly).  The tree lit up and Ray
was off.  He pulled a 14.342! I couldn't believe it. That first run merely
set the pace for the rest of the day as everyone thoroughly trounced the
stock quartermile specs for their respective MY. It was awesome.

Chris Ford was kind enough to offer me  (as did others, but Chris wouldn't
take "no" for an answer)  his '91S4 A/T for a run since my shark is
currently awaiting a torque tube replacement. WHAT A RUSH!

I pulled into the staging lanes, and was fortunate enough to line up next to
Louie's '90 GT.  As we started moving closer to the start I really became
nervous.  My heart started racing, hands became jittery, and then I got
waved forward by the line man.  You pull up behind the car that is already
staged at the tree in your lane, and then back up slightly toward the
burnout pit.  The car ahead of you then gets it's tree and takes off. Pretty
wild seeing a car smoke 'em off 20' off your front bumper and take off down
the strip.  My turn now.  I slowly crept forward until the top "pre-stage"
light turned on.  I waited for Louie to pre-stage and then crept forward
again until the second "staged" light turned on. Ready to Rock 'n Roll.
Gear selector is in "2", left foot on the brake, right foot ready to bury
the pedal.

>From here, everything went into slow motion mode.  The three amber lights
light up sequentially from top to bottom.  It seemed to take an eternity
between each light, although its only half a second. The rule seems to be
that if you initiate your launch on the last amber, it will take the car a
half  a second to respond and you will be moving by the time the green light
turns on. It didn't seem possible that it would take the car that long to
respond.  The third amber came on and I hesitated for just a bit and floored
it. Pedal to the floor, RMB howls, then I hear Louie's GT roar like wounded
lion and launch out of the gate.  The S4 launches and we're door to door to
red line in first gear. Then Louie's shark starts to breath and leaves me
behind as I shift into "3". I managed a 14.456 @ 99.09mph.  Not bad for a
stock S4 A/T with an RMB, actually pretty awesome. You've got a nice ride
Chris, thanks for letting me take it for the funnest 14 seconds of my life.

Four trophies were awarded for the day.

"King Shark" trophy went to Phil "Gorilla" Wilson and his 5 speed S4 for
getting the deepest into the ladder before getting eliminated.  Phil laid
waste to some fast machinery, including a pair of Pro-Street 'stangs before
getting eliminated in the quarter finals(!) due to a miscue at the tree. It
was quite a contrast in his final round to see Phil's S4 lined up against a
fully tubbed and snorkel scooped camaro.  His third run was very exciting to
watch.  He launched first, then the 'Stang shot out like a bullet and passed
him.  By the end of the quartermile, the shark started to breath and took
the win.  As Phil says "these things (928's) got legs!" As it turns out,
Phil's shark was the last "import" to get eliminated.  Japan's finest were
getting shut down left and right while Phil and his shark persisted.

"Quick Draw" trophy went to Ray "The Scalpel" Henson ('88 S4 A/T) for having
the fastest reaction time after dial in with a lightening quick .579.

"Top Gun" trophy went to Louie Ott for having the quickest e.t. after dial
in with a 13.922.  Louie's best run was a 13.546/102.73mph respectively.

"Eliminator" trophy went to Pat Edwards for consistency in nailing 14.6
three times before he broke out with a 14.52 in his first heat.

Also, Phil won the Shark Drag Poker prize by coming closest to his projected
reaction time, elapsed time, and top speed. The prize, a copy of Need for
Speed - Porsche Unleashed and a steering wheel computer controller complete
with shifter and pedals. We'll have to find you a foot controller with a
clutch pedal to help with starts for next year, eh Phil? :)

Luckily, no broken half shafts or other major incidents.  Tom Middleton's
'87 S4 suffered a heater control valve failure during his first heat.  Tom
won the round as his opponent broke out, but was not able to get the leaking
control valve by-passed in time for his second heat race.  We'll get 'em
next year for sure Tom!

It was a real blast to see our sharks out there. We were a force for sure.
Phil's tremendous feat of getting into the quarter finals gave us all a deep
sense of pride for our machines and our team.

It appears there is enough interest to make this an annual event.  So, next
year  the Stuttgart Airforce willl once again touch down at Seattle
International Raceway.

Fly safe!
-Adam Birnbaum
 '88 S4 A/T