Chris Tuten Destroys SSO Class Record at the NMRA/NMCA All Star Nationals
Three seasons of frustration are finally starting to pay off for ProCharger Super Street Outlaw racer Chris Tuten, as he is setting the track on fire this weekend in Commerce, Georgia, at the NMRA/NMCA All Star Nationals. This class, which is considered the ultimate small-tire class in the country, is not for the faint-of-heart, as the investment in equipment alone runs into the six figures before a car even makes it down the track.
Tuten has been chipping away at his combination for a number of years, which consists of an 8.2-deck pushrod engine boosted by a Precision 98mm turbocharger. The 25.2 chassis was built by none other than Dave Zimmerman and his band of maniacs at Team Z Motorsports in Michigan, and has been nothing shot of fantastic ever since Tuten picked it up prior to the 2009 NMRA season. He explained, “Ever since Dave built me this car, it runs down the track like a Cadillac – I barely have to touch it.” As he is one of the few racers that run in the class with no wheelie bars, his feat this afternoon in today’s second round of qualifying becomes even more amazing. In short, the car turned in a 1.19 short time, 4.65 seconds to the 1/8th mile, and an incredible 7.08 at 202.87 mph through the quarter-mile, which is nearly two-tenths quicker than the 2010 class record.
After he made it to the end of the track on what was almost an aborted pass, fellow competitor Sammy Vincent told him what his ET was. “I was running around down there in the trees, I was so happy. This was basically the perfect pass – I don’t know how much more this car has in it. For the next round, I didn’t change anything, as I want to be able to repeat what I did on the last run. After that, we’ll go from there,” he said. The excitement in his voice was easy to spot, and as things currently stand, he’s half-a-tenth quicker than number-two qualifier John Kolivas at this point in the weekend. Will he be able to carry his record-setting performance to a win? We’ll know on Sunday.
