Renegade #2 and Import Outlaws

Love is in the air at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip; not for Hearts or Money, but for the thrill of race! Over the weekend of February 17th and 18th, on a sunny day down in Lakeside, California. Saturday saw the return of the Renegade series for their second race of the season, while Sunday saw the varied styles of the Import Outlaws running their ways up and down the track. But the weekend starts with Saturday, and the Renegade gets everything started!
First, in the Renegade Electronics class, the final came down to Daniel Munoz and his 71 Vega, and Jim “Woody” Wood, who brought his 63 Corvette. The two cars were nearly evenly matched, and when the lights went down, both were evenly matched coming off the line. It came down to the track itself, where Daniel's 6.690 E/T on a 6.67 dial just barely beats Woody's 6.432 on a 6.40 dial, giving Daniel the Renegade Electronics win.

Daniel Munoz (Near) against "Woody" Wood (Far) in the Renegade Electronics final.
Woody wasn't done yet, though, as he fought his way back into the Renegade Non-E Final to make up for his defeat. His revenge would have to come against old track favorite Wayne Johnson and his 68 Mustang. Wayne would get the head start, with his 9.11 dial compared to Woody's 6.45start, giving Woody a nice head start. But when the lights came down, Wayne launched early, getting a -0.024 reaction time. And just like that, Woody made up for his loss by taking the Non-E bracket win without so much as moving an inch.

Wayne Johnson (Near) against "Woody" Wood (Far) In the Renegade Non-E Final

With the Renegade done, we move on to Sunday with all the Import Outlaws racers, where cars from around the world gather together for some Heads Up racing! There's a number of different brackets in play here, the All Motor, Street, Motorcycles, and Turbo brackets, as well as a Round Robin event that'd lead to the winner competing for the Top 10 Ladder later. Alongside all these brackets was anybody and everybody who wanted to make a few runs down the track without partaking in competition: The Test and Tune racers.


The Round Robin ended up between Reyes Valdes and Jose Garcept. Off the line, it was clearly Reyes who had the upper hand, his 107 MPH 95 Honda leaving Jose's 96 Acura in the dust, finishing nearly a full second ahead with a 7.115 E/T and with a full 20 MPH advantage on the speedometer.


In the Import Street class, Andrew Bennett brought his 16 Camaro to the line p against Ryan LaBranche's 13 Evo. The lights dropped and Andrew was off the line first with a .267 R/T, getting a good lead over Ryan's .480 R/T. Andrew pushed that with his slightly faster car to a 7.570 E/T, beating Ryan and getting the Import Street Win.

Ryan LaBranche's 13 Evo (Near) against Andrew Bennett's 16 Camaro (far) in the Import Street Final
When the Motorcycles lined up, everyone knew the fastest and most dangerous vehicles were ready to put on a shop. And the final between Ken Henderson's 12 Kawasaki and Vince Hill's 14 Busa was no exception. Both racers had enough power in their rockets to break 110 MPH, and when they both fired off the line with nearly matching .180 and .182 reaction times, you know it was going to be a close race to the finish. Ken pulled ahead in the end with a 5.944 E/T, while Vince Hill lagged just behind with a 6.237, getting Ken Henderson the Import Motorcycles win.

Vince Hill (Far) preparing to take on Ken Henderson (Near) in the Import Motorcycles Final
In the Import Turbo bracket, Omar Campos and his 92 Civic was feeling pretty good about their odds up against Reyes Caldes and his 95 Honda. Omar got off the line first, too, with a .163 R/T compared to Reyes' .226. However, with a pop from the engine and a surprise veer to the right wall, Omar's Civic couldn't finish the race, giving Reyes the Import Turbo win, to go with his Round Robin victory.

Reyes Valdes (Near) against Omar Campos (Far) In the Import Turbo Final

And finally, in the Import All Motor bracket, Eric Lopez and his 98 CRX was up against Tristan Workman's 95 Integra. Eric got off the line first, and road that head start to a 7.154 E/T, beating Tristian's 7.427 E/T, getting the Import All Motor win and wrapping up a fast day of Import Racing.

Eric Lopez (Far)in the Import All Motor Final against Tristan Workman (Near)Now with another fast weekend of racing behind us, it's time to look forward to March. With Spring around the corner, the Renegade returns with another spring in it's step. Saturday March 3rd, the Renegade returns, with open Test and Tune to anyone wanting to bring their cars down. Gates open at 10AM, and racing continues until 4. See you there!

Reyes Valdes, his 95 Honda, and their Import Turbo Bracket Championship trophy