By
Andrew Wolf August 23, 2018When we left off last week, the teams taking part in the $10K Drag Shootout were ripping apart their respective machines and getting their hands dirty fabricating roll cages, ordering parts, and preparing their engines for assembly. And while two teams were marching right along in their build-up, the other two combatants found themselves in hot water after the
Horsepower Wars officials took issue with parts they had acquired under questionable circumstances, leaving their entire project in limbo.
The drama surrounded a set of not-as-described cylinder heads that Team Boddie/Dow Brothers had been hiding in the bathroom, and a rearend housing that Team Stinky Pinky had purported to have found on the internet at a price too good to be true. The entire premise of the $10K Drag Shootout, of course, is to build a car that could truly be built for $10,000 — and so if teams acquire parts that are worth far more at market value than they paid for them, then the whole spirit of the competition is lost. And so the possible efforts of these two teams to fudge the rules is cause for concern.
The Boddie/Dow team, adamant they had done no wrong, asked the officials to review their cylinder heads, the order, and the purchase price, with the understanding that penalties could exist — be it financial, weight, or both. In the end, it was ruled that the team had ended up with ported cylinder heads that were clearly as-cast, and there were consequences: they’d have to pay the actual cost of the cylinder heads (just over $1,700) and take a 50-pound weight hit penalty.
Team Boddie/Dow Brothers team leader Russ Wullenwaber confers with Horsepower wars officials regarding their “questionable” set of cylinder heads.
Disco Dean Karns and his Stinky Pinky bunch also were found in violation of the rules and were required to check-in their rearend housing at $500, versus the $250 they had initially recorded. However, because this occurred in the parts approval stage, there was no weight penalty levied.It wasn’t all controversy and work and no play at this stage, though — we had another extracurricular activity in store for the teams that neither they they nor their stomachs saw coming.The four teams were surprised to say the least when they were faced with a long table lined with tacos — because who doesn’t love tacos? The goal: eat as many, collectively, as possible in five minutes time. The team that consumes the most tacos, and keeps them all down, wins.