Portland International Raceway was again, one of the premier stops on the 2007 season.  It’s where the culture surrounging the track mimics the series outlooks on motorsport perfectly.   Scott Heaton, the series on-track announcer is always sitting in the saddle during these events and often has the best view of the nights happenings.  Here’s his take on Portland:

Kumho Tire Street Warriorz in Portland, Oregon is one of the best stops on the tour.  Year after year, prime rides, classic muscle cars and killer sport compacts are everywhere.  And that is just noting the beautiful cars, not all of the tremendously hot women in Oregon.


Early in the night the passes were promising: a 140 mph pass out of one of the door slammers.  Several cars were posting 135 mph plus passes, a Valiant and a Camaro, as well as a couple of Fords all had fast passes.

Then a brutal 68 or 69 Camaro went down track at 151 mph, making even the road bike guys take notice, as they are usually the fastest at the track.  They had set the pace at 150 mph, and then had to look to up the ante, but as of this point they are still off the pace,

A killer match up happened when the sun was still out between a pair of 66-ish VW Beetles, aka Bugs.  Both cars ran at 85-86 mph and made for a fantastic race.  Both cars launched off the line with near identical reaction times, and then went down track door to door clear to the finish line.  The red bug nipped the blue bug by a bumper.

Unfortunately, the red bug was unable to come back for a rematch due to not having any running lights after the sun went down.  These two showed the importance of the Street Warriorz series to any local racer.  It’s not about being the fastest car at the track… it’s about expressing yourself through your ride and making sure to better you performance in the future.


The White Zombie, an electric car (powered by batteries)  from the Portland area, owned and driven by John Wayland, part of the Plasma Boy Racing team ran a heads up race against an 06 Vette, coming up just short at the top side as he ran 108 to the 113 mph of the Vette.  It’s amazing to see an electric car run that fast, proving the option for electric vehicles and hybrids upholding the need for speed in the future.

Two brothers from the area decided to run for the Title slip on their respective cars.  A 2006 Corvette vs. a 2007 GTO.  They came up with the idea; I will let you know how it turns out.

The Vette that got the electric car, was set up in a grudge match against a Mitsubishi EVO.  The Vette red lighted the start by .125 and the EVO went .023 on the start.  In the end the Vette held on to the win, although he fouled on the line.  The EVO stayed door-to-door most of the way to the 1000-foot mark, before the vette came out on top.  GREAT RACE!!

10:45 pm the Title Race.  Gene Kelly VS. Rob Hansen.  GTO vs. Vette.  The GTO was to get a 1.5 second start, and redlights would automatically be re-run, according to their agreement.  It was a tense moment, as the fans lined the fences.  The GTO, an obvious underdog in the matchup was obviously nervous, runninga brand new slice of horsepower against a proven street-bruiser.  Gene Kelly was a little quick on the light, redlighting, but kept the pedal down through all the gears, putting up what would have been a VERY close race at the far end.  They came back around for another shot at it and it was clear to see that Gene was nervous.  They shook hands again and belted down.

The GTO scooped up as much track as possible as the Vette waited for the 1.5 to pass, but it just wasn’t enough.  The Vette caught up at the top end and ended up taking the win just as the cars crossed the finish line.  Makes winning by a bumper, or losing a car seem a little more intense doesn’t it?