Sportsman Class in the Spotlight:
SUPER STREET - SST
In March 2011 Speedgroup acquired the NDRS Dragracing Series
and SDL Swedish Dragracing League. NDRS is an international series with
events following the FIA/UEM Championship and with additional
events also in the calendar.
We will include articles
connected with the sportsman racing series continously. And naturally
we wish to highlight the classes and teams that run in them.
We start by one of the classic US/NHRA born "super
classes" - SUPER STREET.
And we let two successful teams active
in the class tell us about what Super Street Racing is about..
Check it out! 
2010 NDRS Super Street Champions
Car:
Super Street 1
Drivers: Jennifer Gustafsson &
Jessica Gustafsson SWEDEN (interview
with Jennifer)
Can You tell us the basic facts about
the car?
Jennifer:
Dodge Challenger R/T -70.
10.00 sek / 221 km/h, 758 hk, 8
cylinders
It is a Chrysler 499 cui, 727 Automatic. dana 60, 4,56. Tyres from Goodyear
14x32/15.
Me and Jessica share the car so I will be driving at NDRS
events and Jessica the SDL events
What are the other defining factors of the
class?
Jennifer:
Super Street racers compete on a fixed 10.90-second index.
All vehicles must be full-bodied cars.
Jennifer runs in the
NDRS Series and won in 2010..
How has the class evolved in recent years
in terms of product, performance, number of teams, etc.?
Jennifer:
The class is developing well with
many excellent teams. More and more teams are getting better at adjusting their cars
to go 10,90 seconds flat. Since we are racing against a fixed index you
don’t have to work on developing more power so much, more on adjusting the
performance towards perfection.
What variables are used to tune the car for
the track? What aspect is most critical?
Jennifer: You work a lot
with tyre pressure and start RPM. And adjust the throttle stop to match
the changes in track and weather so you can repeat the ET in an optimal
way.
.. while sister Jessica
compete in the all-Swedish SDL-Dragracing
League
Does driving style change
according to track condition? In what way?
Jennifer: of course, all the tracks are different and you have to learn
how to adjust both the car and yourself as a driver to different track
conditions.
What servicing is normally done between
runs during competition?
Jennifer: Refueling and charging the batteries. Checking Tyres and
polishing the car of course!
Perishable parts on a Super Street car
?
Jennifer: Valve springs one
set a year, 1 set of tyres, Lifters every 3 years. Everything else is changed when it’s
needed
How fast do you think the ¼ mile can be run
under optimum conditions and what will it take to achieve that?
Jennifer: We have made runs
at 10,0 seconds and don’t want to go any faster since you have other
safety regulations if you run faster then at 10,0.
Favourite track / best racing
surface?
Jennifer: We are
able to adjust the car to get good traction on most of the tracks, however
I prefer quarter mile to eight mile tracks though.
Noticeable:
This
car is probably the most successful Super Street car in Sweden and has won
many trophies through the years counting in the former
owners.
Car: Super Street 4 /Chevrolet Camaro 1994
406 cui ca 650 hp from Mike Thompson Racing Engines,
FL
Driver: Simon Gustafsson SWEDEN
Can You tell us the basic facts about the car?
Simon: My car goes about 10.5 seconds which is good enough for Super
Street. I have not measured the horsepower but would guess about 600 hp.
the fuel I run with are Shell V Power and I have a Chevrolet small
block of 406 cui.
What are the other defining factors of the
class?
Simon: The characteristics of super street is that the cars are so
original like, and it is very tight racing, often it’s just thousand of a
second between the cars at the finish line,
it's a very good class to start in
because it’s a fixed dial in and the same conditions for all competitors
means that the costs of running the cars don’t go out of hand , everybody
can run by their own budgets
Simon
Gustafsson
How has the class evolved in recent years in
terms of product, performance, number of teams, etc.?
Simon: Product development has
definitely moved forward, there is really nice stuff to
this type of cars,
thinking mainly of throttle stops, and such things, including weather stations that are available for
sensible money.
Performancewise, I have not so much experience as it was first season for me in 2010, but
I guess there are more cars that are able to
run 10.90 or faster. I think Super Street will increase the number of participants looking
ahead.
What variables are used to tune the car for the track? What
aspect is most critical?
Simon: What is most critical is how the weather is
changing, it is super important to keep
track of weather since a few
hundred foot difference in weather can change
hundreds of a second on ET.
You can not take chances when it is so
tight that it is in
the super classes. It is also very important to keep an eye on
the track conditions and of course the reaction times, one must have
good reaction times or you will
be smoked!
Does driving style change according to track condition? In what
way?
Simon: You change launch RPM regarding to track conditions and of
course trottelstop settings.
What servicing is normally done between runs during
competition?
Simon: It is not so much. I fill
gas charging the
battery, cooling the engine and some general service, every night I change sides on rear tires and check valve
clearance and valve
spring pressure.
Perishable parts on a Super Street car ?
Simon: If nothing happens
then I will go through the
engine, gearbox and rear end after the season and check that everything is okay, replace it as needed. We change tires after
every season.
How fast do you think the ¼ mile can be run under optimum
conditions and what will it take to achieve that?
Simon: In Super Street, it is
to get right at 10.900 seconds which is the goal, to get where it is required that
you are very
careful with everything, not leaving anything to chance. So you have to
be very lucky to hit the right thousand of a second at 10.900
Favourite track / best racing surface?
Simon: As I have said I have just run
one season and thus not having run on so many
tracks, but the favorite from last year was Mantorp. I also believe that Tierp will be a
really good track.
Now.. we can´t resist telling that Jessica & Jennifer may have a tiny bit of dragracing genes from their father Christer Gustafsson, who to most people is considered to be among the top tuners and crew chiefs in Pro Stock Racing and also have a background as a driver. Today the (four!) car team include a Pro Stock car with Jonas Dantanus behind the wheel, the Gustafsson sisters´ winning Super Street car of course, then Simon Gustafsson´s Super Street car.. Simon doubles as a Pro Stock mechanic for Jonas and last but not least the team also includes a Junior Dragster piloted by Pontus Dantanus. If there is a dragracing family - this is it!
Thank You Simon, Jessica and Jennifer for sharing
your expertise! And good luck for the race season
2011!
Read More about the team
at
http://jd-racing.se
The SUPER STREET Class is run in
the NDRS and SDL Series administered by Speedgroup from March
1st 2011
NDRS DRAGRACING SERIES
SDL-SWEDISH DRAGRACING LEAGUE
More
information about the series ca be read at: ww.speedgroup.eu/ndrs/index_ndrs.htm
Text by Åsa Kinnemar and NDRS co-ordinator Jonas Staflund
based on i nterviews with the drivers
Photos provided by the teams and photographer Lena Perés
This article is part of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter #3/2011
www.speedgroup.eu
Published by Speedgroup www.speedgroup.eu
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> Any use of the above requires permission from Speedgroup.
> e-mail: asa.kinnemar@speedgroup.eu
> © Speedgroup 2011