Ed Woolsey's '02 GTI 1.8T...
Ed Woolsey's '02 GTI 1.8T boasts 815hp. It ran 12.513sec run at 129.19mph despite being street legal and having a full interior
Eliminations
Matching the fastest with the slowest qualifying cars, Marc Hubert would run against Ed Woolsey in round one. The resident of Deer Park, NY was claiming 815hp from his '02 GTI 1.8T thanks to Forcefed Engineering allowing the turbo to boost at 40psi. Despite the huge power, the car is street legal, registered and inspected; it even has a full interior. Sadly, he was experiencing transmission linkage problems and despite a 12.513sec run at 129.19, he was eliminated by Marc who ran a relatively easy 11.761 at 97.45.
Tim Vinkuns knocked out Feverston Thomas in his '95 VW after the latter broke down. Then Shawn Smith beat Lansworth Sterling in his '84 Rabbit GTI.
Tim Vinkuss struggled with...
Tim Vinkuss struggled with traction and wheelies all day, but eventually progressed to the final after beating Shawn Smith in the semis
The fourth race would be between Jeff Clark from Stanhoge, NJ - driving an '07 GTI with a GT35R turbo upgrade and Revo software - against Todd Pavics from Livingston, NJ - in a '94 GTI running a 16v turbo using a Lugtronic ECU. Sadly, Todd had blown second gear in qualifying and couldn't beat Jeff who ran 11.872sec at 122.29mph.
Semis
The first semi-final was between Shawn's GTI VR6T and Tim's '74 Bug. The former was hoping to repeat last year's form but he'd experienced engine problems throughout the day and later discovered he'd lost compression in one cylinder. Nonetheless, he ran a valiant 12.145sec quarter but couldn't compete with the rejuvenated Beetle that cracked out 10.279 at 132.45.
In the second semi, Jeff's Mk5 GTI would need some luck to beat Marc's '95 Golf, but it wasn't meant to be. Jeff ran 12.304 while Marc loped home with 11.060sec.
The Final
So the Outlaw Quick 8 final had come down to an exciting air- versus water-cooled heads-up race. Winner takes all, no prisoners.
 Jeff Clark reached the semi-finals...  Jeff Clark reached the semi-finals in his big-turbo Mk5 GTI, only to be eliminated by the eventual winner, Marc Hubert |  Shawn Smith in his Mk3 GTI...  Shawn Smith in his Mk3 GTI VR6 turbo beat Lansworth Sterling's '84 Rabbit GTI in the first round of the Q8 eliminations |  A rapid motor change on Tim's...  A rapid motor change on Tim's Bug produced better quarter mile times |
In reaching this stage, Marc had been almost 0.5sec quicker than Tim's best time. So the Autoxtrm Golf had the psychological advantage.
At the start, there was genuine tension in the air before the lights changed. As the cars launched, Tim managed to control his wheelie but Marc got the cleaner start and was already ahead. He held the lead to the line, finishing with a time of 9.547sec at 147.62mph. The Beetle ran a very respectable 10.748 at 136.44 but had to settle for second best to the charging Canadian. In fact, Marc broke the old record for fastest front-wheel drive four-cylinder VW, which had previously stood at 9.69sec. However, he's not done yet and is aiming to go even faster as the season progresses.