Kwatkowski crushes competition; imports invade Brainerd International Raceway for inaugural Sport Compact race

(July 13, 2009) - For Kevin Kwatkowski, the trip from Belleville, Mich., to Brainerd International Raceway seemed to be well worth it last weekend as he drove his ’91 Plymouth Laser to a first-place finish in the Quick 16 class of the inaugural Modern Automotive Performance Sport Compact Proving Grounds.

The two-day event, which concluded Saturday, featured import cars and sport compacts that competed in drag racing, drifting, autocross and a car show. About 100 cars, from as far as Michigan and Illinois, competed. Most were turbo-charged imports that were slow off the line but had high top-end speeds of 120-150 mph in the quarter-mile. There was a mix of front-wheel-, all-wheel and rear-wheel-drive cars and a number of motorcycles in the bike class.

Kwatkowski blew away the field in the Quick 16. He was the top qualifier with a run of 8.456 seconds and had the fastest run of 167.07 mph. In the finals, he faced off with Steve Tharp of Maple Grove, who was driving a ’79 Porsche 928. But the Laser proved to be too tough for Tharp, whose runs had been in the 9.6-second range. But he could only manage an 11.669 in the finals. Kwatkowski ran 8.478 seconds for the win.

The All-Wheel-Drive Street class featured six Mitsubishis and a Dodge Stealth. In the end, it was Brad Cornelius of Oakdale and his ’95 Mitsubishi Eclipse that earned their way into the Winner’s Circle. He posted a 10.921-second finals run at 140.77 mph, which nudged out Jim Hayek of Coon Rapids, who drove his ’06 Mitsubishi Evolution to an 11.215-second finish at 122.40 mph.

In the Sport Compact 1 class, Kow Lee of Corcoran breezed through the semifinals and finals as his competition either fouled or broke. Lee, who was the top qualifier, was driving a ’93 Honda Civic and finished his finals run with an 11.983-second time and 128.65 mph. Jose Coloin of Eagan was runner up.

A similar scenario played out in the Sport Compact 2 class, where Amari Burrell of Eau Claire, Wis., was the top qualifier, driving a ’93 BMW. He faced off with Jon Carlin of Cottage Grove in the finals. Carlin took 2.484 seconds to get off the starting line, which was more than enough for Burrell and his .112-second reaction time to earn the win. Burrell’s finals time was 16.848 seconds and 85.72 mph.

Ben Parent of Moline, Ill., won the Front-Wheel-Drive Open class in his ’98 Honda Civic, sneaking by Trevor Jones of Shoreview and his ’98 Aurora Integra. Parent’s time was 11.570 seconds and 123.50 mph. Jones finished his finals run at 12.208 seconds and 119.25 mph.

Jones also competed in the Front-Wheel-Drive Street class, beating Brady Kophing of St. Paul in the finals. Jones posted a 12.484-second run in the finals and 128.79 mph. Kophing and his ’09 Cobalt was close behind at 13.298 seconds and 107.36 mph.

The event featured an Import Bike ET class as well, where five motorcycles competed. Ethan Sfrier of Moorhead and his ’06 Suzuki GSXR had a bye in the semifinals and then faced Noah Metzger of Jordan on an ’08 Suzuki GSXR. Metzger made it easy for Sfrier, though, as he fouled on the starting line, handing Sfrier the class win. Sfreir finished with a 9.726-second run and 141.04 mph.