Mechanicsville, Maryland, USA,  2nd November 2023: It’s November, so all teams are headed to Maryland Raceway in Mechanicsville, Maryland, for the 27th annual Haltech World Cup Finals. The five-day event started on Wednesday with tune and test and will continue until Sunday, November 5th. Over three hundred racers from several countries will compete against each other. There are also two competitors from our sister island Aruba. The top Qualifiers after day one are Jorge Juarbe (OVE), Carlos Olivo (RVM), Larry Ramnath (XVH), Ralph Hardesty (WVT), Nick Cole-mann (STK), Jon Lund (SF), Shwan Finn (WS), Mike Jtineat (SS), Steven Zsigray (MS), Teddy Weaver (AM) & Justin Shakir in Pro street bike (PSB).

Text Benjamin Wefer
Pictures Theodoor de Jongh

Jorge Juarbe (Blue Thunder from Argentina) took the lead in Outlaw vs Extreme (OVE) after the first qualification day. Juarbe stormed in 5.779 seconds at (247 mph) over the finish line in his Nissan 370Z. Jose Alejandro (2022 champion), from Puerto Rico, is in second position with a 5.837-second run at 225 mph. Alan Drinkwater is in third place with a 5.842-second run at 250 mph.

Jorge Juarbe (Blue Thunder from Argentina)

Carlos Olivo takes the provisional number one spot in Renegade vs. Modified (RVM) with a 6.144-second run at 233 mph. Oscar Galagarza clocked 6.267-second on the clock, which is good, for the second position, leaving Cleetus Mc Farland in third with a 6.351-second run. Last year’s winner, Car Brunet, is currently in 10th position as he got disqualified. Brunet clocked a 5.942-second run at 327 mph against Andy Manson in the finals last year. Would he be able to do that again this year and take the number one spot?

Ralph Hardesty takes the lead in Warriors vs. Tres Cuarto (WVT) with a 6.451-second run at 201 mph. Second place is for Angel Matta, who drove his 1983 Toyota Starlet in 6.478 seconds over the finish line. Third place is for Harold Gomez in his 2018 Ford Mustang (6.663 seconds at 205 mph). Victor Werleman (from our sister island; Aruba) is in fifth place. Werleman drove his 1981 Toyota Corolla in 6.783 seconds over the finish line.

Victor Werleman

In Wild Street, it is Shawn Finn who takes the number one spot with a 7.284-second run at 171 mph in his 1969 Corvette. Frank Prevenza is in second place with a 7.416-second run at 171 mph, leaving Joe Glockner in third place.

Nick Cole-mann takes the number one spot in shift stick. Cole-man drove his S-10 in 6.746 seconds at 20 mph. Ryan Pederson is in third with a 7.225-second run at 198 mph. The 2023 winner, James Kempf, is in 21st place. Kempf will need to push his civic harder to meet the bump spot.

Mike Jrineant is the provisional leader in Super Street. Jrineant drove his 1993 Mazda RX-7 in 7.864 seconds at 179 mph, leaving Patrick Dumont in second place (7.926 seconds at 182 mph). Dumont came 0.062 seconds too short to take the lead in this category. Charles Barnes is third with a 7.995-second run at 169 mph.

Teddy Weaver (Reigning champion) takes the number one spot in All Motor. Weaver drove his 2001 Ford Mustang in 9.223 seconds over the finish line at 146 mph. Second place is for Ronnie Hackerlton in his 2017 Chevrolet Camaro. Hackerlton drove his Camaro in 9.284 seconds at 139 mph. Shane Stymiest is now third with a 9.318-second run at 143 mph.

Justin Shakir is the provisional leader in Pro Street Bike. Shakir drove his 2020 Suzuki Hayabusa in 6.563 seconds over the finish line. Jordan Haase is second, with 0.02 seconds behind Shakir. Ryan Bonitatis is third with 6.585 seconds at 215 mph. Jayson Geerman from Aruba is holding the bump spot (8th position) with an 8.059-second run at 18 mph.

Justin Shakir

Stay tuned for the second day of the 27th annual Haltech World Cup finals (second Qualification day!) We from The Chronicles of Boost want to wish all competing drivers good luck, but most of all, have fun!