It’s just a few days after the Texas Invitational, and one thing is clear: 220mph is the new benchmark. For the uninitiated, the Texas Invitational is a private, invite-only, roll-racing event designed to simulate an interstate “roll-on” type of street race. The races take place from a 60mph rolling start and extend along 1,550-feet of concrete runway at Caddo Mills Municipal Airstrip out side of Dallas, Texas.
Caddo Mills Municipal Airport has been the home to The Texas Invitational every spring and fall since 2010. Unbeknownst to some, this once abandoned army airfield was home to some of the first sanctioned drag races in the Dallas, Texas-area back in the 1950s. Without a doubt, the Texas Invitational (TI) is the pinnacle of high-caliber automotive airfield competition in the United States. Not only was the event novel at the time, it started the trend of airfield racing across the country. TI is now renowned for harvesting the fastest street cars in the world for side-by-side straight line acceleration. TI is guaranteed to provide you with the most unique and challenging driving experience of its kind.
The Texas Invitational field represents one of the most eclectic mix of cars and people street car racing has to offer. Just a few years ago, a 1,000-horsepower daily driver was unheard of – a 2,000-horsepower street car? Basically impossible. Now, though, events like the Texas Invitational are making these incredible feats seem like commonplace. As Amar Sood of Texas Speed Syndicate, the group that organizes the event, admits, TI has become something of a “super bowl of street car racing” – especially for high-horsepower, street-tire-equipped late model performance vehicles and exotics. “This is the epitome of high caliber street car technology,” says Sood. “The event has become very global; we had people flying in from Germany, Puerto Rico, and Kuwait just to watch.”
Over the course of the two days, drivers engage one another in four classes with the King of the Streets category serving as the headlining eliminator. Friday is spent testing and speed indexing – essentially a few qualifying rounds to establish the performance of each car and then pair them up accordingly. Saturday, outside of a last chance speed indexing round, is reserved for eliminations.
“The Texas Invitational is not a ‘trap speed’ competition – it is an elimination competition,” Sood explains. “It’s different than a lot of runway events – there is an undeniable electricity in the air; similar to that of a prize fight. There’s nothing quite like it, at least not that I have experienced, and especially for these kinds of cars and racers.”
When the smoke cleared, Bob Helms, a longtime event participant, was the last man standing in the King of the Streets eliminator with his Underground Racing-built, twin-turbocharged Lamborghini Superleggera. Gidi Chamdi, also with a twin-turbo Lamborghini from Underground, finished runner-up.
“Our drivers give us 110% and we give them the same,” continues Sood. “We are proud of drivers’ accomplishments at TI and their determination to win is nothing short of inspirational. They never quit – period. They are the ones making these moments the times of our lives and we are grateful for that. On behalf of myself and everyone at Texas Speed Syndicate, we offer all of our racers and winners our sincerest congratulations.”
Without further ado, here are the Texas Invitational Fall 2016 Winners and New Records (Via Texas Speed Syndicate)
Class Winners
-King of the Street
1st Bob Helms Underground Racing TTSL 216.97 mph
2nd Gidi Chamdi Underground Racing TTSL 215.72 mph
-Barnett’s Quick16 (190 class)
1st Parin Shah from Chicago Motor Cars/TSM GTR 163.87 mph
2nd Guz Lozano Lethal Performance Z06 183.97 mph
-RWD Challenge
1st Chris Anderson ARD Motorsports TT Viper 199.82 mph
2nd Antonio Calvo Calvo Motorsports TT Viper 192.47 mph
-175 Trap Attack
1st Chris Bixler Boost Logic GTR 158.22 mph
2nd Greyson Oliver Boost Logic GTR 176.05 mph
New Records
Sebastian Robles airfield record 220mph Underground Racing TTR8
Chris Anderson RWD record 204mph ARD Motorsports TT Viper
Notable Mentions:
Car Top Race Speed
1 Sebastian Robles (TTR8) 220.15
89 Gidi Chamdi (TTSL) 216.97
01 Bob Helms (Lambo) 215.72
25 Kevin Howeth (TT Huracan) 214.69
2 Tony Palo (GTR) 209.88
4 Ross Fowler (TTSL) 206.61
65 Billy Dodd (Lambo) 202.52
36 Chris Anderson (TT Viper) 199.82
30 Antonio Calvo (G5 TT Viper) 194.8
19 Ben Haynes (GTR) 192.14
60 Parin Shah (GTR) 190.51
79 Gus Lozano (Z06) 186.87
20 Sigin Vargehese (TTSL) 185.49
31 Stacy Barnett (TTG) 184.12
43 Ali Khan (TT Viper) 181.74
27 Tiago Salies (TT Viper) 181.3
16 Phil Davero (GTR) 181.01
