Image credit: ADRL.us

With some truly remarkable performances in recent years by competitors in the Outlaw 10.5 and ADRL Extreme 10.5 categories, many have questioned just how much of a limiting factory the “small” 10.5W tire really is. Well, ADRL newcomer Dan Millen answered that question with an exclamation point on Saturday, as he powered his Al-Anabi Racing 2010 Mustang to the quickest lap in Extreme 10.5 history by a long shot, with a mind boggling 3.780 at 202.52 miles per hour, more than a tenth of a second quicker than No. 2 qualifier Chuck Ulsch and his near-national record run of 3.889. Millen, owner of Livernois Motorsports in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, has been on the ADRL trail since the Milan event in early June after the sale of his famous turbocharged Outlaw 10.5 Mustang. Noted tuner and racer Todd Tutterow has slowly been creeping up on the screw supercharged combination, turning laps in the low 4-second range off the trailer before laying down a 3.85 at Rockingham and earning the coveted final spot in the Mickey Thompson 3-Second Club.

Image credit: Mike Galimi

Tutterow and Millen turned the wick up a few notches at Norwalk, leading qualifying after Friday’s three rounds with a 3.89 best before unloading on the field with the 3.78 on Saturday morning. He then proceeded to lay waste to his opponents in eliminations, with a 3.823 at 202.82 in the first round alongside L.J. Wood Jr.,  a 3.827 at 202.76 in round two against Brad Brand, and a 3.830 at 203.03 to defeat Billy Glidden. An untimely red light in the final handed the win to Ulsch, but not before changing the face and the future of Extreme 10.5 with one day of crushing performances.