NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Shawn Fink, a veteran of popular “Drag and Drive” events such as Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week and Rocky Mountain Race Week, added another title to his resumé when he wheeled his vintage ’55 Chevy to a win in the Mile-High No Time Shootout, a special event held during Friday qualifying at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. The No Time Shootout brought together eight of the quickest street cars in the Midwestern U.S. for a heads-up battle on the eighth-mile course.

Since no elapsed times were displayed in the grudge style event, it’s impossible to know just how quick Fink was able to run, but he was noticeably quicker than any of his opponents and at the end of the day, the Casper, Wyo.-based steelworker was rewarded with a top prize of $10,000 and a special acrylic NHRA Wally trophy. As an added bonus, Fink also collected an extra $1,000 for the best burnout after he lit the tires to half-track in the semifinals.

“We worked really hard at this,” Fink told the capacity crowd at Bandimere Speedway. “I’ve got to thank everyone involved including Big Stuff 3, Prodigy Motorsports, and, of course, my family. Hopefully, this is inspirational. I’m just an average guy out here driving some old iron. We have a seamless gutter business back in Wyoming and I do this for fun.”

Fink’s ’55 Chevy is not only a competitive race car, but it is also a work of art, both inside and out. The car, equipped with a 526-cid turbocharged Hemi-style engine from Sonny’s Automotive, was built to compete in a variety of events like Drag Week, and it also doubles as a big tire grudge race car. Fink has also appeared on the Street Outlaws television program.  

During Friday’s eliminations, Fink began his day with a single run after Royce Payton broke his supercharged ’65 Mustang. He also got a bye run in the semifinal round after Mike Dowling was unable to make the call with his ProCharger-equipped ’70 Chevelle. In the final, Fink stopped Lance Knigge, who had earlier scored wins against Tommy Johanns and Bret Meyer.

Fink left first and never looked back, tripping the win light by a comfortable margin against Knigge, who is also based in Casper, Wyo., and races a turbocharged ’67 Chevy Nova.

The Mile-High No Time Shootout was also a preview for the Mayhem on the Mountain Street Car event being held at Bandimere Speedway on August 27-28.