Originally Posted by Car and Driver
But there were still some interesting Lap Puppies in the mix, including a small flock of Subaru Impreza WRXs, a couple of Mitsubishi Lancer Evos, and a Dodge SRT-4 driven by two-time Sports Car Club of America national champ Erich Heuschele.
Heuschele\'s Dodge (see sidebar, opposite) and the various all-wheel-drive Japanese new-age slingshots were contending in the Mid-Price Sedan class, the second most populous category in this year\'s field, with 18 entries. In addition to battling one another, the Middies (Mid-Price defined as a maximum initial purchase price of $35,000) had to deal with the Ted Lyons-Mike Hurst Thunderbird SC, whose supercharged V-8 reportedly delivers some 600 horsepower. Why a 1989 Thunderbird SC—that\'s C for coupe, as in two doors—is classed with these small sedans is known best to One Lap High Priest Brock Yates and his No. 1 acolyte, Brock Yates Jr. But the bad-*** bird has been the bane of the small-sedan set for three years now, a wolfhound among the Airedales. Still, even wolfhounds can have bad-hair days. As we shall see.
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But it was Heuschele who stole the show. The SRT-4 had already become a focal point after its performance at Watkins Glen. Even though Heuschele had never been at the Glen before, he posted the 11th-best time in the morning run, dusting a platoon of astonished SSGT1 campaigners. Pretty impressive for four cylinders and front-wheel drive.
But the SRT-4\'s Road America performance went way beyond impressive.
Starting first in his group of five, Heuschele not only drove away from his pursuers but went on to lap two of them. In just four laps. On a four-mile track. A wet four-mile track.His time was the day\'s third quickest, trailing only Gerrard and Adee, both in much more powerful cars. And with the dreaded T-Bird stuck in a gravel trap—a fate shared by 13 others at Road America—Heuschele\'s grip on the Mid-Price Sedan lead was all but unassailable.
Perhaps in response to a plea from a member of the Subie/Evo crowd—"Do you think you could slow it down just a little?"—



Go SRT4!!!