NOVEMBER 2019 II CHEVY HIGH PERFORMANCE 11
Smooth Sailing
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A former and longtime
Stock Eliminator racer has
upped the ante this season
with a new acquisition. Sterling
Simmons, who is from Virginia
and raced a D/SA 1998 Chevy
Camaro for 15 seasons, has
replaced that machine with
an expertly built 2005 Chevy
Cavalier and is targeting the
Super Stock class. Originally
built by B&B Performance,
Simmons purchased the
car turnkey from reputed
East Coast racer Norman
Hall. The GT/FA-classed car
features an engine program
by Brian Tilburg—one of his
350ci configurations that is
factored at 299 hp by NHRA.
Sterling admitted he is totally
impressed with the way his
new race car prints out very
consistent 1.20-1.22 60-foot
times. Now happily retired,
Simmons is fully focused on having a lot of fun racing his new toy while being
accompanied and supported by his devoted racing family that includes his son
Sterling Simmons III; wife, Cynthia; and daughter Chandler.Successful Title Defender
One of the more significant,
but somewhat under-the-radar, early
season developments for 2019 in
Super Stock racing came courtesy of
North Carolina’s Kevin Ritter. Racing
his rather inconspicuous-looking, all-
black 1998 Camaro, Ritter quickly and
quietly went about his business while
winning the NHRA Gatornationalsfor the second year in a row. That is
quite an accomplishment because
the Super Stock class at Gainesville
is one of the single toughest fields
of the season. Kevin’s Camaro was
his high school car before his father,
Junior Ritter, converted it to a race car
in 2012. The machine features a 350ci
LT1 engine, and Kevin runs it in bothGT/JA and GT/IA trim. The Camaro
has gone as quick as 10.18. Kevin’s
racing resume includes a couple of Top
10 points finishes in IHRA world points
and qualifying for the highly prestigious
Jegs Allstars event at Chicago in 2017.
When not racing, Kevin is immersed as
a mechanic at Bobby Warren’s engine
building facility.