I finally found the laptop in the pile and got it back online - I've been using my regular desktop since I got home.
People asked for a breakdown on the Smackdown series so here we go. You may want to get something to drink... there's a bunch of math involved here.
Of the seven original Smackdown participants three showed up as expected. Jeff, Shawn, and Darian (finally showed up). Tony couldn't make it so we swapped in Rey's car - also a Final Stage project.
Shawn took last place in both HP and Tq - likely due to the automagic. Darian was next highest and took 3rd place. Jeff took 2nd... and Rey - DAYUMN! - got first. Points were assessed (a maximum of 15 points for HP and tq). After the first day it was Rey with 15 points, Jeff with 13.5, Darian with 12, and Shawn with 10.
In the Show categories we had another 10 points available. We had judges representing each of the three main generations (MkII, MkIII, and MkIV) reviewing each participant and assigning a score for Interior, Exterior, and Engine.
Jeff wilson received perfect marks for engine, near perfect marks for Exterior, and solid marks for interior.
Jeff - Int: 8.67 / Ext: 9.3 / Engine: 10
Shawn - Int: 8 / Ext: 9.3 / Engine: 6.67
Darian - Int: 4.67 / Ext: 4.67 / Engine: 6.3
Rey - Int: 6 / Ext: 6.83 / Engine: 4
The score was now:
Jeff: 23.1
Rey: 22.6
Darian: 19.4
Shawn: 19
With just over 4 points between first and last place it was all going to come down to the drags.
The Drags counted for half the total points - that's what really matters anyway right?
In the battle of the lights Rey cut a SWEET RT at 0.594 giving him another 10 points and putting him back in front with 32.6. Jeff dropped from 1/2 point up to 2nd place with 31.1. Shawn was close behind with 28 points but the points were not yet added up for the ET and MPH (10 and 5 points respectively).
Unfortunately Jeff had an issue with the nitrous and had fire problems that shut his run down mid-track. This opened the door for Rey to increase his lead and Shawn to jump into second place.
Shawn pulled an AWESOME 10.074 (just over 1/tenth of a second slower than Tony's run from SILV08) at 131.39 to have the quickest and fastest runs of the night for the MkIIIs but it was not enough to overcome Rey's domination at the dyno.
Final scores:
Rey: 38.1 points
Shawn: 35 points
Jeff: 31.1 points
Darian: 19.4 points
I hope that sheds some light on this year's competition. It was VERY exciting to watch and I can't wait to see what happens at SILV09!