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Street Machine Nationals draws thousands to Du Quoin Fairgrounds

DU QUOIN - One of the more talked about cars on display at the Street Machine Nationals Saturday was The Sorceress, a flex-fuel muscle car. The street-ready vehicle is capable of exceeding 300 mph and will be clocked at a competition later this year in Kansas.

Michael Heeren, who serves as marketing director for the Xcelerod company in Dubuque, Iowa, explained that the vehicle was originally a 1984 Hurst/Oldsmobile and that the owner - Rod Tschiggfrie - drove it back and forth to college. The body was later cut into pieces, parts were massaged and re-purposed for a new design to reach speeds upward of 300 mph - all while using everyday street fuel. Heeren said it is the first flex-fuel vehicle of its kind.

The car is covered in a carbon-fiber shell, is a V-8 configuration with twin turbo engine, has an all-chrome chassis and a 640-cubic-inch boat motor and exceeds 4,000 horsepower on methanol.

Michael Heeren, left, of Dubuque, Iowa, poses with The Sorceress, a flex-fuel muscle car at the Street Machine Nationals show Saturday afternoon on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. According to Heeren, who serves as marketing director, the goal is for the car to surpass 300 mph later this year on a two-mile track in Kansas. John Homan photo