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Story by Dean Murdoch. photos by ( Rich Carlson, Mark King, Gerry Frechette, Guy Van Syckle, and are copyright Speedzonemagazine.com 2003) photos also NHRA.com
Sunday Semi finals and final round results Pictures to follow later this week! TAD. Going into the semis, we had three BAD's and one A/F, and in my predictions, I said that their would be two BAD's in the final. We had two blown cars, but only one that I thought. In the semi between Darren Nicholson and Don Hudson, I thought all the National Event experience would propel the Nicholson/Edgecombe, Red Line Oil car into the final, but The Hudson/Chase Chevrolet entry showed they were a strong player in this the strongest region for the TAD class. Both drivers had good low .0 rt's, but Hudson stayed within a couple hundredths of his et's all weekend and ran a 5.44 to blow by a slowing 5.59 for the Nicholson car. The other race went very close to my prediction in performance, and it was very close. Morgan Lucas did his job on the tree, with a great .006 light but his 5.48 was not match for David Well's 5.41. So, in the final round if you were to replace Wells in the seat for Santos, everything else would have been deja vu, as it was the exact car engine and crew chief the put Rick Santos on top for a half decade. Instead David wells pulled off what Santos did for so many years, he made his best run, and cut a consistent light, to win the final against a guy I have a whole bunch more admiration for, Don Hudson, by running a stellar 5.374/265.53 to Hudson's 5.457/262.59. What a great TAD weekend it was. I can only hope that the rest of the season is as good as this weekend was. TAFC. This was also a classic weekend in Top Alcohol Funny Car, as eight of the top cars in the country were here to compete. If Manzo, Newberry, and White were here the absolute creme of the crop would have been on hand. 5.60's at 3000+ ft. of air. Awesome! Anyway, down to the semi finals we have an Bucky Austin/Tate Branch matchup and a Cy Chesterman/Ron August pairing. Bucky vs Branch proved to be the closest as Bucky has to come from way behind as Branch had an awesome .014 light to Bucky's pretty good .059. Bucky set the field on its ear with a 5.615/257.53 to Tate's 5.696/252.57. Unbelievable. The other one was over at the starting line with Cy cutting a seeing eye dog .002 light and running a 5.691/255.15 to Ron August's .059 light and a 5.82/251 mph. The final that most were expecting was here and it was a good one! Two of the fastest and quickest in the country, and two of the best tuners (Les Davenport and Randy Anderson) around. Down to the race, Cy Left first (as most expected) by 34 /1000ths, but could not match Bucky's power as Cy ran 5.693/253.47 to Bucky Austin's 1200 foot passing 5.651/257.14. Keep it coming guys, this could be one of the best TAFC years in a long time. As long as Manzo does not come out with his new car and start running 5.40's. Stay tuned for next weekend folks, as the show heads to Houston. Sunday 2nd round results: 12:30pm TAD. Hole Shot loss marks the second round highlight or lowlight (for the Shortline Express team) at The Strip. Duane Shields ran another 5.38 but it wasn't enough in the second round of eliminations, as Don Hudson left 2/100ths before him and held on for less than a 1/1000ths win. Don had a great .032 light, and Duane was right behind him with a game .050 light. But Hudson's best run of the weekend, a 5.401 was good enough to beat Duane's best of the weekend 5.383. Wow, what a race! The most anticipated race was the Bartone/Lucas matchup and it was over before the 300 foot mark. Morgan cut a great .008 light, and ran low et of the weekend, a new track record 5.367 to Tony's smoking 6 something. The Nicholson vs Severance race was a starting line dual, as a .012 light (Nicholson) was outdone by a .008 light for Joey. But the Red Line/Edgecombe Dragster had the power to run a 5.43 to a losing 5.50. The last pairing was also a good pairing, with David Wells and Bob Perkins duking it out. David led from start to finish, with a telepathic .002 light and a strong 5.414 to Perkins game 5.558. So the semis are: Hudson/Nicholson. I'm going with Nicholson here. I think the experience of this team will get them into the final. Wells/Lucas. Tough pick, but I like the BAD's chances. The A/fueler will not run the number he did in the last session and Wells should run a high 5.30. TAFC. Three of the top four cars advance to the semis Cy Chestermman set low et of the weekend so far, as he ran a great 5.63 to defeat a troubled Steve Gasparelli in round two. Tater Branch was right behind Chesterman in the et range as he went 5.64 to defeated a 5.83 by Ed Marx. Bucky Autin also ran 5,64 to win the closest matchup in the second round against Brett Williamsons, who ran 5.78. The upset of the weekend went to Ron August Jr. who shocked the #1 qualifier Mark Woznichak by riunning a great 5.70 to the "Woz's" 5.90 The semis are like this: Chesterman/August. Cy Chesterman all the way as I don't think that The August car can match the numbers of the Les Davenport tuned flopper. Austin/Barnch. I gotta go with the "NW Hitter". My man Bucky Austin just has to leave the starting on time. Saturday 3:00pm. Top Alcohol Dragster, Not to many surprises in the first round, but there was a couple. First pair up was Morgan Lucas and Chris Demke. The #8 and ( qualifiers on paper should be the closest race, but in a BAD vs A/F matchup you never know. And this was one of those non events. Chris left first with a great .009 rt but went directly to the wall and had to click it and steered it hard back to the center line, by that time Morgan was on his way to what turned out to be the quickest time in the first round, a very nice 5.414/265.01 lap. Second pair up was Mark Niver and Don Hudson. Another black hat vs white matchup. You pick which is your favorite. This time it was the BAD that took the win, with a very good (for the 105 track temp conditions) 5.457/260 mph to a center line hugging and click 9 second pass for Niver. Third pair up saw blower vs vs blower, as #2 qualifier Duane Shields took on the newly sponsored Snap-on machine of Mike Austin. On paper it should not have been close but it was! Mike left with a great .038 to Duane's .095, and have over a half tenth on him at half track. From there the Shields power played a rapid game of catch-up and Duane squeezed by at around 1280 feet and one by less than a foot. The numbers, 5.557 - 5.637. Great race! Fourth pair had white hat/black hat again with Howard Haight and Darren Nicholson on the battle front. Again it was BAD taking the win. Tire smoke for the A/F and a strong 5.476/249 mph for Darren. Fifth pair, another good guy bad guy race and again it was the BAD taking the win, but it was a pretty good race. Ed Schmeekle was a half tenth back on the tree and David Wells had a pretty good lap with a 5.442 to a losing 5.560 for Eddie. Pair six was BAD x two, with the kid, Brandon Johnson and Bob Perkins facing off. Brandon left first but had a serious bout of groove leaving tire shake and that cost him a tenth or more, as he came up short 5.580 - 5.630. The second to last pair was a couple nitro beasts, as Larry Miersch and T-Bone lined up. Larry had an awesome .003 light but could not hold off the hard charging Tony Bartone 5.43 - 5.76. Finally the last pair saw a couple of Division six boys face off, the veteran Mark Hentges and the sophomore Joey Severance Jr. this one was won on the starting line was Joey had a great .003 to Mark's respectable .062. The numbers at the top end were closer than their spread in qualifying and Joey stopped the timers first with a 5.471 to a losing 5.459. The second round Sunday morning will see six BAD's and two A/F's (the two best in the country mind you), and the two A/F's get to race each other in round two. All I can say is, it should be great! The other three matchups are: Wells - Perkins, Hudson - Shields, and Nicholson - Severance, with the first driver getting lane choice.
In TopAlcohol Funny Car, the only surprise was the previously undefeated Doug Gordon, losing to Brett Williamson. On paper, these two were a tenth apart, and with with Doug's 10 - 0 run in eliminations to start the season, he would have had to of been the big favorite. Brett was up to the task, with a great .011 light and 5.78 to a losing 5.84 for the MB Cabinet driver. All the other match-ups went true to qualifying, with the closest one being the #16 Lawren Jones vs #1 Mark Woznichak pairing. Lawren went a tenth and a half quicker than qualifying and ran a 5.817 to Mark's 5.791. Low et of that round went to Cy Chesterman after a great 5.69 in the heat of the day. Of Note, Canadian John Evanchuk took out the 1000 foot cone in his attempt to reel in Bucky Austin, but to no avail. Tomorrow's second round match-ups include, Austin vs Williamson, Chesterman vs Gasparelli, Branch vs Marx and Woznichak vs August. Top Alcohol Dragster final qualifying. There was some shuffling of the deck in the final round of qualifying. Duane Shields was the first car up, paired with Iowa's David Wells. The weather was about as good as it gets for Las Vegas (cool great track temperature), but that also means that the A/Fueler were closer to their element, conditions wise. Shields and Wells both spun the tires a bit off the starting line but were on good charges. Duane crossed first with a 5.409 and Wells was right there with a 5.414. No improvement for either car. Niver and Nicholson were next and both stepped up. Darren ran a 5.400 to jump up to the #2 spot temporarily, and Mark ran a 4.462 to move into the #8. Next up was the real test. Could points leader Tony Bartone in an A/Fueler blow by all the BAD's into the top spot. The 60ft wasn't great a .973 but the 200+ mph at half track meant he was on a tear. Tony went through the traps with a 5.381/268.12 mph. By 5/1000th's, Tony leapt over five BAD's into the top spot. What a blow for the blown contingent. The other hitters with a chance to leap up, Hentges, Johnson, Lucas, and Demke all ran close to their previous best but could not jump up into the top spot. Don Hudson made the biggest jump, turning in a great 5.425/258.86 to move into the #7 spot on the ladder. Of note, Morgan Lucas reset the speed record with a great 269.29. Here are the pairings for first round later today. Bartone vs Miersch, Shields vs Austin, Nicholson vs Haight, Johnson vs Perkins, Wells vs Schmeekle, Hentges vs Severence, Hudson vs Niver, and Lucas vs Demke. Some very interesting races in round one. Come back later, for a recap of todays action. Top Alcohol Funny Car final qualifying. There was also some major shuffling at the top with the FC's. Bucky lost his strangle hold on the top rung, when Mark Woznichak almost matched his career best, with a great 5.666/253.99 at the 2000 ft elevation "Strip" @ LVMS. And Tate Branch finally got his act together, and turned in a great 5.676/252.43. Bucky Austin (5.697 today to match his earlier 5.679) now sits in the three slot, just ahead of Cy Chesterman, who improved slightly with a 5.687, and Gasparelli, who never improved from his earlier 5.714. Doug Gordon moved up to sixth, with an improved 5.723/250.88, from his earlier best of 5.810. Ed Marx sits seventh after his best run of 5.760 from Friday. The final top half position is held down by Ron August Jr., who ran 5.799 yesterday and today. Hank Coolidge went from 11th to 9th after running 5.816/249.63 this morning. John Patton also moved up two spots from 14th to 12th after a 5.889/246.30. Bernie Harrington bumped out Jason Rupert on his last attempt with a 5.955/241.84. Clint Thompson made a big jump but it was too little too late as his 5.983 was only good for the second alternate position. So the first round pairings are as follows: Woznichak vs Jones, Branch vs Harrington, Austin vs Evanchuk, Chesterman vs Littlefield, Gasparelli vs Patton, Gordon vs Williamson, Marx vs Taylor and finally, the 8 qualifier Ron August Jr. takes on Hank Coolidge. Drag Race Central has all the highlights. Check back here for the first round later tonight. Friday April 4, 2003 Qualifying
is complete for Fridays two alcohol sessions at "The Strip"
@ LVMS. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, In Top Alcohol Dragster, It looks
like a BAD kind of weekend at least after the first two rounds of
qualifying. April 3, 2003 Race three in the sixteen race Top Alcohol schedule is in the City that never sleeps this weekend. "The Strip" at LVMS will host probably the biggest field of Top Alcohol Funny Cars this year, and it will probably match the biggest field of skinny cars. 20+ cars are pre-entered in TAFC and TAD each, and all the West Coast and Mid West hitters will do battle. The big question in the FC ranks is: Can Doug Gordon keep on rollin'? The odds certainly say he is one of four favorites. Lets get down to it. Top
Alcohol Funny Car 1. Doug Gordon:
3. Tate Branch:
4. Steve Gasparelli: odds 9-2,
as you can see, the odds for the first four guys are pretty close,
and in fact they could all be the same odds. 5. Cy Chesterman: odds 6-1, Cy
has not finished the way that I though he should have so far this
year. At both Pomona and Gainesville Nationals, he was the quickest
or second quickest car and was 6. Jay Payne:
7. Ed Marx: 8. Mert Littlefield: 9. Mike Andreotti: odds 11-1, Mike is another guy with a 5.60 car that will be lucky to get out of the 1st round. If he is on top of his game and can leave on time, he will probably get to race Bucky, Doug, Steve, Cy or Tate in the second round. Oh well!
11. Brett
Williamson:odds 12-1, see above.
Brett ran okay last weekend and could
Top Alcohol Dragster Blown or Injected, Injected or Blown ( it's as easy as one + two = four). Not! (Did I just say that?) Yikes! On paper, this should be a toss up event. Elevation can be the great equalizer and last week at Tucson it sort of played out that way. One type of car was the quickest and the other type won. It could very well be the same scenario at "The Strip" this weekend. The T-Bone factor could play itself out as well. Here are the absolute surefire picks you can go to your bookie with. 1.
Tony Bartone: odds 2-1..... is traveling the 2.
Duane Shields: 3. David Wells: odds 4-1......the Blue Bunny Ice Cream team could be the strongest Blown car this season, if the potential is reached. Everything is in place for the team to be the reincarnation of the Jack O'Bannon's five time world championship team. They have the car, the motor combination and the crew chief (Norm Grimes) that dominated the class for five years in a row. Can David be the driver of the caliber of Rick Santos? That has yet to be seen, but if he can be, then that word "parity" may come into play. 4.
Morgan Lucas: 5.
Brandon Johnson:
6. Mark Hentges: odds 7-1......this is the first BAD team this year that has made a statement with regards to competing with the other type of car. The "Airtime" Aviation team had plans of running at Gainseville earlier, but due to the disparity they feel is in the class, they have decided to stay closer to home and not run all over the country to chase the 2003 title. Team engineer (Scott Nelson) has stated that traveling thousands of miles and competing against cars that the only way they feel they can beat them, is when they stumble does not make any sense. If they go on a winning streak (which they are very capable of), then you will see this team change their philosophy. In the mean time they should also be a low .40 or high .30 team this weekend. 7.
Mark Niver: 8.
9.
10.
Chris Demke: 10-1.......
11. Gary Anderson: 12-1.......Gary and father Don have a very capable tuner in their corner, with Bob "Automan" Ottow calling the tuning shots. Gary has not had the great success at a high elevation track, but if their ducks are in a row, they will go past the first round. 12.
Mike Austin:
The
next three or four could just as easily
displace the three
or four above. They should
Brad Littlefield sent along his take for this weekend's event. I can't argue with the order of your picks.
"Superstar" Doug Gordon is on a roll, Bucky Austin is on
the verge of total dominance, and the next few racers (Branch, Go to the Feb-March archives to see the results from the Division 7 Tucson race, the last weekend of March, and for all the rest of the march and earlier Top Alcohol results
|
Friday April 11, 2003
Bucky
Austin to no ones surprise is in the top spot after qualifying
in the second session with a great 5.679 @ 254.28 mph. Bucky ran 5.77
in session one. Cy Chesterman is number two with a very close
5.696 @ 252.99 run in the second session. In the third spot is Steve
Gasparelli after running a 5.714 @ 253.95 mph. Mark Woznichak
has made me look a little stupid, when he went 5.718 @ 252.80 mphto
put him fourth after two runs. Jay Payne did not make a pass
so far neither did Mike Andriotti, so I would say that those
two are not on the premises. Other notable runs came from Ron August
Jr. with a 5.799 @ 247 mph, Dennis Taylor went 5.82, and
Hank Coolidge went 5.85, these guy as well make me look like
a bit of an idiot, as I had these guys barely qualifying. Canadian
John Evanchuk in the Grotek/Team Roadway car ran in the 5.90's
twice running a best of 5.944 @ 243 mph to put him in the number 11
slot after two rounds. The biggest surprise is that Tate Branch
guy. The dominant Division 4 car is looking like it did two weeks
ago in Memphis went he did not run anywhere near where he should.
He is in the number 18 spot with a less than stellar 8.39 pass. Get
it going buddy! Also struggling is Bernie Harrington who did
not get a time in his first session and did make the second one. Division
six competitor Clint Thompson who is in the ex Miners Bros.
car also struggled, running a best of 10.56 after severe tire shake
in both his attempts.
Duane
Shields is showing home ice advantage as he reset both ends of
the track record on his second lap, with a great 5.386 @ 268.22 mph.
He held the old 5.39 track record set in 2001. I talked to Duane on
the phone just after his great run and he was pretty excited. He said
"it was close to a perfect run in 3200 feet of corrected air.
It was pretty cool and the A/Fuel cars ran pretty fast as well".
Duane said the wind possibly helped with the big speed on the pass
(it was a strong tail wind). Weather for tomorrow is supposed to be
about the same, so he is not looking for big improvement's from the
blown contingent, but as far as the A/Fuel cars go, time will tell.
Right behind Duane, are four more blown alcohol machines headed by
Shelton Washington's Brandon Johnson, as he ran a very strong
5.402 @ 260.56 mph. The Norm Grimes tuned dragster owned and driven
by David Wells is holding down #3 with a stout 5.403 @ 263.51
mph. Darren Nicholson is #4 after running just a hair slower
at 5.405 @ 262.74 mph. Federal Way Washington's Mark "Airtime
Aviation/PowerPunch" Hentges, is in the five hole after carding
a respectable 5.420 @ 260 mph. The first A/ Fueler is points leader
Tony Bartone just a tick behind Hentges with a 5.425 @ 263
mph. Morgan Lucas in in the lucky seven slot so far with a
5.456, he ran 267+ in the first round of qualifying to hold the speed
record for around four hours. Rounding out the top eight is Chris
Demke. Chris took the Peen Rite BAD to a 5.485 @ 261 mph. Other
notables are Mark Niver in the 10 hole with a 5.495, Division
six competitors Joey Severance with a 5.544 @ 258 mph best.
He was one of the few that did not improve in the second session.
Mike Austin also from division six carded a 5.697 @ 249 mph
to put him #14 after two rounds. Rounding out the top 16 is Edward
Schmeekle with a 5.849 @ only 191mph in his A/ Fuel car. Not qualified
in the field are Fred Notzka or Tony Meredyk. The final
round for both classes go off Saturday morning, and then the first
round goes Saturday late afternoon. Stay tuned for all the good stuff.
Go to 
odds 3-1, How can the MB cabinets/Gordon team not be the favorite.
He is running Frank Manzo like. If he isn't beating them with performance,
he is cutting low .0 lights, to win on a hole-shot. Usually Doug is
doing it on both ends of the track. For this, he is the favorite to
go 4-0 in races and 14-0 in rounds.
2.
Bucky Austin: odds 7-2, Bucky is a race away from going
on a big undefeated streak in my opinion. With the brain trust he
has in his corner this year (himself, new crew chief Randy Anderson,
asst. crew chief Jeremy Weaver), as well as his able crew, once the
North West Hitter gets on a role look out!
odds
4-1, Tate is looking for some serious redemption after the Memphis
Divisional event two weeks ago. This is a 5.50 car and they never
even made one full lap at Memphis. Tate has one win this year already
at the Houston Div. event. They will be out for a serious Texas butt
whoopin'.
These
top four cars are that close. The Gasparelli team, and new crew chief
Bob Miner are very close to gelling as a team. The had a couple great
high altitude runs last weekend in the first two rounds in Tucson,
and if Steve did not have to click it early (to keep from crossing
the centr line), it might have been his race. At a National event
track the car should not be as loose, and the power that this team
makes could give them their first of what will probably be a bunch
of wins in 2003.
cutting
some stellar lights until the money round at Pomona, and the semis
at Gainseville. With alky "guru" Les Davenport in his corner,
that car will either be right at the top of the heap or will blow
the tires off because of too much power. If he can be consistent on
the tree, any of the top four will be looking at the rear of the Coca
Cola flopper.
odds
7-1, Jay should be higher on the list, but is here for a couple reasons.
He has broke many pieces already this year, and the cars has had a
tendency to slow down as the race goes on. Plus he wasn't even pre-entered,
but is expected to be there. Don't count the Valvoline team down for
long. 
odds
8-1, another one of the cars that is quick, racing in a division against
teams that are are super quick. And that makes it very difficult for
a team to have a breakthrough season. When there are five cars ahead
of him that can run 5.50's or .60's at any national event, it is something
like gaining an centimeter only to see those in front of you gain
an inch. One of my two darkhorse picks. And even cutting a great light
isn't enough against those ahead of you, as they have to be sharp
as well, to stay close to the other top runners. That is my whole
statement about the East vs West deal in this class. At Gainseville
or other events in the East less than full fields are the norm, and
the top four are the only real competition. Go ahead and start the
bashing!
odds
9-1, See above. Mert and team struggled a little bit last weekend
at Tucson but went to the semis at Pomona running 60's there, and
will look redeem themselves. This is my other dark horse team to reach
the semis or even finals (and Lee, don't beat me up on this
okay. This is not in any way shape or form a negative rating). There
are just to many good cars. Brad, I'm waiting on your take buddy.
Help me out here!
10.
Bernie Harrington: odds 12-1, Bernie has run well at
times and has been at the bottom of the field on numerous occasions.
They have all the parts, just have to have all their ducks in a row.
get into the second round here.
12.
Jason Rupert: odds 13-1, could 13-1 odds be the lucky
number at Vegas. Jason had some serious breakage at Pomona, but they
feel the combination they have is on the verge of being a 5.60 car.
Here
are the other cars I expect to play in the first round in no particular
order: Dennis Taylor (right), John Patton, Clint
Thompson 
(in
the ex-Miner Bros. car that is said to have Bob assisting in the tune-up),
John Weaver, Mark "The Woz"
Woznichak, (didn't I say this was a 18 car field) and
one of the two Canadian hopes, John Evanchuk. There
are a couple of great 5 second cars that
I haven't even put up and 
I'm
sorry guys( Lawren Jones (right), Ron August,
Bill Gallio and Hank Coolidge). This list should
give all the East Coast guys a taste of what competition in the West
is all about. No 6.5 second or slower bumps here. 
country
in his goal to wrap up the title before summer even hits, and why
not. He has demolished (not overpowering but still undefeated in 2003)
the field everywhere he has dropped anchor so far. More 5.20 and 30
runs in the last four events, then almost any car has in a year's
worth of runs. The Boyz from New Yawk should be in the late rounds
or better.
odds
7-2...... Duane should have won at Tucson in my opinion. He was the
quickest by a big margin in this class. If if didn't break a spark
plug in the semis against Morgan Lucas, and run on seven cylinders,
he would have been in the final for sure. This is his home track,
and he has been the top qualifier on a number of occasions there.
I see that team running in the 30's at Vegas as the weather is supposed
to be cool and cloudy. He also has the new car set up very well in
the clutch department. It and the driver are reacting better and more
consistent than in the past. Dunae also told me that he is using this
race and the Houston one as gauges as to whether or not he puts in
a full effort to chase the title this year.
odds
5-1...... the Darien/ Meadows "Lucas Oil" A/Fuel Dragster
is a definite favorite for the season championship, but everyone seems
to be talking about the "other" A/ Fuel car. This season
is still so young to be talking that way in my opinion. Morgan the
driver, and Darien the tuner, struggled at the last race, and still
were in the finals. In fact they have been in the finals in all three
events they have entered this year. This could be four in a row.
odds
6-1......the North West's "Young Hitter" (looks a little
like Bucky), had a career rookie season, and they are looking to match
or top that, especially on the National level. They will be a low
5.40 or .30 team, and Brandon can leave with the best of them. 
odds
15-2.....the "Billet Bullet" team is on an obvious high
after winning for the first time in 20 years. Mark's "Junk Yard
Wars" (homebuilt, and I mean that with the best possible admiration)
A/Fuel car is running better and faster every weekend out. They will
be at or near the top of the heap by Sunday night.
Darren
Nicholson: odds 8-1......I expected more from this team last
weekend, but they fell off from their qualifying effort to lose in
the semis to eventual winner Niver. The Edgecombe team has the car,
power and tuners to challenge at any given event.
Joey
Severance: 9-1.......Joey had a great rookie season and this
team proved they have the know how. Joey Jr. has proven to be a very
capable driver, and if Joe Sr. can keep the attrition to a minimum,
then they could steal a round or two.
Chris
Demke and the Maddern/Peen Rite BAD team also struggled a bit last
weekend and they should put forth a little better effort at a national
event prepped track.
odds
14-1.......the Austin and Dunn team had a good effort at Tucson last
weekend as they ran in the 5.60's in 4000 feet of air. Here they should
be in the 5.50's and could get lucky and go an extra round. 
at
least qualify. They include, Don Hudson, Mike Cofini, Bob Perkins
(right), Howard Haight (left) and Larry
Miersch. The cars left include a couple A/Fuel cars, and if
they don't shoot ducks then a number could 
come
out of the likes of Tony Meredyk, Ed Schmeeckle, or
Marshall Topping (right). John Haley is
pre-entered, but I don't see John being ready to go after his bad
crash a month ago.
Gasparrelli,
Chesterman, and Payne) are all going to be hard to stop. The later
rounds will best be described as a "train wreck." However,
as competitive as this race will be, it would not surprise me a bit
to see "The Woz"(below) or
Mike Andreotti (left)
go some rounds. 
This
class will be so tight this weekend that even the top guys will be
on their toes come first round. Ron August seems to be pretty far
down this list due to the amount of high quality cars entered, and
he was the runner-up of last year's race! That Mert guy might have
something to say come Sunday, too, but I'm biased there. Basically,
I'm not counting anybody out of the winner's circle this weekend.
All it takes is a string of good runs and a little luck. It will be
a barn-burner.
bit for this year's trophy. The blown alcohol corps. will be tough
to deal with, because solid performances by Mark Hentges, Brandon
Johnson, David Wells, Chris Demke, Don Hudson, or defending champion
Darren Nicholson can land them in the winner's circle. The A/Fuelers,
besides the two "hitters", will be a factor in this year's
outcome. Mark Niver, with the sweet taste of victory still lingering,
will definitely be in the thick of things. "Short Dog" Howard
Haight is part of a new team that is making outstanding progress.
Others, such as Gary Anderson (left)
and Larry Miersch, may be big factors if they find the right tune-up
this weekend. All I can say is that I am really looking forward to
some great racing from this class at The Strip, and I sure hope to
see Bartone and Lucas square off sometime in eliminations. Brad
Littlefield