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Funny Car is here The Top Alcohol Dragster scoreboard is here
National and Division 6 and 7 standings are here Aug. 31, 2004 Lucas Oil TAD results (Div. 3 Beech Bend, Div.1 Cecil County and Div. 5 Topeka) Div. 1 Beech Bend First round 1) Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., 5.634, 255.15
def. 2) Jeff Bohr, Plymouth, Mich., 5.656, 252.00
def. 3) Jeff Wilson, Winfield, Mo., 5.645, 247.25
def. 5) Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.727,
239.87 def. Semifinals Final Div. 1 Cecil County First round 1) Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., 5.426,
272.56 def. 3) Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa., 5.551, 258.22 def.
2) Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 5.574, 234.17
def. 4) Karen Benkovich, Fanwood, N.J., 5.702, 245.36
def. Semifinals Final Div. 5 Topeka Kansas First round 4) David Wells, Lemars, Iowa, 5.466, 261.42
def. 3) Randy Meyer, Spring Hill, Kan., 5.407, 252.85
def. 1) Ashley Force, Azusa, Calif., 5.333, 262.18
def. 2) Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.313, 274.33
def. Semifinals Finals
August 23, 2004 Billings, Division 6 Lucas Oil event #6, Intermountain Motorsport Park Acton, Montana Sunday Elimination's Eight cars were in attendance in TAD including seven BAD's and one A/Fueler. When qualifying was over the top seven spots were held down by the BAD's with Mitch Myers sitting in the #8 position. But the order actually changed when Hillary Will's BAD was disqualified when tech went through a routine inspection. The car was found to have .0015 too much OD in the blower, as the maximum in 2.15 and the car had 2.1515. An amount that possibly should be allowed as a margin of error. But, there is not leeway in the rules, so the rookie team that has a Bucky Austin engine combination and tune-up in it, was DNQ'ed. That gave #1 qualifier Steve Federlin a bye run in round one and he would take on the winner of the Joe Severance and Bob Perkins first round match-up. #2 qualifier Greg Tacke had Mitch Myers in round one and #3 Chris Demke ended up with a single as his opponent Mike Austin, could not make the call. Severance ran a great 5.601 but needed a holeshot to defeat an even better 5.573 by Perkins. The margin of victory in that first round match-up was .0008. Greg Tacke ran in the 50's as well in round one, a 5.583 to easy defeat a red lighting Mitch Myers. Demke ran a 5.623 in his single and Federlin went 5.665 in his bye run. In the semi finals, Joey Severance got left on by Steve federlin by 4/100's by outran Steve by .06 to get a 5.62 to 5.69 victory and his first final round of the year. The other semi final saw Chris Demke leave on Greg Tacke by .036, and he used that starting line advantage for a holeshot 5.683 to 5.670 victory and his fourth divisional final round of the year. Unfortunately, the final round did not match-up one of the best from Division six and Division 7 as Joey Severance wounded his engine in his semi victory and he could not make the final round call, giving Demke an easy 5.96 single for the win. His win almost assures him of the Division seven TAD title. Don Hudson would have to win two events and hope Demke does not get a final round finish in his last two events. In Division six, Federlin's semi final finish moved him a further 11 points ahead of Mitch Myers in the battle for the TAD crown. Steve sits with 316 and Myers had 283; both have two more races to improve their point total.
Final Qualifying
August 23, 2004 Brainerd Minnesota, TAD
Final Qualifying
August 3, 2004 (photos courtesy dragraceusa.com) While the rest of the world (the NW anyway) is going through a severe heat wave, the sunny Napa Valley and the location of the Autolite Nationals, was under unseasonably cool summer weather. And that spelled the end of any chance for the BAD's at this past weekend's national event. It is starting to sound like a broken record, but unless the rest of the events are run under the HEAT, there will be more rule changes (or something more drastic) to the class in the attempt to achieve closer parity. And don't say the best way to achieve parity is to split the class, cause that would spell the end to a class that has been a fan favorite since the Pro Comp days. Controversy is also a benefit to the class because it keeps the interest going. In qualifying, rookie Hillary Will threw down the first stone with an off the trailer first pair out solid 5.38/262 Friday afternoon in 65 degree 1000 ft corrected air conditions. Ashley was the other driver to throw down a shot in round one of qualifying, a 5.344/271 that put the ladies at the top after round one. Only one car ran in the 5.30's in round two, and that was last weeks winner Duane Shields who cards a 5.346/261.98 to sit sandwiched between the to with girl power. The third session run in the best conditions Saturday morning at 11:30 am, proved to be the killer for the BAD's as the injected cars put six in the 5.20's and 5.30's to hold down the top four spots and six of eight in the top half. Shields led with a great 5.235/272.05 and Darryll Hitchman ran his career best a 5.288 that ended in disaster for the second time this season. After the run his chutes did not deploy, and he hit the sand and the two catch nets really hard tearing the car in half. Darryll was not hurt in the incident but the car it pretty much tore up and he will have to work to rebuild it or start working on his third car of the year, if he wants to get back. I am really surprised that it happened twice to Darryll, I would think that the car was equipped with carbon fibre brakes and they should be able to stop a TAD. Morgan Lucas (5.300), Larry Miersch (5.370), and Gregg Lawrence (5.393) were the other A/Fuelers to run in the sub 5.40 zone. Steve Federlin was the only other BAD to run a sub 5.40, a solid 5.369/265 to put him #5. In elimination's, five in the top half advanced
to round two, with Miersch (broke before staging),
Hitchman (crash in qualifying) and Will (shook
and lifted) the only top half driver going home.
In the
Lucas and Demke in the semis
Final Qualifying
Aug. 2, 2004 Numidia Raceway Division one Lucas Oil TAD results 5) Mark Albert, Baldwin, Pa.,
5.782, 244.29 def. 9) Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa., 5.741,
248.82 def. 7) Paul Sylvester, Townsend,
Del., 5.851, 242.58 def. SEMIFINALS FINALS Art Gallant moved into 3rd in the national
standings with the win and extended his lead
in Division one Aug. 4, 2004 Texas
Motorplex Division 4 Lucas Oil TAD results. 6) Karl Brounkowski, Magnolia,
Texas, 5.848, 244.38 def. 4) James Copeland II, Red Oak,
Texas, 5.736, 250.18 def. 1) Randy Meyer, Spring Hill,
Kan., 5.558, 250.32 def. 2) Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla.,
5.504, 256.60 def. SEMIFINALS FINALS Randy Meyer moved into 2nd place in the national
standings with the win and pretty well wrapped
up the Division 5 TAD title, with his third
div win to go along with two runnerups.
July 29, 2004 Top Alcohol Gallery is here Sorry for the delay in reporting on Seattle and the NW Nationals Top Alcohol coverage, but family distractions and the Mike Cofini fire made it very difficult to bring this story to print. This story and and the rest of the season in Top Alcohol Dragster is dedicated to Mike and his effort and the effort of his friends in the class and Mike's fans to get him back on the track.
The race at Pacific did produce a couple great stories. #1, One of the best competitors in TAD and a great ambassador in the class, Duane Shields (above) finally got a win with his A/Fuel car. A more deserving win cannot be had. Duane is a true gentleman and friend to SpeedZone and I salute you. The Shortline Express team had struggles this season, trying to get a handle on the finicky A/Fuel tune-up and until the last three events their efforts have pretty well gone for naught. Guru Steve Boggs did give Duane and crew chief Dana Hopewell a hand at a Division 7 event a while back and the team has made strides including the #1 qualifying effort at Woodburn, He went to the final round at Sonoma's Divisional and then he capped it off with a dominating win here at Seattle. Beside Duane, The Parker family also was a huge highlight for us at SpeedZone. Another one of the hardest working teams (and families) in Top Alcohol, Kim drove her butt off to her second final round of the year (earlier at Woodburn's first Lucas Oil event she r/upped to Mitch Myers), and her first ever final at a National event. Way to go Kim, dad Steve hubby Randy and all the crew. We are very proud of your effort. That and Duane's win was a tonic for alot of racers and fans that felt Mike's pain when they heard of his heartbreaking fire. I will have a complete story in Mike's words on SpeedZone in the next few weeks, as Mike it trying to come to terms with his devastating loss. I talked to Mike at length this morning (Thursday) and he is trying to put all his feelings down in words at which time he will forward it off to me. The race itself......The forecast for
the weekend was hot, hot, hot and on Friday
and Saturday it certainly was. The blown teams
were probably of the feeling that come race
day, they stood a good chance at getting a victory.
Friday was a scorcher! Perhaps the hottest day
of the year in the NW. After the first round
of qualifying, only Greg Tacke managed to run
in the 5.40's, but it was expensive for Greg,
as the engine expired at the finish line. Duane
Shields was #2 with a 5.52 and Morgan Lucas
smoked his tires to the #16 spot with a 12 second
et. In the early evening session at 6:00 pm
Friday, the pace did improve (for the blown
cars). Steve Federlin showed the 20 cars on
site how to get down a 130 degree track with
a stout 5.447/258. Tacke did not make the second
round and stayed in the #2 spot
Bill Edwards was #17
Paul Julien was #16 but broke right at the hit on Saturday in 1st round
Marshall Topping was in the Curt Schendel/ Ben Harper A/Fueler at Seattle. Final TAD Elimination's: The race was a tale two two events. On Saturday
is was a matter of surviving to what was supposed
to be another hot day on Sunday. I bet alot
of teams once they lost on Saturday weren't
too upset, cause they could leave and find the
nearest watering hole to cool off. In hind sight
when the remaining woke-up Sunday morning, to
an oasis of cool weather they probably thought
that all their hard work on Friday and Saturday
would pay off. Hopefully for Shields he can keep the performances going through the final 1/3 of the season. And to all the underdogs out there, Kim and the Parker/ Flansburg team showed that hard work and a little luck go a long way in this sport.
Top Alcohol Gallery from Seattle is here
July 29, 2004 TAD Final Darlington
The Top Alcohol scoreboard is here.
July 19, 2004 Chicago Lucas Oil TAD results........... 24 cars tried to qualify for the 8 car field, this could possibly be the BEST field of cars ever assembled for a Divisional event. Here are the eight qualified cars 1 6 A/FD Bill Reichert, Owosso MI, Bowen-Reichert
5.343 266.53 266.53 Two A/Fuel cars (Bill Riechert, Todd Datweiller)
made the field and Riechert ended up the winner
over Canadian Ken Perry. Kudos to all the cars
that tried to make the field. TAD SEMI-FINALS FINALS
July 12, 2004 Woodburn Top Alcohol Dragster results:
Woodburn turned into Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde on the weekend and depending on the brand of fuel (type of car) you talked to it is easy to say which was which. Through Friday and Saturday, the track was tight, sticky and very fast, and the temperature was in the low 70's, although it was not quite at quick overall compared to the first race a month ago. The A/Fuel teams were running away with the top half of the field and the BAD's brethren were just trying to stay in the same time zone. Then, Sunday morning dawned to bright sunshine and a rising thermometer. What was a happy weekend for the injected boyz turned them into a bunch of glum looking lost puppies. And you know what happened to the other side of the ladder. Never has there been a more diverse weekend of racing that I have heard, been witness to or read about. And elimination's almost went right to the forecast. All but one A/Fuel car was out in round one, The one that was probably lacking in the aggressive tune-up dept., Gregg Lawrence (not a slight in any way, just an observation to his qualifying numbers compared to the other three), won his match-up against Brandon Johnson (who infact struggled in the first round and slowed down almost 3/10ths from qualifying). It is not very often you get to see the #'s 4, 6, 7 and 8 qualifiers around for the semi finals and then the # 6 and 8 face off for all the marbles, but that is what went down. #6 Steve Federlin with a win and two runner ups so far this season was up against Mike Cofini that has has a year from hell, compared to the promise and potential after last season. Cofini had not gone past round one yet this season and was a DNQ at one race. Is all ended here at Woodburn when he left on Federlin and outran him 5.61 to 5.79 vaulting him into third place in the "Division of Parity". Federlin moved into first place with his r/u pushing Mitch Myers back into second. It is likely Myers' and a number of other A/Fuelers will not compete at the next couple Div. 6 events (Medford and Billings) and will look for out of division events to race at where weather and track elevation is more favorable.
Final Qualifying from Woodburn 1 7 A/FD Duane Shields, Las Vegas 5.274 262.23 DNQ 9 628 B/AD Kim Parker, Graham 5.623 1 254.81 Photo gallery from Woodburn is here.
June TAD Archives are here May TAD Archives are here. April TAD Archives are here.
For the Top TAD drivers of all time go here For the Top Tuners and Innovators go here For the quickest runs in history by TAD and TAFC go here
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2004 Lucas Oil Top Alcohol TV package 2004 Alky Zone archives 2003 Alky Zone Archives 2004
Columbus gallery Click on any picture to go to the main Top Alcohol gallery
Jason Cannon
Art Gallant
Shelly Howard
Mike Kosky
Ken Perry
Tim Rudy
Marty Thacker
Gary Ward
Jeff Wilson |
1/4
finals, Shields (left, near lane) stayed in
the 5.20's with a 5.256 victory over Lawrence
who ran a career best 5.349 and Force won a
close one over Federlin 5.359 to a losing 5.394.
On the other side of the ladder, Chris Demke
got a freebie when there was no winner from
the pairing in round one that was supposed to
face Chris, and Morgan Lucas defeated his elder
statesman, Don Hudson with a solid 5.285. Hudson
shook and lifted. The semis saw an easy win
for Shields as he advance to his second final
round in a row, when Ashley Force smoked the
tires, and Chris Demke gave it a good shot against
Lucas but his 5.370 was a tenth of a second
too slow for Morgan's 5.273. The final round
was everything you expected from two of the
quickest cars in the country and Morgan took
what may have been his final victory in the
TAD class as he ran a 5.279/266.37 to defeat
a game 5.294/266.27. Morgan moved into 4th place
in the standings with the win. Point leader
Mitch Myers is probably kicking himself for
not making the trek to his second closest National
event. While the weather was forecasted to be
on the warm side, if you are in the hunt, at
least drive the rig down there and see what
the weather will amount to. Time will tell if
this race will play a part in the championship
chase.
and
Brandon Johnson ran a 5.494 to sit #3. Shields
was the top A/Fueler after Friday with a second
5.5 pass. Bill Edwards Jr. was the bump holder
with a 5.788. Saturday Morning was probably
the best opportunity for the A/Fuelers to get
a fast hit in. Saturday was in fact the tonic
for the A/Fuelers as the track temp was 115
and the air temp was right around 80 degrees.
Three of the top cars shot to the front, with
Duane Shields as the leader. He was the best
in the first two rounds and his great 5.358
nailed down #1. Morgan Lucas finally got down
track and ran a solid 5.366 @ 263 and Mitch
Myers was #3 with a 5.380. Steve Federlin improved
and was the quick blown car with a 5.416. The
surprise of the weekend was Hillary Will (above)
, who is in the ex-Edgecombe/Nicholson TAD built
by Rick Santos. She ran great including her
5.463 which was good enough for the #5 spot
in the field. Here is the field after final
qualifying.
On
Saturday two of the three top A/Fuel cars were
eliminated due to not firing on all eight or
just too hot of a track. In any case, their
lower qualified competitors benefited. Myers
was actually quicker than Parker but a brain
fade (or some other gremlin) at the starting
line (an uncharacteristic .137 light) by Myers
ended his weekend. Morgan had a decent light
but the car dropped holes down track and could
only run a 6.0. Three A/Fuelers were left including
#1 Duane Shields, Ashley Force and Gregg Lawrence.
Five BAD's were around to play on Sunday including
Parker, Severance, Austin, Demke and the rookie
Will. Sunday was certainly part two of this
race as the weather had cooled by 20 degrees
and the track temp was under 100 until the final
round. The A/Fuel cars took advantage. Duane
ripped off a best of the year 5.229/267.80 (career
best et) to defeat Gregg Lawrence and Ashley
Force (above left) ran a great 5.268/271.84
(career best as well) to defeat Hillary Will's
best ever 5.440/262. Joe Severance defeated
Mike Austin and Kim Parker left on Demke and
ran a 5.53 to Chris' 5.55. In the semi finals,
Shields defeated the Mattel car (Ashley Force)
5.291 to a close 5.371 and 
Kim
got a gift from Joey went he spun, shook and
spit off the blower belt giving her a 5.87 victory.
The final was certainly David vs Goliathette
as Parker (right) was at best three tenths back
and the weather was not about to change to 100
degrees in the hour and a half she had 'til
the final round. Kim gave it a great effort
with a .053 light, but the nitro powered machine
was not to be denied on this day, as Duane stayed
strong and ran a 5.301 to defeat a 5.608 by
the Washington school teacher. 
