2004 Alcohol TV coverage is here

The TAD Scoreboard to March 29, 2004

March 29, 2004 Tucson photos courtesy Jim Kelso and Mark King

Ouch!! Niver boomer at the hit during the first qualifier Friday

Tucson: Not a good representation for TAD's at Tucson as five dragsters tried to qualify but only four made it past 50 feet (Mark Niver exploded it right off the line and did not return). For first round we had two singles, and one pair go down the track. In the pairing Kent Nuckols defeated Mike Cofini with a 5.616, Cofini was well out in front but spit the blower belt of at 800 feet giving the win to Nuckols. David Wilson and Chris Demke got first round byes due to the odd number of cars and Niver breaking. In the semis, Wilson got another bye run and Chris Demke defeated Nuckols 5.68 to a tire shaking run for Nuckols. In the final England's Dave Wilson was behind by .007 at the start to Chris Demke, but caught him by 330, and held on for a 5.655 to a 5.689 for Demke. The Man they call "Grumpy" got the win. The win for Wilson was the first ever for a European based team. A number of guys from that part of the world have come over to challenge include Rob Turner, Wilson before and Peter Beck I believe but this is the first ever win. Way to go "Grumpy".

TAFC was a better show as a full field raced on Sunday and it was lead by #1 qualifier Robert Lee has snagged his first ever #1 qualifying spot. In round one Lee defeated Dale Van Gundy, #2 Dennis Taylor defeated Mike Drake, Doug Gordon got by Hannes Warnhart and John Patton defeated Mert Littlefield. Patton defeated #1 Lee in the semis with a 5.92 (Lee went 6.52), and Doug Gordon rival Dennis Taylor 5.83 to 5.90. This was Patton's first final round and he had a tough task against Division champ Doug Gordon. Gordon has been one of the best drivers in the class over the last couple years with many hole shot wins, and rt's consistently in the low .0's. The semis saw him cut a .018 light against Taylor. The final saw Gordon leave first again, with a .035 light and drive away form Patton with a 5.89 to 6.08 et. That's two in a row for Gordon and he takes the lead in Division 7 and the national lead in points as well.

March 29, 2004 (Memphis photos courtesy Robert Grise)

Memphis: Final elimination's at Memphis saw Ashley Force come close to her first ever title in TAD as she took on Randy Meyer in the 2003 world championship car. Ashley qualified #1 and advanced past Lee Callaway in round one with a 5.48. In the semi finals she took on the last blown car left and that was Jeff Wilson. Ashley left first and out ran Wilson by just a whisker 5.531 to 5.533. Meyer's on the other side of the ladder ran low et of of the weekend with a first round 5.391 to defeat Karl Brounkowski and then took on the hottest guy in TAD, Bill Reichert. Is wasn't even close as Meyer went 5.447 to Reichert's 5.633. Meyer's car was the quickest and pretty consistent on Sunday and it held through the final round where his 5.44 was more than enough for Ashley's 5.565. The TAD class will be very competitive this season and it looks like the A/Fuelers have a bit of an edge in performance and they are proving to be pretty reliable run after run.

Semifinals
Meyer, 5.447, 261.67 def. Reichert, 5.633, 256.65
Force, 5.531, 260.41 def. Wilson, 5.533, 249.76

Final
Meyer, 5.425, 259.56 def. Force, 5.564, 258.96

In TAFC, Tate Branch had to to into this event feeling pretty confident after his strong run at the first division 4 event at Houston. Most of the same players were at Memphis with the exception of Jay Payne. Qualifying and elimination's were pretty much true to form, at the top two cars Tate Branch and Jackie Stidham had easy first round wins. In the semi finals, Tate defeated Mike Bell 5,80 to a 6.12 and Stidham got the better of Steve Gasparrelli 5.82 to a losing 5.91. The final round has Branch as the favorite but someone forgot to tell Stidham that. Branch had a great rt (.015 to a .043), but the car fell off past half track, and Stidham drove around Branch with a 5.82 to 6.13 victory.

Semifinals
Branch, 5.800, 249.90 def. Bell, 6.122, 241.63
Stidham, 5.772, 247.16 def. Gasparrelli, 5.914, 246.71

Final
Stidham, 5.827, 243.02 def. Branch, 6.132, 190.08

March 27, 2004 Top Alcohol qualifying is done at both Memphis and Tucson.

(photos by Mark King)

Here is the Tucson fields. Top Alcohol Dragster

1) Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., 5.560 seconds, 253.75 mph
2) David Wilson, Farnborough, Great Britain, 5.582, 250.83
3) Mike Cofini, Spokane, Wash., 5.603, 251.95
4) Kent Nuckols, Albuquerque, N.M., 5.669, 252.57
5) Mark Niver, Phoenix, (no time)

First round TAD pairings
1) Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., 5.560 seconds, 253.75 mph vs. Bye
2) David Wilson, Farnborough, Great Britain, 5.582, 250.83 vs. 5) Mark Niver, Phoenix,
(no time)
3) Mike Cofini, Spokane, Wash., 5.603, 251.95 vs. 4) Kent Nuckols, Albuquerque, NM, 5.669, 252.57

Top Alcohol Funny Car

1) Robert Lee, Whittier, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.814 seconds, 245.90 mph
2) Dennis Taylor, Anaheim, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.820, 242.50
3) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '04 Camaro, 5.829, 243.90
4) John Patton, Peoria, Ariz., '03 Trans Am, 5.842, 244.43
5) Mert Littlefield, Garden Grove, Calif., '03 Trans Am, 5.862, 240.64
6) Hannes Warnhart, Bakersfield, Calif., '02 Firebird, 6.176, 231.32
7) Mike Drake, Glendora, Calif., '01 Avenger, 6.317, 223.76
8) Dale Van Gundy, Anaheim, Calif., '97 Trans Am, 6.344, 229.66

Not Qualified
9) Charles McLaws, Winslow, Ariz., '97 Firebird, 6.574, 211.03

First round TAFC pairings
1) Robert Lee, Whittier, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.814 seconds, 245.90 mph vs. 8) Dale Van Gundy, Anaheim, Calif., '97 Trans Am, 6.344, 229.66
2) Dennis Taylor, Anaheim, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.820, 242.50 vs. 7) Mike Drake, Glendora, Calif., '01 Avenger, 6.317, 223.76
3) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '04 Camaro, 5.829, 243.90 vs. 6) Hannes Warnhart,
Bakersfield, Calif., '02 Firebird, 6.176, 231.32
4) John Patton, Peoria, Ariz., '03 Trans Am, 5.842, 244.43 vs. 5) Mert Littlefield, Garden
Grove, Calif., '03 Trans Am, 5.862, 240.64

Memphis Final Qualifying:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
1) Ashley Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., 5.412 seconds, 264.44 mph
2) Randy Meyer, Spring Hill, Kan., 5.455, 251.86
3) Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., 5.482, 265.43
4) Jeff Wilson, Winfield, Mo., 5.530, 250.74
5) Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.563, 251.25
6) Todd Datweiler, Herscher, Ill., 5.568, 258.42
7) Karl Brounkowski, Magnolia, Texas, 5.590, 255.73
8) Lee Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.603, 248.07
Not Qualified
9) James Thompson, Vernon, Texas, 5.611, 253.18
10) Darryl Hitchman, Hanford, Calif., 5.613, 242.54
11) Tim Rudy, Mason, Ohio, 5.724, 252.95

First round TAD pairings
1) Ashley Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., 5.412 seconds, 264.44 mph vs. 8) Lee
Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.603, 248.07
2) Randy Meyer, Spring Hill, Kan., 5.455, 251.86 vs. 7) Karl Brounkowski,
Magnolia, Texas, 5.590, 255.73
3) Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., 5.482, 265.43 vs. 6) Todd Datweiler,
Herscher, Ill., 5.568, 258.42
4) Jeff Wilson, Winfield, Mo., 5.530, 250.74 vs. 5) Shelly Howard, Tulsa,
Okla., 5.563, 251.25

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
1) Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla., '00 Camaro, 5.717 seconds, 247.66 mph
2) Tate Branch, Artesia, N.M., '03 Camaro, 5.763, 247.97
3) Mike Bell, Ocean View, Hawaii, '00 Firebird, 5.845, 244.52
4) Steve Harker, Brisbane, Australia, '99 Avenger, 5.896, 244.78
5) Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., '03 Firebird, 5.926, 245.32
6) Ron Morrison, Oklahoma City, '97 Camaro, 6.010, 236.01
7) Steve Burck, Corpus Christi, Texas, '98 Avenger, 6.366, 235.27
8) Ron Rice, Oklahoma City, '96 Daytona, 6.925, 175.16

First round TAFC pairings
1) Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla., '00 Camaro, 5.717 seconds, 247.66 mph
vs. 8) Ron Rice, Oklahoma City, '96 Daytona, 6.925, 175.16
2) Tate Branch, Artesia, N.M., '03 Camaro, 5.763, 247.97 vs. 7) Steve
Burck, Corpus Christi, Texas, '98 Avenger, 6.366, 235.27
3) Mike Bell, Ocean View, Hawaii, '00 Firebird, 5.845, 244.52 vs. 6) Ron
Morrison, Oklahoma City, '97 Camaro, 6.010, 236.01
4) Steve Harker, Brisbane, Australia, '99 Avenger, 5.896, 244.78 vs. 5)
Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., '03 Firebird, 5.926, 245.32

March 26, 2004 Divisional races at both Memphis and Tucson on on this weekend featuring Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Car.

(Phoenix pics courtesy Mark King, Quater Mile Photography)

Tucson does not look very good as far as the Top Alcohol fields go, with less than a full field in TAD and only eight Funny Cars on Friday, in a division where Funny cars are aplenty. In TAD, only 5 skinny cars made attempts and it unfortunately was low-lighted by Mark Niver's big "Boomer" at the hit. Mark broke the rear end when he hit the throttle and zinged the low revving nitro burner to the moon scattering the uniques powerplant. Mike Cofini also had problems on Friday, as he broke after his burnout.

Here is the short field after one round.

) Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., 5.691 seconds, 248.48 mph
2) Kent Nuckols (above), Albuquerque, N.M., 5.710, 249.49
3) David Wilson, Hampshire, Great Britain, 10.227, 76.90

Funny Car was a bit better, and Robert Lee leads early with a strong 5.814 at the 4000 foot facility. John Patton is #2 with a 5.844. Here is the field after Friday. Two more rounds of qualifying go on Saturday.

1) Robert Lee, Whittier, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.814 seconds, 245.90 mph
2) John Patton, Peoria, Ariz., '03 Trans Am, 5.844, 242.63
3) Dennis Taylor, Anaheim, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.889, 242.50
4) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '04 Camaro, 5.900, 243.90
5) Mert Littlefield, Garden Grove, Calif., '02 Trans Am, 5.979, 238.98
6) Hannes Warnhart, Bakersfield, Calif., '02 Firebird, 6.296, 230.84
7) Charles McLaws, Winslow, Ariz., '97 Firebird, 6.574, 210.18
8) Mike Drake, Glendora, Calif., '01 Avenger, 8.549

A large field of TAD's are at Memphis including rookie Ashley Force and last years world champ car driven by owner Randy Meyer this season. Ashley has the top spot so far after the first round at Memphis with a 5.454. Meyer's is right behind with a 5.475. The #8 spot is held down by Karl Brounkowski after the first round. Here is the top eight in a field of 11. Shelly Howard again struggled, and is not in the field. (All numbers are courtesy Drag Race Central and NHRA.com)

1) Ashley Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., 5.454 seconds, 264.44 mph
2) Randy Meyer, Spring Hill, Kan., 5.475, 251.86
3) Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., 5.486, 265.43
4) Jeff Wilson, Winfield, Mo., 5.589, 248.71
5) Lee Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.603, 247.43
6) Darryl Hitchman, Hanford, Calif., 5.613, 242.06
7) James Thompson, Vernon, Texas, 5.616, 234.98
8) Karl Brounkowski, Magnolia, Texas, 5.653, 246.21

The Alky Floppers are led by Houston winner Tate Branch. Eight cars made their one lap on Friday and Branch's 5.763 is a tenth ahead of Mike Bell in the "Flying Hawiian". Steve Gasparelli did try to make a lap on Friday confirming his is claiming Division 4 this season.

Here is the field after the first of three rounds of qualifying.

1) Tate Branch, Artesia, N.M., '03 Camaro, 5.763 seconds, 247.97 mph
2) Mike Bell, Ocean View, Hawaii, '00 Firebird, 5.862, 244.52
3) Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla., '00 Camaro, 5.954, 203.16
4) Ron Rice, Oklahoma City, '96 Daytona 6.925, 175.16
5) Steve Burck, Corpus Christi, Texas, '98 Avenger, 7.048, 184.72
6) Ron Morrison, Oklahoma City, '97 Camaro, 7.114, 138.24
7) Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., '03 Firebird, 10.141, 78.01
8) Steve Harker, Brisbane, Australia, '99 Avenger, 10.568, 77.47

(Les Welsh Photography)

March 22, 2004, Chesterman hole shots his way to the winners circle over Newberry.

Chesterman in the far lane gets the hole shot win.

Top Alcohol Funny Car saw great side by side racing from the second round on and it culminating in a one foot victory for Cy Chesterman as his .056 light and 5.620 was enough for a .0042 package victory over Bob Newberry. Newberry had the low et for eliminations in the final round, but his bane for the last couple years has been his rt's and they caught up with him again, as his .099 light was just slow enough to keep him from catching the Coca Cola distributor. To get tot he finlround, Chesterman defeated Steve Harker #1 qualifier Jay Payne and a real close semi against Paul Gill. Newberry had to get by Greg Beckner Vern Moats and his chief rival Frank Manzo in the semi finals. Don't everyone get to excited about Manzo losing at Gainseville, as he has been a bit of a slow starter the last couple seasons. It has to bode well for Newberry to defeat Manzo, as he has certainly has lost his share of races against him, but the "Money Round" is where Manzo always seems to pull the rug out from under the "Newb".

(W) Cy Chesterman (Coca-Cola Firebird) 0.056 5.620 250.13
(L) Bob Newberry (Hussey/Valvoline Camaro) 0.099 5.581 257.65

Thacker is out in front, but can not repeat in semi final run and Gallant passes him by 600 feet.

In Top Alcohol Dragster, Art Gallant got the first win for his team since the 2002 season when he won the world title. He appears to be running the same numbers as he did back in 2002 as well, and the weight break on the A/Fuelers does not to have affected his car. He qualified #1 with a 5.32 and ran 5.34 in round's one and two in victories over Karen Benkovich and Mark Hentges. In the semi finals, he went 5.35 to defeat Mike Gunderson. Mary Thacker, one of the top blown alcohol dragster owner's/driver's in the country for the past two years qualified # 3 with a 5.40 and got a freebie over Robin Samsel (Samsel left before the tree was activated), a relative easy 5.50 - 5.81 win over Jason Cannon in the second round. In the semis, he ran his best #'s for the weekend a great 5.37/265.78 over Ashley Force. In the final, all Marty had to do was run within a tenth of his semi final run and cut a decent light (around a .05, as he has a great .018 light in the semis) to have a 95% chance of winning. Unfortunately for the blown car driver, he failed on both counts as his .066 start and 5.57 et was more than enough for Gallant's normal .128 (his best light of the weekend, geesh!) and 5.45 et. Don't know what Marty did on the tune-up to slow 2/10ths, other than getting out of the groove, but Gainesville was his to lose, and he did. Not trying to be hard on Marty, but you can't go out and beat yourself, and I think the team over thought the tune-up, and he was a little easy at the start, after cutting a great light in the semis and not wanting to red light away his chance, something that has happened before. Come on Marty you are one of my picks to high at the top of the class!

(W) Arthur Gallant (Gallant-Wenler A/FD) 0.128 5.454 232.73
(L) Marty Thacker (Matrix Service TA/D) 0.066 5.572 265.17

Here are the updated numbers for the class over all after Gainesville. The Scoreboard reads 3-2 for A/Fuelers

March 22, 2004 The Quickest TAD and TAFC runs in history are now updated

March 20, 2004 Gainseville Raceway, First round of elimination's is complete and racer in the top half of the field in TAD won, advancing to the second round. The closest race was between #4 Guy Kelly and # 13 Daniel Mercier. Kelly had a .04 light to Mercier's .063 and Kelly stayed ahead for a 5.387 to 5.431 victory. That is the best ET for a blown car this weekend so far. Mercier's run was his career best. The second round pairings in TAD are (first driver gets lane choice: Gallant vs Hentges, Force Vs McPhillips, Cannon Vs Thacker and Kelly Vs Gunderson.

TAFC went almost to form, as he only lower qualifier advancing was # 9 Cy Chesterman who found his combination and ran a 5.62 to defeat Steve Harker. He gets to take on Jay Payne who got lucky having a six second car in the other lane, after his dozing .140 rt, but low ET of the round 5.613 took out Dave Keddy's 6.44. Bob Newberry has lane choice over Vern Moats, Frank Manzo has the pick over Jim Sickles and Paul Gill gets the choice over Mick Snyder.

The Top Alcohol Dragster scoreboard heading into Gainesville in Top Alcohol Dragster is:

Saturday March 20, 2004 1:00pm Saturday final qaulifying and first round pairings.

Nothing changed at the #1 position in either TAFC or TAD during the final session Saturday afternoon at Gainesville. In TAD, Ashley Force moved up to the #2 spot with a 5.36, Jason Cannon moved into the top half (#6) with a 5.41 and Rich McPhillips improved to a 5.42 to sit #7.

1. Arthur Gallant A/FD 5.321 256.84
2. Ashley Force A/FD 5.368 265.17
3. Marty Thacker BAD 5.408 263.00
4. Guy Kelly BAD 5.410 260.71
5. Michael Gunderson A/FD 5.414 269.78
6. Jason Cannon BAD 5.415 263.23
7. Rich McPhillips A/FD 5.423 254.38
8. Mark Hentges BAD 5.447 257.80
9. Bill McCornack BAD 5.484 249.79
10. David Wells B/AD 5.486 261.93
11. Mark Albert BAD 5.502 256.55
12. David Wilson BAD 5.503 254.16
13. Daniel Mercier BAD 5.577 253.73
14. Robin Samsel A/FD 5.592 246.91
15. Steven Cantrell BAD 5.598 248.27
16. Karen Benkovich BAD 5.625 248.13

--------- Not Qualified ---------
Don Fiorelli B/AD 5.659 244.83
18. Artie Allen B/AD 5.692 242.45
19. Timothy Bowgren B/AD 5.765 250.41
20. Dana Stripe B/AD 5.770 238.91
21. Dave Hedges Jr. B/AD 6.040 224.10
22. Robert Leverich A/FD 6.374 196.76
23. Tom Pickett B/AD 6.575 235.66
24. Duke McDonald A/FD 8.476 146.79

The Pairings for the first round are. Gallant vs Karen Benkovich, Force vs Cantrell, Thacker vs Samsel, Kelly vs Mercier, Gunderson vs Wilson, Cannon vs Albert, McPhillips vs Wells, and Hentges vs McCornack.

In TAFC, Jay Payne sat out the last round and stayed #1. Bob Newberry also stayed in his position as the #2 qualifier. Frank Manzo moved into the #2 spot with a 5.634. Here are the pairings for round one. Payne vs Keddy, Newberry vs Beckner, Manzo vs Cox, Gill vs Carlson, Snyder vs Billington, Sickles vs Townsend, Moats vs Chesseman and Harker vs Chesterman.

1. Jay Payne 5.573 258.84
2. Bob Newberry 5.604 253.73
3. Frank Manzo 5.634 255.75
4. Paul Gill 5.660 255.39
5. Mick Snyder 5.721 250.20
6. Jim Sickles 5.734 251.39
7. Vern Moats 5.734 248.20
8. Steve Harker 5.738 251.67
9. Cy Chesterman 5.743 242.84
10. Chuck Cheeseman 5.761 252.38
11. Danny Townsend 5.767 250.34
12. Mark Billington 5.847 248.13
13. Bruce Carlson 5.973 245.36
14. Darrel Cox 6.050 229.88
15. Greg Beckner 6.506 212.21
16. Dave Keddy 7.146 199.42

---------Not Qualified--------

17. Russell Mudd Mustang 7.276 198.06

Friday, March 19, 2004 The field in Florida looks to be dominated by BAD's in Top Alcohol Dragster on the qualifying sheet, as 11 of 16 cars in the field after two rounds are of the blown persuasion. 16 BAD's made laps on Friday and 7 A/Fueler's made laps. Arthur Gallant in his A/Fuel car is way out in front with two strong passes, his best being a 5.321/256 lap. That is 8/100ths ahead of #2 Marty Thacker in the Matrix Service BAD (5.408/263.00) Guy Kelly in Mark Hentges old car sits #3 after running a 5.410 and Mike Gunderson is #4 with a 5.414. Gunderson has the top speed of the event so far and 269.79 effort.
In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Frank Manzo makes his first appearance in competition in 2004. The field at Gainesville is probably one of the strongest to run on the East Coast. The top 12 in the small field of 17 all could walk away with a win. Of course the top 4 or 5 including, Manzo, Newberry, Payne, Chesterman and Cheeseman are the heavy favorites. Leading after two rounds is Jay Payne (5.573) who is doing double duty this weekend. It was announced that he will drive the Anderson family Pro Modified car this season,.As wife Shelly who was going to be in the seat found out she was due to add another child to the family. I wonder how the double duty will be on Jay. The two types of cars are possibly the toughest two to drive in drag racing, and are similar in the characteristics. Number 2 after Friday's two rounds is Bob Newberry (5.604). Here is the field heading into Saturday's final session. First round of elimination's go late Saturday afternoon.

March 16, 2004

Favorite's take wins at Houston on Monday, when Tate Branch and Bill Reichert earned their first wins of the year. Bill Reichert #1 qualifier two weeks ago at Gainesville and #1 here at Houston with a solid 5.26 defeated last year's championship car driven this year by car owner Randy Meyer. Reichert was easily the class of the field all weekend long as he had five of the seven quickest runs all weekend. In round one, he defeated Darryll Hitchman and then Division six star Mark Hentges in the semis in a close race. Both cars slowed from their first round wins, but Reichert slowed the least and it gave him a .03 win. Meyer the other finalist, got a freebie against Tim Rudy in round one and then ran Ashley Force in the closest race of the weekend. Meyer's 5.450 just got by a quicker leaving 5.467 by the Mattel Toy store car. The final was not close, as Reichert returned to the 5.30's and ran a 5.390 getting by the 5.909 Meyer's ran.

Final round results: Reichert, 5.390, 270.16 def. Meyer, 5.909, 203.65

In TAFC, Tate Branch got the win over Divison 4 rival Jackie Stidham. Branch, who partnered up with George Etterman this season, ran career bests, and stayed consistent through elimination's. In round one, Branch got a freebie (went 5.63) , when Ed McDow was a no show and then he (ran 5.61) beat a tire shaking Steve Gasparrelli in the semi finals. Stidham had the tougher races starting in round one where he got by Steve Harker 5.68 - 5.76, then he got the holeshot win over Jay Payne 5.683 to a quicker 5.665. The final round was over early though, when Branch left with a great .02 light and ran a 5.65. Stidham was second off the line and clicked it early.

Final round:
Branch, 5.653, 254.86 def. Stidham, 7.860, 116.21

This weekend, The top alcohol cars will race in the South East at Gainesville in the Gatornationals.

Weekend wrap up from Houston: Shelly Howard did not start off the weekend they way she, husband Paul and Crew Chief Tom Conway had envisioned. They ran on Thursday during the test session, and everything seemed fine. Friday, in round one Shelly did the burn out and back up but the car would not run properly. They found a dead MSD box was the culprit. In round two She did her burnout and when she pulled on the brake lever a brake pad broke and fell off the assembly she she idled down the track. In the last possible chance of Saturday afternoon, the car dropped a cylinder and went into severe tire shake and that was the end of story. The teams next race is at Memphis in two weeks. Gary Cooper was one of the two a/Fuel cars who failed fuel check Friday afternoon. He was allowed to run when he bought the approved nitro at the track. The career best 5.575 at his first race of the year bodes well for the season for the new team of Tate Branch and Letterman racing. Jay Payne's shocking 5.548 in the second round of qualifying makes Jay the second quickest TAFC driver of all time. That was an unexpected run for sure, not in the sense that Jay could not do it, he is one of the best out there, it's just that is came so early in the year and not at a National Event race were track prep is optimum. Credit goes out to the track staff at Houston.

March 14, 2004 by Dean Murdoch

Weekend wrap up from Phoenix: The heat has its effect to the nitro cars on Sunday as they all struggled with the exception of Larry Miersch's 5.537 first round victory. That stood as the best run on Sunday. But the nature of the beast, was that they could not repeat and they lost in round two due to dropped cylinders. Having Miersch in the seat instead of Morgan shows that team's determination to win the Lucas Oil championship. The interesting scenario it that situation would have been want if Larry had of won the event. That would have been a tough pill to swallow for Forrest and Morgan. Mark Niver was happy to get on the track. After not passing tech at Pomona over a non approved block, the NHRA decided to allow it in competition because it was not deemed a performance enhancing difference. Niver wanted to run so badly, when the track was shut down due to the damage in the right lane, he said, "let me run in the other lane, I just want to race". The top qualifiers were happy to get the Sealed Power low qualifier money which they will receive at all divisional races. The sponsor ended at National events, and the low qualifiers there were not to happy about not being told of this until they went to pick up their checks. Mike Cofini was in Phoenix but lost in round one, but the guy is just happy to be racing. Mike is one of the breed that literally eats, sleeps and breaths the 1/4 mile. It was hard for him to leave Pomona and not return when it rained out the first weekend, but it was a racing decision he had to make. After Phoenix, he plans on staying down south and maybe testing a few days, and then race at Tucson in 10 days. Life is good!! In Funny car, Dennis Taylor is looking like a serious player this year after going to his second consecutive final round of the year in 2004, in the toughest TAFC area in North America. Doug Gordon can sure drive one of these cars, as witnessed by his round after round great lights. Look for that team to improve on their #8 finish from 2003. Talked to Gerry Woznichak and they fought electrical gremlins all weekend. Loosing the hit on Friday hurt all the teams, and for the "Woz" it was no exception, on both qualifying laps the car was shutting itself off and in both runs the blower belt exiting the engine. They still managed to run a 5.79 at 248. Saturday night they they changing every component they could but still lost power and he went out early. Gerry said they are completely stripping the car and rewiring in hopes of correcting the problem. I have talked to a number of teams and alot of them have been bit by electrical problems. The MSD 44 "welder" certainly has caused problem at times. See Shelly Howard in Houston's pit notes

Houston Sunday was rained out and will be run on Monday. At Phoenix, Top Alcohol Dragster had a first time winner in Chris Demke driving the Peen Rite Blown Alky TAD. He faced Don Hudson in the final round in a pretty even match-up of #1 and 2 qualifiers. For Chris Demke, he took on Dan Valadez who replaced Kent Nuckels and won with a 5.546 to Nuckels' 6.200. In the semi finals, Demke raced Morgan Lucas' replacement Larry Miersch who ran a great 5.537 in round one. Against Demke in the semis, Larry struggled with drop cylinders, not a surprise with 90 degree weather and a very hot 110+ temperature track, and only went 5.818 to Demke's 5.678. For Hudson, the #1 qualifier, He faced Duane Shields in round one, and got an easy win when Shields hit the throttle and rolled through the lights disqualifying himself. Hudson sat at the tree and had a slow rt, but ran a great 5.543. In the semis, Hudson raced Mark Niver, in another BAD vs A/Fuel semi. This one was much like the other semi final, where the BAD runs more consistent in hot weather. Hudson went 6.69 to Nivers 5.88, giving Hudson a pass to the final round. The final lived up to expectations, as both cars were side by side until the 700 foot mark; there, Hudson got loose and straddled the centre line, finally slowing so he did not cross over, at the stripe Demke got a 5.593 to a 5.662 victory. The crowd and crew went wild, as Demke celebrated his victory on the return road home.

Top Alcohol Funny Car also had the #1 qualifier, Doug Gordon competing. He was up against #7 qualifier and Winternational's winner, Dennis Taylor. Taylor was on a bit of a roll, as this was his third final round in a row. In 2003 Gordon was on a streak much like Taylor's as he went to three finals in a row. Doug won them all though. Taylor's streak saw him lose in the final at the Final's last November, then won the Winternational's two weeks ago. Here Gordon got his first win of the year, to repeat as Phoenix Div winner. Gordon had a slight edge in performance in the first two rounds, and Taylor may have (with Ora Vasquez tuning) had a little to aggressive starting line tune up, as he shook and rattled the tires hard at 1 the 100 foot mark, combine that with a .04 starting line advantage for Gordon, and that was more than enough for the MB Cabinets Chevrolet Camaro. The numbers at the finish line were a 5.829 to a 9.97 for a slowing Taylor. Getting to the final round, Gordon took out Bil Gallio in round one and Robert Lee in the semi finals. Taylor got by Ed Marx in round one and then won a close race against John Patton to get to the final round.

Photo Highlights. (all photos courtesy Mark King and are copyright speedzonemagazine.com and quartermile photography.com)

Way to to Chris.

Think the team was happy. Good on ya Peen Rite and Gerry Maddern

The Chevy powered flopper looks very strong. Combine that with arguably the best leaver in the class (he has won more races than I can remember with a better rt than his competitors.

Larry Miersch was in a corporate car. If only he could keep it.

Mark Niver had a pretty good first outing with the new ride.

Saturday March 13, 2004 What a weird weekend at Firebird Raceway for Division 7's first Lucas Oil event of the year with a crash and fire combined with the track safety tractor making a mess of the pavement, ending qualifying in the afternoon Friday. Then rain overnight and in the morning on a weekend that was supposed to be good. Saturday was delayed until late in the morning. In the Top Alcohol classes, starting with TADragster. Morgan Lucas was absent from his own car, as the team was not happy with its performance in testing so they put Larry Miersch in the car. Larry got in the field but the car certainly did not perform to expectations. According to sources, Rick Henkelman was in their pit in hopes to tune up the car. With the hot weather and Firebird's elevation, A/Fuelers would have struggled at the best of times anyway. A 5.62 was the best lap by any A/Fueler and that was done by Mark (can I please drive my car) Niver (right). His 5.62 was just a tick ahead of 5.65 by Miersch. Mike Cofini is the only Division 6 car competing and his best was a 5.536 to sit #4. Don Hudson kept up the pace from his #1 qualifying effort from Pomona, with one at Firebird, and yes he will get the "Sealed Power" #1 qualifying money, as the sponsor is back for the Divisional series. Hudson's 5.466/254 lap was good enough by .03 over Chris Demke(top, went 5.493). England's Dave Wilson is #3 with a 5.528. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, all 13 cars are Division 7 competitors, and seven of them were out of the top 10 from last year so they had to pay an entry fee for the first time in divisional history. Ouch! (Of note three of the TAD were not in the top 10 in their division either.) Leading the pack in Funny Car is Doug Gordon who went a great 5.709/251 in the final session to edge out Ed Marx(5.731/251, left). The bump spot is held down by Bil Gallio who ran a 5.883/246. Out of the top eight, was hitter Mert Littlefield who went 5.88. To tell you how tough Division 7 TAFC is, his 5.887 would have qualified him at every divisional event in 2003 in every other division, and he would have been in the top half of the ladder at all but six events in the other division's in 2003. Anyone that does not think that the Pacific Division is not the toughest needs to give their head a shake. The fact cars have to pay (if outside the top ten) makes it a hard pill to swallow. I fell for you Mert, Lee Brad and the rest of the team. Here are the fields from Phoenix after final qualifying.

Division 7 Lucas Oil final Qualifying: (All numbers courtesy Drag Race Central)

TAD: 1 756 B/AD Don Hudson, BAE 5.466 /254
2 74 B/AD Chris Demke, BAE 5.493 /258
3 800 B/AD David Wilson, BAE 5.528 /256
4 65 B/AD Mike Cofini, BAE 5.536 /260
5 777 A/FD Mark Niver, Donov 5.642 /245
6 712 A/FD Larry Miersch, BAE 5.651 /239
7 505 TA/D Kent Nuckols, BAE 5.777 /240
8 7 A/FD Duane Shields, BAE 6.044 /233

Matchups: Hudson vs Shields. Demke vs Nuckols. Wilson vs Miersch. Cofini vs Niver

TAFC: 1 8 Doug Gordon, '04 Chevy Camaro 5.709 /251
2 75 Ed Marx, '95 Dodge Avenger 5.731 /251
3 703 Mark Woznichak '02 Chevy Camaro 5.785 /248
4 79 John Weaver, '00 Pontiac Firebird 5.793 /244
5 73 Robert Lee, '02 Chevy Camaro 5.858 /246
6 777 John Patton '03 Pontiac Trans Am 5.867 /247
7 714 Dennis Taylor, '02 Chevy Camaro 5.869 /245
8 762 Bil Gallio, '03 Chevy Camaro 5.883 /246

Sunday Pairings: Gordon vs Gallio. Marx vs Taylor. Woznichak vs Patton. Weaver vs Lee.

Mike Cofini is the lone TAD from Division 6.

He sit's #4 with a 5.53 best.

John Weaver ran a solid 5.79

Duane just got in with a 6.04. He broke the wing on one run from severe tire shake.

Luanched pretty hard here.

Bob Gallio failed to qualify

Jon Capps failed as well despite running a 5.90

Dave Wilson went a solid 5.52

Mike Drake could only go a 6.10 best.

Houston. The weather is sort of like Mission in May the last couple year's as showers interrupted qualifying throughout the day, but they did manage to get all three runs in. There was a number of surprises in TAD and TAFC. In TAD, the biggest surprise will be the absence of Shelly Howard in Sunday's elimination's. The team struggled in all three attempt due to mechanical gremlins. For a team of their caliber to fail to get in the field, they have to go home and try and get this weekend out of their system. The car shook real hard on its final attempt, and in the first session today, a brake rotor or caliper broke on the burnout and she had no brakes, so Howard had to just idle down the track. In their run on Friday, the car would not stay lit in the burn out box, due to a fuel system problem. Mark Hentges, convince tech that he was not in an A/Fuel car, and got to make a two laps on Saturday, and his best was a 5.383, good for #4. 17 car made laps over the weekend for one of the best fields in Div 4 history. The field was anchored by Bill Reichert who went 5.269 in Friday's session. Ashley Force made her career best lap, a 5.338 to sit #2. Tim Rudy did not improve on his best ever lap from Friday and stays #3 with a 5.342. Darryll Hitchman sits in the #8 spot after running 5.672. Two Blown cars are in the field and 6 A/Fuelers will play on Sunday. In TAFC, Jay Payne took over the top rung on the ladder with a great (Career best) 5.548/258 shot. Wow!. Tate Branch was pretty confident after his first round 5.575 from Friday. He went 5.58 on Saturday to show the car was consistent. Steve Gasparrelli went 5.587 to sit #3 and Jackie Stidham turned in a solid 5.692 To fill out a very solid top half of the field. On the bump is Hawaii's Mike Bell, who ran a best of 5.956. This has to be one of the best fields ever in Division 4. Here is the Top Alcohol fields after final qualifying.

1 5 Jay Payne, 5.548 258
2 10 Tate Branch, 5.575 253
3 9 Steve Gasparrelli, 5.587 239
4 42 Jackie Stidham, 5.692 251
5 806 Steve Harker, 5.858 245
6 455 Jimmy Jones, 5.884 244
7 49 Eddie McDow, 5.931 235
8 738 Mike Bell, 5.956 243

Round One pairings: Payne vs Bell. Branch vs McDow. Gasparrelli vs Jones. Stidham vs Harker

1 6 A/FD Bill Reichert, 5.269 273.00
2 7321 A/FD Ashley Force, 5.338 269.73
3 337 A/FD Tim Rudy, 5.342 266.27
4 62 B/AD Mark Hentges, 5.383 260.71
5 417 A/FD Karl Brounkowski,5.423 263.05
6 596 A/FD Randy Meyer, 5.478 268.33
7 42 B/AD Lee Callaway, 5.541 251.77
8 7000 A/FD Darryl Hitchman, 5.672 251.95

In Round one: Reichert vs Hitchman. Force vs Callaway. Rudy vs Meyer. Hentges vs Brounkowski

Houston pit notes... The alky ranks had two A/fuel cars going through fuel check and not passing the 'Yellow" test. The official nitro has a distinct yellow coloring used to identify the official VP brand nitromethane. Both cars were not qualified. Ironically, Mark Hentges also failed the Nitro "Yellow" test. Ya think!!! Apparantly a bookkeeping clericle error was to blame for his early disqualification that was rectified post haste. In TAFC, Jay Payne just barely made it to the lanes to run as he missed his airline connection. Wife Shelly will not run her Pro Mod this season as she is "with child". Jay will take on the choirs in both cars for the 2004 season.

March 12, 2004

A double header weekend is here for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Coverage for Firebird Raceway at Phoenix and Houston Raceway Park will include qualifying and eliminations and also include pictures from Phoenix for sure as we have two photographers on site, Rich Carlson and Mark King. The first notable happening from Phoenix is Mark Niver is on the premises with his all new A/Fueler. For those of you who weren't aware, Mark was disqualified from competition at the Winternationals when his Donovan/Rodeck Block was deemed illegal due to the bolt pattern used on it. It was not certified when the rules committee put a ban on new technology. I am not sure what the change was that Niver made if one at all, as the infraction was not a performance enhancing change, so he may have been allowed to use it. The weather report calls for warm conditions all weekend so don't expect any huge numbers. At Houston the weather is absolutely conducive to fast times, but it is also overcast with a threat of a storm on Sunday. On the premises at Houston is Division 6's Mark Hentges, Ashley Force in the Darien Meadows A/Fueler plus a number of other strong competitors from outside Division 4. I guess racers just could not wait to get back in the seat. In Funny Car, Steve Gasparrelli from California, Steve Harker from Australia, Jay Payne a Division 2 regular from California and Mike Bell the Flyin Hawaiian from the Island of Oahu are all there to compete against the likes of Division 4 regulars Tate Branch, Jackie Stidham and Jimmy Jones.

Friday qualifying from Houston in TAD has 16 entrants; 10 A/Fuelers and 6 BAD's. Wow! had is a surprise. After round one, Bill Reichert made the quickest run by an A/Fueler in 2004 with a great 5.26 274. His second weekend on the car this year and he has it figured out already. Tim Rudy made his best lap ever with a 5.34/266 and Ashley Force is #3 with a 5.41/253. The only blown car in the field so far is Lee Callaway who went 5.69/244. Darryll Hitchman is at Houston with his backup car, after crashing at Pomona two weeks ago. Mark Hentges shook, pedaled and smoked the tires on the way to his 5.99 run Randy Meyer in last years World Championship car also had a troubled first attempt.

1 6 A/FD Bill Reichert, Owosso MI, Bowen-Reichert 5.269 273.00 273.00
2 337 A/FD Tim Rudy, Mason OH, Swindahl-BAE 5.342 266.27 266.27
3 7321 A/FD Ashley Force, Azusa CA, McKinney-BAE 5.415 253.14 253.14
4 417 A/FD Karl Brounkowski, Magnolia TX, Dragster- 5.423 263.05 263.05
5 42 B/AD Lee Callaway, Channelview TX, Dragster-B 5.691 244.83 244.83
6 43 A/FD Gene Snow, Fort Worth TX, Gaddy-TFX 5.753 224.14 224.14
7 401 A/FD Glen Woosley, Freeport TX, Sterling-TFX 5.770 217.67 217.67
8 7000 A/FD Darryl Hitchman, Hanford CA, Swindell-BAE 5.875 241.50 241.50

In Funny Car, 10 cars made attempts in the first session, and Tate Branch leads with a first run of the year career best 5.575/253. The Branch/Etterman team looks very strong in their first outing. Stidham and Gasparrelli are #'s 2 and 3 with 5.75 and 5.76 respectively. Steve Harker and Jay Payne both shook hard in the first session.

1 10 Tate Branch, Artesia NM, '03 Chevy Camaro 5.575 253.14 253.14
2 42 Jackie Stidham, Chickasha OK, '00 Chevy Camaro 5.751 248.29 248.29
3 9 Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina CA, '03 Pontiac 5.760 250.69 250.69
4 496 Eddie McDow, Waco TX, '00 Chevy Camaro 5.931 235.19 235.19
5 738 Mike Bell, Ocean View HI, '00 Pontiac Firebird 5.956 243.99 243.99
6 441 Ron Morrison, Oklahoma City OK, '97 Chevy Cama 6.151 193.82 193.82
7 455 Jimmy Jones, Cleburne TX, '99 Chevy Camaro 6.171 180.74 180.74
8 440 Steve Burck, Corpus Christi TX, '98 Dodge Aven 7.151 134.46 134.46

At Phoenix, the plan was to run one session of Top Alcohol, but qualifying but a crash by Ed Sigmon in Comp Eliminator spelled the end of today's action when his fuel tank ruptured spilling fuel on the surface and damaged part of the surface which they will have to fix before cars go down the track again. Qualifying will resume on Saturday morning. Hopefully Top Alcohol will get three sessions on Saturday.

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