Boise Nighfire Nationals Nitro Funny Car

(Story and photos by Mark King)

Krabill Takes Crown At 37th Annual Pepsi Nightfire Nationals

Final round eliminations

Kris Krabill in Gary Turner's "Pedaler" Plymouth Arrow Nitro Funny Car defeated Terry Capp in Ron Hodgson's "Bubble Up" Pontiac Firebird late Sunday night in the final round of the 37th Annual Pepsi Nightfire Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Boise Idaho. Tuning veteran Cory Lee had all the answers this weekend for the 'Pedaler" as they reset both ends of the track record with a 5.96 @ 239 mph. This win was no walk in the park and was hard earned as 19 of the quickest and fastest Nitro Funny Cars in the country descended on Firebird Raceway to battle for the prestigious Pepsi Nightfire crown. On his way to defeating Terry Capp in the final round Krabill defeated Dennis La Charite in the "Back In Black" Pontiac GTO in the first round, Lucas Oil NHRA National Open winner Mike Grekul in Steve Plueger's "Plueger & Gyger" Ford Mustang in the second round, and Mike Halstead in Mark Stuckey's "Nitro Charger" Dodge Daytona in the semi final round. Terry Capp in the "Bubble Up" Firebird didn't have it any easier as he defeated Twig Zeigler in his brand new "Pizza Haven" Plymouth Mini Satellite in the first round, Dale Pulde in the brand new "War Eagle" Pontiac Firebird in the second round, and Ed Dougan in Charlie O'Niell's "Nitro Psycho" Plymouth Arrow in the semi final round.

Friday qualifying

All afternoon on Friday the atmosphere was tense and business like as the Funny Car Teams readied their cars for the first round of qualifying. Late in the afternoon you began to hear the pop and cack of blown nitro engines as the teams warmed up their fuel coupes in anticipation of the qualifying run to come. As the Funny Cars made their way to the staging lanes it was like taking a trip back in time as 17 Funny Cars filled the lanes to take their turn at the Firebird Raceway quarter mile hoping to be the one to score low elapsed time and the coveted number 1 qualifying position in day one of the event.

The first pair to the line is Craig Michael in the "Vegas Heat" Mini Satellite and Dennis La Charite in the "Back In Black" Pontiac GTO. Michael runs a very respectable 6.701 @ 209.98 while La Charite resets the Firebird Raceway track record with a 6.216 @ 221.23.

Mike Halstead in Mark Stuckey's "Nitro Charger" Dodge Daytona gets out of the groove and has to shut off with a 7.131 @ 144.09, while Dale Pulde in the "War Eagle" Pontiac Firebird cards a 6.755 @ 157.67 when Pulde shut off early.

Ed Dougan in the "Nitro Psycho" Plymouth Arrow makes a nice pass with a 6.583 @ 203.06 while Terry Capp in the "Bubble Up" Pontiac Firebird makes a great pass and resets the track record with a 6.070 @ 217.12.

Lee Paul Jennings in the "Code Red" Dodge Challenger runs a very nice 6.147 @ 218.87 while Kris Krabill in the "Pedaler" Plymouth Arrow runs 6.227 @ 228.31. It looks like Capp's et record is safe for the moment.

Bucky Austin in the "Northwest Hitter" Plymouth Arrow now owns the track record with a 6.037 @ 230.23 that puts him solidly in the number one qualifying position while James Day in the "Holy Toledo" Jeep shuts off early with a 9.063 @ 105.95.

Jack Harris in the "Nitro Thunder" Pontiac Firebird blazed the hides right off the line and then pedaled it to a 6.693 @ 225.67 while Jeff Bennett in the "Pure Heaven" Chevy Camaro shut off with mechanical problems.

Sean Dale in the "Shakey Situation" Dodge Charger could not get the hides to boil and lifted the front wheels off the ground. When they came back down the steering broke and Dale went into the wall. Mike Grekul in the "Plueger & Gyger" Ford Mustang was shut off while Dale was tended to. A short time later Grekul was refired and went up in smoke at the hit.

In only his second event Mark Sanders in the "Mr. Explosive" Chevy Nova carded a very nice 6.250 @ 219.67 while Twig Zeigler in the "Pizza Haven" Mini Satellite shakes, smokes, and shut off to a 10.611 @ 92.93.

Leah Pruett-LeDuc in the "Dickies Girl" Ford Mustang runs a 6.794 @ 215.51 while Rick Rogers in the "Bomb Squad" Plymouth Duster runs a 6.468 @ 222.93 in their competition debut at the Nightfire Nationals.

The last fuel coupe to test the quarter mile in the first qualifying session is Hot Rod Heritage Points Leader Steve Romanazzi in his "Warrior" Pontiac Firebird. Romanazzi runs a 6.472 @ 219.35 to close out the session.

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Saturday qualifying (RND 2)

Saturday turned out to be another warm day in the mid 90's but not quite as hot as Friday was with the mercury near 100 degrees. Round 2 of qualifying at 2 PM is an important one as the first round of eliminations on Sunday will be run at the same time tomorrow on Sunday. Listed below are the teams that improved on their previous qualifying attempt.

Kris Krabill in the "Pedaler" Arrow ran a 6.179 @ 229.47 to put him in the number 4 position.

Mark Sanders in the "Mr. Explosive" Nova ran a 6.179 @ 225.33 for the number 5 position.

Dennis La Charite in the "Back In Black" GTO improves with a 6.188 @ 205.80 for the number 6 position.

Dale Pulde in the "War Eagle" Firebird jumps into the number 7 position with a very nice 6.239 @ 199.33.

Mike Halstead also makes a big jump into the top half of the field with a 6.248 @ 233.03 that puts him in the number 8 position.

Jack Harris in the "Nitro Thunder" Firebird turned up the wick and runs his quickest pass ever with a 6.280 @ 229.94 for the number 9 position.

Mike Grekul in the "Plueger & Gyger" Mustang moves into the number 10 position with a 6.303 @ 222.33.

Jeff Bennett in the "Pure Heaven" Camaro moves into the number 11 position with a 6.382 @ 217.23.

Jeff Day in the "Holy Toledo" Jeep is the final fuel coupe to improve and ended up in the 15th position with a 6.656 @ 217.86.

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Saturday final qualifying

The Final Round of qualifying this evening is going to be the best chance that Leah Pruett-Le Duc in the "Dickies Girl" Mustang and Twig Zeigler in the "Pizza Haven" Mini Satellite have to bump their way into the show.

Ed Dougan in the "Nitro Psycho" Arrow is shut off with mechanical problems while Lee Paul Jennings in the "Code Red" Challenger doesn't better his qualifying position but posts a nice pass of 6.209 @ 224.10.

It is bump time now as both unqualified Funny Cars come to the line together. Twig Zeigler in the "Pizza Haven" Mini Satellite bumps his way into the show with the best elapsed time and mile per hour for his new ride with a 6.465 @ 215.98, while Leah Pruett-Le Duc fails to make the show with a 6.667 @ 215.51 mph.

Terry Capp in the "Bubble Up" Firebird fell of the pace in this round and shut off early to a 6.771 @ 156.68 while Dennis La Charite in the "Back In Black" GTO overpowered the track and shut off to a 12.659 @ 60.86.

Kris Krabill in the "Pedaler" Arrow overpowered the track at the hit and shut of early to a 11.968 @ 68.67. Craig Michael in the "Vegas Heat" Mini Satellite bumped his way into the show with a 6.469 @ 218.60.

Jack Harris in the "Nitro Thunder" fell victim to the evil tire shake monster and shut off early and coasted through to a 11.209 @ 77.84. Jeff Bennett in the "Pure Heaven" Camaro made a very nice pass with a 6.346 @ 215.62.

 

Rick Rogers in the "Bomb Squad" Duster pedaled his way to a very nice 6.229 @ 229.18 but in the process destroyed the engine in the lights. Piston tracers could be seen in the air on the top end. Mike Grekul takes the number 1 qualifying position with a very nice 6.036 @ 230.41, which once again resets the track elapsed time record for the class, but it came at a high price as Grekul wounded the engine on the pass.

Steve Romanazzi in the "Warrior" Firebird saves the best for last as he makes his best pass of the weekend with a 6.159 @ 224.49. Mark Sanders also saved the best for las as he uncorks a very nice pass of 6.122 @ 234.43.

James Day in the "Holy Toledo" Jeep bumps his way back into the show with a very respectable 6.483 @ 215.00 while Mike Halstead in the "Nitro Charger" Daytona made it's quickest and fastest pass ever with a 6.115 @ 237.96.

Bucky Austin is the last fuel coupe in this final qualifying session. Austin is trying to take back his number 1 qualifying position. But it just isn't to be as Austin can only muster a 6.105 @ 234.19 on this pass.

With that the field is set for tomorrow's eliminations which will begin at 2 PM. The final elimination ladder match ups are below:

#1 Mike Grekul in the "Plueger & Gyger" Mustang VS #16 James Day in the "Holy Toledo" Jeep

#2 Bucky Austin in the "Northwest Hitter" Arrow VS #15 Craig Michael in the "Vegas Heat" Mini Satellite

#3 Terry Capp in the "Bubble Up" Firebird VS # 14 Twig Zeigler in the "Pizza Haven" Mini Satellite

#4 Mike Halstead in the "Nitro Charger" Daytona VS # 13 Jeff Bennett in the "Pure Heaven" Camaro

#5 Mark Sanders in the "Mr. Explosive" Nova VS # 12 Jack Harris in the "Nitro Thunder" Firebird

#6 Lee Paul Jennings in the "Code Red" Challenger VS # 11 Dale Pulde in the "War Eagle" Firebird

#7 Steve Romanazzi in the "Warrior" Firebird VS # 10 Rick Rogers in the "Bomb Squad" Duster

#8 Kris Krabill in the "Pedaler" Arrow VS # 9 Dennis La Charite in the "Back In Black GTO

The standing room only crowd was treated to some of the best Funny Car action this year. The track record was set and reset and the drama of the final round bump session was met with a standing ovation. There were some sacrifices made to the aluminum gods, but there were no oil deposits on the track so far this weekend. The final bump spot of 6.483 may not sound like much but when you factor in the fact that the corrected altitude topped over 6000 feet, it makes this field very impressive. Not only that but a few of the fuel coupes are flirting with the magical 5 second barrier which is sure to be broken tomorrow during eliminations.

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Sunday eliminations

The coolest day of the weekend will greet the racers and fans today for Sunday Eliminations at the 37th Annual Pepsi Nightfire Nationals. Instead of the mid to high 90's of the past two days we will see mid to high 80's which really bodes well for track conditions and performance today.

It appears that Rick Rogers and the "Bomb Squad" Duster Team will not be able to make final eliminations due to breakage today. First alternate Ed Dougan in the "Nitro Psycho" Arrow will take Rogers place in the ladder in the first round and face Steve Romanazzi in the "Warrior" Firebird.

Round 1

The first pair out is Mike Halstead in the "Nitro Charger" who will face Jeff Bennett in the "Pure Heaven" Camaro. This is a good close race with Halstead getting his first round win behind the butterflies of Mark Stuckey's "Nitro Charger" with a 6.193 @ 234.25 to Bennett's 6.216 @ 218.76.

Next up is Terry Capp in the "Bubble Up" Firebird facing Twig Zeigler in the "Pizza Haven" Mini Satellite. Capp leaves second but Roland Leong gave Capp enough to takes the win with a 6.254 @ 219.08 to Zeigler's 6.379 @ 217.28.

In the biggest upset of the first round Craig Michael in the "Vegas Heat" Mini Satellite defeated Bucky Austin in the "Northwest Hitter" Arrow with a 6.636 @ 185.49 when Austin suffered a double wheelstand and had to shut off. Austin coasted through the lights with a 8.909 @ 99.64.

Mike Grekul in the "Plueger & Gyger" Mustang narrowly missed being the first in the 5's at Firebird Raceway when he defeated James Day in the "Holy Toledo" Jeep with a 6.009 @ 234.00 to Day's shut off pass of 7.255 @ 139.77. Day did his job and put a wicked hole shot on Grekul but when Grekul passed Day he clicked it off to save it for another day. Oh and by the way, Grekul reset the Firebird Raceway elapsed time record again.

In the most entertaining race of the first round Jack Harris in the "Nitro Thunder" Firebird and Mark Sanders in the "Mr. Explosive" Nova had themselves an old school pedal fest. It is hard to say how many times both guys pedaled but at the end of the 1320 it was Harris who picked up the win with a 7.664 @ 217.23 to Sanders' 8.590 @ 174.65.

Lee Paul Jennnings in the "Code Red" Challenger did his job and left on Dale Pulde in the "War Eagle" Firebird but just didn't have enough to hold off Pulde who won with his quickest and fastest pass in the new car with a 6.151 @ 226.81 to Jennings' 8.487 @ 103.37.

Kris Krabill in the "Pedaler" ends all doubt when he scores the first 5 second pass at Firebird Raceway when he defeated Dennis La Charite in the "Back In Black" GTO with a 5.965 @ 239.87. La Charite had to lift when he got loose and drifted towards the wall. Oh and by the way, Krabill now owns the elapsed time record and the top speed record at Firebird Raceway.

And still more drama in the final pair when Ed Dougan in the "Nitro Psycho" Arrow and Steve Romanazzi in the "Warrior" Firebird got into a staging duel. Dougan waited out Romanazzi to put the second bulb on and then slowly bumped in and left on Romanazzi in a big way. Dougan put a major hole shot win on Romanazzi with a 6.301 @ 218.02 to the quicker 6.184 @ 217.65 of Romanazzi.

Round 2

Mike Halstead in the "Nitro Charger" defeated Jack Harris in the "Nitro Thunder" Firebird with a 6.243 @ 231.54 to Harris' 6.405 @ 234.80. Halstead is living the dream right now with his second round win ever in competition in the "Nitro Charger".

Kris Krabill in the "Pedaler" Arrow left on Mike Grekul in the "Plueger & Gyger" Mustang on his way to the round win with his second 5 second pass of the day with a 5.964 @ 239.80 to Grekul's 6.517 @ 220.10.

This was a wild one. Ed Dougan in the "Nitro Psycho" Arrow puts the win light on against Craig Michael in the "Vegas Heat" Mini Satellite with a 6.286 @ 218.92 when Michael got close to the wall in his own lane about 250 feet down the track. When he reeled it back into the groove the flopper shot across into Dougan's lane behind him.

Terry Capp in the "Bubble Up" Firebird defeated Dale Pulde in the "War Eagle" Firebird when the "War Eagle" was shut down right after it started with no oil pressure. Capp made a half track shut off pass of 7.295 @ 125.22 when he shook hard and got out of the groove.

Semi Final

The semi final round is a tale of David vs Goliath in both races with Mike Halstead in the "Nitro Charger" Daytona facing Kris Krabill in the "Pedaler" Arrow and Ed Dougan in the "Nitro Psycho" Arrow up against Terry Capp in the "Bubble Up" Firebird.

Well the Cinderella Story is over for both as Krabill defeats Halstead with a 6.045 @ 237.52 to Halstead's 6.255 @ 229.59 and Capp defeats Dougan with a 6.043 @ 234.68 to Dougan's 6.241 @ 228.48.

 

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Final thoughts and Overview

This was one of the best shows that the AA/FC's of the Nitro Funny Car Association has put on and I have been to a few. 19 Funny Cars vyed for a spot in the 16 car elimination field which truly surprised me with the way that the cost to travel has skyrocketed this year. Many teams set their personal best elapsed times and mile per hour marks during this weekend's event. Twig Zeigler made his competition debut with his brand new "Pizza Haven" Mini Satellite and really impressed me with the way the car is getting down the track. Mike Halstead in only his second event in Mark Stuckey's "Nitro Charger" Daytona seems to have the car figured out and Jeff Gaynor gave him a hell of a hot rod to drive as they posted the best elapsed time and mile per hour ever, qualified #4, and went to the semi final round. This was also the competition debut for Rick Rogers in Mike McCain's "Bomb Squad" Duster. Rogers also ran the quickest and fastest pass ever in this car with Donnie Couch turning the wrenches. Unfortunately their weekend came to a premature end when they broke in the final round of qualifying. The hard luck award has to go to Sean Dale in the "Shakey Situation" Charger. It is hard to travel all those miles and have an incident happen that keeps you from qualifying or racing in the show. Dale Pulde in the "War Eagle" Firebird with only a handful of passes has proven that he has highly competitive Funny Car. Once they get the gremlins worked out this will be a car to watch. Ed Dougan in the "Nitro Psycho" Arrow of Charlie O'Neill is another car that has made some serious progress as they went to their first semi final round with Dougan behind the butterflies. Jeff Bennett in the "Pure Heaven" Camaro also did very well considering that they were running with a wounded blower. But with a little help from Donnie Couch they also did a great job this weekend.

This was my first trip to Firebird Raceway in Boise Idaho. The New Family put on a great show and know how to put spectators in the seats. Friday night's crowd impressed me in a big way as at every other event that ran a Friday evening portion of an event that I have attended in the last 4 years the stands were mostly empty . The maintenance of the track and the preparation is what I would expect from a National Event track and they have all the equipment that a National Event track uses to facilitate quick clean ups and good track preparation. I completely enjoyed my experience with the New Family and Firebird Raceway and I would like to say Thank You to them.

 

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