One of five major drag racing events in the US this weekend and this one is the one to be at imo. 500 cars on the historic Bakersfield grounds and all of them from the wonder years of drag racing. A huge field of Nostalgia Funny Car and a solid field of Top Fuel cars highlight the 51st March Meet. One round of qualifying was on tap for Friday and the top two classes struggled to get down the track. Rookie Garrett Bateman and Bob Godfrey were the only two drivers who ran in the teens as no one was close to the five second zone. Top Feul was not much better and

Nitro Funny Car
1 611 Garrett Bateman, Tacoma WA, 6.139 235.04 235.04
2 748 Bob Godfrey, Moreno Valley CA, '69 Camaro 6.159 235.60 235.60
3 8 Mike Halstead, Fontana CA, '69 Daytona 6.223 238.15 238.15
4 7140 Jack Wright, Oakhurst CA, '70 Challenger 6.294 227.50 227.50
5 708 Mike Adams, Prescott AZ, '79 Corvette 6.330 215.20 215.20
6 520 Dennis La Charite, Rolling Hills Estates CA, ' 6.527 225.67 225.67
7 7925 Craig Michael, Las Vegas NV, '72 Satellite 6.558 182.59 182.59
8 617 Bucky Austin, Fife WA, '79 Arrow 6.636 155.79 155.79

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

9 627 Terry Capp, Edmonton AB, '77 Firebird 6.690 156.63 156.63
10 7800 John Powers, Phoenix AZ, '77 Camaro 6.748 163.99 163.99
11 730 Jeff Bennett, Las Vegas NV, '69 Camaro 7.212 152.25 152.25
12 735 Jeff Utterback, Santa Monica CA, '71 Vega 7.483 129.29 129.29
13 714 Dennis Taylor, Anahiem CA, '72 Charger 7.635 111.51 111.51
14 7130 Todd Lesenko, Cave Creek AZ, '73 Camaro 7.665 137.84 137.84
15 756 Nate Bugg, Orange CA, '71 Barracuda 8.019 120.19 120.19
16 168 Steve Nichols, Newark DE, '70 Camaro 8.300 164.23 164.23
17 724 Dale Pulde, Sylmar CA, '77 Trans Am 9.153 93.80 93.80
18 750 Kirk Kuhns, Yorba Linda CA, '69 Camaro 9.214 73.60 73.60
19 732 Chris Krabill, Orange CA, '79 Arrow 9.334 85.05 85.05
20 601 Tom Padilla, Arlington WA, '72 Plymouth 9.630 90.68 90.68
21 736 Dan Horan Jr, Sylmar CA, '66 Mustang 9.988 86.76 86.76
22 781 Mendy Fry, Aliso Viejo CA, '73 Duster 10.060 81.75 81.75
23 6006 Mark Sanders, Maple Valley WA, '70 Nova 10.137 81.78 81.78
24 400 Mike Savage, Tucson AZ, '70 Barracuda 12.401 66.31 66.31
25 7773 Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Cherry Valley CA, '65 Jeeps 18.805 51.52 51.52
26 797 Stephen Romanazzi, Visalia CA, '77 Firebird 19.216 55.15 55.15
27 720 Lee Paul Jennings Jr, Hilmar CA, '72 Challenger21.736 65.82 65.82
28 739 Ed Dougan, Brea CA, '78 Arrow DQ

Top Fuel

1 7131 Rick White, San Diego CA, Hansen-Rodeck 5.852 253.52 253.52
2 701 Rick McGee, Exeter CA, Tedford-Donovan 5.945 236.03 236.03
3 702 Mike McLennan, Oakley CA, URC-Rodeck 6.065 207.27 207.27
4 774 Jim Murphy, Santa Rosa CA, Stirling-Rodeck 6.236 178.71 178.71
5 1 Troy Green, Anahiem CA, Stirling-Donovan 6.260 186.79 186.79
6 7917 Brad Thompson, Visalia CA, Crossbow-Rodeck 6.440 172.71 172.71
7 700 Terry Cox, Clarkburg CA, URC-Hemi 6.902 139.01 139.01
8 724 Denver Schutz, Fresno CA, Stirling-Rodeck 7.160 241.41 241.41
9 787 Shannon Stuart, Riverside CA, Stirling-Donovan 7.195 134.18 134.18
10 7380 Rick Rogers, Atascadero CA, Tuttle-Donovan 9.221 96.37 96.37
11 772 Rick Williamson, Stockton CA, Davison-Chrysler 9.657 76.17 76.17
12 747 Mark Malde, Windsor CA, Stirling-Chevy 10.880 70.93 70.93
13 7188 Brendan Murry, San Jose CA, Stirling-Arias 11.739 80.11 80.11
14 766 Adam Sorokin, Glendale CA, Uyehara-Rodeck NT
15 7736 Dan Horan, Big Bear CA, Woody-Donovan DQ
16 7125 Mike Chrisman, , Allen DQ

A/Fuel

1 7573 Kin Bates, Anderson CA, Tuttle-Chrysler 6.603 221.18 221.18
2 7293 Shawn Corbani, San Jose CA, Stirling-BAE 6.667 208.33 208.33
3 7571 Nick Norton, Long Beach CA, Uyehara-Chevy 6.741 175.91 175.91
4 777 Gerry Wheeler, Wagoner OK, Ohara-Rodeck 7.004 204.91 204.91
5 J700 Jeremy Sullivan, Riverside CA, Stirling-Chevy 7.541 139.36 139.36
6 7322 Chuck Tanko, Prescott AZ, Siirling-Chev 7.738 182.70 182.70
7 750 Darrell Waters, Bonsall CA, Comstock-BAE 7.740 117.57 117.57
8 5081 Harry Hutsler, Lakewood CO, Dragster 8.071 168.60 168.60

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

9 225 Ronnie Lennon, Sonoma CA, '32 Bantam 10.868 72.39 72.39
10 7777 Bill Wayne, Bullhead City AZ, URC-AJPE DQ
Claude Lavoie Edmonton AB NT

AA/GS

1 7235 Rich Roberts, Atwater CA, '34 Willys 6.646 210.57 210.57
2 430 John Peterson, Homewood CA, '70 Plymouth 6.762 200.49 200.49
3 7408 Gary Reinero, Merced CA, '48 Austin 7.082 195.10 195.10
4 7555 Scott Loomis, Ojai CA, '53 Studebaker 7.237 189.87 189.87
5 7053 Mark Mahood, Yorba Linda CA, '69 Camaro 7.257 188.91 188.91
6 726 Marc Meadors, Plesanton CA, '69 Camaro 8.099 106.68 106.68
7 7647 Robert Moore, El Cajon , '60 Impala 8.447 108.06 108.06
8 707 Howard Anderson, Auburn CA, '38 Chevy 10.446 88.15 88.15

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

9 6180 Jirka Kaplan, Calgery AB, '63 Vette 12.097 87.19 87.19
10 7280 Chuck Moore, Danville CA, '48 Anglia 17.520 51.53 51.53
11 780 Mike Leonard, Plesanton CA, '69 Chevy 19.565 50.49 50.49

 

Event preview

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. --

Bucky Austin
The 51st annual March Meet is the lead-off event in the NHRA's 8-race nostalgia drag race series. The 2009 Hot Rod Heritage Series, now in its second season, gets the green light at historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Mar. 6-8.
"We're honored to once again kick-off the Hot Rod Heritage drag racing series," said Blake Bowser, vice president and general manager of the Kern County Racing Association, operators of Auto Club Famoso and producers of the March Meet. "Nostalgia drag racing fans are in for a great weekend of racing, fun and affordable entertainment."

According to the NHRA, the Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series was created to "help preserve NHRA's rich history and tradition while capitalizing on the success of nostalgia drag racing competition." Series champions will be crowned in 14 categories based on year-end points.

Last year, Troy Green won the inaugural Nostalgia Top Fuel championship, while Bucky Austin claimed the Nostalgia Funny title. Both are expected to defend their titles, starting at the March Meet.

"The Hot Rod Heritage series appeals to drag racing fans young and old," said Peter Clifford, NHRA executive vice president and general manager. "It's a great way to introduce the younger generation to the history of our sport and give fans young and old a glimpse of racing the way it used to be."

And what better place to kick-start the series than the famed March Meet at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, which expects overflow crowds again this year. The Hot Rod Heritage series will also end the season at Auto Club Famoso, Oct. 16-18, at the California Hot Rod Reunion.

Among the highlighted stops in between are Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho, for the 38th annual Pepsi NightFire Nationals and Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Calif., and The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In all, there will be eight independently produced events with each class of competition competing at and earning points toward series championships at five of those eight events. There are 14 categories: They are Nostalgia Top Fuel; Nostalgia Funny Car; A/Fuel; Junior Fuel; 7.0 Eliminator; AA/Gas Supercharged; Nostalgia Eliminator 1, Nostalgia Eliminator 2; Nostalgia Eliminator 3; A Gas; B Gas; C Gas; D Gas; and Hot Rod.

2009 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Schedule
-- Mar. 6-8, March Meet, Bakersfield, Calif.
-- Apr. 3-5, Nostalgia Sportsman Shootout, Fontana, Calif.
-- May 15-17, Las Vegas Speed Spectacular, Las Vegas, Nev.
-- June 12-13, Arizona Fuel & Gas Nationals, Wittmann, Ariz.
-- July 10-11, WCTA Fremont Reunion, Sacramento, Calif.
-- Aug. 13-16, 38th Annual Pepsi NightFire Nationals, Boise, Idaho
-- Sept. 11-13, Southern California Shootout (tentative), Fontana, Calif.
-- Oct. 16-18, California Hot Rod Reunion, Bakersfield, Calif.