Mad Man Takes Second Win!

Text by Celeste Smith

What started out to be a VERY WINDY day turned into a pretty nice cool night. Thirteen pro mod teams rolled into Texas Raceway in Kennedale, TX to try their luck at becoming the first winner for the Kennedale 2010 season. After 2 rounds of qualifying, here's how everything unfolded.

#1 Frankie Taylor - 3.838 at 190 mph **Track Record ET**
#2 Gaylen Smith - 3.911 at 172 mph
#3 Steve Wiley - 4.033 at 186 mph
#4 Randell Reid - 4.055 at 176 mph
#5 Gene Hector - 4.122 at 145 mph
#6 Doug Riesterer - 4.209 at 173 mph
#7 Nick Williams - 4.289 at 174 mph
#8 Kevin Hargett - 4.310 at 173 mph
#9 Ken Thomas - 4.379 at 129 mph
#10 Michelle Wilson - 4.419 at 138 mph
#11 David Baldwin - 4.563 at 158 mph
#12 Eric Clark - 4.613 at 161 mph
#13 Chuck Poindexter - 6.340 at 124 mph

First round:

Randell Reid (W) 4.132 at 170 mph (.083 RT)
Ken Thomas (RU) 4.476 at 124 mph (.127 RT)

Ken Thomas filled in for Gene Hector who hurt his motor in round 1 of qualifying. Ken had a PSI screw blower hanging out of the hood this weekend instead of the trusty ole roots blower he's been running in the past. Ken got out of shape in 2nd round of qualifying and made contact with the retaining wall in the opposite lane he started out in and was frantically making the necessary repairs in order to fill in for Hector. Ken still didn't make the run he was hoping for and Randell was able to come away with an easy win.

Steve Wiley (W) 4.303 at 129 mph (.421 RT)
David Baldwin (RU) NT

David was filling in for Doug Riesterer who tore up his clutch during qualifying. After David did his burnout, he backed out behind the water box giving Steve Wiley a competition bye run into the semi-finals. A thin trail of oil was discovered in David's lane as the next pair fired up.

Gaylen Smith (W) 4.357 at 127 mph (.115 RT)
Nick Williams (RU) 7.907 at 88 mph (.057 RT)

Nick was out of the gate first but it was all over with shortly after that. He lost traction and aborted the run meanwhile Gaylen was on a not so great run in his lane luckily taking the win light. Sparks were flying out from underneath the car.

Frankie Taylor (W) 3.813 at 187 mph (.221 RT) **Resets track record**
Kevin Hargett (RU) 4.702 at 149 mph (.028 RT)

This race looked a little closer in person due to Frankie's tardiness off the line.

Semi-Finals:

Frankie Taylor (W) 3.934 at 152 mph (.224 RT)
Randell Reid (RU) 4.219 at 172 mph (.024 RT) **Best RT wins 10 extra bonus points**

If Randell had been on another run like his qualifying run, I believe Frankie would have been in trouble. You normally can't give up 2 tenths on the tree and win.

Steve Wiley (W) 3.981 at 183 mph (.055 RT)
Gaylen Smith (RU) 3.949 at 180 mph (.091 RT)

We had several issues to deal with in between first and second round. We had the pan off, blower hat off and replaced a complete parachute cable. We barely made it. Steve Wiley did his job on the tree and takes the holeshot win with a margin of victory of .004

Finals:

Frankie Taylor (W) 4.048 at 167 mph (.148 RT) Bogus numbers
Steve Wiley (RU) 4.046 at 170 mph (.115 RT)

Steve had the slight holeshot advantage and he stayed hooked better than Frankie who blew the tires off almost immediately and wisely shut off however, Wiley hit the finish line cones (causing Frankie's bogus numbers) and gave the automatic win to Frankie. Frankie got Top qualifying points, low et, top mph and track record ET points.

Congratulations to Frankie Taylor and team for your victory and to the Wiley/Hector team for your runner-up finish as well.