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Western Fuel Altereds
Cactus Clash
Text by Hal Sanguinetti ~ Photos by Bob Snyder
The 2013 Fall season for the Western Fuel Altereds kicked off at Tucson’s Southwestern International Raceway on Sunday, October 5. With beautiful weather and a good turnout, it promised to be a great event. The program was a little different, however: the field was split into Altereds and, for the first time, Funny Cars! Each group had their own event, and it came right down to the wire. WFA uses the Chicago-style format: each car runs both of the first two sessions, and the two quickest cars (tonight in each category) run for the win!
First round saw quite a few cars with handling or traction blues, but mainly because of the long summer layoff and the presence of several new cars. However, in Funny Car, 2011-12 WFA Champion Dean Oberg picked up right where he left off, in spite of a brand new car - complete with a Holy Toledo! Jeep body! Dean thundered to low of the round as part of the first pair out - a 6.858 at 195 mph! Eric Gates was close behind in his beautiful machine with a 6.876/198 and Mitch Bowen in his Northland Express tallied a 6.959 at an even 200!
Round 2 for the Funny Cars was even better - at least for the top 2, when Oberg & Bowen squared off for a great race! Oberg left first and ran 6.719 at almost 205 with Bowen nipping at his heels with a fine 6.772/202! It would prove to be the harbinger of things to come in the form of a repeat match up in the final. Unfortunately, Eric Gates blew something on the burnout and was done for the night. The RBS Supercharges #1 Qualifier award went once again to Dean Oberg - no wonder that car always runs so well, the blower is in top notch condition!
Over on the Altered side of the program, the first round belonged to the ‘43 Ford coupe-bodied nitro car of Steve Neese & driver Kevin Knowles: they hammered the qualifying sheet with a booming 6.708 at 216.51 (low et & top speed for the night for the Altereds). Mic Williams ran a nice 7.070/191 for second and Pat Neal (driving for David Chase) was third at a subdued 7.226/157. Former Series champ Jim Maroney’s night ended when his transmission refused to go into any gear after the burnout.
Second round action was difficult for both categories, as both the air and track temps had dipped a lot! Kevin Knowles hit the throttle and immediately turned a hard right - only sharp reflexes and good driving kept him off the wall. Rob Winefsky had burned a couple of pistons on the previous run and had to shut off on the line, while Tucson’s Pat Neal boomed the engine in the lights big time, while running #1 for the second round. The carnage finished him for the night, although he did claim the Torco Racing Oils Best Reaction Time Award.
Sheldon Lofgreen was second in the AZ Blow Dryer (named for the two big 90mm turbochargers instead of a blower) at his best for the evening, a 7.25/195 in spite of a badly slipping converter. When asked if he was going to sit out the round, Sheldon barked “No way, we’re here to put on a show!” Mic Williams easily won the Good Vibrations Motorsports Burnout Contest, but it was costly - the engine had a big flash of flame & parts out of #7 just as he lifted. When told he’d won the $100 Burnout Contest, he laughed and said “That’s nice. It only cost me $10,000 to win it!”
So with the #2 & 3 machines broken, Lofgreen & car owner Art Nolte had to unload the car to run the final. On paper, it was a gimmie to Kevin Knowles - he’d run a 6.70 to Lofgreen’s 7.25, but drag racing doesn’t race on paper. It was nearing 11:30 and the track was stone cold, with only some bracket cars to keep it warm. The air temp was in the low 50’s, which meant more power, and Announcer/Race Director laid it out for the crowd. The Blow Drier was hurting with the converter issue, but had gotten down the track straight every run.
Neese & Knowles had the power, on nitro, but had gotten very squirelly in the previous round. Who would prevail? At the start, Lofgreen grabbed an 8-hundredths holeshot, as Knowles played it safe knowing of his performance advantage. But his Ford sedan again spun on tire and hooked right for just an instant, and Lofgreen was long gone. At the stripe, it was the yellow AZ Blow Dryer for the win by a nose at 7.727 as Knowles thundered past at almost 209 and a quicker 7.670.... but just a tad too late! It was Art Nolte & Sheldon Lofgreen’s first win in the WFA.
In the Funny Car final, it was again Oberg & Bowen. At the green, both drivers left with very good reactions, Oberg out first by only .004. But Bowen had gambled on the cold track and ran 6.734/204.42 to defeat Oberg’s 6.787/199.26. It was also Mitch Bowen’s first with with WFA! Two great finals and some close action - a great way to start the fall season! WFA moves to Albuquerque Dragway in two weeks to close out the season, and the Series points are super tight (the top 3 are only TWO points apart) - hope you can come and enjoy the show!
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