The 2014 MalloryPrint.com Southwest Heritage Racing Association’s highly anticipated second season kicked off April 5th at North Star Dragway’s “Spring Nostalgia Nationals” in Denton, Texas. With no shortage of eager drag racers looking to do some old school drag racing, the pits quickly filled with SHRA class racers. In it’s sophomore season, the SHRA series staff worked long and hard through the winter months to put together several new bonus programs and the new Nostalgia Eliminator Shootout program, giving participating racers even more bang for their buck atop an increased payout and expanded schedule.
Despite the unexpectedly chilly weather, a packed house at North Star Dragway resulted in some great nostalgia drag racing action in all five of the SHRA classes. The 4.65 index Nostalgia Eliminator 1 class witnessed it’s largest field in history with sixteen cars including teams from as far south as Lake Charles, Louisiana and north as Dumas, Texas. Qualifying action got underway at the call of SHRA announcer Charles Faulkner and the first of two time trail rounds was underway.
Nostalgia Eliminator 1 Results:
After two qualifying sessions, the 4.65 index NE 1 field was led by Tera Wendland-Graves who wheeled her Walden Power Equipment blown front engine dragster to the top spot with a 4.66 at 151 mph, earning her a full dose of those precious Good Vibrations Motorsports NE 1 Shootout points. These points are rewarded in each NE class based on final qualifying position at the first seven events this season and will come into play at the SHRA Finals at the Texas Motorplex in November, where the Top 8 points earners will battle for a big payday in their respective classes. More details on this special program can be found atwww.shraracing.com.
The most recent NE 1 winner Wes Breiten took the number two qualifying position in his blown “Bad O’Man” altered with a 4.71 at 133 mph and Jay Briggs claimed the third spot with a 4.71 at 146 mph in his Louisiana based injected slingshot dragster. Clay Cunningham made his SHRA debut in his stunning 1948 Fiat Topolino blown altered and qualified fourth with a 4.76 at 145 mph while Ron Muncy rounded out the top five with a 4.77 at 144 mph in his injected dragster.
NE 1 Final Qualifying Order:
1. Tera Wendland-Graves (Commerce, Tx) – 4.66 @ 151 mph
2. Wes Breiten (Wolfe City, Tx) – 4.712 @ 133 mph
3. Brian Briggs (Lake Charles, La) – 4.715 @ 146 mph
4. Clay Cunningham (Dumas, Tx) – 4.76 @ 145 mph
5. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, Tx) – 4.77 @ 144 mph
6. Steve Matthews (Marietta, Ok) – 4.78 @ 148 mph
7. Rick Grindstaff (Coldspring, Tx) – 4.83 @ 130 mph
8. Jimmy Scott (Los Angeles, Ca) – 4.88 @ 140 mph
9. Ross Laird (Ardmore, Ok) – 4.89 @ 141 mph
10. Jason O’Neill (Mesquite, Tx) – 4.97 @ 134 mph
11. Dale McKee (Heath, Tx) – 5.78 @ 121 mph
12. Chris Graves (Carrollton, Tx) – 5.95 @ 92 mph
13. Chris Stouffer (Cleburne, Tx) – 6.08 @ 73 mph
14. Odie Coker (Dallas, Tx) – 4.62 @ 148 mph
15. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, Tx) – No Time
16. Kenny Stroud (Owasso, Ok) – No Time
As the rounds dwindled down to the semi-finals, Brian Briggs was paired with Tera Wendland-Graves while Wes Breiten would take on Odie Coker to see who would battle it out in the final round for the win at the season opener. Briggs and Wendland-Graves brought their front engine dragsters to the line and Briggs was out of the gate first and never trailed, posting a 4.71 at 145 mph while Wendland-Graves smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle, battling quickly cooling track conditions. In the final pair, Breiten and Coker came to the line and Coker jumped the tree with a -.018 reaction time, tossing out a nice 4.68 at 149 mph while Breiten had issues with a huge half-track wheelstand as he pedaled his way to a 5.77 at 86 mph to advance.
In the final, Breiten was on his game as he left the line first with a .0002 reaction time but again fought to keep his front wheels on the ground which allowed Briggs to drive around at the big end as Briggs posted his career best 4.68 at 147 mph to take the NE 1 win in his first SHRA event. Congratulations to the team from Louisiana on their big win to start off the season!
NE 1 Round By Round Results:
Round 1
(W) Chris Stouffer (.035 rt) 6.08 @ 140 vs. (L) Steve Matthews (.466 rt) 12.04 @ 45
(W) Ron Muncy (.132 rt) 4.79 @ 142 vs. (L) Chris Graves (.054 rt) 5.49 @ 129
(W) Tera W. Graves (.093 rt) 4.82 @ 123 vs. (L) Jimmy Scott (.033 rt) 5.23 @ 131
(W) Wes Breiten (.095 rt) 5.05 @ 134 vs. (L) Ross Laird (.107 rt) 10.33 @ 52
(W) Clay Cunningham (.164 rt) 4.87 @ 132 vs. (L) Dale McKee (.259 rt) 9.25 @ 44
(W) Odie Coker (.046 rt) 4.72 @ 137 vs. (L) Rick Grindstaff (.082 rt) 4.72 @ 147
(W) Brian Briggs (.084 rt) 4.76 @ 143 vs. (L) Jason O’Neil (No Time – Broke)
Round 2
(W) Brian Briggs (.071 rt) 4.72 @ 145 vs. (L) Chris Stouffer (.100 rt) 4.90 @ 145
(W) Wes Breiten (.110 rt) 4.92 @ 143 vs. (L) Ron Muncy (.162 rt) 4.96 @ 118
(W) Odie Coker (.073 rt) 4.74 @ 129 vs. (L) Clay Cunningham (.161 rt) 4.87 @ 142
(W) Tera W. Graves (-.001 rt) 4.62 @ 152 vs. (L) Bye Run
Semi-Final
(W) Brian Briggs (.085 rt) 4.71 @ 145 vs. (L) Tera W. Graves (.163 rt) 5.40 @ 132
(W) Wes Breiten (.031 rt) 5.77 @ 86 vs. (L) Odie Coker (-.018 rt) 4.68 @ 149
Final Round
(W) Brian Briggs (.066 rt) 4.68 @ 147 vs. (L) Wes Breiten (.0002 rt) 4.95 @ 146
Nostalgia Eliminator 2 Results:
In the 5.00 index NE 2 class, eight cars came to play and after two qualifying rounds, Bruce Dodson claimed the top qualifying position with a 5.03 at 136 mph in his first event with the SHRA, earning him maximum points in the Meyer Enterprises NE 2 Shootout standings. Thomas Hixson claimed the number two spot with a 5.05 at 135 mph with Tommy Drozd and 2013 NE 2 Champion Bee Godwin rounding out the top qualifiers.
NE 2 Final Qualifying Order:
1. Bruce Dodson (Grand Prairie, Tx) – 5.03 @ 136
2. Thomas Hixson (Keller, Tx) – 5.05 @ 135
3. Tommy Drozd (Lake Dallas, Tx) – 5.12 @ 132
4. Bee Godwin (Iowa Park, Tx) – 5.15 @ 133
5. Bruce Bruno Jr (Wichita Falls, Tx) – 5.22 @ 131
6. Ted McCord (Claremore, Ok) – 6.15 @ 118
7. Junior Kolar (Ft. Worth, Tx) – 6.29 @ 132
8. Leonard Ament (Denton, Tx) – No Time
Heading into the semi-finals, Tommy Drozd in his flamed injected altered earned the bye run and posted a 5.20 at 131 mph to advance to the final round. Drozd would face the winner between Bee Godwin and Bruce Dodson. Dodson looked to upset the defending series Champ but it wasn’t meant to be as Godwin was off the line first and never trailed, clicking off a 5.21 at 128 mph to take the nod over Dodson’s 5.22 at 111 mph.
Tommy Drozd and Bee Godwin fired their cars and laid down long smoky burnouts to kick off the NE 2 final round. Godwin in his injected front engine dragster was set to take on Drozd for the bragging rights and points lead after the first event of the season. Drozd was off the line first with a strong .008 reaction time but his 5.11 at 133 mph wasn’t enough to hold off Godwin’s hard charging 5.03 at 136 mph as Godwin drove around at the big end and claimed the first NE 2 victory of the 2014 SHRA season. Congratulations to Bee & Sharon Godwin on their victory as Godwin will hold the points lead moving into the next event in Wichita Falls.
NE 2 Round By Round Results:
Round 1
(W) Bruce Bruno Jr (.011 rt) 5.29 @ 130 vs. (L) Thomas Hixson (-.018 rt) 5.37 @ 126
(W) Tommy Drozd (.042 rt) 5.22 @ 121 vs. (L) Ted McCord (.040 rt) 5.96 @ 103
(W) Bee Godwin (.202 rt) 5.09 @ 133 vs. (L) Junior Kolar (Foul – Redlight)
(W) Bruce Dodson (.116 rt) 5.05 @ 135 vs. (L) Bye Run
Semi-Final
(W) Tommy Drozd (.064 rt) 5.20 @ 131 vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Bee Godwin (.027 rt) 5.21 @ 128 vs. (L) Bruce Dodson (.199 rt) 5.22 @ 111
Final Round
(W) Bee Godwin (.040 rt) 5.03 @ 136 vs. (L) Tommy Drozd (.008 rt) 5.11 @ 133
Nostalgia Eliminator 3 Results:
In the 5.50 index NE 3 class, defending series Champion Doug Morrison drove his flamed 1932 Bantam bodied Hemi powered altered to the top spot with a 5.51 at 122 mph, earning him a full sixteen points in the AlkyDiggers.com NE 3 Shootout points chase. Carl Johnson posted a 5.56 at 120 to qualify second and Ron Walden claimed the third spot with a 5.60 at 103 mph. Lori Woodford made her NE 3 debut and qualified sixth with Robert Springstead rounding out the seven car field.
Final NE 3 Qualifying Order:
1. Doug Morrison (Gainesville, Tx) – 5.51 @ 122
2. Carl Johnson (Iola, Tx) – 5.56 @ 120
3. Ron Walden (Kilgore, Tx) – 5.60 @ 103
4. Dusty Rose (Moore, Ok) – 5.614 @ 112
5. Gary Mitchell (Dallas, Tx) – 5.619 @ 104
6. Lori Woodford (Royse City, Tx) – 5.62 @ 113
7. Robert Springstead (Azle, Tx) – 6.78 @ 101
In the opening round of NE 3 eliminations, Lori Woodford took a wild ride in the “Leprechaun Racing” injected altered after an axle broke at the hit of the throttle, which sent Woodford quickly out of control and into the guardrail. The car flipped on it’s top and then came to rest right side up with Lori still conscious and shortly after she climbed out under her own power and walked away from the wreckage. The car suffered major damage and will not return but word from the team indicates they are already looking for another car to return to SHRA competition as soon as possible. A big thank you goes out to the safety staff at North Star Dragway for their quick response and we hope to see Lori and team back at the races soon.
Heading into the semi-final, Doug Morrison benefitted from a competition bye run after Robert Springstead was unable to fire in the waterbox. Morrison posted a 5.51 at 125 mph to advance to the final round where he would face the winner between Gary Mitchell and Ron Walden. Mitchell blasted off the line first in his altered bodied “Black Magic” entry and advanced with a 5.61 at 106 mph to Walden’s off pace 8.22 at 59 mph.
Morrison, no newcomer to the final rounds of NE 3 competition, looked to take out first time finalist Mitchell and claim the points lead in his effort to defending his Championship from 2013. Mitchell posted his best run of the event with a 5.54 at 123 mph but it wasn’t enough to hold off Morrison’s “perfect” 5.50 at 119 mph. Morrison and team celebrated their victory at the season opener and will lead the points standings heading into the second SHRA event of the season in just two weeks, on April 19th at Wichita Raceway Park in Wichita Falls, Texas.
NE 3 Round By Round Results:
Round 1
(W) Robert Springstead (.374 rt) 6.50 @ 106 vs. (L) Dusty Rose (-.040 rt) 11.82 @ 34
(W) Gary Mitchell (.158 rt) 5.60 @ 114 vs. (L) Carl Johnson (.201 rt) 5.59 @ 117
(W) Ron Walden (.145 rt) 5.85 @ 90 vs. (L) Lori Woodford (.550 rt) No Time
(W) Doug Morrison (.124 rt) 5.58 @ 120 vs. (L) Bye Run
Semi-Final
(W) Doug Morrison (.038 rt) 5.51 @ 125 vs. (L) Robert Springstead (No Time – Broke)
(W) Gary Mitchell (.146 rt) 5.61 @ 106 vs. (L) Ron Walden (.261 rt) 8.22 @ 59
Final Round
(W) Doug Morrison (.039 rt) 5.50 @ 119 vs. (L) Gary Mitchell (.110 rt) 5.54 @ 123
Old School No-Electronics Results:
The Old School No-Electronics dial in bracket class hosted a twenty six car field at the first event of the season. The field was highlighted by the surprise entry of Spencer Massey, NHRA Top Fuel driver, who came to run with the SHRA in his 1971 Nova. Massey got put on the trailer in round two by defending SHRA Class Champion Bill Cogswell, but had a great time enjoying some laid back old school bracket racing on his weekend off from the big show. As the opening rounds concluded, seven racers were left standing as they entered the money rounds. In the first pair of the quarterfinals, Joe Elmore took out Marty Burch. Bill Cogswell in his 1971 Pinto continued his winning streak by defeating 2013 SHRA Finals winner Chris Jarvis. Stephen Foster wheeled his 1967 Camaro past Robby Martin and John Wilson took the bye run to finish the round and move into the semi-finals.
Stephen Foster and John Wilson were the first pair out in the semi-final of the no-electronics class. Foster’s win light lit up the top end right off the line as Wilson went -.069 red to end his day, sending Foster to the final round. Joe Elmore and his “Old School Special” 1963 Nova upset Bill Cogswell when the Pinto broke out with a 6.28 on a 6.30 dial as Elmore advanced to the final round to take on Foster. Two first time SHRA finalists were set to duke it out for the Spring Nostalgia Nationals title.
Elmore entered the final round dialed in with a 8.39 while Foster rolled to the line dialed in with a 6.05. Elmore took a slight starting line advantage and both drivers ran them through the big end, both breaking out. Elmore took the win light with the run closer to the dial and claimed his first win in any series of drag racing since 2010. Happy doesn’t express the emotion for Joe and his friends who celebrated the win in the winners circle as Joe Elmore will lead the Old School No-Electronics points heading into Wichita Falls in two weeks.
Old School No-Electronics Semi-Final Round:
(W) Stephen Foster (.171 rt / 6.05 Dial) 6.44 @ 90 vs. (L) John Wilson (-.069 rt / 6.51 Dial) 6.47 @ 108
(W) Joe Elmore (.089 rt / 8.34 Dial) 8.44 @ 80 vs. (L) Bill Cogswell (.010 rt / 6.30 Dial) 6.28 @ 104
Old School No-Electronics Final Round:
(W) Joe Elmore (.079 rt / 8.39 Dial) 8.34 @ 81 vs. (L) Stephen Foster (.107 rt / 6.05 Dial) 5.96 @ 110
Old School Electronics Results:
Seventeen pre-79 model entries composed the field for the electronics class and after the opening rounds, five racers were left standing heading into the quarterfinals. Randy Stevens and Dwight Stewart were the first pair out to see who would make the trip to the semi-final round. Both drivers left the line with .002 reaction times but Stevens had the better package and moved on with a 6.38 at 107 mph. Bobby Taylor and Keith Darrow were out next as Taylor advanced after Darrow drifted slightly over the centerline in his 1923 T bodied altered. Russell Cook soloed into the semi-final with the bye run as the competitors entered the semi-finals.
Russell Cook and Randy Stevens rolled out first to kick off the semi-finals of Old School Electronics. Cook was out of the gate first and dead dial with a 5.68 at 116 while Stevens broke out with a 6.29 at 107 mph. Bobby Taylor soloed into his first SHRA final in the bye run to meet Cook, also in his first SHRA final round.
In the final, Cook and Taylor crept into the beams with Taylor dialed a 7.50 and Cook dialed 5.68. Taylor had the better reaction time and package earning him his first SHRA series win after Cook spun the tires off the line and idled to a runner-up 7.07 at 77 mph to Taylor’s 7.71 at 89 mph. Congratulations to Bobby Taylor on winning the Old School Electronics class as he too will lead the points heading into Wichita Falls.
Old School Electronics Semi-Final Round:
(W) Russell Cook (.011 rt / 5.68 Dial) 5.68 @ 116 vs. (L) Randy Stevens (.067 rt / 6.34 Dial) 6.29 @ 107
(W) Bobby Taylor (.362 rt / 7.50 Dial) 7.52 @ 93 vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Joe Elmore (.089 rt / 8.34 Dial) 8.44 @ 80 vs. (L) Bill Cogswell (.010 rt / 6.30 Dial) 6.28 @ 104
Old School Electronics Final Round:
(W) Bobby Taylor (.014 rt / 7.50 Dial) 7.71 @ 89 vs. (L) Russell Cook (.044 rt / 5.68 Dial) 7.07 @ 77
Congratulations to all our winners at the SHRA season opener! The SHRA series would like to thank Mallory Screenprint & Embroidery, Good Vibrations Motorsports, Meyer Enterprises,AlkyDiggers.com, Hayden Enterprises, The Hitchin’ Post Restaurant & Truck Stop, Equipment Sales & Service of Texas, Harry’s Hot Rod Truck & Accessories, Robinson Restoration & Service, Competition Sales of Dallas, Howards Cams & Competition Products for their support of the 2014 racing season! More information on the Southwest Heritage Racing Association including scheduled events, points standings, photos and more can be found atwww.shraracing.com.
North Star Dragway Bonus Winners:
Good Vibrations NE 1 “Quick Light” Bonus – Jimmy Scott
Howards Cams NE 2 “Quick Light” Bonus – Bruce Bruno Jr
Competition Products NE 3 “Quick Light” Bonus – Doug Morrison
Hayden Enterprises NE 1 “Closest to Index Rd. 1 Loser” – Rick Grindstaff
The Hitchin’ Post Restaurant & Truck Stop Bracket Bonuses –
Old School No-Electronics: Joe Elmore & Stephen Foster
Old School Electronics: Bobby Taylor & Russell Cook
Equipment Sales & Service of Texas “Best Rd. 1 Losing Package” Bracket Bonuses –
Old School No-Electronics – Bobby Chambers
Old School Electronics – Alex Garca
Harry’s Hot Rod Truck & Accessories NE “Long Haul” Bonus – R&D Motorsports
Robinson Restoration & Service Bracket “Long Haul” Bonus – Sam Barker
Competition Sales of Dallas “Luck of the Draw” Bonus – William Walker
Competition Sales of Dallas NE “Sunoco Fuel” Bonus – Chris Stouffer
