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WITTENBERG TAKES TOP FUEL AT 2020 MARCH MEET

March 9, 2020 Posted By

Pete Wittenberg wins his second March Meet title at Famoso.
Pete Wittenberg won his second March Meet Top Fuel championship with a 5.67-second 257 MPH blast in the “KMA Circuit Breaker” against Tyler Hilton, who runner-upped a 5.92 ET at 229 MPH in his family’s “Great Expectations III” machine. Wittenberg powered into the #1 qualifying spot with a Low ET with a 5.60-second 254 MPH second session qualifying run, and never looked back, marching into the winner’s circle for the second time since his 2018 win against Mendy Fry. “This one was way more emotional,” said Wittenberg. “The final was a solid race. It was great racing and weather all weekend.”

Hilton got the reaction time advantage in the final, but hemi power prevailed over Tyler’s big-block Chevy. “It was good,” said Hilton. “I left on Pete. We had to put our spare in it last night, and it isn’t totally the same. But it was a great weekend. Running that ‘.78 (in qualifying) was bitchin.”

TOP FUEL ELIMINATOR

En route to his conquest — and with the help of ace-tuner Jimi Young — Wittenberg dispatched Brendan Murry and Dan Horan, Jr., after Horan eliminated Bret Williamson in the first round.

On the other side of the ladder, #3 Qualifier Bryan Hall posted a big-end charge of 263-mph in qualifying for Top Speed of the Meet, but succumbed to rookie driver Tyler Hester in the first round of eliminations. Also in the first round, #2 Qualifier Jim Murphy suffered a brutal defeat to Hilton, who first dropped a holeshot on Murphy and then pedaled around Murphy when Jim’s mount gave up the ghost at 700’. Hilton’s 6.08 upended Murphy’s superior 6.02. Hilton’s margin of victory was 1/100th of second.

Hilton had clocked a best-ever 5.78 ET at 236 MPH in the last session qualifying but took out the engine and the time was disqualified. The team dropped in the reserve Rodek on Saturday night and powered through Sunday eliminations, backed by three generations of family drag racing heritage. His historic runner-up finish marked his family’s return to the Bakersfield Meet since the original “Jim & Alison Lee Great Expectations” raced at this event in 1967.

Head over to the official AAFD website for a complete March Meet Top Fuel roundup with round-by-round rundowns, photos, results, videos, and more. The 62nd Good Vibrations Motorsports March Meet was the opening salvo in the 2020 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing series. The next stop for the All American Fuel Dragsters is the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion June 18th-20th at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
MARCH MEET TOP FUEL EVENT ROUNDUP
All photos © Dave Kommel

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