Marriott Flawless at Fall Nationals

Text by Chris Graves ~ Photos by Joe McHugh

Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale, Texas, annually hosts the Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altered series and provides a unique, friendly, and fast place to race each year.  In 2008, numerous teams posted career best times, including John Broussard’s first three second lap for team “Purple Haze.”  Also, Bobby Marriott was your number one qualifier with a 4.01 and posted top speed of the meet at 193.72 mph, but lost in first round to Donnie Massey when Massey’s 3.91 took out Marriott’s 3.92!  Massey and the “Showtime” team went on to defeat Broussard in the final round and posted low elapsed time of the meet at 3.89.  But that was last year. This year, Broussard’s luck took a drastic change as a mechanical issue presented itself on the warm-up and crew chief Kevin Broussard opted to sit out the event to prevent further damage to the Lake Charles, Louisiana based hot rod. 

As the 2009 OFAA season closes, excitement and anticipation flooded the pit area as hard working crews, focused drivers, and dedicated fans all realized there are only two more events left in the season, this being the seventh in the eight race schedule.  Coming into action in Evadale, Bobby Marriott held a twelve point lead over the “II N’Tense” team of Donny McSwain, with current sub-driver Brad Rigler wheeling the machine here as he did in Mo-Kan two weeks prior.  McSwain and company at least needed to keep up with Marriott in this one to keep their hopes of a first OFAA series championship alive.  This proved to be quite a task as Marriott opened up the first qualifying session with a 3.93 blast at 191.41 mph; along side was Nick Poloson at 4.23 at 169 mph.

Paired with Donnie Massey, Brad Rigler rolled out and put down a nice 4.04 at 176 mph but Massey upped the ante with a “perfect” 4.00 at 185 mph.  Next up, Chris Trussell wheeled the “Assassin” machine to a career best 4.08 at 164 mph while Mary Reep lost the blower belt in the “Grim Reeper” ride.  DoDad Burton clicked off an entertaining 4.27 at 171 mph in the “Free Spirit” after a quick pedal job to bring the wheels down as they carried past the 330” cone.  In the other lane, Jack Hodgson made his return to competition in the “Southern Outlaw” but struggled to a 4.78 in the opening session.  Red hot Tim Hay and the “High Voltage Hayride” crew put up a solid 4.11 at 177 mph coming fresh off a big win in Eddyville, Iowa, and their first OFAA event win two weeks ago at Mo-Kan Dragway. 

As the final qualifying session started, Jack Hodsgon and Jim Overly were outside looking in.  Hodgson failed to improve in his second pass and sat out eliminations, but it surely was nice to have “Outlaw” Jack and the Waco based gang back in the OFAA action.  Hopefully their luck will change at the OFAA Finals in two weeks at North Star Dragway.  Jim Overly bested a 5.63 and also missed the cut. The bump was a 4.46, quick but nothing like the season low 4.17 bump spot from the last event.  

Terry Anglin wheeled the “Psychotic Express” to a 4.32 at 165 mph to qualify ninth.  Mary Reep squeezed in on the bump with a 4.46 after pitching another blower belt along side Donnie Massey, who ripped off a stout 3.94 at 189 mph.  Tim Hay followed that up with a double up career best pass of 4.03 at 183 mph along side “Bradley McRigler” (Brad Rigler / Donny McSwain) who went 4.08 at 175 mph.  The “II N’Tense” group did their job in qualifying one position ahead of Marriott after the corrected field was set, gaining a point prior to first round.  David Purifoy rolled out next in Herb Whisnant’s “Thrill Factor” and blasted to a strong career best 4.10 at 172 mph to qualify sixth.  Chris Trussell made another solid pass at 4.12 at 173 mph and for the first time this season, Donnie Massey and team “Showtime” led the field into eliminations.

Final Qualifying Order:

1) Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) – 4.00 at 185 mph
2) Tim Hay (Burleson, Texas) – 4.03 at 183 mph
3) Brad Rigler (Heath, Texas) – 4.04 at 176 mph
4) Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) – 4.06 (3.94) at 189 mph
5) Chris Trussell (Athens, Texas) – 4.08 at 164 mph
6) David Purifoy (Texarkana, Texas) – 4.10 at 172 mph
7) Nick Poloson (San Antonio, Texas) – 4.23 at 169 mph
8) DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) – 4.27 at 171 mph
9) Terry Anglin (Terrell, Texas) – 4.32 at 165 mph
10) Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) – 4.46 at 124 mph
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11) Jack Hodgson (Waco, Texas) – 4.78 at 129 mph
12) Jim Overly (Houston, Texas) – 5.63 at 129 mph
13) John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – No Time

The first round brought some great pairings to battle as Donnie Massey and David Purifoy got the action started in a great race.  Purifoy, with a blown alcohol Chevy powered ride combined with a Powerglide transmission, improved on his career best with a 4.08 at 173 mph but couldn’t hold off Massey’s tough 3.91 at 187 mph, low elapsed time so far.  What an outing for the “Thrill Factor” gang as they run their career best, twice, but lost first round in a tough draw against Massey.  Mary Reep earned her first round win of her rookie season, posting a 4.40 after losing yet another blower belt but still beating Chris Trussell who struggled to a 5.21.  Bobby Marriott got a bye run after Terry Anglin’s car ran into drivetrain issues after the burnout, with Marriott posting a nice 3.97 at 187 mph for the win. 

Brad Rigler rolled out next along side Jim Overly, who took the place of DoDad Burton who couldn’t answer the call with oil pressure issues.  Rigler not only had to win the round, but run quicker than Marriott’s 3.97 to have a chance at the final round.  Rigler got the win light, but broke a rocker arm early in the pass and clicked off a 4.01 at 176 mph, which was down on power and just short of the mark.  Tim Hay and Nick Poloson did battle in the last pairing of the round; the winner needed also to better Marriott’s 3.97 to advance to the final.  Hay clicked off a 4.12 at 179 mph in a solo victory as Poloson ran into mechanical troubles on the line.  Another strong outing for Hay and company as they take home a round win and new career best numbers.  Marriott and Massey advanced to the final as the two quickest winners, both with wins already this season. 

First Round Results:

(W) Donnie Massey (.497 rt) 3.91 at 187 mph vs. (L) David Purifoy (.555 rt) 4.08 at 173 mph
(W) Mary Reep (.653 rt) 4.40 at 128 mph vs. (L) Chris Trussell (Foul) 5.21 at 168 mph
(W) Bobby Marriott (1.54 rt) 3.97 at 187 mph vs. (L) Terry Anglin (No Time)
(W) Brad Rigler (.548 rt) 4.01 at 176 mph vs. (L) Jim Overly (1.27 rt) 7.29 at 71 mph
(W) Tim Hay (.622 rt) 4.12 at 179 mph vs. (L) Nick Poloson (No Time)

For Marriott, this was a chance to basically lock up the Championship battle with one event remaining and the “Shockwave” team hoped to claim their third win of the season in their fifth final round appearance in seven events.  For Massey, defending their Evadale title was goal number one as they were not in the Championship battle, but hungry for a win.  This marked their second final of the season after winning the season opener. 

Nitro fumes filled the starting line as the two ground pounders rolled into the beams and got off the line almost dead even.  “We were side by side past the 330” cone,” said Marriott, then Massey was forced to lift as he drifted dangerously close to the wall.  Marriott clicked off low elapsed time and top speed of the meet with a 3.90 at 192 mph over Massey’s 4.03 at 151 mph. 

Final Round Results:

(W) Bobby Marriott (.543 rt) 3.902 at 192.64 mph vs. Donnie Massey (.538 rt) 4.038 at 151.41 mph

With their win, team “Shockwave” now take a 21 point lead into the final event of the year, October 3rd at North Star Dragway.  If Marriott struggles in qualifying and the “II N’Tense” team of Rigler/McSwain can win the race, they will be the champions.  If not, Marriott will claim his third consecutive championship.  Don’t miss the action as the OFAA season comes to an end and a 2009 Series Champion will be crowned.  Only 17 points separate third place Terry Anglin from seventh place Donnie Massey in the standings and teams will be battling for position at the OFAA Finals in Denton, Texas. The OFAA will be joined by the Southwest Junior Fuel Association who will be competing in their final points race of 2009 as well.  Be There!