Texas Outlaw Pro Mods at Texas Raceway, October 2009

Text by Celeste Smith ~ Photos by Toyse Woody      

Mother nature was in a much better mood this weekend. The sun was shining all day on Friday and the humidity was gone. The air got real good when the sun went down. Lucky #13 teams showed up and the battle was on. Jackie needed to have a great night in order to secure his spot in the LenMar shootout next month. David Baldwin was fighting to stay in the top 8 and Michelle Wilson was fighting to get back into the top 8. After 2 rounds of qualifying, here's how everything unfolded:

#1 Ken Thomas - 4.028 at 176 mph
#2 Gaylen Smith - 4.200 at 153 mph
#3 Heath Harvey - 4.228 at 167 mph
#4 Michelle Wilson - 4.291 at 164 mph
#5 Gene Hector - 4.348 at 145 mph
#6 Jackie Deaver - 4.355 at 163 mph
#7 Steve Gorman - 4.362 at 165 mph
#8 Rickey Cate - 4.435 at 157 mph
#9 David Baldwin - 4.697 at 144 mph
#10 Barry Wade - 4.935 at 121 mph
#11 Chuck Poindexter - 5.045 at 136 mph
#12 Todd Moyer - 5.241 at 94 mph
#13 Steve Wiley - 8.724 at 57 mph

First Round:

Gene Hector (W) 4.107 at 172 mph (.044 RT)
Michelle Wilson (RU) 6.886 at 65 mph (.039 RT)

Gene gets the upset win while Michelle was having problems off the line and had to abort the run.

Jackie Deaver (W) 4.324 at 165 mph (.098 RT)
Heath Harvey (RU) 4.734 at 117 mph (.058 RT)

Despite having the starting line advantage, Heath Harvey used up his whole lane trying to catch Jackie but was unsuccessful as his car came dangerously close to the wall and he aborted the run. Meanwhile, Jackie was in the House of Hot Rods/LenMar Motorsports lane on a very consistent run and takes the win. This was the first step into having a great night to secure his spot in the top 8.

Gaylen Smith (W) 4.185 at 156 mph (.098 RT)
Steve Gorman (RU) 4.380 at 165 mph (.208 RT)

Gaylen dusted off the Cuda after his meeting with the wall in Houston last weekend and earlier in the day, the resurrected Hell Fish ran a 4.00 on a test run. When he unclutched it against Gorman, he disappeared into the clutch dust. We got the car back to the trailer and changed clutch packs hoping that fixed our problem.

Ken Thomas (W) 3.949 at 181 mph (.111 RT)
Rickey Cate (RU) 5.114 at 89 mph (.125 RT)

Ken Thomas makes a great run meanwhile Rickey was going for a ride in the other lane. After talking with the track officials, I was told that the engine diaper strap got wrapped around the steering and Rickey could not keep the car from sliding down the wall so unfortunately there is a concrete strip running down the whole driver's side of the car. Glad you are okay Rickey!!

Semi Finals:

Jackie Deaver (W) 4.368 at 163 mph (.029 RT)
Gaylen Smith (RU) 4.690 at 125 mph (.133 RT)

Okay, remember when I told you we changed out the clutch packs hoping that fixed our problem? Well, it didn't. We must have received a bad batch of clutch discs because this clutch pack did the same thing. Gaylen disappeared into the clutch dust and was going nowhere while Jackie was on a mission securing his spot in the top 8 for the shootout as he takes the win against the boss (LOL).

Ken Thomas (W) 4.755 at 109 mph (.197 RT)
Gene Hector (RU) NT

Gene started his burnout but something "popped" on the small block mafia car and died. I believe the crew was going to try and push-start the car but the track starter waived Ken on to stage. Luckily for Ken he was on a single because he lost traction and had to abort the run. This gave Jackie lane choice in the final round.

Finals:

Ken Thomas (W) 4.126 at 150 mph (.064 RT)
Jackie Deaver (RU) 4.733 at 154 mph (.006 RT)

Jackie was going for the win as he had a huge holeshot advantage. Jackie was in and out of the throttle trying to maintain his lead but Ken was in the House of Hot Rods/LenMar Motorports lane claiming the victory.

Congratulations to Ken Thomas and the entire LenMar/Thomas Motorsports team for your victory and to Jackie Deaver and the Underdawg's Revenge crew for your runner-up finish. Great job guys!