Wild Wild Wes Tames Crandall

Text by Celeste Smith

WOW, what a great turnout of teams this early in the season. That must mean one thing.....they are tired of the snow and time to burn some rubber. For the 3rd race on the TOPMA circuit 18 teams rolled into Crandall, Texas, to try and keep Team Taylor from a 3peat. The win didn't go to Taylor but it didn't go far.....teammate Wes Johnston of Hanning Racing took the win with Team Taylor finishing 2nd. Here's how everything unfolded:

#1 Frankie Taylor - 3.919 at 189 mph
#2 Gaylen Smith - 3.944 at 192 mph
#3 Steve Wiley - 4.069 at 189 mph
#4 Brandon McKinney - 4.069 at 145 mph
#5 Gene Hector - 4.071 at 189 mph
#6 Wes Johnston - 4.145 at 188 mph
#7 Doug Riesterer - 4.235 at 174 mph
#8 Zach Barklage - 4.247 at 139 mph

#9 Michelle Wilson - 4.306 at 169 mph
#10 Randy Brewer - 4.326 at 135 mph
#11 Chris Smith - 4.441 at 125 mph
#12 Steve Gorman - 4.443 at 159 mph
#13 Kayla Morton - 4.890 at 129 mph
#14 Charles Letteer - 4.944 at 149 mph
#15 Barry Wade - 5.144 at 153 mph
#16 Kevin Hargett - 5.252 at 157 mph
#17 Randell Reid - 5.555 at 85 mph
#18 Cody Barklage - 7.396 at 82 mph

First Round:

Brandon McKinney (W) 4.553 at 123 mph (.228 RT)
Gene Hector (RU) 7.475 at 60 mph (.054 RT)

Despite a holeshot advantage, Gene Hector in the Small Block Mafia car lost traction and had to abort the run giving the win to McKinney who wasn't on a great pass either.

Wes Johnston (W) 3.967 at 191 mph (-.008 RT)
Steve Wiley (RU) 3.950 at 192 mph (-.026 RT) Red light

Steve left a tad earlier than Wes so he got credited with the red light start giving the automatic win to Wes but both cars were on a great run. Side by side 3.90's at over 190.....doesn't get much better than that.

Doug Riesterer (W) 3.926 at 189 mph (.031 RT)
Gaylen Smith (RU) 5.818 at 81 mph (.106 RT)

Doug finally put together a great run, unfortunately it was against us....LOL! Gaylen shook the tires, darted left and broke the rearend. Great job Doug!

Frankie Taylor (W) 3.858 at 195 mph (.135 RT) **Low ET & Top MPH**
Zach Barklage (RU) 9.101 at 63 mph (.051 RT)

I didn't see this run because I was on the return road picking up Gaylen but I think the numbers speak for themselves. Frankie cruised down the LenMar Motorsports lane while Zach had issues in the Dallas Raceway lane.

Semi-Finals:

Wes Johnston (W) 4.000 at 183 mph (.005 RT) **Best Reaction Time**
Doug Riesterer (RU) 5.629 at 92 mph (.069 RT)

Wes was on a mission....he left first and never looked back. If he had looked back he would have seen Doug using up all of his lane before shutting it down while heading for the wall.

Frankie Taylor (W) 3.899 at 193 mph (.967 RT)
Brandon McKinney (RU) NT

Brandon rolled the beams and was counted out giving the automatic win to Frankie who was on another great run. This sets up an all Hanning Racing finals. Who will it be???

Finals:

Wes Johnston (W) 3.949 at 187 mph (.087 RT)
Frankie Taylor (RU) 6.997 at 76 mph (.065 RT)

The mad man left on wild wild wes who was credited with the best reaction time the round before. I guess he wanted to make sure he didn't red light against teammate Frankie Taylor. Wes hooked up and cruised right down the Dallas Raceway lane while Frankie smoked the tires at the hit and coasted down the LenMar lane for the runner-up finish.

Congratulations to Hanning Racing and Wes Johnston for your win and Frankie Taylor for the runner-up finish! Great Job Guys!