On the outside looking in were Richard Wilson's nitrous dragster, 6.817, 203.83; Phillip Adams' A&A Motorsports nitrous digger, 6.933, 196.82; Bob Holtzner's Miller Lite blown dragster, 7.006, 192.93; Leroy Dewdney in Bob White's EMCO Elevators '00 S&W Altered, 7.380, 204.39, and Sorrento, Florida's Ross Morris in a nitrous dragster.

Three gorgeous machines filled out the DNQ list. Steve Thodos's flawless '63 Corvette went 7.689, 184.50; Robert Tyree's immaculate '57 Chevy went 7.927, 174.53; and Terry Stemper went 9.013, 144.64, while still shaking out his new "Sorcerer" '63 Corvette.

Bunny Burkett then ran a single due to a no-show. The event featured ‘Chicago Style" eliminations, meaning that the two quickest cars from the first two rounds would meet in the final. With that goal in mind, the grand dame of alcohol funny car racing blasted down the MIR 1320 in 6.242 seconds at 215.65 mph, temporarily bumping the War Horse out of the final.

Up next were the Jets. Ernie Bouge, Jr., brought out the great looking new "Blast from the Past" '57 Chevy Jet Funny Car and went 6.177 at 261.27 mph after a great fire show. 

Jim Neilson brought his ageless Mercedes jet limousine. After a great fire show, Neilson blasted the long, heavy car to a 7.492 second run at 216.13 mph.

Second round of the show kicked off with the first round of the Frantic Four doorslammers. First, Billy Farmer lined up against Bob Bailey in a battle of series champions. At the hit, Farmer immediately went towards the right guardrail. He got of it, got back on it, then got crossed up again. However in the other lane, Bailey lost power at half track and started to coast. Seeing this, Farmer nailed the throttle again and passed the Monte Carlo for the win! Farmer went 7.590 at 190.09 to Bailey's unfortunate 11.04.

Marc Hayes faced Tommy Howes in the next match. Hayes had looked good with an out of the box 6.79 qualifier and similar numbers at the last race. Howes was definitely running rich after annihilating his motor at the previous event, but the first doorslammer driver in the sixes was expected to set it on kill for his match against the upstart Hayes. Marc Hayes showed he will be a force to contend with for the series championship this year, however, nailing the blown car with a great 6.740, 208.55 to Tommy's 7.053 at 184.25.

Frantic Four Dragsters/Altereds were up next, with Bruce Bennett's blown Chevy facing Larry Plummer's nitrous Pontiac. Fans expecting the neat "rump-rump-rump" of Bennett's ‘70s Top Fuel look-alike were disappointed by total silence as the Chevy lost oil pressure. Plummer, who has had consistency problems this year, seemed to put them behind him with a great 6.472 blast at 205.29 mph.

Steve McMillion's killer dragster then faced Doug Nordberg in the neat "Young Guns" Fiat altered. Nordberg grabbed a nice holeshot, then wrestled it down the strip, holding off the dragster for most of the run. McMillion caught up and passed the Fiat but then shut off and the Fiat surged again. At the stripe, the cars were still together, but McMillion got there .056 seconds before the altered, 6.576, 176.67 to Nordberg's career best 6.710 at 199.52 mph. Nordberg later said the car kept jumping out of third gear, forcing him to slam it back in twice during the run!

Nitro Harley racer Jamie Emery, fresh off a win at the All Harley Drag Racing Association event in Norwalk, Ohio, made an exhibition pass. The Colton's Point, Maryland, racer went 7.054 at 191.43 mph.

Sam Leland won the battle but lost the war in the first funny car match of the second round. Facing Mike Preslar, Leland grabbed a .481 to .525 second holeshot and hung on for a superb 6.227, 226.85 mph to 6.195, 188.96 mph win. However, Chicago Style rules dictate only that the two quickest cars return or the final, not the two quickest winning cars. Despite the loss, Preslar moved ahead of Bunny for the right to face Gibson in the final.

Bunny Burkett then lined up against Greg Beckner's pure Chevy. She was hot to eclipse Mike Preslar's 6.19 to get into the final, but the Bunny and the Boys Avenger took a sharp turn for the centerline and Bunny had to correct. This momentary delay held her to a 6.490 at 217.46 mph. In the other lane, Beckner was having problems of his own, the car again running flat and going 7.353 at 155.63 mph. Greg and his crew later discovered that the car had cracked a gasket on the first run, keeping the car away from its 6.40 potential on both passes.

Bill Naves finished out the round with a single. The Cleveland, North Carolina, driver went straight and true at 6.591 seconds, 210.90 mph.

The jets then did their thing again. Neilson got no time, but made a good blast. Bouge Jr., who still has a Pro Mod Chevy Beretta back home in the garage, went a consistent 6.18 at 252.43 mph.

As great as the Frantic Four door car final was, the Frantic Four Dragster/Altered final was somewhat disappointing. Steve McMillion had hurt his dragster on the run against Nordberg and couldn't return to face Plummer in the final. Larry Plummer had something to prove however. At the green, the nitrous machine stood up and marched for 500 feet with its front wheels in the air. After a smooth shift, the purple digger kept marching for the top end. The result? A superb 6.388 at 212.36 mph that would have been tough to beat.

The funny car final had its share of excitement, but it wasn't the kind Mike Preslar wanted to see. Preslar left first and led the race through every stage until about 900 feet. At that point, his engine sneezed, blowing the burst plate on the blower and getting oil underneath the tires. Preslar pulled his chutes to straighten the car and that was all Billy Gibson needed. The '95 Camaro blew past the '00 Corvette to take a 6.172 at 230.80 mph to 6.780 at 140.74 mph win. It was a heartbreaking and expensive loss for Preslar, who otherwise looked to be holding off Gibson's IHRA speed record-holding top end charge. Gibson, a true hometown hero from nearby Chaptico, Maryland, has won at MIR in Super Pro, Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and now Funny Car. And he's only 25!

The event ended with a unique twist on the jet cars. Royce Miller grabbed two flashlights and sent the jets on a staggered start, side by side race! Neilson left first with the huge and heavy jet limo. Two ticks later, Royce dropped the flashlight to send Bouge, Jr. Bouge, Jr's '57 got there first, nipping the limo in the lights, 6.151, 262.79 mph to 7.546, 216.76 mph.

The next MIR special event is the Maryland Pennysaver Superchargers Showdown on July 8, featuring supercharged Funny Cars and Pro Mods, Jet Dragsters, Nitro Harleys, and for the kids, "Tranasaurus" – a fire breathing, car eating dinosaur. Check out http://www.mirdrag.com/ for info on all upcoming MIR events.