Brady Clinches 2010 SWJFA Championship
Marshall Claims Texas State Championship Victory
San Antonio Raceway - Event #6 - October 23rd, 2010
Race Report: Chris Graves - Photos: Max Cackle Photography
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association brought a strong field of fourteen cars to compete in the Texas State Championships season finale at San Antonio Raceway on October 23rd in the sixth and final race of the season. The anticipation was very high as the 2010 points championship battle between Richard Brady and Ken Hawkins would be decided in front of thousands of fans who packed the house in San Antonio for this spectacular one day nostalgia drag racing showcase presented by the Texas Timing Association. Though there was a strong chance of showers, mother nature opened the skies on this Saturday afternoon allowing for some outstanding heads up front engine drag racing.
(Richard Brady)
(Ken Hawkins)
The teams fought a heavy cross wind during qualifying as Odie Coker laid down the quickest and fastest pass in SWJFA history with a stellar 7.36 at 181 mph in the Ron Ussery owned and tuned dragster to take the number one spot. Ricky Marshall laid down a strong 7.44 at 178 mph to nab the second qualifying position and Ken Hawkins’ 7.53 at 175 mph claimed the third spot. Who was fourth? You guessed it, Richard Brady, with a 7.61 at 171 mph. Willie Brainerd rounded out the quickest five cars with a 7.65 at 173 mph in the “Black Gold” dragster. Ten of the fourteen cars qualified in the seven second zone as Rick Huckabee rounded out the field and the teams met to draw cards for first round pairings. Coker led the field into eliminations for the first time this season with his career best lap.
(Odie Coker)
(Ricky Marshall)
(Willie Brainerd)
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Odie Coker (Dallas, Texas) – 7.36 @ 181
2. Ricky Marshall (Burleson, Texas) – 7.44 @ 178
3. Ken Hawkins (Poolville, Texas) – 7.53 @ 175
4. Richard Brady (Ft. Worth, Texas) – 7.61 @ 171
5. Willie Brainerd (Mounds, Oklahoma) – 7.65 @ 173
6. Mike Millsap (Sachse, Texas) – 7.67 @ 173
7. Bryan Briggs (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 7.85 @ 170
8. Robertson / Rogers (Corpus Christi, Texas) – 7.85 @ 167
9. Ted McCord (Tulsa, Oklahoma) 7.96 @ 165
10. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, Texas) – 7.99 @ 166
11. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, Texas) – 8.00 @ 169
12. Thomas Hixson (Dallas, Texas) – 8.37 @ 159
13. Neal Rogers (Luling, Texas) – 8.66 @ 146
14. Rick Huckabee (Denton, Texas) – 9.14 @ 110
(Ted McCord)
(Steve Dunkin)
(Bryan Briggs)
(Roy Rogers)
(Neal Rogers)
In the luck of the draw pairing results, an interesting pair took notice over the others. Richard Brady and Ken Hawkins were paired up in the opening round! Coming into the event, Brady held a 26 point lead over Hawkins and the only way Hawkins could catch him is if Brady lost first round and Hawkins went to the finals and won, but that pair would have to wait as Ricky Marshall and Steve Dunkin got the round started.
Dunkin got the jump at the line in the “Foolish Pleasure” rail but Marshall drove around to take the win with a 7.56 at 177 mph to Dunkin’s best pass of the night, 7.83 @ 169 mph. Ron Muncy was out next along side Bryan Briggs in Briggs’ third SWJFA start. Muncy got a slight starting line advantage and went right down broadway to an 8.00 at 165, meanwhile Briggs drifted out of the groove towards the wall at the eighth mile but never lifted and chased Muncy down to take the win with a 7.93 at 168 mph, his first round win with the series. Rick Huckabee and Neal Rogers in the “Little Red Rocket” rolled out next as Rogers left the line too soon going red by -.023 and giving Huckabee the go ahead with a 9.22 at 112 mph. Ted McCord in the “Senior Moment” fired up along side Thomas Hixson in the “One Wild Ride” machine. Both drivers were on their game at the starting line as McCord got the nod with a 7.97 at 168 mph to Hixson’s 8.42 at 162 mph.
(Ricky Marshall)
(Ron Muncy)
(Thomas Hixson)
It was now time for the pairing of the season, Brady and Hawkins, side by side to decide a major chapter of the 2010 SWJFA Championship. The drivers were in the zone and the crew chiefs taking their time with their final adjustments before sending the cars into the beams. Hawkins got a hundredth of a second advantage off the line and his 7.54 at 174 mph was quickest of the round and just enough to take out Brady’s 7.62 at 172 mph. What a drag race! This was the first of three more rounds Hawkins had to win to claim the championship. He would tie Brady by advancing to the finals, but had to win the event to take over the lead. Brady and company dominated the first half of the season and lead the series with two final round appearances, but now could do nothing but bite their nails as Hawkins advanced to the second round.
(Richard Brady)
Roy Rogers in the “Trigger” dragster was out next along side Willie Brainerd’s “Black Gold” machine. Rogers had accidently lit both stage bulbs as Brainerd was being pulled into the beams. Brainerd was unaware that his crew members’ foot was also accidently in the beams lighting both bulbs. The starter saw all the stage bulbs lit and mistakenly flipped the switch, apparently unaware of the person standing in the beams to his left, which gave Rogers the green light and round win with a 8.85 at 133 mph. Tough break for Brainerd as innocent mistakes from both lanes and the starter told the story in this pairing.
(Mike Millsap)
Odie Coker and Mike Millsap followed in the final pair of the first round. Millsap had a slight advantage off the line in the “Sachse Rod Shop” dragster but Coker’s horses were charging hard and took the win with a 7.58 at 180 mph to Millsap’s 7.76 at 168 mph. Ken Hawkins was the only car in the top five in points that advanced past first round as the teams headed back to the pits to find more ponies.
First Round Results:
(W) Ricky Marshall (.038 rt) 7.56 @ 177 vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (.018 rt) 7.83 @ 169 mph
(W) Bryan Briggs (.081 rt) 7.93 @ 168 mph vs. (L) Ron Muncy (.053 rt) 8.00 @ 165 mph
(W) Rick Huckabee (.029 rt) 9.22 @ 112 mph vs. (L) Neal Rogers (-.023 rt) 8.66 @ 150 mph
(W) Ted McCord (.032 rt) 7.97 @ 168 mph vs. (L) Thomas Hixson (.036 rt) 8.42 @ 162 mph
(W) Ken Hawkins (.038 rt) 7.54 @ 174 mph vs. (L) Richard Brady (.048 rt) 7.62 @ 174 mph
(W) Roy Rogers (.113 rt) 8.85 @ 133 mph vs. (L) Willie Brainerd (7.78 rt) 13.29 @ 166 mph
(W) Odie Coker (.040 rt) 7.58 @ 180 mph vs. (L) Mike Millsap (.032 rt) 7.76 @ 168 mph
Hawkins’ luck continued as the teams drew cards for pairings of the second round. Hawkins drew the bye run in the odd number of cars and his 7.59 at 174 mph pass advanced him to the semi-final and one step closer to the Championship. Ricky Marshall was out next along side Ted McCord. McCord knew he had to get a good reaction time to run with Marshall, but went red by -.0009 and had to watch as Marshall’s car ran into big problems as bad fuel bogged down the motor and Marshall coasted to a 30.88 at 27 mph to advance over McCord’s 7.95 at 168 mph.
(Ken Hawkins)
Bryan Briggs was up next facing number one qualifier Odie Coker. Coker’s car, known for big time power, has been over powering the track from time to time and traction plagued them again in the second round. The drivers were both .079 on the tree but Coker lost traction immediately. Coker immediately pedaled it twice in hopes of recovering in time to chase down Briggs who was marching down the quarter mile. Coker ran out of room as Briggs took the win with a 7.87 at 172 mph to Coker’s 8.32 at 173 mph. Rick Huckabee closed the session on a competition single, after Roy Rogers and company discovered severe engine damage after first round. Huckabee’s 9.18 at 131 mph advanced him to the semi-finals in his first start of the year after cutting the best reaction times of both rounds so far. Huckabee and Briggs were both advancing to their first semi-final of the year against two veterans of the late rounds.
Second Round Results:
(W) Ken Hawkins (.179 rt) 7.59 @ 174 mph vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Ricky Marshall (.832 rt) 30.88 @ 27 mph vs. (L) Ted McCord (-.0009 rt) 7.95 @ 168 mph
(W) Bryan Briggs (.079 rt) 7.87 @ 172 mph vs. (L) Odie Coker (.079 rt) 8.32 @ 173 mph
(W) Rick Huckabee (.031 rt) 9.18 @ 131 mph vs. (L) Competition Bye
Ricky Marshall and Rick Huckabee lined up a battle of show car quality machines with enough chrome to make your eyes change colors. Marshall thrashed in the pits between rounds to get his car back to top performance while Huckabee also chased his tune-up in a total toss up round. Marshall was out of the gate first, immediately striking the tires and pedaling to an 8.64 at 151 mph while Huckabee’s dragster struggled to a wacky header flaming 17.66 at 82 mph.
(Rick Huckabee)
Bryan Briggs and Ken Hawkins rolled out next in a do or die round for Hawkins. If he won this round, he would tie Richard Brady for the 2010 SWJFA Points Championship and the door would be open to win the event putting him atop the points standings. Both drivers were late off the line with Briggs getting a slight advantage. Hawkins struck the tires at the hit and pedaled it as he watched Briggs pull ahead in the other lane. It hooked back up but Briggs was on his best pass of the night and took the upset win with a 7.82 at 170 mph to Hawkins’ 8.01 at 174 mph, which made Richard Brady officially the 2010 Southwest Junior Fuel Champion!
(Ken Hawkins)
Briggs was marching into his first final round with the most consistent car in the field against the heavy hitting Ricky Marshall who had one of the fastest yet most inconsistent cars of the field. For Brady the nail biting was over and it was time to celebrate. For Hawkins, it was a valiant effort that came down to the semi-finals of the last race of the season but finishing five points out of the lead over a team like Brady & Mallory was nothing to be ashamed of.
Semi-Final Round Results:
(W) Ricky Marshall (.095 rt) 8.64 @ 151 mph vs. (L) Rick Huckabee (.364 rt) 17.66 @ 82 mph
(W) Bryan Briggs (.144 rt) 7.82 @ 170 mph vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (.160 rt) 8.01 @ 174 mph
(Bryan Briggs and the entire team - San Antonio Runner-Up)
It was down to two after a long day of racing in San Antonio. Ricky Marshall and Bryan Briggs crept into the beams and Briggs went red by -.027 to give Marshall the win with a stout 7.53 at 174 mph. Briggs and company might as well have won the race as big as their smiles were after their best outing to date as Bryan left the grounds with the new nickname “Giant Killer”. Marshall found that lethal go fast tune-up when it counted most and claimed his first win of the season which marked the third year in a row with an event win in the series.
(Ricky Marshall and team in the Winners Circle)
“First I want to thank Richard Brady and Al Mallory’s team for their help in getting me to the final. I also want to thank Ron Ussery and Odie Coker for the fuel I borrowed. The fuel I bought at the track was bad and the starting line was probably the worst I’ve raced on. We had to back the motor down to get the car to leave in the final. Congratulations to Bryan Briggs on his runner-up and thanks to my team for all the hard work! We had a lot of problems and a little luck,” said Marshall.
Final Round Results:
(W) Ricky Marshall (.117 rt) 7.53 @ 174 mph vs. (L) Bryan Briggs (-.027 rt) 12.81 @ 72 mph
Richard Brady and company left San Antonio with their first SWJFA Championship in the bag and a huge congratulations goes out to the entire MalloryPrints.com / Lone Star Armory team. Despite loosing first round in the final two events of the season, the first half of the season brought them a win at Evadale and Denton and four semi-final round appearances earned enough points to hold the lead from the hard charging Ken Hawkins.
(Richard Brady and team - 2010 SWJFA Champions)
“First I would like to thank my sponsors for their help in getting us to the racetrack. My motor builder Ray Little, Chris Franks at Frankenstein Racing Heads, Andrew Brady at Lonestar Armory and Ethan & Blake Mallory at Mallory Prints. I’m just the driver who gets most of the attention and credit for the wins, but in reality it’s a group of partners, friends and family that got us here. I’d like to give a special thanks to my wife Sally for her support and to my partner Al Mallory and his son Blake for without them none of this would be possible. We have worked very hard this year and were doing well but had taken a few steps back at the last couple of races. The Championship came down to the very end of the season and it was surely a nail biter,” said Brady.
“I would also like to say congratulations to the Coker / Hawkins bunch even though they did not get the results they had hoped for, they were certainly deserving of it. They are great people as is everyone in the SWJFA family. Win or loose, you could not ask for a better bunch of people to hang with on the weekends. Thanks to everyone for the good times and the memories and will see you next year!” said Brady in closing.
Congratulations are also due to Ricky Marshall and Bryan Briggs on their final round appearances and to every team who supported the SWJFA series in 2010. The SWJFA would like to thank Smiley’s Racing Products, Champion Spark Plugs and Bob McKray Performance for their support throughout the racing season. None of it could be done without the leadership and dedication of Mike Millsap, President of the SWJFA.
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