Coker & Ussery Dominate Denton
Lewis Advances to Final in Debut Event
North Star Dragway - Denton, Texas
Event #3 - July 2nd, 2011
Race Report by Chris Graves - Photos: Max Cackle Photography
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association landed at North Star Dragway for their third event of the season with a heavy field of nineteen junior fuelers set to battle for position in the sixteen car elimination field. Scott Parks comes into the event as your points leader wheeling Darrel Walden’s dragster out of Kilgore, Texas. Mike Millsap and Ron Muncy came in tied for second place with Ted McCord and Richard Brady rounding out the top five. With temperatures above 100 degrees and track temp pushing 150 the decision was made to delay start time by one hour to give the track a chance to cool down and that decision paid off as the junior fuelers laid down impressive runs throughout the evening, under the lights in Denton, Texas.
(Ted McCord behind the wheel of Chambers & Stroud's "Flying Pig")
The fans found their seats as the call went out for the first qualifying session which was kicked off by the debut of the “Off Shore Flash” machine out of Corpus Christi, Texas driven by Joe Scarlata, paired with Ted McCord wheeling Stroud & Chambers’ “Flying Pig” ford powered machine to stay in the points chase after kicking the rods out of the “Senior Moment” machine competing at the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
(Joe Scarlata opened the qualifying action in "Off Shore Flash")
Scarlata picked the wheels up three feet in the air at the hit and laid down a 5.12 at 137 mph with McCord close behind with a 5.38 at 126 mph. Mike Millsap clicked off a 4.90 at 140 mph on a solo pass and defending series Champion Richard Brady rolled out next and put down a 5.06 at 139 mph.
(Mike Millsap)
(Richard Brady)
(Steve Dunkin "Near Lane" and Ron Muncy "Far Lane")
Teammates Steve Dunkin and Ron Muncy rolled out next in the “Sudden Pleasure” slingshots. Dunkin clicked off a 4.92 at 139 mph to lead Muncy’s 4.96 at 139 mph. Ross Laird wheeled the “Rain Maker” rail to a nice 4.96 at 138 mph and had the best seat in the house to watch Scott Parks blast to the top spot with a 4.72 at 147 mph. Ricky Marshall and Odie Coker lined up in a classic high power showdown and set the bar for the first session. Marshall’s strong 4.67 at 148 mph was good for number two behind Odie Coker’s 4.64 at 148 mph in the Ron Ussery owned and tuned junior fueler.
(Odie Coker "Near Lane" and Ricky Marshall "Far Lane")
(Ricky Marshall "Near Lane" and Odie Coker "Far Lane" - Video by Jake Simmons)
Closing the session was the debut of Charlie Smith’s new junior fuel dragster with former NHRA A/Fuel Dragster standout Brandon Lewis behind the wheel. Smith a veteran of the sport came in expecting to do well as Lewis made his driving debut with the SWJFA series. First pass off the trailer, Lewis laid down a nice 4.83 at 142 mph to easily claim a spot in the top half of the field after first session of qualifying.
(Brandon Lewis)
The second session welcomed better track conditions as the nineteen cars had one more opportunity to ensure themselves a spot in the show. Ken Hawkins missed the first session after truck issues delayed their arrival to the track. Hawkins capitalized on his one shot to get in the show by jumping to the number five spot with a 4.81 at 144 mph hot off his win at the Holley Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green.
(Ken Hawkins)
(Odie Coker "Near Lane" and Ricky Marshall "Far Lane")
(Bill Tumlinson)
Bill Tumlinson clicked off a 5.06 at 136 mph to qualify in the tenth spot, his best start of the season. Michael Renaker debuted his sharp looking and strong running junior fueler at Denton and his best of a 5.08 at 135 mph was good for the number twelve spot. Brian Briggs clicked off a 5.23 at 134 mph in the Lake Charles, Louisiana based entry which put him in the fourteen spot just above Mike Buchanan who made the tow from Wichita, Kansas and qualified fifteenth. Mark Hollander held on to qualify sixteenth with a 5.33 at 128 mph with Ted McCord, Thomas Hixson and Neal Rogers coming up just short by a few hundredths of a second.
(Mark Hollander)
(Thomas Hixson)
(Neal Rogers)
Final Qualifying Order:
1) Scott Parks (Burlingame, Kansas) – 4.642 @ 149
2) Odie Coker (Dallas, Texas) – 4.644 @ 149
3) Ricky Marshall (Burleson, Texas) – 4.67 @ 148
4) Brandon Lewis (Tulsa, Oklahoma) – 4.80 @ 141
5) Ken Hawkins (Pooleville, Texas) – 4.81 @ 144
6) Mike Millsap (Sachse, Texas) – 4.87 @ 141
7) Steve Dunkin (Aledo, Texas) – 4.9100 @ 139
8) Ross Laird (Ardmore, Oklahoma) – 4.9109 @ 140
9) Ron Muncy (Weatherford, Texas) – 4.918 @ 140
10) Bill Tumlinson (Victoria, Texas) – 5.062 @ 136
11) Richard Brady (Ft. Worth, Texas) – 5.064 @ 139
12) Michael Renaker (Arlington, Texas) – 5.08 @ 135
13) Joe Scarlata (Garland, Texas) – 5.12 @ 137
14) Brian Briggs (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 5.23 @ 134
15) Mike Buchanan (Wichita, Kansas) – 5.26 @ 131
16) Mark Hollander (College Station, Texas) – 5.33 @ 128
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17) Ted McCord (Claremore, Oklahoma) – 5.343 @ 127
18) Thomas Hixson (Roanoke, Texas) – 5.348 @ 130
19) Neal Rogers (Luling, Texas) – 5.39 @ 125
(Scott Parks)
After drawing cards to pair the quick sixteen for first round, a big match-up rolled through the water box to open the action. Ken Hawkins lined up with points leader Scott Parks in a great opening drag race and the closest of the round. Hawkins was off the line first with a stout .015 light and blasted down the eighth mile but just at the lights the Parks & Walden power took the lead and round win with a 4.66 at 148 mph to Hawkins 4.80 at 145 mph.
(Mike Buchanan)
Mike Buchanan was in just his second appearance with the SWJFA series and had already notched a first round win at the last event in Navasota. Buchanan continued his hot streak with a 5.42 opening round win over Michael Renaker who’s 5.02 at 135 mph lost with a -.025 reaction time at the starting line. Renaker made three solid runs in his debut with the series and can look forward to the series’ next outing, September 4th at Ardmore Dragway.
Steve Dunkin and Mike Millsap lined up next pitting the number six and seven qualifiers against each other. Dunkin was off the line first with a .034 reaction time and his 4.89 at 139 mph took out the quicker but loosing 4.85 at 141 mph from Millsap. Dunkin missed the last event at Navasota and hoped to make up lost ground in the standings and was off to a good start as the opening round of eliminations continued.
Brandon Lewis was making his first appearance in eliminations with the SWJFA series wheeling Charlie Smith’s Oklahoma based entry against Bill Tumlinson. Tumlinson knew he had to get a starting line advantage but jumped too soon and went red on the line, while Lewis clicked off a 4.75 at 143 mph to collect his first SWJFA round win and advance.
Odie Coker and Brian Briggs were next to the line with Briggs running into issues and Coker cruising right down the racetrack to low elapsed time of the round with a 4.63 at 148 mph to move on.
(Mike Buchanan)
Ron Muncy, hot off his runner-up finish at Navasota, burned out next along side Mark Hollander. Muncy was out first and never trailed as he took the win with a 4.96 at 140 mph to Hollander’s 5.53 at 128 mph.
(Ron Muncy)
Ross Laird had the bad luck of pairing up against defending series Champ Richard Brady in the opening round. Laird had the advantage on paper and cut a .0008 reaction time to narrowly avoid red-lighting, then clicked off a 4.86 at 141 mph to take the win over Brady’s best pass of the night, a close 4.94 at 142 mph.
(Ricky Marshall)
Closing the first round of eliminations, Ricky Marshall and Joe Scarlata crept into the beams with Scarlata taking a big starting line advantage but spun the tires at the hit while Marshall lit the boards with a strong 4.67 at 147 mph winning effort as the teams returned to the pits in preparation for second round.
First Round Results:
(W) Scott Parks (.088 rt) 4.66 @ 148 mph vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (.015 rt) 4.80 @ 145 mph
(W) Mike Buchanan (.149 rt) 5.42 @ 129 mph vs. (L) Michael Renaker (-.025 rt) 5.02 @ 135 mph
(W) Steve Dunkin (.034 rt) 4.89 @ 139 mph vs. (L) Mike Millsap (.329 rt) 4.85 @ 141 mph
(W) Brandon Lewis (.046 rt) 4.75 @ 143 mph vs. (L) Bill Tumlinson (Red) 5.60 @ 134 mph
(W) Odie Coker (.125 rt) 4.63 @ 148 mph vs. (L) Brian Briggs (.198 rt) (No ET Data)
(W) Ron Muncy (.121 rt) 4.96 @ 140 mph vs. (L) Mark Hollander (.194 rt) 5.53 @ 128 mph
(W) Ross Laird (.0008 rt) 4.86 @ 141 mph vs. (L) Richard Brady (.012 rt) 4.94 @ 142 mph
(W) Ricky Marshall (.192 rt) 4.67 @ 147 mph vs. (L) Joe Scarlata (.056 rt) 9.46 @ 45 mph
(Ross Laird)
A strong field of eight drew cards and paired up in the lanes for a big second round of eliminations. Brandon Lewis was out first along side Ross Laird as two of the youngest drivers in the series squared off. Laird knew he had to get a jump off the line and cut it too close, going red by just six thousandths of a second and posting a 4.86 @ 141 mph to Lewis’ quicker and winning 4.78 at 143 mph.
(Brandon Lewis)
Ricky Marshall was out next along side Ron Muncy. Muncy has been lethal on the starting line this season and again had a big advantage over Marshall, but his 4.92 at 140 mph wasn’t enough for Marshall’s quicker and winning 4.72 at 146 mph as Marshall advanced to his second semi of the season.
Odie Coker rolled through next along side Mike Buchanan who hoped to make his second straight semi-final in as many starts with the series. Unfortunately, his streak came to an end as Coker blistered down the eighth mile to a 4.65 at 148 mph to Buchanan’s 5.33 at 130 mph. Another solid outing for the Kansas based entry of Buchanan.
Closing the round, Scott Parks lined up with Steve Dunkin. Dunkin knew he had to have an advantage off the line and like many others cut it too close going red before the tree was activated while Parks clicked off low of the round with a 4.64 at 149 mph to advance to his third straight semi-final round.
(Scott Parks)
Second Round Results:
(W) Brandon Lewis (.046 rt) 4.78 @ 143 mph vs. (L) Ross Laird (-.006 rt) 4.86 @ 141 mph
(W) Ricky Marshall (.082 rt) 4.72 @ 146 mph vs. (L) Ron Muncy (.013 rt) 4.92 @ 140 mph
(W) Ron Ussery (.192 rt) 4.65 @ 148 mph vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.197 rt) 5.33 @ 130 mph
(W) Scott Parks (.146 rt) 4.64 @ 149 mph vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (Red)(No Time)
The four top qualifiers advanced to the semi-final to meet each other at last in the late rounds of the event. Ricky Marshall and Brandon Lewis were the first ones out as Marshall cut a .004 reaction time and incredibly got left on by Lewis’ quicker .001 reaction time. Marshall’s dragster struck the tires at the hit and he quickly pedaled it to try and chose down Lewis but to no avail as Lewis clicked off a winning 4.79 at 149 mph to Marshall’s 5.18 at 143 mph. This sent Brandon Lewis in Charlie Smith’s dragster to the final round of their debut event with the series with a monster match-up lurking in the staging lanes to decide who would face Lewis in the final.
Odie Coker and Scott Parks staged up next as the two quickest cars got ready to square off. Parks was ready on the tree, too ready, going -.006 red automatically advancing Coker who clicked off a 4.62 at 149 mph to advance to the last dance, his third SWJFA final.
Semi-Final Results:
(W) Brandon Lewis (.001 rt) 4.79 @ 143 mph vs. (L) Ricky Marshall (.004 rt) 5.18 @ 143
(W) Odie Coker (.028 rt) 4.62 @ 149 vs. (L) Scott Parks (-.006 rt) 5.05 @ 120
Coker and Lewis fired their engines for the last time of the night and proceeded with their burnouts as the teams guided them back in their tracks and into the stage beams. Lewis was hoping to pull of the remarkable and win in his debut event but needed some help on the starting line as Coker had the performance advantage. Coker was looking to nab his third win in just five starts with the series since it’s debut in 2007.
Lewis did his job on the line cutting a strong .018 reaction time and laying down his second best pass of the night with a 4.77 at 143 mph but it wasn’t enough as Coker cut a safe green light and blasted to top speed and low elapsed time of the meet with a 4.621 at 150 mph to claim the win for car owner / tuner Ron Ussery and company.
(Odie Coker "Near Lane" vs. Brandon Lewis "Far Lane")
Final Round Results:
(W) Odie Coker (.096 rt) 4.621 @ 150 mph (L) Brandon Lewis (.018 rt) 4.77 @ 143 mph
(Smith & Lewis Team - North Star Dragway Runner Up)
(Ussery & Coker Team - North Star Dragway Winners)
“I want to dedicate this win to two team members we’ve recently lost and miss very much, Ronnie’s wife Mardy and our dear friend Olin Davis, this win is in their memory. We feel very fortunate to win the event, it’s no easy feat to be the last man standing an SWJFA race. It took a lot of effort from the team and I’ve got the easiest job, driving with Ronnie Ussery horsepower. Our team works like a well oiled machine and I want to thank my son Cam Coker, father Don Coker, Johnny Lewis, Dale Emery and Dennis Piranio for their help,” said Coker.
Coker notched his third win with the SWJFA series living in the 4.60 zone on all six passes down the North Star Dragway eighth mile making life tough for the competition. Parks will still be your points leader after outlasting both Millsap and Muncy who were tied for second heading into Denton. The Southwest Junior Fuel Association would like to thank Smiley’s Racing Products, Champion Spark Plugs, Bob McKray Performance, RPM Performance and Competition Sales of Dallas for their support of the series. The next stop of the 2011 SWJFA tour brings the series to Ardmore Dragway for their annual Hot Rod Reunion to be held Saturday, September 4th in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Click Here to see photos from this event.
McKray Performance #1 Qualifier - Scott Parks
Competition Sales of Dallas #1 Qualifier - Scott Parks
