Walden & Parks Prolific at Texas State Championships,
& Crowned 2011 S.W.J.F.A Champions
San Antonio Raceway - Texas State Championships - October 22nd
Photos by Max Cackle Photography
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association concluded the 2011 racing season in style at the Texas State Championships at San Antonio Raceway, an event presented by the Texas Timing Association. The 2011 edition of the TSC was dedicated to the life and memory of Bobby Langley, legendary wheelman of the “Scorpion” dragsters, who passed away the night before the event. Langley was also recognized at the Twilight Memorial Service at the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, California which was held on the same weekend.
Entering the event in San Antonio, Scott Parks held a comfortable lead in the points standings behind the wheel of Darrell Walden’s dragster. Fourteen teams made the tow and were welcomed with warm temperatures and plenty of sunshine as the call went out to bring them to the lanes for the first session of qualifying.
(Scott Parks)
Parks assumed his normal position at the top of the qualifying list with a 7.40 pass at 182 mph to take the top spot in session number one. Ken Hawkins posted the second quickest pass of the round with a nice 7.50 at 177 mph to claim the number two spot. Mike Millsap wheeled his “Sachse Rod Shop” dragster to a 7.65 at 170 mph and Steve Dunkin clicked off a 7.70 at 168 mph in the “Foolish Pleasure” slingshot to claim the number four spot.
(Mike Millsap)
(Richard Brady)
Tulsa winner and defending series Champion Richard Brady posted a 7.71 at 170 mph to earn a spot in the top half and Joe Scarlata clicked off a 7.74 at 166 mph in the R&D Motorsports “Off-shore Flash” machine. Veteran Ron Muncy posted a 7.80 at 168 mph in the “Foolish Pleasure II” as the “Muncy Mafia” cars both held spots in the top half of the field after the first session. Tony Lee made his debut with the SWJFA series and entertained the crowd and photographers with big wheelstands off the line, posting an 8.98 at 144 mph to claim the fourteenth qualifying spot as the teams returned to the pits to prepare for the final session.
(Joe Scarlata)
(Ron Muncy)
Chuck Rearick made his first event since the fall of 2008 and his 7.84 from first session qualified him in the number eight spot. 2010 Texas State Championships runner-up Brian Briggs improved to a 7.98 at 167 mph to qualify the Louisiana based entry in the number nine spot. Thomas Hixson put the “One Wild Ride” dragster in the show with a 7.98 at 158 mph and Bill Tumlinson qualified number eleven with an 8.01 at 160 mph.
(Thomas Hixson)
Mike Buchanan improved to an 8.21 at 163 mph to qualify his Kansas based dragster in the number twelve spot and Kenny Stroud landed the number thirteen spot with an 8.54 at 154 mph. Scott Parks improved to an impressive 7.27 at 181 mph to claim his fifth number one qualifying effort and the Competition Sales of Dallas “Top Qualifier” bonus.
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Scott Parks (Burlingame, Kansas) – 7.27 @ 181
2. Ken Hawkins (Pooleville, Texas) – 7.50 @ 177
3. Mike Millsap (Sachse, Texas) – 7.65 @ 170
4. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, Texas) – 7.70 @ 168
5. Richard Brady (Ft. Worth, Texas) – 7.71 @ 170
6. Joe Scarlata (Garland, Texas) – 7.74 @ 166
7. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, Texas) – 7.80 @ 168
8. Chuck Rearick (Arlington, Texas) – 7.84 @ 168
9. Brian Briggs (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 7.984 @ 167
10. Thomas Hixson (Roanoke, Texas) – 7.985 @ 158
11. Bill Tumlinson (Victoria, Texas) – 8.01 @ 160
12. Mike Buchanan (Wichita, Kansas) – 8.21 @ 163
13. Kenny Stroud (Owasso, Oklahoma) – 8.54 @ 154
14. Tony Lee (San Antonio, Texas) – 8.87 @ 146
First Round Eliminations
Ron Muncy and Chuck Rearick lined up first to start eliminations in a battle of veteran wheelmen. Muncy, as usual, drilled his opponent on the tree and clicked off an 8.13 at 168 mph to take the win over Rearick’s 8.34 at 145.
(Chuck Rearick)
Steve Dunkin was out next and soloed to a 7.99 at 160 mph pass to advance over Joe Scarlata who broke on the line. Both “Foolish Pleasure” cars were moving on to the second round.
Thomas Hixson lined up with Kenny Stroud as the first round continued. Stroud had the advantage off the line but Hixson quickly closed the gap to take the win with an 8.11 at 166 to Stroud’s 8.65 at 151 mph.
(Kenny Stroud)
Number two qualifier Ken Hawkins laid down a strong 7.51 at 175 mph to knock out newbie Tony Lee’s 9.14 at 138 mph. Hawkins posted a semi-final finish in last year’s State Championships and was looking good as he moved to the second round.
(Tony Lee)
Bill Tumlinson and Richard Brady crept into the beams next as Brady jumped the tree going red by -.032. Tumlinson clicked off an 8.04 at 158 mph to advance to the second round while Brady had to swallow the loss with quicker but loosing 7.86.
Scott Parks and Mike Millsap, the number one and three qualifiers, laid down side by side burnouts in a big first round match-up. Millsap cut the best reaction time of the round (.012) for a big starting line advantage. By half-track Parks had closed the gap and at the stripe Parks’ 7.32 at 184 mph was enough to drive around Millsap’s 7.68 at 169 mph.
Mike Buchanan and Brian Briggs closed the first round of eliminations as Briggs hoped to re-peat his runner-up effort from last season. It was not to be, as Briggs went -.007 red and his quicker 7.93 lost to Buchanan’s 8.20 at 163 mph. Buchanan claimed his third first round win in his four starts this season as the rest of the round winners returned to the pits to fine tune their combinations for the second round.
(Brian Briggs)
First Round Results
(W) Ron Muncy (.028 rt) 8.13 @ 168 mph vs. (L) Chuck Rearick (.162 rt) 8.34 @ 145 mph
(W) Steve Dunkin (.086 rt) 7.99 @ 160 mph vs. (L) Joe Scarlata (No Time)
(W) Thomas Hixson (.081 rt) 8.11 @ 166 mph vs. (L) Kenny Stroud (.077 rt) 8.65 @ 151 mph
(W) Ken Hawkins (.414 rt) 7.51 @ 175 mph vs. (L) Tony Lee (-.050 rt) 9.14 @ 138 mph
(W) Bill Tumlinson (.025 rt) 8.04 @ 158 mph vs. (L) Richard Brady (-.032 rt) 7.86 @ 165 mph
(W) Scott Parks (.090 rt) 7.32 @ 184 mph vs. (L) Mike Millsap (.016 rt) 7.68 @ 169 mph
(W) Mike Buchanan (.125 rt) 8.20 @ 163 mph vs. (L) Brian Briggs (-.007 rt) 7.93 @ 165 mph
Second Round Eliminations
Kicking off the second round was Steve Dunkin, who drew the bye run and would cruise to the semi-finals, still un-opposed in competition. Teammate Ron Muncy was out next along side Mike Buchanan. Muncy was first off the line by a tenth and a half on his way to a 7.79 at 167 mph winning pass over Buchanan’s 8.15.
(Mike Buchanan)
Bill Tumlinson advanced to the semi-finals on a solo 8.07 at 158 mph after Thomas Hixson ran into issues on the line and could not fire. Tumlinson was moving on to his first semi-final round of the season.
(Bill Tumlinson)
The number one and two qualifiers, Parks and Hawkins, lined up in the final pair of the second round. Hawkins was off the line first by a slim margin and the cars were side by side at half track. The Parks & Walden power pulled ahead at the stripe with Parks taking the win with a 7.44 at 181 mph to Hawkins’ 7.57 at 171 mph.
(Hawkins "Near Lane" vs. Parks "Far Lane")
Second Round Results
(W) Steve Dunkin (.557 rt) No Time vs. (L) Competition Bye Run
(W) Ron Muncy (.036 rt) 7.79 @ 167 mph vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.183 rt) 8.15 @ 163 mph
(W) Bill Tumlinson (.070 rt) 8.07 @ 158 mph vs. (L) Thomas Hixson (No Time)
(W) Scott Parks (.101 rt) 7.44 @ 181 mph vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (.093 rt) 7.57 @ 171 mph
Semi-Final & Final Round Eliminations
Steve Dunkin encountered engine troubles in preparation for the semi-final and could not make the call so Bill Tumlinson soloed into his first final round appearance with the SWJFA.
(Steve Dunkin)
Scott Parks ended Ron Muncy’s day in the semi-finals as he thundered into his fourth final in six starts to face Tumlinson in the final. Muncy’s semi-final finish sent him past Richard Brady in the points standings to secure Muncy a second place finish in the 2011 SWJFA points standings.
After side by side burnouts, Parks and Tumlinson brought their cars to the beams for the final race of the 2011 season. Tumlinson knew he had to be near perfect on the tree and jumped the green with a -.014 red light handing Parks his third win of the season with a 7.42 at 179 mph to Tumlinson’s 8.21 at 130 mph.
(Parks "Near Lane" vs. Tumlinson "Far Lane" - Final Round)
Final Round Results
(W) Scott Parks (.069 rt) 7.42 @ 179 mph vs. (L) Bill Tumlinson (-.014 rt) 8.21 @ 130 mph
The Walden & Parks team capped off their dominant 2011 SWJFA Championship winning season with a win at the Texas State Championships in San Antonio. Parks finished the season with a 17-3 round record and won the Championship by over a 100 point margin. Congratulations to the entire Walden & Parks team on their success in their debut season with the Southwest Junior Fuel Association.
(Walden & Parks - 2011 TSC Winners)
(Bill Tumlinson - 2011 TSC Runner-Up)
Richard Brady, Mike Millsap and Brian Briggs rounded out the top five finishers in the final 2011 points standings with twenty five total teams earning points this season, a series record, as the series concludes it’s fifth consecutive season.
Teams can confirm two race weekends for next season, May 4th & 5th and October 19th & 20th, both two day events at San Antonio Raceway. Ed Miller and the Texas Timing Association present Texas Nostalgia Thunder in May and the Texas State Championships in October, mark your calendars!
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association would like to thank Smiley’s Racing Products, Champion Spark Plugs, Competition Sales of Dallas, Hayden Enterprises, RPM Performance Products and Bob McKray Performance for their support of the 2011 racing season. We will see you next year!
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