Brady & Briggs Tango In Tulsa
Tulsa Raceway Park - Tulsa, OK - Sept 24
Photos by cXPress Photography
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association held their fifth event of the season at Tulsa Raceway Park’s 6th Annual Nitro Nationals on Saturday, September 24th. Under clear and comfortable fall skies, the track and air conditions were favorable for some big numbers from the junior fuelers as twelve teams were on hand to battle on the quarter mile.
(Scott Parks)
Scott Parks came into Tulsa as the points leader and set the bar in the opening qualifying session with a 7.34 at 180 mph to take the number one qualifying spot early. Ken Hawkins clicked off a nice 7.50 at 176 mph to put him in the number two spot and Brandon Lewis wheeled Charlie Smith’s junior fueler to a 7.68 at 171 mph, good for third after the first session.
(Ken Hawkins)
(Brandon Lewis)
Brian Briggs laid down a 7.76 at 167 mph to nab a spot in the top half of the field along with Steve Dunkin who also posted a 7.76 elapsed time in the opening qualifying round. Rick Kester made his SWJFA debut out of Phillipsburg, Kansas and laid down a 8.14 at 155 mph in his opening lap to round out the top six qualifiers after session number one as the teams returned to the pits to prepare for their final qualifying session.
Scott Parks improved to a 7.32 at 179 mph to secure the number one qualifying position and Competition Sales of Dallas “#1 Qualifier Bonus” in the Darrell Walden owned junior fueler, the team’s fourth pole of the season. Ken Hawkins held on for the number two spot with a 7.50 and Brandon Lewis stepped up to a 7.53 at 173 mph to qualify third. Mike Millsap lost fire on his first attempt, but came back with a 7.70 at 169 mph to secure the fourth qualifying position. Rick Kester improved to a 7.70 at 169 mph to nab a spot in the top half of the field in his debut event and Brian Briggs improved to a 7.72 at 170 mph to claim the number six qualifying position.
Defending series Champion, Richard Brady, clicked off a 7.78 at 167 mph to qualify eighth behind Steve Dunkin’s 7.76. Ron Muncy, Mike Buchanan, Kenny Stroud, making his driving debut, and Mark Hollander rounded out the twelve car field. The teams returned to the pits for some first round adjustments and drivers drew their pairings in preparation for the first round of eliminations.
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Scott Parks (Burlingame, Kansas) – 7.32 @ 179
2. Ken Hawkins (Pooleville, Texas) – 7.50 @ 176
3. Brandon Lewis (Tulsa, Oklahoma) – 7.53 @ 173
4. Mike Millsap (Sachse, Texas) – 7.703 @ 169
5. Rick Kester (Phillipsburg, Kansas – 7.706 @ 169
6. Brian Briggs (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 7.72 @ 170
7. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, Texas) – 7.76 @ 169
8. Richard Brady (Ft. Worth, Texas) – 7.78 @ 167
9. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, Texas) – 7.89 @ 166
10. Mike Buchanan (Wichita, Kansas) – 8.22 @ 161
11. Kenny Stroud (Owasso, Oklahoma) – 8.57 @ 151
12. Mark Hollander (College Station, Texas) – 8.64 @ 149
First Round Eliminations
The opening round brought some big match-ups to the starting line, as Steve Dunkin and Mike Millsap lined up in the first pair. Dunkin was off the line first by a big margin but Millsap had closed the gap by half track and took the stripe with a 7.69 at 170 mph to Dunkin’s 7.84 at 167 mph.
(Steve Dunkin)
Richard Brady and Mark Hollander rolled out next as Brady hoped to continue his hot streak after posting a runner-up finish at the previous SWJFA event in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Hollander posted his best pass of the day, but Brady was off the line first and led all the way, winning with a 7.77 at 166 mph to Hollander’s 8.41 at 155 mph.
(Mark Hollander)
Scott Parks was out next along side Brandon Lewis, as the two youngest SWJFA pilots and number one and three qualifiers lined up in a powerhouse match-up. Parks was off the line first and clicked off a stout 7.34 at 178 mph to take out Lewis’ solid 7.53 at 169 mph, which was the second quickest time of the round and would have won over any other opponent except for Parks. That’s just the “luck of the draw”.
Rick Kester cut the best reaction time of the round (.036) and wheeled his junior fueler to a nice 7.78 at 158 mph for the upset win over number two in points, Ron Muncy, who’s 7.90 at 165 mph came up just short at the stripe. Kester earned his first SWJFA round win in his debut event and moved onto the second round.
(Ron Muncy)
(Rick Kester)
Mike Buchanan and Kenny Stroud were out next as Stroud was making his first SWJFA start behind the wheel of his Ford powered junior fueler. Stroud got a big starting line advantage, but Buchanan closed the gap and got the win at the stripe with a 8.21 at 162 mph to Stroud’s 8.55 at 151 mph.
(Kenny Stroud)
In the final pair of first round, Ken Hawkins and Brian Briggs brought their dragsters to the line. Hawkins had the advantage on paper and clicked off a stout 7.52 at 174 mph, the second quickest pass of the round, but left too soon by -.011. Briggs posted a 7.73 at 169 mph to advance.
(Brian Briggs)
First Round Results
(W) Mike Millsap (.132 rt) 7.69 @ 170 vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (.054 rt) 7.84 @ 167
(W) Richard Brady (.085 rt) 7.77 @ 166 vs. (L) Mark Hollander (.164 rt) 8.41 @ 155
(W) Scott Parks (.096 rt) 7.34 @ 178 vs. (L) Brandon Lewis (.141 rt) 7.53 @ 169
(W) Rick Kester (.036) 7.78 @ 158 vs. (L) Ron Muncy (.057 rt) 7.90 @ 165
(W) Mike Buchanan (.300 rt) 8.21 @ 162 vs. (L) Kenny Stroud (.213 rt) 8.55 @ 151
(W) Brian Briggs (.037 rt) 7.73 @ 169 vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (-.011 rt) 7.52 @ 174
Second Round Eliminations
Opening the second round of eliminations, Brian Briggs found himself on a competition bye run after the Parks & Walden team withdrew from competition for safety reasons. Briggs clicked off a 7.73 at 170 mph to advance to the semi-finals, his first semi-final appearance of the season.
Mike Buchanan and Mike Millsap rolled out next and Buchanan took a massive starting line advantage to the win, with an 8.50 at 138 mph to advance to the semi-finals. Millsap had his hands full with the front wheels in the air and headed for the guardrail at the hit of the throttle, opting to safely abort the run to race another day.
(Mike Millsap)
In the final pair of the six car second round, Richard Brady squared off with Rick Kester. Brady had this one from start to finish, posting an 8.01 at 161 mph to Kester’s off pace 22.09 at 49 mph. Kester was out, but looked very good in his debut with the SWJFA series. Brady was marching onto the semi-finals along with Briggs and Buchanan as Briggs’ streak of luck continued as he drew the competition bye run in the odd numbered semi-final round.
(Richard Brady)
Second Round Results
(W) Brian Briggs (.414 rt) 7.73 @ 170 vs. (L) Scott Parks (No Time)
(W) Mike Buchanan (.169 rt) 8.50 @ 138 vs. (L) Mike Millsap (.417 rt) 19.51 @ 38
(W) Richard Brady (.075 rt) 8.01 @ 161 vs. (L) Rick Kester (.237 rt) 22.09 @ 49
Semi-Final Round Eliminations
Richard Brady and Mike Buchanan lined up to decide who would face Briggs in the final round. Buchanan had the reputation as the “giant killer” by taking out quicker cars throughout his debut season with the SWJFA, but Buchanan ran into ignition issues and Richard Brady clicked off a 7.73 at 167 mph to advance to his second straight final round.
(Mike Buchanan)
In his competition bye, Brian Briggs laid down a 7.74 at 170 mph to advance to the final round, his first of the season, against Brady in what looked to be a great side by side final on paper, with the two finalists separated by only one hundredth of a second.
Semi-Final Round Results
(W) Richard Brady (.078 rt) 7.73 @ 167 vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (No Time)
(W) Brian Briggs (.112 rt) 7.74 @ 170 vs. (L) Competition Bye
After side by side burnouts, Brady and Briggs brought their cars to the line for the final time, ready to tango for the title in Tulsa. Briggs was off the line first by a slim margin as the cars blasted down the quarter mile side by side under the lights. Richard Brady lit the scoreboards with the win light on a 7.74 at 167 mph pass to Briggs’ very close 7.77 at 169 mph. At the stripe, the margin of victory for Brady was just .018, in one of the closest side by side finals in SWJFA history.
(Final Round - Briggs "Near Lane" vs. Brady "Far Lane")
Final Round Results
(W) Richard Brady (.051 rt) 7.74 @ 167 vs. (L) Brian Briggs (.040 rt) 7.77 @ 169
The Mallory & Brady team notched their first SWJFA event win of the season which pushed them from fifth to second in the points standings behind leader Scott Parks. Brian Briggs jumped into the top five with his runner-up finish.
"I would like to thank Chris Frank at Frankenstein Racing Heads, Gaylen Smith, and Ray Little at Lenmar Motorsports, Charles Chewning at Champion Spark Plugs, and Charlie Stewart at Charlie Stewart race cars. I would also like to thank Mike Newman for all his help this weekend. It was great to have Mike back racing with Al and I. Last but not least, I would also like to give acknowledge Blake Mallory at Mallory Prints.com and Andrew Brady at Lone Star Armory.net. It was a great weekend and we’ll be ready for more in two weeks at Denton," said Brady.
Scott Parks still holds a comfortable lead in the chase for the 2011 Championship but as we all know nothing is certain in drag racing as the SWJFA series has two more events scheduled this season. The next outing will be Saturday, October 8th at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas where the SWJFA will share the stage with the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association. The series will cap off the 2011 season at the 2nd Annual Texas State Championships with both the Outlaw Fuel Altereds and Texas Blown Fuel Association, Saturday, October 22nd at San Antonio Raceway in San Antonio, Texas.
The SWJFA series would like to thank Smiley’s Racing Products, Champion Spark Plugs, Competition Sales of Dallas, Bob McKray Performance and Hayden Specialty Wheels for their support of the 2011 racing season.
