Whiz Kids Racing Claims First SWJFA Win
At Texas Motorplex Old School Showdown
April 20th - Texas Motorplex - Ennis, TX
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association held their second event of the 2013 season at the Texas Motorplex's 2nd Annual "Old School Showdown" on Saturday, April 20th in Ennis, Texas. Welcomed by superb weather conditions and a capacity crowd, the SWJFA series teams were eager to hit the all concrete quarter mile and see what their high horsepower injected machines could post on the scoreboards. Seven cars made the trip to Ennis and with only one scheduled qualifying session to work with, the pressure was on to have their tune-ups ready right off the trailer.
(Mike Millsap warming up)
Odie Coker, runner up at the season opener, posted a strong 7.29 at 181 mph to take the number one qualifying position in his Ron Ussery tuned Hemi powered front engine dragster. Coker was followed by Brandon Lewis who wheeled the "Whiz Kids Racing" junior fueler owned and tuned by Charlie Smith to a team best 7.40 at 177 mph. Points leader Ron Muncy in the "Foolish Pleasure" dragster posted a 7.53 at 174 mph to qualify number three followed by Brian Briggs, Mike Buchanan, Mike Millsap and Michael Renaker as the teams concluded their qualifying round and headed back to the pits to prepare for the opening round of eliminations.
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Odie Coker (Dallas, Texas) - 7.29 @ 181 mph
2. Brandon Lewis (Kiefer, Oklahoma) - 7.40 @ 177 mph
3. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, Texas) - 7.53 @ 174 mph
4. Brian Briggs (Lake Charles, Louisiana) - 7.69 @ 172 mph
5. Mike Buchanan (Goddard, Kansas) - 7.77 @ 168 mph
6. Mike Millsap (Sachse, Texas) - 7.97 @ 167 mph
7. Michael Renaker (Arlington, Texas) - 8.26 @ 160 mph
(Odie Coker)
First Round Eliminations
In the opening pair of the first round, Odie Coker lined up with Mike Buchanan. Coker took the starting line advantage and clicked off a 7.35 at 180 mph to take the win over Buchanan's career best pass of a 7.61 at 174 mph. Brian Briggs wheeled his Louisiana based junior fueler to an opening round win with a 7.62 at 173 mph defeating Michael Renaker's 8.33 at 160 mph. Brandon Lewis clicked off the second quickest pass of the round with a 7.44 at 176 mph to advance over Mike Millsap who went red by just -.002 on the starting line. Ron Muncy rounded out the action in round one on a competition bye run and clicked off a 7.60 at 173 mph to advance to the semi-final round.
(Michael Renaker)
(Mike Buchanan)
First Round Results
(W) Odie Coker (.113 rt) 7.35 @ 180 mph vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.272 rt) 7.61 @ 174 mph
(W) Brian Briggs (.067 rt) 7.62 @ 173 mph vs. (L) Michael Renaker (.161 rt) 8.33 @ 160 mph
(W) Brandon Lewis (.171 rt) 7.44 @ 176 mph vs. (L) Mike Millsap (-.002 rt) 7.91 @ 168 mph
(W) Ron Muncy (.011 rt) 7.60 @ 173 mph vs. (L) Competition Bye
(Mike Millsap)
Semi-Final Round Eliminations
Fuel pump issues put an end to number one qualifier Odie Coker's efforts and he was unable to answer the call for the first pair of the semi-finals. This put Brandon Lewis on a single and Lewis posted a 7.46 at 175 mph to advance to the final round. Brian Briggs was out next alongside Ron Muncy in what appeared to be a great race on paper, but Muncy's nerves got to him and he went red at the starting line, wasting a quicker 7.57 at 173 mph as Briggs took the win on a 7.63 at 172 mph. Briggs and Lewis were both advancing to their first final round in over a year and it was time to decide whether the "Old School Showdown" title would go home to Oklahoma or Louisiana.
(Odie Coker)
(Brian Briggs)
Semi-Final Round Results
(W) Brandon Lewis (.042 rt) 7.46 @ 175 mph vs. (L) Odie Coker (Broke)
(W) Brian Briggs (.053 rt) 7.63 @ 172 mph vs. (L) Ron Muncy (-.350 rt) 7.57 @ 173 mph
Final Round Eliminations
After side by side burnouts, Briggs and Lewis crept into the beams in the final pair of the night. Both teams had laid down a string of strong runs with Lewis holding a performance advantage which Briggs hoped to make up at the tree. At the flash of amber, Briggs took a healthy starting line advantage with a .050 to Lewis' .150 but by half-track Lewis had made up the difference and at the stripe Lewis posted his best pass of the night, a 7.38 at 177 mph to drive around Briggs' 7.61 at 174 mph and take his first win in the SWJFA series for team owner Charlie Smith.
(Final Round)
Final Round Results
(W) Brandon Lewis (.150 rt) 7.38 @ 177 mph vs. (L) Brian Briggs (.050 rt) 7.61 @ 174 mph
"A special thanks goes to Wesmar Racing Engines, Eric Weingartner Racing, Lucas Oil and A-1 Autobody for all their support. A special thanks goes out to Ken Hawkins for joining our team and his great help, to Robin Smith for his great tuning calls and to Brandon Lewis for doing a great job behind the wheel," said Smith. For the "Whiz Kids" team of Smith & Lewis it was a well-deserved and long overdue win.
(Team "Whiz Kids" Winners Circle)
Briggs posted a runner-up finish in his brand new racecar his family operated team debuted this season and they would like to thank Jason Wood as Wizard Racecars for his help in getting their new junior fueler ready for 2013. Ron Muncy held onto his points lead now just four points ahead of Odie Coker as the SWJFA series will have two weeks off before heading to their third event of the season on May 11th where they will showcase their talents at the "White Walls & Drags" event at Ardmore Dragway in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Ron Muncy took home the Hayden Enterprises "Quick Reaction Time" bonus at the Texas Motorplex. The Southwest Junior Fuel Association would like to thank Smiley's Racing Products, Hayden Enterprises, Hilborn Fuel Injection and Champion Spark Plugs for their support in the 2013 racing season.
Click Here to see photos from the Texas Motorplex.
