Ussery & Coker Continue Ardmore Assault
White Walls & Drags - May 24h, 2014 - Ardmore Dragway

The Southwest Junior Fuel Association, presented by Lubrication Engineers Inc., rolled into Ardmore Dragway in Ardmore, Oklahoma for their first points race of the season at the annual "White Walls & Drags" event held each May. This, the first of seven events on the 2014 schedule and first before the series heads to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the annual Holley Hot Rod Reunion. A nine car field of injected front engine dragsters made the tow to Ardmore and defending series Champion Odie Coker picked up right where he left off with a top qualifying effort to kick off the season in the Ron Ussery owned and tuned entry.

(Odie Coker)

Coker's 4.69 at 148 mph led the pack while the Charlie Smith owned, Ken Hawkins driven "Whiz Kids" dragster qualified number two with a 4.72 at 146 mph. Louisiana based Brian Briggs secured the third position with a 4.76 at 144 mph while Richard Brady and Ron Muncy rounded out the top half of the field. The teams returned to the pits after their two time trial sessions and were paired for the opening round of eliminations.

(Ken Hawkins' Wild Ride In Qualifying - Video By Nick Coker)

(Brian Briggs)

Final Qualifying Order:

1. Odie Coker (Dallas, TX) - 4.69 at 148
2. Ken Hawkins (Pooleville, TX) - 4.72 @ 146
3. Brian Briggs (Lake Charles, LA) - 4.76 @ 144
4. Richard Brady (Ft. Worth, TX) - 4.80 @ 143
5. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, TX) - 4.81 @ 143
6. Mike Buchanan (Wichita, KS) - 4.82 @ 144
7. Rob Ragland (Ardmore, OK) - 4.97 @ 136
8. Tony Patterson (Ponca City, OK) - 5.27 @ 131
9. Mike Millsap (Sachse, TX) - 5.28 @ 124

(Ron Muncy)

First Round Eliminations:

Tony Patterson and Mike Millsap got the first round of eliminations underway as despite a huge holeshot by Millsap, Patterson's 5.20 at 131 mph drove around to defeat Millsap's 5.76 at 118 mph. Ken Hawkins shot off the starting line with a .004 reaction time and his 4.69 at 146 was no match for Rob Ragland's 5.00 at 134 mph. Mike Buchanan advanced to the next round on a solo 4.83 at 143 mph after Brian Briggs had to shutoff due to mechanical failure. As eliminations continued, number one qualifier Odie Coker clicked off a 4.71 at 146 mph to defeat Ron Muncy's 4.84 at 142 mph and Richard Brady got the bye run advancing with a 4.79 at 143 mph.

First Round Results

(W) Tony Patterson (.429 rt) 5.20 @ 131 vs. (L) Mike Millsap (.097 rt) 5.76 @ 118
(W) Ken Hawkins (.004 rt) 4.69 @ 146 vs. (L) Rob Ragland (.042 rt) 5.00 @ 134
(W) Mike Buchanan (.171 rt) 4.83 @ 143 vs. (L) Brian Briggs (No Time - Broke)
(W) Odie Coker (.100 rt) 4.71 @ 146 vs. (L) Ron Muncy (.049 rt) 4.84 @ 142
(W) Richard Brady (.028 rt) 4.79 @ 143 vs. (L) Bye Run

(Mike Millsap)

(Ken Hawkins)

In the second round, Tony Patterson drew the bye run and moved into his first SWJFA semi-final with a 5.29 at 130 mph. Next up, Mike Buchanan did his best but his .007 reaction time and 4.85 at 143 mph was not enough to hold off Ken Hawkins' 4.78 at 143 mph in a close race, with Hawkins moving on. Closing the round, Odie Coker clicked off the quickest pass of the event to that point with a strong 4.66 at 148 mph to knock out Richard Brady's best pass of the event, a 4.74 at 144 mph.

Second Round Results

(W) Tony Patterson (.213 rt) 5.29 @ 130 vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Ken Hawkins (.026 rt) 4.78 @ 143 vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.007 rt) 4.85 @ 143
(W) Odie Coker (.074 rt) 4.66 @ 148 vs. (L) Richard Brady (.004 rt) 4.74 @ 144

(Mike Buchanan)

(Richard Brady)

(Tony Patterson)

In semi-final action, Coker kept up his performance with another 4.66 pass at 148 mph to defeat Patterson and move into the final round to take on Hawkins who soloed on the bye run to a 4.79 at 142 mph. The two top qualifiers met in the last dance to crown a winner at the season opener. Coker held the performance advantage and his 4.67 at 149 mph was plenty to take down Hawkins' 4.82 at 141 mph. Congratulations to the Ussery & Coker team, who secured their first win of the season and extended their undefeated streak at Ardmore Dragway with three straight victories at the oldest continuously run drag strip in America.

Semi-Final Round Results

(W) Odie Coker (.163 rt) 4.66 @ 148 vs. (L) Tony Patterson (.357 rt) 5.32 @ 129
(W) Ken Hawkins (.031 rt) 4.79 @ 142 vs. (L) Bye Run

Final Round Results

(W) Odie Coker (.087 rt) 4.67 @ 149 vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (.062 rt) 4.82 @ 141

(Smith & Hawkins - Ardmore Runner Up)

(Ussery & Coker - Ardmore Winners)