Smith & Hawkins Race To Ardmore Reunion Win
August 30th, 2014

The fifth of seven events on the 2014 Southwest Junior Fuel Association tour brought the series to Ardmore Dragway for their annual Reunion event, Saturday August 30th. Defending series Champion Odie Coker and the Ron Ussery owned and tuned entry came into Ardmore as the points leader but a new name would find the top of the charts by the end of race day. Action got started at noon under sunny and humid skies as teams faced tricky conditions for their temperamental injected alcohol burning machines.

(Ken Hawkins)

Upon the completion of two qualifying rounds, Odie Coker led the pack with a 4.71 at 147 mph followed by Mike Millsap's 4.76 at 144 mph. Ken Hawkins clicked off a 4.77 at 145 mph to qualify Charlie Smith's "Whiz Kids" entry third and Steve Dunkin rounded out the top half of the field with a 4.81 at 144 mph driving for Ron Muncy.

(Ross Laird)

Final Qualifying Order:

Final Qualifying Order:
1. Odie Coker (Dallas, TX) - 4.71 @ 147
2. Mike Millsap (Sachse, TX) - 4.76 @ 144
3. Ken Hawkins (Pooleville, TX) - 4.77 @ 145
4. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, TX) - 4.81 @ 144
5. Ross Laird (Ardmore, OK) - 4.92 @ 139
6. Mike Buchanan (Goddard, KS) - 5.36 @ 130
7. Tony Patterson (Ponca City, KS) - 5.56 @ 138

(Mike Millsap)

Eliminations:

After pairs were drawn it was time to kick off the opening round of eliminations as number two and three qualifiers, Millsap and Hawkins, rolled to the starting line. Millsap jumped the gun by the slimmest of margins with a -.004 reaction time while Hawkins laid down a 4.74 at 145 mph to advance. Steve Dunkin took a massive starting line advantage and posted a 4.84 at 143 mph to take out Tony Patterson's 4.99 at 138 mph. In the final pair, Odie Coker drove around Mike Buchanan with a stellar 4.68 at 147 mph to move into the semi-finals.

(Mike Buchanan)

(Tony Patterson)

First Round Results

(W) Ken Hawkins (.020 rt) 4.74 @ 145 vs. (L) Mike Millsap (-.004 rt) 4.78 @ 144
(W) Steve Dunkin (.027 rt) 4.84 @ 143 vs. (L) Tony Patterson (.417 rt) 4.99 @ 138
(W) Odie Coker (.100 rt) 4.68 @ 147 vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.030 rt) 5.27 @ 130

(Steve Dunkin)

Semi-finals were underway in Ardmore with Odie Coker set to take on Steve Dunkin. Dunkin stepped up to a nice 4.75 at 144 mph to advance over Coker who had mechanical issues on the starting line and was forced to idle down the track. Ken Hawkins benefitted from the bye run and posted a nice 4.71 at 145 mph to advance to the finals to take on Dunkin.

Semi-Final Results

(W) Steve Dunkin (.305 rt) 4.75 @ 144 vs. (L) Odie Coker (.317 rt) 14.12 @ 48
(W) Ken Hawkins (.010 rt) 4.71 @ 145 vs. (BYE)

The final round was held under the lights at historic Ardmore Dragway as Steve Dunkin was hoping to take his first career SWJFA event win while Hawkins, the new points leader, planned to secure his second win of the season. At the flash of amber, Dunkin jumped the tree with a -.012 reaction time and wasted a nice 4.72 at 140 mph while Hawkins' slowed to a 4.78 at 142 mph but regardless, took home his second win of the season and increased his points lead over Coker.

Final Round Results

(W) Ken Hawkins (.069 rt) 4.78 @ 142 vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (-.012 rt) 4.72 @ 140

(Whiz Kids Racing - Ardmore Winners)

The next stop on the SWJFA tour will lead the series to Tulsa Raceway Park on Saturday, September 20th for the Nitro Nationals. The SWJFA would like to thank Champion Spark Plugs, Hayden Enterprises Specialty Wheels, Hilborn Fuel Injection and Lubrication Engineers Inc. for their support of the 2014 racing season.