Ussery & Coker Conquer Thunder Valley
Noble, OK - June 21st, 2014
The third stop on the 2014 Lubrication Engineers Inc., Southwest Junior Fuel tour brought the series to Thunder Valley Raceway in Noble, Oklahoma for an eight car quarter mile bout under the lights on Saturday, June 21st. Ken Hawkins and the Charlie Smith owned "Whiz Kids" entry came into the event leading the points fresh off a big win the weekend before at the Holley Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Hot on his trail was the Ussery & Coker team looking to close the gap and defend their points Championship from 2013. The SWJFA welcomed Ricky Marshall and Gary Ballard to the mix, both making their first appearances of the season.
(Gary Ballard)
After two sessions of qualifying, Mike Millsap took his first pole position of the season with a 7.63 at 173 followed closely by Ken Hawkins 7.64 at 173 mph. Tony Patterson wheeled his Kansas based entry to the third qualifying position with an 8.34 at 157 mph and Gary Ballard rounded out the top half of the field with an 8.42 at 140 mph. The teams returned to the pits to make their final adjustments before the elimination rounds got underway.
(Mike Millsap)
Final Qualifying Order:
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Mike Millsap (Sachse, TX) - 7.63 @ 173
2. Ken Hawkins (Pooleville, TX) - 7.64 @ 173
3. Tony Patterson (Wichita, KS) - 8.34 @ 157
4. Gary Ballard (Wichita Falls, TX) - 8.42 @ 140
5. Mike Buchanan (Goddard, KS) - 8.44 @ 157
6. Ricky Marshall (Burleson, TX) - 9.542 @ 137
7. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, TX) - 9.545 @ 93
8. Odie Coker (Dallas, TX) - No Time
(Ron Muncy)
Eliminations:
Number one qualifier Mike Millsap and Mike Buchanan were the first pair to the line in the first round. Millsap took a tenth at the tree and never trailed as his 7.65 at 173 mph knocked out Buchanan's 8.43 at 157 mph. Tony Patterson and Gary Ballard were up next as Ballard drilled Patterson off the line, but had immediate issues as Patterson's 8.25 at 159 mph advanced over Ballard's costing 18.13. Odie Coker and Ron Muncy crept into the beams as the first round continued. Muncy jumped the tree with a -.017 reaction time while Coker, who struggled to get his car started and had no runs prior to first round, clicked off a 7.59 at 174 mph. In the final pair, Ricky Marshall drove around Ken Hawkins at half track and pulled off the win with low elapsed time of the round, a 7.48 at 178 mph to take out the points leader in round one.
(Ken Hawkins)
First Round Results
(W) Mike Millsap (.039 rt) 7.65 @ 173 vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.143 rt) 8.43 @ 157
(W) Tony Patterson (.208 rt) 8.25 @ 159 vs. (L) Gary Ballard (.018 rt) 18.13 @ 43
(W) Odie Coker (.037 rt) 7.59 @ 174 vs. (L) Ron Muncy (-.017 rt) 13.91 @ 59
(W) Ricky Marshall (.187 rt) 7.48 @ 178 vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (.067 rt) 7.66 @ 171
(Mike Buchanan)
(Ricky Marshall)
In the semi-finals, Ricky Marshall and Tony Patterson got the action started. Marshall had a tenth at the starting line and his 7.83 at 143 mph put Patterson's 8.29 at 145 mph on the trailer as Marshall was headed to his first final round of the season. Odie Coker and Mike Millsap brought their slingshot dragsters to the starting line and this one was over early, as Millsap went -.051 red and had the best seat in the house to watch Coker post a strong 7.45 at 178 mph to move into the final round against Marshall.
Semi-Final Results
(W) Ricky Marshall (.300 rt) 7.83 @ 143 vs. (L) Tony Patterson (.406 rt) 8.29 @ 145
(W) Odie Coker (.147 rt) 7.45 @ 178 vs. (L) Mike Millsap (-.051 rt) 7.67 @ 172
(Odie Coker)
Final round action got underway as Coker and Marshall brought their machines to life. The crews made their final checks and the drivers brought their cars to the line to see who would leave Noble, Oklahoma the victor. Coker was off the line first and never trailed, posting low elapsed time of the event with a clean 7.43 at 179 mph to Marshall's best lap of the night, a 7.54 at 169 mph. This marked Ussery & Coker's second win on the season and moved them closer to regaining their points lead. Ken Hawkins will enter the next event at Kansas International Dragway, July 19th still atop the points chase by just 11 points over Coker. The SWJFA series would like to thank Lubrication Engineers Inc., Hayden Enterprises, Hilborn Fuel Injection and Champion Spark Plugs for their support of the 2014 racing season.
Final Round Results
(W) Odie Coker (.144 rt) 7.43 @ 179 vs. (L) Ricky Marshall (.223 rt) 7.54 @ 169
(Ricky Marshall)
(Odie Coker)
