Coker & Ussery Tops In Tulsa
Tulsa Raceway Park - September 20th, 2014 - Tulsa, OK
The sixth stop on the Southwest Junior Fuel Association tour brought the series to Tulsa Raceway Park for the annual Nitro Nationals event on Saturday, September 20th. A six car field came to battle down the quarter mile under beautiful skies and awesome racing conditions. Ken Hawkins came into the event with a slim 3 point lead over Odie Coker in the Championship hunt.
(Mike Millsap)
After two rounds of qualifying Odie Coker claimed his fourth top qualifying effort of the season with a strong 7.36 at 180 mph with Ken Hawkins' 7.48 at 177 mph claiming the number two spot. Steve Dunkin also posted a 7.48 qualifying time securing him a spot in the top half of the field, with Mike Millsap, Tony Patterson and Mike Buchanan rounding out the field.
(Steve Dunkin)
Final Qualifying Order:
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Odie Coker (Dallas, TX) - 7.36 @ 180
2. Ken Hawkins (Pooleville, TX) - 7.482 @ 177
3. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, TX - 7.489 @ 174
4. Mike Millsap (Sachse, TX) - 7.57 @ 172
5. Tony Patterson (Ponca City, OK) - 7.96 @ 167
6. Mike Buchanan (Wichita, KS) - 11.34 @ 71
(Ken Hawkins)
Eliminations:
In the opening round of eliminations, Steve Dunkin was unable to answer the call with mechanical issues so Tony Patterson benefitted from a competition single and posted a 7.96 at 167 mph to advance to the semi-finals. Ken Hawkins used a 7.56 at 172 mph to take out Mike Buchanan's 8.21 at 160 mph and Odie Coker blasted to a 7.35 at 179 mph to take out Mike Millsap's 7.51 at 173 mph.
(Mike Buchanan)
First Round Results
(W) Tony Patterson (.301 rt) 7.96 @ 167 vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Ken Hawkins (.018 rt) 7.56 @ 172 vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.057 rt) 8.21 @ 160
(W) Odie Coker (.097 rt) 7.35 @ 179 vs. (L) Mike Millsap (.091 rt) 7.51 @ 173
(Tony Patterson)
In semi-final action, Ken Hawkins soloed into the final round of a bye run where he posted a nice 7.42 at 176 mph. Hawkins would take on the winner of Odie Coker and Tony Patterson in the final round. Coker had this one from start to finish, lighting the scoreboards with a 7.34 at 179 mph to Patterson's 8.53 at 154 as Coker and Hawkins were set to do battle in the final round at Tulsa.
Semi-Final Results
(W) Ken Hawkins (.033 rt) 7.42 @ 176 vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Odie Coker (.028 rt) 7.34 @ 179 vs. (L) Tony Patterson (.174 rt) 8.53 @ 154
(Odie Coker)
Unofficially, Coker had earned one more point than Hawkins in qualifying so heading into this final, Hawkins held a two point lead over Coker. The pressure was on and Hawkins was ready, but jumped the gun on the starting line with a -.012 reaction time, while Coker wheeled the Ron Ussery owned and tuned Hemi powered dragster to low elapsed time of the event with a stunning 7.26 at 180 mph to re-claim the points lead with one event remaining in the season. Coker will lead the standings heading into the SWJFA Finals at Kansas International Dragway in Wichita, Kansas on Saturday, October 11th.
Final Round Results
(W) Odie Coker (.106 rt) 7.26 @ 180 vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (-.012 rt) 7.42 @ 176
("Whiz Kids" Racing - Tulsa Runner Up)
(Coker & Ussery - Tulsa Winners)
The SWJFA series would like to thank Lubrication Engineers Inc., Hayden Enterprises Specialty Wheels, Hilborn Fuel Injection and Champion Spark Plugs for their support of the 2014 racing season. The Coker & Ussery team scored their fourth event win in six events this season and aim to hold off Ken Hawkins and the Charlie Smith owned "Whiz Kids" racing team to secure their second consecutive SWJFA series Championship.
