Coker Scores 2014 Championship with Wichita Win
Wichita, Kansas - Oct 11th, 2014

The final event of the 2014 Southwest Junior Fuel Association season brought the series to Kansas International Dragway in Wichita, Kansas on Saturday, October 11th. A heated points battle between Odie Coker and Ken Hawkins would be settled here this weekend and the winner would be crowned SWJFA series Champion! Coker entered the event with a three point lead over Hawkins as the call went out for the first round of qualifying to get underway.

Upon the completion of two qualifying rounds, Odie Coker led the pack with a 7.39 at 179 mph to claim his fifth top qualifying position of the season. Mike Millsap laid down a career best 7.45 at 177 mph and Ken Hawkins rounded out the top half of the field with a 7.56 at 172 mph. Coker earned a few extra points with his top qualifier but had to go rounds in eliminations to hold off Hawkins as the teams returned to the pits to prepare for first round.

(Mike Millsap)

Final Qualifying Order:

Final Qualifying Order:
1. Odie Coker (Dallas, TX) - 7.39 @ 179
2. Mike Millsap (Sachse, TX) - 7.45 @ 177
3. Ken Hawkins (Poolville, TX) - 7.56 @ 172
4. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, TX) - 7.72 @ 171
5. Mike Buchanan (Wichita, KS) - 8.18 @ 161
6. Roger Schwab (Wichita, KS) - 9.15 @ 133

Eliminations:

In first round, Mike Buchanan took a big jump at the starting line over Ken Hawkins but Hawkins had the ponies in the Charlie Smith owned and tuned machine to drive around at the big end with a 7.77 at 172 mph to Buchanan's 8.53. Steve Dunkin wheeled the "Foolish Pleasure" dragster to the line, up against Roger Schwab. Dunkin was .003 on the tree and never trailed as his 7.92 at 172 took out Schwab's 8.49 at 162 mph. In the final pair, Mike Millsap took a slight starting line advantage but his 7.53 at 175 mph came up just short to Odie Coker's quicker 7.44 at 179 mph.

(Mike Buchanan)

First Round Results

(W) Ken Hawkins (.224 rt) 7.77 @ 172 vs. (L) Mike Buchanan (.076 rt) 8.53 @ 158
(W) Steve Dunkin (.003 rt) 7.92 @ 172 vs. (L) Roger Schwab (.309 rt) 8.49 @ 162
(W) Odie Coker (.038 rt) 7.44 @ 179 vs. (L) Mike Millsap (.026 rt) 7.53 @ 175

Semi-final round action got underway with Ken Hawkins on a bye run. Hawkins lit the scoreboards with a 7.57 at 173 mph to advance to the final round. Odie Coker had to win this round to keep pace with Hawkins. Coker was lined up with Steve Dunkin. Both drivers were a bit sleepy on the line but Steve Dunkin laid down his best pass of the night with a 7.46 at 175 mph, yet came up short at the stripe to Coker's 7.39 at 180 mph as Coker and Hawkins moved to the final round.

(Steve Dunkin)

Semi-Final Results

(W) Ken Hawkins (.051 rt) 7.57 @ 173 vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Odie Coker (.188 rt) 7.39 @ 180 vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (.184 rt) 7.46 @ 175

(Ken Hawkins)

The series Championship came down to the final round of the final race of the season by the two dominating teams in 2014. In a showdown of powerhouse junior fuelers, Coker and Hawkins crept to the line to decide who would be crowned the winner in Wichita, but better yet, the Champ. Hawkins blasted off the line with a .002 reaction time but just ran out of ponies as his 7.62 at 168 mph came up just short to Coker's stellar 7.38 at 179 mph as Coker and team owner and tuner Ron Ussery celebrated a dominating performance, dominating season and well deserved Championship!

(Odie Coker)

Final Round Results

(W) Odie Coker (.029 rt) 7.38 @ 179 vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (.002 rt) 7.62 @ 168

Congratulations to the Ussery & Coker team on their 2014 SWJFA Championship! 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 series.