For the fourth year in a row the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association headlined the Labor Day Weekend Classic at Mo-Kan Dragway. Ten altereds made the tow to Asbury, Missouri to pound the ground at the newly re-surfaced facility. Again this year the altereds were battling to the 1,000-foot mark of the quarter mile. Dark clouds and lightning in the distance gave warning that a storm was on it’s way and sure enough hit just minutes before qualifying was scheduled to start on Saturday evening. The track decided to call it a day and run the entire show on Sunday. No problem for the altered boys; The teams packed up their hot rods and Gary Wheeler’s “Slayer” pit area turned into pit party central with karaoke and barbecue galore which lasted late into the night. Points leader Eric Buchanan missed this race which gave the rest of the field a great chance to catch up and that they did.

Jim Pruett kicked off the event with a cone tippin’ 5.72 at 184 mph along side Bob Voirin’s 6.68 at 157 mph. Larry Reep clicked it off early and still went 5.53 at only 168 mph while Tim Hay tripped the clocks with a 5.91 at 177 mph. Travis Bouchey and Tom Butherus lined up next in a battle of the big red machines. Bouchey’s “Excitation” Fiat went 5.66 at 182 mph with the “Rude Rat” Chevrolet right along side at 5.87 at 173 mph. Next up was Bobby Marriott who struggled to a 6.14 at 177 mph along side Howard Knowles’ 6.68 at 111 mph. Wrapping up the first session was Brad Rigler and Gary Wheeler. Wheeler got out of the throttle early clicking off a 6.38 at 131 mph while Rigler wrestled the “Toxic” down the 1,000 feet and went low with a huge 5.45 at 191 mph.

The teams were given an hour between qualifying rounds and during that time Tim Hay discovered a broken lifter in his nitro burning 427 Chevy. After taking a closer look, Hay decided to load up the “High Voltage Hayride” and not risk any further damage before Houston. Though their day came to an end early there was plenty of action still to come.

Local racers Knowles and Butherus started the second qualifying session at a good pace. Knowles dipped into the fives with a 5.96 at 165 mph. Butherus shaved a tenth off his first round time with a 5.77 at 177 mph. Bouchey stepped up with a 5.58 at 185 mph with Marriott in the other lane thundering to a 5.61 at 184 mph. Wheeler raised some eyebrows with his very nice 5.47 at 192 mph and Reep kicked Rigler off the top spot with a 5.453, just two thousandths quicker than Rigler’s 5.455 from first session. Reep took his first poll of the season and first Meyer Enterprises low qualifier award.

Final Qualifying Order:

1) Larry Reep – 5.453
2) Brad Rigler – 5.455
3) Gary Wheeler – 5.47
4) Travis Bouchey – 5.58
5) Bobby Marriott – 5.61
6) Jim Pruett – 5.64
7) Tom Butherus – 5.77
8) Tim Hay – 5.91
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9) Howard Knowles – 5.96
10) Bob Voirin – 6.68

Howard Knowles was bumped up a spot into the quick eight taking over for Tim Hay and the first round pairings were as follows: Reep vs. Marriott, Wheeler vs. Butherus, Rigler vs. Pruett, and Bouchey vs. Knowles.

In an all Chevy match up Wheeler trailered the “Rude Rat” with a 5.56 at 190 mph to Butherus’ 6.00 at 177 mph. Pruett got the starting line advantage against Rigler, but a radical 5.41 at 190 mph by the “Toxic” team took out the “Cone Shark’s” 5.71 at 183 mph. The “Grim Reeper” knocked out the “Shockwave” with a 5.49 at 169 mph to Marriott’s 5.65 at 183 mph. In the final pair, Knowles defeated the tire smoking “Excitation” machine of Bouchey with a 6.42 at 119 mph.

First Round Results:

(W) Wheeler (.107 rt, 5.56 at 190 mph) vs. (L) Butherus (.176 rt, 6.00 at 167 mph)
(W) Rigler (.118 rt, 5.41 at 190 mph) vs. (L) Pruett (.094, 5.71 at 183 mph)
(W) Reep (.070 rt, 5.49 at 169 mph) vs. (L) Marriott (.080 rt, 5.65 at 183 mph)
(W) Knowles (.036 rt, 6.42 at 119 mph) vs. (L) Bouchey (.143 rt, 11.61 at 72 mph)

The number one and two qualifiers Reep and Rigler ran the two quickest winning elapsed times advancing them to the final. Reeper was making his first final round appearance of the season while Rigler was making his fourth trip to the dance, yet he still hasn’t taken home the crown this year. The last event Rigler won was the Labor Day Classic last season and the “Toxic” boys were looking to make it two in a row at Mo-Kan. Holding onto low elapsed time of first round their chances looked good. Reeper was definitely no slouch in the other lane and had been running well all day seeking his first win in a surprisingly long winless drought. Reep has looked very good after the debuting of his new car earlier this season. A few pre-race jokes and laughs were enjoyed before the final but when the motors fired up all bets were off in a final round that was pretty much a toss up.

The pair of 29’ T bodied cars lit up the hides side by side creating an eerie haze hovering over the starting line under the lights as they crept into the beams. Rigler got off with the starting line advantage and threw up a 5.51 at 165, which was just enough to hold off Reep’s 5.53 at a blazing 196 mph, which was top speed of the meet. The “Toxic” team took their first win of the season and swapped spots with Buchanan jumping from 5th to 1st in points. Buchanan dropped to fifth with no other changes in between. Maybe Carl should change Mo-Kan Dragway to "Mo-Ringla Dragway."

Final Round Results:

(W) Rigler (.097 rt, 5.51 at 165 mph) vs. (L) Reep (.150 rt, 5.53 at 196 mph)

"We are doing the little things right for a change. I knew it would take 5.40's to win so that's what we went for," said Toxic crew chief Danny Wright.

Rigler wasn't the only Outlaw Fuel Altered member to win at Mo-Kan's Labor Day Classic. Melody Knowles, wife of Howard, took the win in her Super Pro dragster. With Toxic atop the points standings the circuit’s next event is September 17 and 18th at Houston Raceway Park in another two-day event which should see a heavy field of cars show up to pound the Baytown quarter mile.