Bouchey’s Naughty Fiat Notches Lufkin Win
Event #3 - June 9th, 2007
Pine Valley Raceway - Lufkin, Texas
The Outlaw Fuel Altered Association members made the tow to the beautiful Pine Valley Raceway in Lufkin, Texas for the third event in the 2007 racing season. After two completed events and a rainout at North Star Dragway, Larry Reep held a three point lead over Bobby Marriott in the standings. Defending series champion Brad Rigler found himself in third with Donnie McSwain just a point behind in fourth. McSwain has done very well with his new combination so far in two events and is definitely the most impressive car this season in the consistency department. The Lone Star Forklift machine will be a serious championship contender if McSwain appears at all nine events this season. Jack Hodgson took the win at the last OFAA event at Pine Valley and the “Southern Outlaw” gang from Waco looked to repeat that effort and make it two in a row which will be no easy task with fifteen other fuel altered teams here to mix it up under the lights at Lufkin.
The action got underway in first session of qualifying with Bobby Marriott’s “Shockwave” clicking off a nice 4.23 at 178 mph. McSwain followed right behind with a stout 4.13 at 172 mph proving he was ready to run with the big dogs here tonight. In a nice side by side pair Donnie Massey clicked off a 4.21 along side Tim Hay’s 4.31 at 163 mph. Next up was that “naughty” fuel Fiat of Travis Bouchey. 4.08 at 174 mph! Take a seat everyone Bouchey is here to play hard ball. Larry Reep’s “Grim Reeper” clicked off a nice 4.20 along side Rigler’s 4.31 in “Toxic.” The OFAA welcomed another Kansas racer to the family in Dave Gallegos. Gallegos took over the driving duties behind the wheel of Mitch King’s radical “Bone Bucket” fuel burner and started qualifying with a scary incident while backing up from his burnout. Gallegos ran into a clutch malfunction which resulted in the car going over on it’s side about sixty feet out from the starting line. Whew!
(Photo by Tim Corbett)
“I went out for the first run after making a few successful runs the night before at the Houston track and I was stoked to be in my first actual race. The burnout went well and I got it stopped and into reverse. As I gained speed I tried to find neutral and that’s when I ran into problems. Very quickly I realized something was wrong so I grabbed the brake. I thought about all the people behind me and so I cranked the wheel to turn it over so I didn’t injure anyone in the lanes behind me. I braced myself, it hit and laid down on it’s side and I shut the fuel off. The car turned out to be fine but most importantly I didn‘t cause injury to anyone behind me. Mitch gave me the option to continue racing after he went over the car and I got right back in it and went 4.38 to grab the number ten spot! Hey at least now everyone knows my name!” says Gallegos.
The 4.387 by Gallegos held up for the bump spot in the field of the quickest ten cars. Who else made the cut? Marriott stepped up to a 4.16 at 179 mph to move up a few spots into fourth. Bouchey saw his number one spot grabbed by “Mr. Burnout” Jack Hodgson who blasted to a stellar 4.05 at 175 mph to take his first pole position of the season then troubles set in at the top end for Hodgson. A valve cover gasket gave up and hosed the cockpit and right slick with oil sending the car into a spin. Hodgson got on the brake and did almost three full rotations before coming to a stop facing the starting line without touching the guardrail at all! No injuries, no damage, let’s race! McSwain improved to a 4.14 at only 159 mph and Nick Poloson clicked off a nice 4.24 in the other lane driving Tom Wood’s “Sundown” machine. DoDad Burton made his career best pass in the “Free Spirit” ex. Eric Buchanan machine with a 4.389 which missed the cut by two thousandths of a second. Wayne Lewis wheeled Herb Whisnant’s “Thrill Factor” to a career best 4.39 just short of the 4.387 bump. John Broussard and Tom Butherus among others made their best attempt but failed to make the cut for the quick ten.
The field was set and qualifying bonuses were awarded to the following drivers. Donny McSwain claimed the Marriott Progressive Qualifying Bonus for qualifying third and the third event of the season. Jack Hodgson took home the P&M Speed and Machine Shop Low Qualifier Bonus for his 4.05 effort and Tim Hay won the Disciple Cycles Roll of the Dice bonus. Nick Poloson took home the Meyer Enterprises Luck of the Draw Bonus and Jack Hodgson has the chance to win the $250 Lone Star Forklift Bonus if he can seal the deal winning from the pole position.
Final Qualifying Order:
1) Jack Hodgson - 4.05
2) Travis Bouchey - 4.08
3) Donny McSwain - 4.13
4) Bobby Marriott - 4.16
5) Larry Reep - 4.20
6) Donnie Massey - 4.21
7) Nick Poloson - 4.24
8) Tim Hay - 4.314
9) Brad Rigler - 4.316
10) Dave Gallegos - 4.387
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11) DoDad Burton - 4.389
12) Wayne Lewis - 4.39
13) John Broussard - 4.57
14) Tom Butherus - 5.05
15) Jimmy Todd - No Time
16) John Tappan - No Time
You couldn’t have asked for a better first round match up with the number two and three cars in points Marriott and Rigler lining up to do battle. Marriott lit up the scoreboards with a header flaming 4.08 at 187 mph to send Rigler packing although he made his best run of the night with a 4.19 at 164 mph. Donnie Massey clicked off a 4.28 to defeat Hodgson who red lit his 4.33 away by three thousands of a second. Tim Hay had to shut off due to reverser complications in the “High Voltage Hayride” flame thrower and Donny McSwain soloed to a beautiful 4.12 at 173 mph. Next up was that “naughty” Fiat of Bouchey against Poloson. Poloson ran his race with a nice 4.25 but when the guy in the other lane goes 3.95 at 194 mph there’s not much you can do. Bouchey ran his career best elapsed time to claim a ticket to the final round with one pair left. Gallegos lined up against Reep in a big match up. Reep was off the line first with a stout .417 reaction time but ran into problems early. Gallegos carried the front wheels (lacking a front wing due to the incident in qualifying) and clipped the 330’ foot cone disqualifying his 4.70 run. It was Bouchey and Marriott advancing to an all nitro final round as the quickest two winners from first round.
First Round Results:
(W) Bobby Marriott (.494 rt) 4.08 at 187 mph vs. (L) Brad Rigler (.492 rt) 4.19 at 164 mph
(W) Donnie Massey (.433 rt) 4.28 at 166 mph vs. (L) Jack Hodgson (.397 rt) 4.33 at 148 mph
(W) Donny McSwain (.600 rt) 4.12 at 173 mph vs. (L) Tim Hay (Broke)
(W) Travis Bouchey (.523 rt) 3.95 at 194 mph vs. (L) Nick Poloson (.452 rt) 4.25 at 163 mph
(W) Larry Reep (.417 rt) 10.69 at 40 mph vs. (L) Dave Gallegos (.587 rt) 4.70 at 106 mph (DQ)
Bouchey has a love hate relationship with this facility. He found the winner’s circle at Pine Valley in 2005 with his alcohol car but also failed to qualify at the second event at Lufkin that same season which lost him the chance at the championship in 2005. Marriott came in with a very special win under his belt already this season at Shreveport. With fumes pumping out of the pipes in both lanes the final was something no fuel altered fan should have missed. Marriott was out of the gate with a slight starting line advantage. Bouchey quickly caught up and took the lead on his way to yet another gargantuan 3.95 at 186 mph to defeat Marriott’s 4.09 at 178 mph. What a race! Bouchey became the third winner in three events so far this season. It had been since Baytown 2005 that Bouchey had tasted victory and this was his first and very well deserved win with the nitro combination. That Fiat proved how “naughty” it can be in eliminations when it mattered the most.
Final Round Results:
(W) Travis Bouchey (.516 rt) 3.95 at 186 mph vs. (L) Bobby Marriott (.507 rt) 4.09 at 178 mph
“It was a wild night for everyone tonight. We had a wheel stand from half track to the finish line in qualifying then we set our career best elapsed time and mile per hour in first round followed up by a side by side all nitro final. I just love seeing those candles lit all the way down the track,” said Bouchey.
The points standings got a shake up with the happenings in Lufkin and Marriott took over the lead from Reep by a small three point margin. McSwain climbed into third and Bouchey jumped to fourth while Rigler dropped from third to fifth. In a very bizarre night filled with weird incidents, a few career bests and an all nitro final round what more could you ask for in a fuel altered race? The next stop for the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association is June 23rd for the Summer Nationals at Prescott Raceway in Prescott, Arkansas. For more information visit us online at www.ofaa.net.
Low Elapsed Time: Travis Bouchey - 3.955
Top Speed: Travis Bouchey - 194 mph
Bonus Winners:
DallasMachineShop.com Luck of the Draw - Nick Poloson
Disciple Cycles Roll of the Dice - Tim Hay
P&M Speed and Machine Shop Low Qualifier - Jack Hodgson
Marriott’s Progressive Bonus - Nick Poloson
Cen-Tech Scale Service Quick Reaction Time - Larry Reep (.417)
