“Sundown” Scores Second Win
Ben Bruce Raceway – Evadale, Texas
Event #4 of 8 – June 21st, 2008
Story: Chris Graves / Photos: Joe McHugh
The Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altereds put on their Summer Nationals at Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale, Texas on Saturday June 21st. This event marked the halfway point of the 2008 racing season which has been fortunate for some and forgettable for others. Nick Poloson, Donnie Massey and Bobby Marriott have scored wins in the first three events and all hold a spot in the Royal Purple Top 5 points standings. Ben Bruce Raceway is a very unique place to race. Built on an abandoned landing strip, this facility is simply one long strip with nothing but grandstands on each side. The pits are located in the first half of the strip and the track itself makes up the second half. Surrounded by trees the echo of fuel altereds brings goose bumps to those who understand their power. Combine all this with stadium style wrap around grandstands circling the starting line and you’ve got a fun filled event on your hands and what better way to do it than with some blown fuel altered drag racing!
The 2008 season has seen three different winners and no re-peat finalists as the competition is as strong as it has been in series history. Seeing a three second pass has almost become expected and the number of cars capable of running low fours is growing per race. It’s no easy thing to win an Outlaw Fuel Altered event as any of the competitors can tell you. Thirteen blown bandits came to give it their all in Evadale and the Royal Purple Summer Nationals got underway with two of the strongest teams, the “Shockwave” of Bobby Marriott and “Sundown” of Nick Poloson.
(Bobby Marriott's "Shockwave" came into Ben Bruce Raceway with the Royal Purple points lead. Would he leave with it?)
Marriott took us to the dark side with a new look black paint scheme for this year and his hot rod has been on kill since mid 2007. He has more final rounds, more wins and more number one qualifying efforts than anyone else in the series. A 4.09 at 182 mph lap from Marriott and 4.13 at 172 mph pass from Poloson started things off at a strong pace and proved the track could handle some serious power. J.T. Heslink’s “Punisher” machine laid down a nice 4.22 at 174 mph and right off the trailer Brad Rigler went a 4.12 at 170 mph in “Toxic.” Jack Hodgson’s “Southern Outlaw” looked to come back strong after a surprising DNQ at the last event in Denton, Texas. Unfortunately for the Waco based team, their luck did not change and the car kicked the rods on a 4.55 at 115 mph run ending their night far too early. Chris White brought back his “White Lightning” blown alcohol machine which was impressive to say the least. The car looked great and ran even better with a nice 4.43 at 160 mph lap. The same car had been virtually destroyed back in March and it was great for the team to bounce back to quickly and lay down a solid number. The final pair of qualifying put Donnie Massey along side Donny McSwain. They did their dance down the strip to post the best two times of the session. Massey’s 3.94 at 178 mph led the pack over McSwain’s 4.04 at 179 mph. Roy Sanchez, John Broussard, Larry Reep and David Purifoy all made runs but were after some better numbers in the next session.
(Roy Sanchez in the "Nitro Coupe" fuel Fiat)
(Nick Poloson in Tom Wood's "Sundown" ride)
Nick Poloson rolled out first again to start the second session with a thundering career best 4.05 at 174 mph pass. Nice. Donnie McSwain was up next in the “II N’Tense” ride and also set a career mark at 3.97 at 178 mph; his first three second pass ever. Brad Rigler stepped up the Danny Wright tuned “Toxic” machine to a 4.01 at 178 mph and Larry Reep put the “Grim Reeper” in the top half of the field with a 4.03 at 177 mph. “Four o” passes were falling like Texas mosquitoes in a bug zapping contest. John Broussard put his Lake Charles, Louisiana based “Purple Haze” ride into the number eight spot with a strong 4.28 at 166 mph. Donnie Massey clicked off an impressive career best pass of 3.92 at 177 mph to secure his place at the top of the field performance wise. Roy Sanchez in the “Nitro Coupe” fuel Fiat and David Purifoy in the “Thrill Factor” machine missed the cut, but Purifoy got bumped in from the first alternate spot due to Jack Hodgson’s engine failure. DoDad Burton was in the house but the “Free Spirit” team never took a green light and had a few weeks to solve their gremlins before the big event July 5th at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas. Chris White won the Disciple Cycles “Luck of the Draw” qualifying bonus from the number nine spot and Nick Poloson took home the Smiley’s Racing Products bonus for qualifying fourth at the fourth event of the season. The first round ladder was a dandy and would surely result in some monster match-ups.
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Brad Rigler – 4.01 @ 177 mph
2. Donny McSwain – 4.02 (3.978) @ 178 mph
3. Larry Reep – 4.03 @ 177 mph
4. Nick Poloson – 4.05 @ 174 mph
5. Donnie Massey – 4.07 (3.926) @ 177 mph
6. Bobby Marriott – 4.09 @ 182 mph
7. J.T. Heslink – 4.22 @ 174 mph
8. John Broussard – 4.28 @ 166 mph
9. Chris White – 4.43 @ 160 mph
10. Jack Hodgson – 4.56 @ 115 mph
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11. David Purifoy – 4.66 @ 156 mph
12. Roy Sanchez – 4.82 @ 116 mph
13. DoDad Burton – No Time
(John Broussard has qualified for each event he has entered in 2008)
What an exciting first pair to start eliminations. Rigler’s “Toxic” vs. Marriott’s “Shockwave” takes us back to the multiple final rounds these two have contested at Mo-Kan Dragway. Rigler got a slight starting line advantage and never looked back with a 4.09 at 172 mph to narrowly defeat Marriott’s 4.11 at 182 mph in the closest race of the first round. Next up Nick Poloson wheeled the Tom Wood tuned and owned “Sundown” to a stout 4.08 at 174 mph to take out Chris White. The “Grim Reeper” put down another 4.03 pass to get the win over John Broussard and boot Rigler’s final round hopes because only the two quickest winners advance straight to the final round, standard race procedures for the Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altered Association. To advance to the final you must not only win the round, but with one of the two quickest elapsed times. Massey’s “Showtime” nitro burner rolled out along side David Purifoy in the Herb Whisnant owned “Thrill Factor.” Massey fell off his three second pace as he had a hole out at the hit and labored to a 4.17 at 177 mph but still took out Purifoy’s 4.32 at 165 mph. It appeared that Nick Poloson and Larry Reep had a good shot at squaring off against each other in the final but with two stout cars sitting in the water box, no one could make the call as the final pair of first round came to life. J.T. Heslink was bound and determined to make his first career final round appearance here at Ben Bruce Raceway but he had to not only beat but outrun Donnie McSwain in the other lane. No easy task. Heslink blasted to a career best 4.06 at 177 mph to knock out McSwain who ran into problems with a foggy visor on the starting line and got timed out. So Heslink was set up to square off against Reep in the finals after a very entertaining round of eliminations.
First Round Eliminations:
(W) Brad Rigler (.495 rt) 4.09 at 172 mph vs. (L) Bobby Marriott (.512 rt) 4.11 at 182 mph
(W) Nick Poloson (.487 rt) 4.08 at 174 mph vs. (L) Chris White (.621 rt) 5.02 at 114 mph
(W) Larry Reep (.613 rt) 4.03 at 181 mph vs. (L) John Broussard (.431 rt) 4.30 at 166 mph
(W) Donnie Massey (.619 rt) 4.17 at 177 mph vs. (L) David Purifoy (.362 rt) 4.32 at 165 mph
(W) J.T. Heslink (1.16 rt) 4.06 at 177 mph vs. (L) Donny McSwain (.000 rt) 10.41 at 69 mph
(Donnie Massey had the best car in qualifying but a dead cylinder cost him precious horsepower in first round)
It was discovered after Heslink’s run that on his 4.06 pass the motor suffered heavy damage to a spark plug chamber in the head and with only seven cylinders firing his hopes of an Outlaw Fuel Altered victory were put on hold. Being the good sportsman he is; J.T. preferred that the third quickest winner, Nick Poloson, take his place and give the fans a close side by side final. So the decision was made and Poloson and Reep set up to do battle in the all blown alcohol final.
(Larry Reep advanced to his third final since his last win at Tulsa in May of 2006)
Reep was making his first trip the last dance while Poloson looked to be the first repeat winner and take the points lead away from Bobby Marriott. After side by side burnouts the two crept into the beams. Poloson got off the line with a .469 reaction time to Reep’s .817 and that advantage made the difference at the stripe as Reep’s quicker 4.01 at 176 mph lost to Poloson’s 4.07 at 176 mph.
Final Round Eliminations:
(W) Nick Poloson (.469 rt) 4.07 at 176 mph vs. (L) Larry Reep (.817 rt) 4.01 at 176 mph
“The “Sundown” team had a great time at Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale. We had three very good runs for our car, including a personal best elapsed time of 4.05. When we were given the opportunity to run in the final, we had the goal of trying to repeat with one more good pass. What a final! Both cars run in the four o zone and we were fortunate to get the win on a holeshot! It's been a dream year for us so far and we are back in the points lead heading into the next event at North Star Dragway,” said Poloson.
(Team "Sundown" celebrates with Royal Purple's Shannon Tigue)
With his second win in four completed events, Poloson holds an eight point lead over Marriott in Royal Purple points with Rigler, McSwain and Massey rounding out the top five. It was a night of career bests for many drivers as cars continue to step up their level of performance. The Independence Drags at North Star Dragway will be held July 5th in Denton, Texas and expect to see a packed house to enjoy fuel altereds, fireworks and header flames. The Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altereds would like to thank Disciple Cycles in Tyler, Texas and Smiley’s Racing Products for their bonus programs.
Click Here to see photos from this event by Joe McHugh.
Low Elapsed Time – Donnie Massey (3.926)
Top Speed – Bobby Marriott (182.11 mph)
Bonus Winners:
Smiley’s Racing Products Progressive – Nick Poloson
Disciple Cycles Luck of the Draw – Chris White
