Massey Masters OFAA Fall Nationals
Ben Bruce Raceway – Evadale, Texas
Event #7 of 8 – October 4th, 2008
Report: Chris Graves
Photos: Chris Graves & Joe McHugh

The Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altered Association headed down south to Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale, Texas just north of Beaumont. With the season coming winding down and four or five teams with a realistic shot at winning the 2008 OFAA Championship the pressure was on and every pass was crucial towards those precious Royal Purple points.

A field of fourteen ear piercing, pavement pounding blown fuel altereds came to do battle in the seventh of eight events on the year. Defending series champ Bobby Marriott and team “Shockwave” claimed the points lead away at the last event from Nick Poloson and team “Sundown” who had led the entire season after winning the first race of the year.

(Bobby Marriott in the "Shockwave")

Qualifying posted some great runs from many teams and handful of career best marks. Marriott’s 4.01 elapsed time led the field of the quick ten cars into eliminations. J.T. Heslink wheeled his “Punisher” ride to a career best 4.02 in first session, which qualified him number two. Heslink had his first three second pass in the bag but sheared the teeth off the bottom blower pulley 100 feet before the finish line. Donnie Massey blistered the strip with a strong 3.91 at 190 mph establishing his presence early. Larry Reep went 4.06 at only 147 mph to claim a top half position. David Purifoy clicked off a career best 4.1548 elapsed time in first session, which incredibly left him outside looking in after qualifying. Tim Hay’s “High Voltage Hayride” machine went 4.1547 to claim the tenth and final qualifying position, a mark which tied the OFAA record for lowest bump spot which was set at the previous event at Mo-Kan Dragway in Missouri.

(Tim Hay)

(Chris White)

DoDad Burton and team “Free Spirit” were outside looking in as the second session got underway. Burton set a career best mark with a 4.14 to qualify in the ninth position in this stout field of racecars. Top five runner Donny McSwain struggled in both sessions with tire shake and missed the cut in his “II N’ Tense” machine. Donnie Massey backed up his low elapsed time from first session with a 3.89 at 190 mph, again low for the session. Can you say Booyah? Team “Showtime” is here to play hard ball. Brad Rigler stepped up to a nice 4.12 at 172 mph in “Toxic” go claim the number eight spot. Tim Hay also bumped in on the last chance with his 4.15 lap bumping out Purifoy. Although they missed the cut by only one ten thousandths of a second, car owner Herb Whisnant and the “Thrill Factor” team were all smiles.

Clint Cross’ “Crossways II” blasted header flames high from the pipes off and on as he pedaled his way down before a boomer from the burst panel silenced the beast. Hopefully their damage as well as Chris White’s event ending damage from first session can be overcome and these teams return at the next event with fixed hot rods. Purifoy, Cross, McSwain and White had to sit out on the first round fun and would have a chance to redeem themselves at the OFAA Finals in two weeks. Marriott led the field for the second time this season and looked forward to a monster match-up with Mr. Low E.T. Donnie Massey.

(Clint Cross)

(Brad Rigler)

Final Qualifying Order:

1) Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) – 4.01
2) J.T. Heslink (Sasche, Texas) – 4.02
3) John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 4.05
4) Larry Reep (Austin, Texas) – 4.060
5) Nick Poloson (Bulverde, Texas) – 4.063
6) Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) – (3.92) 4.08 *
7) Jack Hodgson (Waco, Texas) – 4.09
8) Brad Rigler (Heath, Texas) – 4.12
9) DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) – 4.14
10) Tim Hay (Burleson, Texas) – 4.1547
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11) David Purifoy (Texarkana, Texas) – 4.1548
12) Clint Cross (Cross Roads, Texas) – 4.67
13) Donny McSwain (Rockwall, Texas) – 4.73
14) Chris White (Mansfield, Texas) – 4.93

(Nick Poloson)

First round was a doozie as some big names faced off against each other, all hungry for those Royal Purple points. DoDad Burton got the win after Larry Reep went red on the line. Burton’s car fell off pace with a 5.02 winning lap. J.T. Heslink and Jack Hodgson rolled out next and laid down serious burnouts side by side. Heslink got the advantage at the tree and clicked off a 4.15 to take out Hodgson’s close 4.18. Next up was a nail biter, Nick Poloson must win this round against Tim Hay to have a shot at the championship and keeping up with Marriott. Crew Chief Tom Wood put together two good laps in qualifying and ran their best lap of the night in first round with a 4.06 to defeat Tim Hay’s 4.31. Poloson’s lap was the quickest of the three winners so far and his odds looked good to advance to the final as one of the two quickest winners. In the OFAA Chicago-style race format, the quickest two winners from first round advanced to square off in the final and John Broussard’s “Purple Haze” team wanted one of those two spots as bad as anyone. Rigler, currently holding down third spot in the points standings, must win this round to keep up with Poloson in the points hunt. Broussard cut the best reaction time of the round and never looked back defeating Brad Rigler with a career best 3.99 at 176 mph lap, the team’s first three second run! Rigler clicked off a 4.19 at 169 mph but just couldn’t handle the “Haze.” This guaranteed them a spot in the final with one pair left waiting in the water, like angry monsters at sleep. Thousands of horsepower awaited the signal to turn the starters and let the rumble begin in the final pair of the round.

(Brad Rigler vs. John Broussard - Round 1)

It was a battle of nitro powered heavy weights, one likely to advance to the final. Donnie Massey and Bobby Marriott, both top five players and former series champs, lined up pumping thick pleasure fumes, I mean nitro fumes into the air in this heavily anticipated pairing. Marriott took a very slight advantage on the tree and clicked off a 3.920 at 193 mph but lost to Massey’s quicker 3.918 at 190 mph. The margin of victory was .0001 (about an inch) and set the record for “Closest Fuel Altered Race Ever” according to drag racing icon Bret Kepner who was on hand hosting the Inside Drag Racing TV program. Regardless, Broussard advanced to his second straight final and looked to back up his first win from Mo-Kan with another here at Evadale. 2001 OFAA Champion Donnie Massey and team “Showtime” also advanced to their second final of the year after and hoped to keep their perfect final round record intact after their win in Shreveport earlier in the season.

(Donnie Massey vs. Bobby Marriott - Round 1)

For Marriott and Poloson, the DNQ by McSwain faded his chances and with Massey heading to the final they knew there would be points gained on them both, but how many? Rigler’s first round loss didn’t help his cause as the number of cars involved in the chase narrowed. Massey came in sitting in fourth place, 32 points behind leader Marriott. If he wins, he will be only 22 behind and he will stand a slight chance to overcome the two ahead of him. Had Broussard not missed the third event of the season at North Star Dragway he would be right up in the mix of things with his strong late season charge. Poloson made one point up on Marriott’s lead after the conclusion of first round. Only 14 points back, Poloson has numerous ways to win the championship if you play the numbers game, but only one actual hope, that Marriott struggles on his home turf at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas where he has posted three finals and one win in the last five events there. For the fourth time in the past five seasons, the final event of the year will decide the champion. I’d suggest you have your face in the place on Saturday, October 18th as the Royal Purple OFAA Finals kick off and champions are crowned for the OFAA series and track points series as well.

First Round Eliminations:

(W) DoDad Burton (.234) 5.02 at 143 mph vs. (L) Larry Reep (.000) Left Before Tree Activated
(W) J.T. Heslink (.438) 4.15 at 163 mph vs. (L) Jack Hodgson (.485) 4.18 at 180 mph
(W) Nick Poloson (.470) 4.06 at 177 mph vs. (L) Tim Hay (.501) 4.31 at 171 mph
(W) John Broussard (.431) 3.99 at 176 mph vs. (L) Brad Rigler (.474) 4.19 at 169 mph
(W) Donnie Massey (.517) 3.918 at 190 mph vs. (L) Bobby Marriott (.515) 3.920 at 193 mph

(John Broussard)

(Donnie Massey)

In a blown alcohol vs. blown nitro battle, Donnie Massey got the nod over Broussard in a bizarre race. Massey’s car smoked the tires at the hit as a slight dew had settled on the Ben Bruce Raceway surface after lengthy clean-ups resulting from other cars competing at the track. Broussard ran into electrical issues on the line and his car sat at idle as the tree went green. A side by side three second battle is what everyone had hoped to see and surely the teams had the same thing in mind, but a win is a win and team “Showtime” earned it with three straight three second passes and a win when it mattered most, the final. Congrats to the entire team and Donnie Massey with his second win on the year.

Final Round Eliminations:

(W) Donnie Massey (.522) 4.87 at 122 mph vs. (L) John Brousard (.000) No Time

Click here to see photos of this event.

Event Stats:

Low Elapsed Time – Donnie Massey – 3.899
Top Speed – Bobby Marriott – 193.72
Smiley's Racing Products Bonus Winner – Jack Hodgson

Royal Purple Top Five:

1) Bobby Marriott – 277
2) Nick Poloson – 263
3) Donnie Massey – 255
4) Brad Rigler – 239
5) Donny McSwain – 215