Anglin Nails Down North Star
North Star Dragway - Denton, TX
August 15th, 2009
Event #5 of 8
Report & Photos: Chris Graves
The Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altered series kicked off the second half of their 2009 season at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas on August 15th. Coming fresh off his first series win at the last event, Donny McSwain and the “II N’Tense” team came to battle eleven other hungry teams all hoping for a fun and fast night of fuel altered action. North Star Dragway announcer Nic Duty made the call to bring em’ to the lanes with Brad Rigler and Rich Howell starting off the action in first session of qualifying.
(Bobby Marriott)
(Nick Poloson and Donny McSwain)
(Rich Howell)
(Brad Rigler)
(Mary Reep)
Rigler, fresh off an impressive runner-up finish at the last event, laid down a stout 4.04 at 177 mph in the “Toxic” machine but the action wasn’t over yet. Rigler had his hands full at the top end getting his machine slowed down and ended up going into the catch net at the top end.
“I hit the chutes and they didn’t deploy. I got on the brake and it started bouncing very hard. I hit the chutes again and felt nothing, got back on the brakes and the bouncing got even worse. I knew I was going too fast to take the turn so I figured the best move was to send it into the net. After getting out and surveying the scene, one chute was wrapped up in the wheelie bar and one never deployed. Unfortunately, we suffered quite a bit of damage in doing so which ended not only our night, but our season. We are going to re-group, take our time putting it back together and come back ready to win races in 2010,” reports Rigler.
(Brad Rigler off the top end at NSD)
Nick Poloson in the “Sundown” and Terry Anglin’s “Psychotic Express” resumed action with another action packed pairing. Anglin carried the front wheels past the tree steadily drifting toward the centerline, while Poloson also fought to keep his car in the groove. Anglin took out a cone on his way to a 4.77 with Poloson clicking off a 4.42 at 147 mph. DoDad Burton clicked off a solid 4.25 at 163 mph in the “Free Spirit” machine while John Broussard had to click it off early to a 5.21 in the “Purple Haze.” Mary Reep rolled out next in the “Grim Reeper” with your latest winner Donny McSwain along side. Reep blasted to an impressive 4.02 at 178 mph hugging the wall at the big end, with McSwain right behind her with a 4.09 at 175 mph.
(On board video with Nick Poloson
Notice the peace sign from Nick on the burnout!)
(Terry Anglin)
(Mary Reep)
(Donny McSwain)
Bobby Marriott’s “Shockwave” lined up with David Purifoy in the “Thrill Factor” ride with Marriott clicking off a 4.10 at 183 mph to Purifoy’s solid 4.23 at 167 mph. Chris Trussell in the “Assassin” and new comer Aaron Leyda closed out the session. Leyda was making his OFAA debut behind the wheel of the “Hemi Hunter” machine owned by OFAA veteran driver and tuner Dale “Lurch” Wilkens. Trussell clicked off a 4.37 at 148 mph and Leyda went 4.72 at 118 mph in only his third pass in the car.
(John Broussard)
(DoDad Burton)
Mary Reep led the field into the second session and backed up her 4.02 with a nice 4.12 at 153 mph with Rich Howell lifting early to a 4.39 at 123 mph. Bobby Marriott and David Purifoy rolled out next. Purifoy clicked off a nice 4.25 at 166 mph while Marriott enjoyed an oil bath on his 4.69 at 121 mph lap. Marriott completely lost vision as oil escaped the motor and coated the cockpit of the “Shockwave” machine. Unable to see and still getting a face full of oil and nitro, Marriott blindly fought to keep his car from getting in the wall, but in doing so actually drifted into the right lane and lightly tagged the guardrail in the shutdown area. All in all, the most damage to the “Shockwave” car came from the guardrail catching and destroying one of the parachutes, not a bad report card after a wild set of circumstances.
(Bobby Marriott)
John Broussard and Terry Anglin, both outside the field looking in, rolled out next and both laid down impressive runs to get in the show. Broussard’s 4.26 bumped him into the ninth position while Anglin’s 4.22 at 169 mph earned him the number six starting spot. Nick Poloson and team “Sundown” came out next after watching Broussard and Anglin bump them out of the show. Poloson’s 5.04 was no improvement from his previous 4.42 and unexpectedly team “Sundown” found themselves at the bottom of the list in 12th. Donny McSwain improved with a nice 4.03 at 175 mph to qualify third. Chris Trussell went 4.39 at 160 mph in the “Assassin” ride. His 4.37 from Q1 fell just short of the eventual 4.33 bump spot. Aaron Leyda raised some eyebrows with that 4.33 pass to qualify on the bump in his first OFAA start! Reep held on to claim her second pole position in her rookie season, but back in the pits a few heavy hitting teams discovered some bad news.
(Aaron Leyda)
(Chris Trussell)
Final Qualifying Order:
1) Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) – 4.02 at 178
2) Donny McSwain (Rockwall, Texas) 4.03 at 175
3) Brad Rigler (Heath, Texas) – 4.04 at 177
4) Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) – 4.10 at 183
5) Rich Howell (Yorba Linda, California) – 4.15 at 184
6) Terry Anglin (Terrell, Texas) – 4.22 at 169
7) David Purifoy (Texarkana, Texas) – 4.23 at 167
8) DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) – 4.25 at 163
9) John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 4.26 at 169
10) Aaron Leyda (Independence, Kansas) – 4.33 at 164
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11) Chris Trussell (Canton, Texas) – 4.37 at 148
12) Nick Poloson (San Antonio, Texas) – 4.42 at 147
13) Jim Overly (Houston, Texas) – No Time
The “Grim Reeper” team found a heavy amount of silver flakes in the oil filter after the second qualifying session and opted to sit out eliminations to prevent any further damage to their hot rod as there are three more points races in the next month and a half. For Reep, it was another impressive qualifying effort with not much luck there after, but expect to see your first OFAA female winner sooner than later, it’s simply a matter of time. Bobby Marriott and team “Shockwave” also opted to skip eliminations after their oil issues in Q2. With Reep, Marriott and Rigler out of competition, Chris Trussell and Nick Poloson were brought in as alternates and first round was called to the lanes.
The first pair featured the “Power Play” machine of Rich Howell and the “Hemi Hunter” of Aaron Leyda. Howell’s car sounded like an orchestra of horsepower as crew chiefs Jim Cullen and Allen Meyer had the wick turned up for this one. Howell blasted to an outstanding 3.80 at 200 mph with header flames high and mighty, which sent every fan in the house to their feet. It was all for not as his 3.80 meant nothing when the red bulb was left glowing on the starting line as Howell went -.045 red. Leyda clicked off his best pass of the night with a 4.30 at 166 mph to take his first OFAA round win! Congrats to the entire “Hemi Hunter” team who traveled all the way from Independence, Kansas for this one and plan to be at many more.
(Rich Howell)
Everyone picked their jaws up off the ground after witnessing the earth rattling blast by Howell and racing continued with David Purifoy and Nick Poloson, who provided a great side by side drag race. Purifoy drilled Poloson on the tree with a .012 light and went 4.208 to take the win over Poloson’s slightly quicker 4.205, both at 167 mph. Poloson and car owner/tuner Tom Wood discovered a broken rear end upon their return to the pit area which will unfortunately sideline the team for a few events, but hopefully they can return for the OFAA Finals October 3rd right here at North Star Dragway.
(David Purifoy vs. Nick Poloson)
Terry Anglin and Chris Trussell lined up next and Trussell’s car unexpectedly failed to come to life. Anglin blasted to a solid 4.202 at 170 mph to take the solo win. Trussell discovered a faulty magneto kill switch back in the pits, one of those silly little gremlins that just hit at the wrong time for Trussell and company. DoDad Burton and John Broussard fired up next and Broussard was given the signal to shut off immediately as fluid came flowing from the front seal of the transmission ending their evening. Burton went on to a 4.37 at 166 mph to take the round win in the “Free Spirit” machine.
Donny McSwain was the last car to run and had a single, but needed to run better than Purifoy’s 4.208 to get into the final round. At this point, a pair of 4.20’s from Anglin and Purifoy were set to advance to the final as the two quickest winning elapsed times of the round so far, but if McSwain could lay down a quicker pass here, he would end Purifoy’s shot at his first final round appearance. McSwain did just that, with a 4.06 at 175 mph, to advance to his second straight final where he would face Terry Anglin, who was making his first trip to an Outlaw Fuel Altered final round.
First Round Eliminations:
(W) Aaron Leyda (.046 rt) 4.30 at 166 mph vs. (L) Rich Howell (-.045 rt) 3.80 at 200 mph
(W) David Purifoy (.012 rt) 4.208 at 167 mph vs. (L) Nick Poloson (.110 rt) 4.205 at 167 mph
(W) Terry Anglin (.091 rt) 4.202 at 170 mph vs. (L) Chris Trussell (No Time)
(W) DoDad Burton (.408 rt) 4.37 at 166 mph vs. (L) John Broussard (No Time)
(W) Donny McSwain (.320 rt) 4.06 at 175 mph vs. (L) Single (Bye Run)
The Texarkana, Texas based “Thrill Factor” team owned by Herb Whisnant with driver David Purifoy were yet again just fractions of a second away from their long overdue first trip to the finals. Aaron Leyda and Dale Wilkens were impressive in their first outing and will bring nothing but more to the table in events to come. Wilkens is a founding member of the OFAA series from the late 1990’s and made a big splash at Denton with a new hot rod and brand new team.
“I haven’t had my own racecar since 2004 and forgot what a great group of people and racers the OFAA has. Aaron last drove my blown BBC Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster in 2003 and to see him jump back in the seat of a blown car and do so well was very exciting. Aaron wants to thank the North Star Dragway crew and the OFAA for being so supportive. I want to thank my new crew member Raymond who attended his first drag race here at Denton, and my fiancé Marsha. We all know it takes a strong group to make every team work. We are looking forward to having a lot more fun in the future with this new team,” said Wilkens.
Thankfully, Trussell and Broussard’s mechanical issues were relatively minor, unlike Nick Poloson and Brad Rigler, who could possibly be sidelined for the remainder of the season with the damage suffered in Denton. But we were now down to two and it was time to decide a winner at the fifth event of the 2009 OFAA season.
Terry Anglin, in his rookie season with the series, hoped to notch the team’s first win while Donny McSwain hoped he could make it two in a row and had the performance advantage on paper, but anyone knows you don’t drag race on paper. The call went out to fire em’ up and the final pair rolled through the water box.
(Donny McSwain vs. Terry Anglin)
Anglin jumped out with a big lead on the starting line and clicked off a 4.22 at 168 mph to take the upset win over McSwain! McSwain was late on the tree and did everything he could to run down Anglin, but his 4.08 at 168 just wasn’t enough. To make things worse, McSwain tagged the guardrail in the lights which took out the front wing of the “II N’Tense” machine and caused some slight body damage, but thankfully McSwain kept the car out of trouble for the most part and brought it to a safe stop. As the dust settled at the big end, the celebration erupted on the starting line as the “Psychotic Express” team loaded up and went down to pick up their winning driver.
Final Round Results:
(W) Terry Anglin (.074 rt) 4.22 at 168 mph vs. (L) Donny McSwain (.217 rt) 4.08 at 168 mph
(The "Psychotic Express" team celebrating their first win!)
“The ‘Psychotic Express’ team is very thankful to get a win during our first season in the OFAA. We were focusing on simply making all the events and qualifying in our first year. It was an interesting race and the cards fell in our favor, however you need to have a well prepared package and a good crew at the racetrack to capitalize and take advantage of opportunities when they knock. I would like to thank my wife Pat for her understanding and tolerance. This sport takes a lot of your free time but somehow she always understands. You cannot campaign a car without a strong crew. I want to give special thanks to my crew chief Keith Anglin and crew members Denny McWhorter, Brad Vanover and Steve Jones. It is great to race with a group like the OFAA that still has the core spirit of what drag racing is all about. Where everyone involved is a winner, and we are pleased to be a part of it,” said Anglin.
(Donny McSwain's machine after the final round)
(Terry Anglin and the entire team celebrate their win!)
It was an evening of ups and downs for the members of the Outlaw Fuel Altered series and the group has a busy month and a half approaching as they head to Mo-Kan Dragway in Asbury, Missouri to headline the two day Labor Day Weekend festivities on September 5th and 6th. Then the group heads down south to Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale, Texas on September 19th for the OFAA Fall Nationals. The eighth and final event of the 2009 season will bring the group back to North Star Dragway on October 3rd for the OFAA Finals, where the Southwest Junior Fuel Association will also hold their final points race of the season, so make your calendars and come join the fun!
Click Here to see photos from this event.
Low Elapsed Time - Rich Howell (3.80)
Top Mile Per Hour - Rich Howell (200 mph)
Bonus Winners:
Marriott's Progressive Qualifier - #5 Rich Howell
Rigler's RSI Last Man Standing - Terry Anglin
Massey's Top Speed DNQ - Chris Trussell
Max Cackle Photos.com Best Burnout - DoDad Burton
