A High Voltage Win For Hay
MoKan Dragway - Asbury, MO
Sept 4 and 5th, 2009
Event #6 of 8
Report - Chris Graves
Photos - Erik Anderson/Suzy Burton
Indianapolis wasn’t the only place where nitro was burning over the Labor Day Weekend as the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association headlined the 44th Annual Mo-Kan Dragway Labor Day Classic for the seventh consecutive season. A stout field of thirteen blown bad boys and girls came to make the Mo-Kan asphalt beg for mercy on a special two day OFAA event. Instead of the normal Chicago style race procedure, Mo-Kan’s event qualifies the top eight and a full elimination ladder eventually decides a winner.
Brad Rigler has owned this event in the past collecting three wins and found himself behind the wheel of Donny McSwain’s “II N’Tense” machine this weekend. Tim Hay and the “High Voltage Hayride” group were also in attendance fresh off their 2009 World Fuel Altered Nationals victory in Eddyville, Iowa. Under the eyes of a capacity crowd, the qualifying sessions were completed Sunday night and it proved to be no easy task to qualify at this one. Last season, the OFAA set their quickest bump spot in series history at a 4.15 and this years cut would be just as tough.
Aaron Leyda, in his second OFAA start wheeling the “Hemi Hunter” machine owned and tuned by Dale “Lurch” Wilkens came out first and clicked off a career best 4.17 at 165 mph. Donnie Massey followed that up with a strong 4.15 in the nitro burning “Showtime” ride along side DoDad Burton who went 4.24 at 167 mph in “Free Spirit”. Howard Knowles then ripped off his career best pass with a nice 4.15 at 162 mph along side Brad Rigler who wheeled the “II N’Tense” car to a stout 4.05 at 173 mph. Tim Hay rolled out next and clicked off a beautiful 4.08 at 177 mph pass and Bobby Marriott tripped the beams with a 4.09 at 181 mph in his nitro burner. Terry Anglin, fresh off his win at the last event in Denton, Texas, went 4.20 at 167 mph and John Broussard clicked off his best pass of the season with a 4.12 at 172 mph. Wow, you better have brought your “A” game if you want to play on race day. After one session, the bump was already at a 4.20, which was a tenth quicker than the quickest bump spot of the season (4.31).
(John Broussard)
(Terry Anglin)
The second session again started with Leyda, who went 4.19 and looked strong and ready for eliminations on Monday. David Purifoy stepped up to a 4.27 at 169 mph but would not get in. This was the “Thrill Factor” team’s first DNQ of the season but they actually moved into the Top 5 in points by leap frogging Nick Poloson who was not in attendance. Mary Reep was outside looking in and had to run better than a 4.20 to get in the show. Her 4.13 at 174 mph would qualify her sixth, whew! Brad Rigler improved to a 4.02 and the “II N’Tense” car would qualify from the number one spot for the fourth time this season. Donnie Massey also improved to a 4.10 at 172 mph and that would earn him the number four spot.
(Chris Trussell)
Chris Trussell and the “Assassin” team bested a 4.29 and missed the cut, after some very positive testing results the week before. Trussell reports, “It’s hard to steer with your front wheels in the air!” and plans to add weight to the front end and be back in action. Anthony Whitfield and team “Mighty Mouse” made one attempt in the second session and ran into issues with a 4.68 to miss the cut. DoDad Burton did not improve on his 4.24, which would have qualified at any event so far this season. Terry Anglin, after winning his first OFAA event at the last outing, also did not improve and his 4.20 was outside the final bump time of a 4.17 held by Aaron Leyda.
(Anthony Whitfield)
(David Purifoy)
(DoDad Burton)
(Donnie Massey)
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Brad Rigler (Heath, Texas) – 4.02 at 174 mph
2. Tim Hay (Burleson, Texas) – 4.08 at 177 mph
3. Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) – 4.09 at 181 mph
4. Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) – 4.10 at 172 mph
5. John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 4.12 at 172 mph
6. Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) – 4.13 at 174 mph
7. Howard Knowles (Carthage, Missouri) – 4.15 at 162 mph
8. Aaron Leyda (Independence, Kansas) – 4.17 at 165 mph
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9. Terry Anglin (Terrell, Texas) – 4.20 at 167 mph
10. DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) – 4.24 at 167 mph
11. David Purifoy (Texarkana, Texas) – 4.27 at 169 mph
12. Chris Trussell (Canton, Texas) – 4.29 at 131 mph
13. Anthony Whitfield (Elk City, Kansas) – 4.68 at 71 mph
(Mary Reep)
(Brad Rigler)
If that Mo-Kan asphalt wasn’t begging for mercy after qualifying, it surely was after first round as the OFAA bunch laid down more strong passes in a heavy hitting opening round. Tim Hay started the action along side Mary Reep. Both cars clicked off 4.08 passes, with Hay taking the nod with the starting line advantage. Brad Rigler knocked out John Broussard with a 4.00 at 172 mph. Aaron Leyda improved on his career best to a 4.13 at 170 mph and used a heavy starting line advantage to take out Donnie Massey’s quicker but loosing 4.07 at 182 mph. In the final pairing, Bobby Marriott got the win with a 4.01 at 184 mph defeating Howard Knowles who went 4.17 at 166 mph. It was either run 4.0’s or go home in the quickest first round of the season. Knowles clicked off his second best pass of his career and lost, but team “Cheaper Than Therapy” left their home track with their heads held high after a solid outing.
“We have been working on a tune-up with a new blower combination all summer. We hit on a pretty good set up this weekend, as I ran three personal bests this weekend. First pass it ran a 4.15 at only 162mph, when it took out a burst panel and blower belt at 500 ft. There was no major damage done to the motor, but it blew a really big chunk of paint off the cowl right behind the burst panel. I ran the second qualifier at 4.23 dodging the cones for half the track. I drew Marriott first round and ran a 4.17, but wasn't quite enough for his 4.01. It was a very good weekend for us, a personal best, had a great time and gave away a lot of my wife Melody’s Nitro Brownies,” said Knowles.
(Howard Knowles)
First Round Eliminations:
(W) Tim Hay (.119 rt) 4.08 at 178 mph vs. (L) Mary Reep (.172 rt) 4.08 at 172 mph
(W) Brad Rigler (.108 rt) 4.00 at 172 mph vs. (L) John Broussard (.035 rt) 9.81 at 44 mph
(W) Aaron Leyda (.040 rt) 4.13 at 170 mph vs. (L) Donnie Massey (.140 rt) 4.07 at 182 mph
(W) Bobby Marriott (.130 rt) 4.01 at 184 mph vs. (L) Howard Knowles (.035 rt) 4.17 at 166 mph
(Aaron Leyda)
The second round found Tim Hay advancing in a bye run over Aaron Leyda who broke. Hay clicked off his best pass of the event with a 4.05 at 182 mph, a career best speed. Bobby Marriott and Brad Rigler rolled out next to see who would face Hay in the final. Rigler’s car shook off the line and Marriott clicked off a 4.09 at 175 mph to advance. This marked Marriott’s third consecutive trip to the finals at Mo-Kan and fourth final round appearance of 2009. For Hay, this marked only his second trip to an OFAA final round in four years of competition, his first since 2005, and hoped to claim his first OFAA victory.
(Tim Hay)
Second Round Results:
(W) Tim Hay (.085 rt) 4.05 at 182 mph vs. (L) Aaron Leyda (No Time, Broke)
(W) Bobby Marriott (.145 rt) 4.09 at 175 mph vs. (L) Brad Rigler (.151 rt) 7.11 at 64 mph
(Bobby Marriott)
In an all nitro burning final, Marriott and Hay filled the air with fumes as the cars crept into the beams. Hay got off the line first with a .086 reaction time to Marriott’s .130 and it proved to be the deciding factor at the stripe. Hay’s 4.05 at 182 mph took the win over Marriott’s quicker but loosing 4.02 at 181 mph. The margin of victory was .015 of a second at the clocks. Wow! What a way to close one of the most impressive outings for the OFAA series at Mo-Kan. The “High Voltage Hayride” team claimed their very long overdue first OFAA event win and the fans witnessed some of the quickest passes of the season. Hay is the third consecutive driver to win his first Outlaw Fuel Altered event this season, congratulations!
(High Voltage Celebration!)
Final Round Results:
(W) Tim Hay (.086 rt) 4.05 at 182 mph vs. (L) Bobby Marriott (.130 rt) 4.02 at 181 mph
“Finally! Our first OFAA win was everything I had hoped for. The whole race was a close hard hitting deal for us. I always look at our races from the perspective of our fans, and from the 4.17 qualifying bump to the wire to wire racing from each team, I think they left happy. Candy, Shawn, T.J, Kristen and Ronnie Martin all get my most heartfelt thanks for not quitting on this effort. This is a tough group, and to win a race with these guys after four years is greatly satisfying. To all of you that have helped us with tuning advice, parts, or moral support, we also thank you and hope everyone gets to have this feeling at least once,” said Hay.
The 2009 Labor Day Classic is in the books and after some stellar performances the “High Voltage Hayride” team came out on top. The teams will have a week off before heading to Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale, Texas on September 19th for the Fall Nationals and the 2009 season will come to an end two weeks later on October 3rd at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas. Marriott holds a slim 12 point lead over the “II N’Tense” team and the championship battle will come down to the wire at the last event. Just 35 points separate 3rd place Terry Anglin to 9th place Donnie Massey as the rest of the OFAA competitors fight for a place in the Top 5.
Low Elapsed Time – Brad Rigler (4.007)
Top Mile Per Hour – Donnie Massey (184.28)
Bonus Winners:
Marriott "Progressive" Bonus - Mary Reep
RSI "Last Man Standing" Bonus - Tim Hay
Massey "Top Speed, Non Qualifier" Bonus – David Purifoy
