Texas Tremor Terrorizes Field in Evadale
Ben Bruce Raceway - Evadale, TX
September 18th, 2010
Event #6 of 8
Report: Chris Graves - Photos: Texas Borderline Photography
The Outlaw Fuel Altered series returned to Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale, Texas on September 18th along with the Texas Blown Fuel Association to make-up a rained out event from earlier in the season. With mother natures cooperation the OFAA put on a strong show for the fans in Evadale as the battle for the 2010 Championship heated up and many teams laid down their best numbers of the season.
With just one week off from the last event at Mo-Kan Dragway and one week until the next event October 2nd at North Star Dragway the OFAA is on an incredibly busy fall schedule. At the last event, two first time finalists David Purifoy and Jimmy Jones put on a great race in the final with Purifoy and the "Thrill Factor" team claiming their first win over Jimmy Jones, who’s "Texas Tremor" team qualified number one and posted a runner-up finish in their OFAA debut event.
Needless to say, the heat was on and the competition was stronger than ever as the OFAA came into Ben Bruce Raceway. Chris Trussell and Keith Anglin got the action started in first session of qualifying but both ran into troubles best a pair of five second passes. Donny McSwain wheeled the "II N'Tense" machine to a strong 4.02 at 173 mph with Terry Anglin's "Psychotic Express" clicking off a nice 4.16 at 171 mph. DoDad Burton clicked off a 4.23 in the "Free Spirit" ride and John Broussard put down a nice 4.10 at 167 in the "Purple Haze" altered.
(Terry Anglin)
(John Broussard)
Bobby Marriott blasted the "Shockwave" nitro burner to a 4.01 at 186 mph and Aaron Leyda came out and laid down his career best in the "Hemi Hunter" Chevy with a 4.13 at 172 mph. Points leader Nick Poloson clicked off a 4.15 at 172 mph in Tom Wood's owned and tuned "Sundown" while Donnie Massey's "Showtime" nitro burner bested a 4.54. Jimmy Jones ripped off a 3.98 at 182 mph in the "Texas Tremor" for low of the session and David Purifoy clicked off a solid 4.08 at 175 mph in the "Thrill Factor" machine, fresh off their win at Mo-Kan.
(Nick Poloson)
Opening the second session, DoDad Burton put down another nice 4.23 while Keith Anglin struggled with tire shake and fell short of the quick ten bump spot with the best of a 9.21. Bobby Marriott came out and clicked off low elapsed time of the session with a 3.92 at a whopping 192 mph while Terry Anglin laid down a nice 4.12 at 172 mph to qualify sixth. Donnie McSwain followed up with a strong 3.95 at 181 mph and Jimmy Jones kept pace with a nice 3.96 at 180 mph. Nick Poloson bested a 4.14 in the final qualifying session, qualifying eighth.
(DoDad Burton)
Aaron Leyda put down another career best pass with a 4.12 at 175 mph while Mary Reep left before the tree activated, unfortunately missing the field. Although Reep came back and clicked off a solid 4.10 in a testing pass after qualifying in the "Grim Reeper" machine. Donnie Massey improved to a 4.30 which held up for the bump spot while Chris Trussell's best of a 5.07 wasn't enough to make the cut. David Purifoy laid down a 4.15 at 174 mph to close the final qualifying session as the quick ten went back to the pits to prepare for a heated first round of eliminations. Jimmy Jones would lead the field as the number one qualifier for the second time in a row.
(Donnie Massey)
(Bobby Marriott)
(Chris Trussell)
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Jimmy Jones (Dallas, Texas) - 4.011 (3.988)
2. Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) - 4.018
3. Donny McSwain (Rockwall, Texas) - 4.02
4. David Purifoy (Texarkana, Texas) - 4.08
5. John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) - 4.10
6. Terry Anglin (Garland, Texas) - 4.12
7. Aaron Leyda (Independence, Kansas) - 4.12
8. Nick Poloson (San Antonio, Texas) - 4.14
9) DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) - 4.23
10) Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) - 4.30
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11) Chris Trussell (Canton, Texas) - 5.07
12) Keith Anglin (Garland, Texas) - 9.21
13) Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) - NT
Nick Poloson started off the action against Donny McSwain in a huge first round match-up. Poloson was off the line first and took the win with an off pace 4.46 at 167 mph over McSwain who ran into tire shake and clicked it off early. Poloson got the round win points, very important to his efforts to stay atop the points standings with only two events remaining. David Purifoy and DoDad Burton rolled out next with Purifoy blasting to a stout 4.06 at 175 mph to take the win, another very important round win for Purifoy who could tie Poloson in points with a trip to the final round.
(Donnie McSwain)
Jimmy Jones blasted to a 3.98 at 180 mph to take out Terry Anglin's 4.18 at 170 mph. Aaron Leyda rolled out next against Bobby Marriott and in a close match-up Leyda's 4.08 at 174 mph narrowly defeated Marriott's quicker 4.01 at 186 mph. In the final pair, John Broussard's 4.16 at 166 mph took out Donnie Massey's 4.63. As the two quickest winners from first round, Jones and Purifoy advanced to the final, a re-match from two weeks before at Mo-Kan.
(Aaron Leyda)
(Jimmy Jones)
First Round Eliminations:
(W) Nick Poloson (.493 rt) 4.46 @ 167 mph vs. (L) Donny McSwain (1.05 rt) 9.89 @ 56 mph
(W) David Purifoy (.428 rt) 4.06 @ 175 mph vs. (L) DoDad Burton (.584 rt) 4.42 @ 164 mph
(W) Jimmy Jones (.456 rt) 3.98 @ 180 mph vs. (L) Terry Anglin (.436 rt) 4.18 @ 170 mph
(W) Aaron Leyda (.435 rt) 4.08 @ 174 mph vs. (L) Bobby Marriott (.668 rt) 4.01 @ 186 mph
(W) John Broussard (.414 rt) 4.16 @ 166 mph vs. (L) Donnie Massey (.483 rt) 4.63 @ 155 mph
(David Purifoy)
With Purifoy and Jones moving into their second final in a row the final round was a battle of the best. Purifoy, in a heated battle for the Championship while Jones enjoying his impressive success in only his second OFAA start, playing a big time spoiler late in the season.
(Jimmy Jones)
After side by side burnouts the cars crept into the beams and Purifoy over anticipated the tree by just a few hundredths of a second with a .388 red light. Purifoy's 4.10 at 174 mph was a nice lap, but likely would have had trouble getting the win light over Jimmy Jones who blasted to low elapsed time of eliminations with a 3.93 at 183 mph to earn the "Texas Tremor" team their first OFAA victory!
Final Round Results:
(W) Jimmy Jones (.448 rt) 3.93 @ 183 mph vs. (L) David Purifoy (.388 rt) 4.10 @ 174 mph
("Texas Tremor" team in the winner's circle!)
"We've been very fortunate to have such success with this car and we feel very lucky to do so well against such a strong field of cars. The OFAA teams have welcomed us with open arms and that's much appreciated. We're having more fun than we can stand. The track was in great shape and the air conditions were favorable for us to run well. I want to thank my partner Paul Kelly as well as John Jett, John Morris and Richard Bell who help this car make it to the line for each round. Congratulations to David Purifoy, Herb Whisnant and the entire 'Thrill Factor' team on their recent success," said Jones.
With the back to back final round appearances, Purifoy and company have tied Nick Poloson and Tom Wood for the points lead heading into the next event in just two weeks at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas on October 2nd. Jimmy Jones is an obvious threat in next year's points chase but will spend the rest of the season playing spoiler.
The 2010 season introduced a new rule in the OFAA series, with an option for each team to drop a race of their choice, either due to poor results or non-attendance. In an interesting development, the top four teams have yet to drop a race and one drop is required. This means Terry Anglin is right in the mix although currently in the fifth points position, as the four in front of him have yet to drop and Anglin will have one race to make up points on each of them. If your confused, it's ok because we all are, but the fact is that the 2010 points chase is going to come down to the wire between five drivers. The OFAA season finale will be held October 23rd at San Antonio Raceway at the Texas Timing Association State Championships.
Also make note that on October 2nd the OFAA will hold a silent auction fund raiser for the Tim Hay Memorial Fund and also be selling tribute posters, t-shirts and stickers to raise money for the Hay family. Please make sure to stop by and support the cause and we also welcome donations to the silent auction from anyone who'd like to participate!
Click Here to see photos from this event.
Low Elapsed Time - Bobby Marriott (3.92)
Top Mile Per Hour - Bobby Marriott (192 mph)
Bonus Winners:
Good Vibrations Quick Reaction Time - John Broussard (.414)
