The Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered association thundered into Texas Raceway in Kennedale, Texas for a Friday night under the lights “OFAA Summer Nationals” fuel altered showdown. Sixteen teams came to strut their stuff in the third event of the season and last event before a two month break in the schedule. The top five in points were separated by only fourteen points heading into Kennedale with Jimmy Jones’ “Texas Tremor” leading the pack.

(Raymond Dawson warming up the "High Octane" machine)

The unusually warm streak of temperatures dancing at the 100 degree line in north Texas continued as the track temperature peaked at 120 degrees as the teams filled the staging lanes for the first qualifying session. Howard Farris and team “War Wagon” were very eager to race with a new clutch combination and positive testing results, but dropped a valve on the warm-up, unfortunately ending their outing prematurely. Jim Overly also encountered issues during warm-up and was out earlier than expected.

(Mike Wheeler left, Chris Trussell right)

(DoDad Burton's "Free Spirit")

The first qualifying session was forgettable for most as several teams struck the tires at the hit as they battled for traction on a hot and unforgiving racetrack. Donnie Massey led the session with a strong 3.99 at 161 mph in the “Showtime” nitro burner. Terry Anglin’s “Psychotic Express” Fiat and Aaron Leyda’s “Hemi Hunter” blasted down the eighth mile side by side with Leyda’s 4.14 at 174 mph leading Anglin’s 4.29 at 164 mph. Bobby Marriott had to give the “Shockwave” a quick pedal job, shaving some elapsed time to a 4.25 at 173 along side DoDad Burton who pedaled his way to a 4.44 at 159 mph. Jimmy Jones closed the session with a 4.09 at 166 mph while the rest of the field hoped to find the traction they needed to get in the quick twelve field with one qualifying session remaining.

(Donnie Massey on his way to a 3.99 in Q1)

(Terry Anglin & Aaron Leyda thunder down the TXR 1/8th mile)

After returning to the pits, top qualifier Donnie Massey noticed his engine diaper full of oil as somewhere on his 3.99 pass the car bottomed out putting a hole in the pan and as a result ended the “Showtime” for Massey. The pressure was on as the final session got underway as crew chiefs hoped they made the right tuning adjustments and drivers had to be on their game, possibly having to pedal their beasts down the track to get in the show based on results from first session. Jimmy Jones opened the session with a strong 4.02 at 173 mph proving big numbers were possible and giving optimism to those waiting in the staging lanes. DoDad Burton improved to a 4.36 at 161 mph which earned team “Free Spirit” the number eight qualifying position.

(Jimmy Jones in the "Texas Tremor")

Terry Anglin and Bobby Marriott rolled out next and Anglin’s car erupted in a large flash fire as the rods tried their best to exit the block of the “Psychotic Express” Fiat. Anglin brought the car to a safe stop but with catastrophic engine damage would be sidelined for the rest of the night. Marriott streaked right down broadway to a 4.07 at 182 mph; good enough for a spot in the top half of the field and the 182 mph held up for top speed of the meet earning Marriott the Napa Auto Parts “Top Speed” Bonus.

(John Broussard in the "Purple Haze")

John Broussard was out next after a clean-up in the left lane and props to the Texas Raceway staff in their clean-up effort as Broussard blasted right down the left lane to a strong 4.03 at 177 mph, their best pass of the season. Aaron Leyda shook the tires and pedaled the “Hemi Hunter” to a 4.51 at 169 mph in the opposing lane, but his quicker 4.14 from first session would keep him in the field in the seventh position. Mike Wheeler struggled like many in the first session but then broke on the burnout in second session ending the chances to put the “Rapture” altered in the field. Raymond Dawson clicked off a solo 4.54 at 158 mph in the “High Octane” machine, good enough for the number nine spot, his best qualifying effort of the season.

(Raymond Dawson qualified 9th in "High Octane")

Chris Trussell looked to click off a low four second pass and earn a spot in the top half of the field but smoked the tires hard at the hit of the throttle almost sending him across the centerline, but his 5.54 from the first session would keep him in the show with the exit of T. Anglin and Massey. Rich Howell and team “Power Play III” laid down a long smoky burnout with the American Flag waving high in the sky off the back of the roll cage as Howell looked to improve while still shaking the bugs out of his brand new machine. Howell launched hard and clean but had shifting issues at the top end loosing some elapsed time but improving to a 4.55 at 1145 mph to get the “Power Play III” car in the show as the teams returned to the pits to prepare for eliminations. Despite his bad luck, Donnie Massey left with both the Napa Auto Parts “Top Qualifier” and Competition Sales of Dallas “#1 Qualifier” Bonuses.

(Rich Howell's "Power Play III")

Carnage was the end result for a handful of teams as Farris, Overly, Massey, T. Anglin and now Mike Wheeler and Chris Trussell all experienced event ending engine troubles. The ten remaining cars including Mary Reep and Keith Anglin were automatically qualified as the call went out to “bring em’ to the lanes” for that all important first round of eliminations.

Final Qualifying Order:

1) Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) – 4.01 (3.99) @ 161
2) Jimmy Jones (Dallas, Texas) – 4.02 @ 173
3) John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 4.03 @ 177
4) Terry Brian (New London, Texas) – 4.072 @ 175
5) Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) – 4.079 @ 182
6) Aaron Leyda (Bartlesville, Oklahoma) – 4.14 @ 174
7) Terry Anglin (Garland, Texas) – 4.29 @ 164
8) DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) – 4.36 @ 161
9) Raymond Dawson (Nevada, Texas) – 4.54 @ 158
10) Rich Howell (Yorba Linda, California) – 4.55 @ 145
11) Keith Anglin (Garland, Texas) – 5.01 @ 104
12) Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) 5.24 @ 91
13) Chris Trussell (Canton, Texas) – 5.54 @ 112
14) Mike Wheeler (Paradise, Texas) – 7.22 @ 58
15) Howard Farris (Tyler, Texas) – No Time
16) Jim Overly (Oyster Creek, Texas) – No Time

Opening the first round action was the “Purple Haze” machine of John Broussard who had the advantage on paper over his opponent DoDad Burton in after their best pass of the season in the previous round. Broussard, known for his quick reaction times, was off the line first with a .039 reaction time, earning Broussard the “Good Vibrations” Quick Reaction Time bonus. As the cars passed half track Broussard had the lead but was falling off pace as Burton’s “Free Spirit” machine kept charging and took the lead just before the finish line with a 4.32 at 147 mph win over Broussard’s 4.50 at 141 mph, ending Burton’s “round winless” streak at eight events. Way to go DoDad!

(DoDad Burton in the "Free Spirit")

Next out was a pair of beautiful blown alcohol machines in Keith Anglin’s “Texas Gold Rush” and Aaron Leyda’s “Hemi Hunter” owned and tuned by Dale “Lurch” Wilkens. After side by side burnouts the cars crept into the beams and Anglin took a small advantage off the starting line. They were side by side past the 330’ cone but as they neared the stripe Leyda pulled ahead to take the nod with a solid 4.13 at 174 mph to Anglin’s 4.46 at 149 mph. Anglin was on a career best pass but the car started to bounce and Anglin wisely lifted to race another day, but will carry the confidence of career best early numbers into the fall swing starting in September. Anglin also claimed the Lenco Transmissions “Outside Looking In” bonus of $100 as the first alternate.

(Keith Anglin's "Texas Gold Rush")

Mary Reep proved again she could run with the big boys with the biggest upset of the round taking out number two qualifier Jimmy Jones. Reep’s “Grim Reeper” machine went 4.23 at 179 mph to take the win over the favored Jones who smoked the tires at the hit and ran out of racetrack trying to catch up with a 4.55 at 161 mph. Reep’s win will keep her in the Painless Performance Top 5! This ended Jones’ streak of eight straight first round wins and made the next two pairings in the lanes very interesting.

(Mary Reep in the "Grim Reeper")

Rich Howell and Bobby Marriott lined up next as the “Power Play III” and “Shockwave” machines lined up for battle. Howell was out of the gate first and as the cars passed halftrack they were neck and neck. Howell’s car again ran into shifting issues which gave Marriott the advantage at the top end as his header flaming 4.09 at 178 mph took the nod and guaranteed team “Shockwave” a spot in the final as the quickest winner so far with just one pair to go.

(Bobby Marriott's "Shockwave" thunders to a first round win)

With Jones out and Trussell broke, Terry Brian had an opportunity to make a big move in the points standings possibly jumping from third to first with a final round showing. To do so, he’d not only have to take out Raymond Dawson but also advance to the final round with one of the two quickest winning elapsed times of the round, having to win with an elapsed time quicker than Leyda’s 4.13.

Brian and Dawson crept into the beams and Dawson was out of the throttle almost immediately with tire shake. Brian’s “II N’Tense” machine made a big swing for the centerline but Brian wheeled the car back into the groove and clicked off a wild 4.14 at 171 mph, just one hundredth of a second out of a ticket to the final round. It was a bittersweet round win for the “II N’Tense” team but overall another strong showing to keep them in the hunt.

(Terry Brian clicks off a 4.14 winning time in "II N'Tense")

First Round Eliminations:

(W) DoDad Burton (.158 rt) 4.32 @ 147 mph vs. (L) John Broussard (.039 rt) 4.50 @ 141 mph
(W) Aaron Leyda (.133 rt) 4.13 @ 174 mph vs. (L) Keith Anglin (.112 rt) 4.46 @ 149 mph
(W) Mary Reep (.195 rt) 4.23 @ 179 mph vs. (L) Jimmy Jones (.140 rt) 4.55 @ 161 mph
(W) Bobby Marriott (.135 rt) 4.09 @ 178 mph vs. (L) Rich Howell (.103 rt) 4.67 @ 133 mph
(W) Terry Brian (.043 rt) 4.14 @ 171 mph vs. (L) Raymond Dawson (.155 rt) 15.57 @ 24 mph

For team “Hemi Hunter” it was time to prepare for the last dance with Mr. Marriott in a blown alcohol Chevy vs. blown nitro Hemi showdown. This was Aaron Leyda’s first trip to an OFAA final round but back in the pits issues were developing in the “Shockwave” pits. The crew discovered a broken valve in the motor and team “Shockwave” threw in the towel as the necessary time to repair the engine was not available with a midnight track curfew in effect. This automatically inserted the third quickest winning elapsed time of first round, Terry Brian.

So now we have a battle of first time finalists, guaranteeing a first time winner and the third different winner of the 2011 season. The thrash was on in the “II N’Tense” pit area as the crew, led by crew chief Kenny Trumble, caught the news of Marriott’s damage and went from loading up their pit to preparing for most important round of their season to date.

Team “Hemi Hunter” rolled to the lanes as the “II N’Tense” team made their final adjustments and soon met their opponent in the waterbox. Anticipation was high and nerves were tight as someone would soon earn their first win in the OFAA series, a highly respected accomplishment. After side by side burnouts the chiefs guided their cars back into their tracks and brought the cars into the beams.

The drivers lit their respected stage bulbs and they were off clean, Brian got the advantage by four hundredths. The cars were neck and neck early as Brian started to extend his lead as they came to the finish line and Brian’s 4.05 at 175 mph was good enough to take the win over Leyda’s best pass of the night, 4.12 at 173 mph in a great side by side final round.

Final Round Results:

(W) Terry Brian (.066 rt) 4.05 @ 175 mph vs. (L) Aaron Leyda (.102 rt) 4.12 @ 173 mph

(Final Round: Leyda near lane, Brian far lane)

(Team "II N'Tense" Winners Circle)

Brian’s crew erupted in celebration as the “II N’Tense” team claimed their first OFAA victory in just their third outing with the series. This win also propelled them into the points lead, mission accomplished for Brian and company.

“We came into the first qualifying session too aggressive and my crew chief Kenny (Trumble) did a great job calming the car down to get us down the track in the final session and gave me a great car to drive especially in that final round. We got lucky with Marriott’s breakage and were just happy to have a chance to go to the final and it just worked out for us in the end. My crew did a great job between rounds and we are having way to much fun racing with the OFAA series and can’t wait for the next one up at Mo-Kan,” said Brian.

For team “Hemi Hunter” it was well worth the trip from Independence, Kansas posting their first final round appearance in years and jumping from ninth to sixth in the points standings just one point out of the top five. The next two events of the season are much closer to home, in Missouri and Oklahoma, where they hope to continue their strong performance. Both Leyda and Brian also claimed their Wizard’s Warehouse Gift Certificate as finalists and congratulations go out to both teams on their strong showing at Texas Raceway.

Brian became the third different winner this season as the OFAA teams now have two and a half months to re-group in anticipation of the next event, the annual two day and full ladder elimination “Labor Day Weekend Classic” at Mo-Kan Dragway in Asbury, Missouri. Just two weeks later the teams invade Tulsa Raceway Park for the annual Nitro Nationals event, Sept 24th, then have two weeks off before a three race, three week, all or nothing race to the Championship and the biggest payout in OFAA history provided by Painless Performance Products.

Click Here to see photos from this event.

Low Elapsed Time - Donnie Massey (3.99)
Top Mile Per Hour - Bobby Marriott (182.45 mph)

Texas Raceway Bonus Winners:

Good Vibrations Quick Reaction Time - John Broussard (.039)

DFW Napa Auto Parts Top Speed - Bobby Marriott (182.45)

DFW Napa Auto Parts #1 Qualifier - Donnie Massey (4.01)

Competition Sales of Dallas #1 Qualifier - Donnie Massey

Lenco Transmissions Outside Looking In - Keith Anglin

Wizards Warehouse Finalists - Terry Brian & Aaron Leyda