"Texas Tremor" Is Tops At Texas Raceway
Event 2 of 8 – Texas Raceway – Kennedale, TX – April 27th, 2012
Report: Chris Graves - Photos: Max Cackle Photography
The Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered Association thundered into Texas Raceway in Kennedale, Texas for their second event of the 2012 racing season. Defending event champion Terry Brian and the “II N’Tense” team came into the event hot off a runner-up finish three weeks prior at the season opener. The youngest points leader in OFAA history, twenty two year old John Broussard, hoped to put together two consecutive wins for team “Purple Haze” as a total of sixteen teams came to battle under the lights on a Friday night in North Texas.
(Team "Showtime" warming up)
The OFAA series has a long history at Texas Raceway holding events at the facility located just south of Ft. Worth since the late 1990’s. In those days, Bobby Marriott’s series was elated to have an eight car show and post times in the 4.40’s and 4.50’s. My how the times have changed, as you’d hope a 4.0 pass will win you an elimination round and three second passes are on the regular. Bring you’re “A” game ladies and gents, it’s time to race at Texas Raceway.
(Team "Nitro Junkie" warming up)
The crowd was rolling through the gates as the sun began to set on a sunny spring afternoon as the call went out to bring em’ to the lanes for the first qualifying session. Teams had gone through their warm-up procedures and started to gather in the staging area as the first pair came to life bringing Jimmy Jones and Brad Rigler through the waterbox.
First Qualifying Session:
After side by side burnouts the cars crept into the beams and at the flash of amber the cars blasted off the line. Jones gave the “Texas Tremor” a quick pedal job at half-track clicking off a 4.23 at 170 mph behind Rigler’s solid 4.12 at 172 mph.
(Brad Rigler)
Terry Brian put down a strong pass right off the trailer posting a 3.98 opening lap at 182 mph along side Roger Hennen in the “Nitro Junkie” who posted a 4.51 at 167 mph. Howard Farris posted a career best 4.05 in the “War Wagon” nitro burner carrying the left front wheel all the way through the lights on a crowd pleasing pass.
(Howard Farris)
(John Broussard)
John Broussard wheeled his Louisiana based entry to a solid 4.01 pass at 164 mph to settle himself in a top qualifying position on his opening lap and Terry Anglin clicked off a 4.23 at 145 mph in the “Psychotic Express” blown alcohol Fiat. Donnie Massey absolutely blistered the Texas Raceway eighth mile on his opening pass, posting low elapsed time of the season so far with a 3.83 at 175 mph in the nitro burning “Showtime” entry.
(Terry Anglin)
(Donnie Massey)
(Donnie Massey's 3.83 pass - Video by J. Armstrong)
Bobby Marriott and Nick Poloson closed the round, Poloson fell off pace and had the best seat in the house to watch Marriott post a clean 4.10 at 178 mph in the “Shockwave” as the teams returned to the pits to prepare for the final qualifying session.
(Bobby Marriott)
Second Qualifying Session:
Heading into the session, the quick twelve bump spot was Nick Poloson at a 6.09 but all in the house knew that wasn’t going to hold. Jimmy Jones and Brad Rigler were again the first to roll through the water as Jones improved to a 4.11 at 146 mph and Rigler held tough in the other lane to a 4.14 at 171 mph. That pass unfortunately sidelined team “Toxic” with cylinder head damage, a tough break for the two time OFAA Champions.
(Mike Wheeler)
Mike Wheeler and Bobby Marriott were out next, Wheeler outside looking in, wasn’t able to get down the track with a best of a 6.61 in the “Rapture” machine while Marriott made it look easy posting a 4.09 to secure the “Shockwave” nitro burner in the number five qualifying position.
(Aaron Leyda)
Aaron Leyda wheeled the Dale “Lurch” Wilkens owned and tuned “Hemi Hunter” machine to a 4.36 at 162 rebounding nicely after a forgettable outing at the season opener in which they failed to qualify. Nick Poloson stepped up to a 4.18 at 162 mph in the Tom Wood owned and tuned “Sundown” machine, both teams safely securing a spot in the program.
DoDad Burton stepped up to a 4.20 at 165 mph in the Tyler, Texas based “Free Spirit” entry which qualified him number ten as the second session came to a close with Roger Hennen on the bump spot with a 4.51, as the final car of the round pulled through the waterbox.
Mary Reep and the “Grim Reeper” team of Austin, Texas had truck troubles on their way north bound to Kennedale and were literally pulling into the track during the first qualifying session. A thrash ensued and Reep made it to the starting line for the second qualifying session, prepared to make a ‘hail mary’ pass to get in the show, no pun intended.
(Mary Reep)
Reep had to run quicker than Hennen’s 4.51 as she crept into the beams with the pressure visible in the eyes of her crew. At the flash of amber she was off and held it wide open skating through the traps posting low elapsed time of the session, a 3.94 at 178 mph to solidify her spot in the show in spectacular fashion.
The bad news for Brad Rigler and the sidelined “Toxic” team turned into great news for Roger Hennen and the “Nitro Junkie” gang as they were inserted into the field as the first alternate. Chris Trussell and Raymond Dawson were in the house but both suffered unexpected mechanical issues which kept them from leaving the pit area, although both will be back next weekend at the third event of the OFAA season at San Antonio Raceway on May 5th.
John Broussard led the field into eliminations qualifying number one in the OFAA’s 4.00 qualifying index ladder, as the top twelve machines returned to the pits to make their desired tuning adjustments.
Final Qualifying Order:
1) John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 4.014 @ 164
2) Terry Brian (New London, Texas) – (3.982) 4.018 @ 182
3) Howard Farris (Tyler, Texas) – 4.056 @ 176
4) Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) – (3.942) 4.058 @ 178
5) Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) – 4.09 @ 178
6) Jimmy Jones (Cleburne, Texas) - 4.11 @ 146
7) Brad Rigler (Heath, Texas) – 4.12 @ 172
8) Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) – (3.836) 4.164 @ 175
9) Nick Poloson (San Antonio, Texas) – 4.18 @ 162
10) DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) – 4.20 @ 165
11) Terry Anglin (Terrell, Texas) – 4.23 @ 145
12) Aaron Leyda (Bartlesville, Oklahoma) – 4.36 @ 162
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13) Roger Hennen (Denton, Texas) – 4.51 @ 167
14) Mike Wheeler (Paradise, Texas) – 6.61 @ 57
15) Chris Trussell (Canton, Texas) – No Time
16) Raymond Dawson (Nevada, Texas) – No Time
A battle of heavy weights came to the line in the opening pair of eliminations as low elapsed time holder Donnie Massey staged against defending event winner Terry Brian. Brian was off the line first with a healthy advantage which he needed at the stripe as he took the win posting a 3.97 at 183 mph to Massey’s quicker but loosing 3.92 at 183 mph (margin of victory = .012).
(Terry Brian)
(Donnie Massey)
Nick Poloson and Howard Farris lined up for the second event in a row, the last decision going to Poloson after Farris went into a wheelstand off the starting line at the season opener. Poloson took the win again here, as his quicker reaction time coupled with a 4.06 at 168 mph topped Farris’ 4.11 at 185 mph.
(Nick Poloson)
(Roger Hennen)
John Broussard rolled though next along side Roger Hennen who was making his first start in eliminations in only his fourth event with the series. Continuing to improve, Hennen’s “Nitro Junkie” team was all smiles as they looked for the upset against the number one qualifier. Hennen posted a career best 4.48 but it wasn’t enough to hold off Broussard who clicked off a winning 3.99 at 176 mph to earn the round win, a crucial win in Broussard’s effort to remain atop the Painless Performance points standings.
Jimmy Jones was out next ready to face off with the upset minded Aaron Leyda. In a Hemi vs. Chevy battle, Leyda took a slight starting line advantage but Jones quickly closed the gap, posting his best numbers of the night with a 3.93 at 180 mph to take the win over Leyda’s off pace 5.48.
(Jimmy Jones)
(DoDad Burton)
Mary Reep lined up with DoDad Burton as eliminations continued. At this point, the two quickest winners holding a ticket to the final round were Jimmy Jones and Terry Brian, but that was soon to change. Reep took a huge starting line advantage with a .016 reaction time and clicked off a stout 3.90 at 187 mph to take out Burton’s 4.57 at 151 mph. Reep not only guaranteed herself a spot in the final, but also notched two bonuses on this pass, claiming the Good Vibrations “Quick Reaction Time” bonus and Napa Auto Parts “Top Speed of the Event” bonus.
Bobby Marriott and Terry Anglin were the final pair of the opening round. Anglin got the jump off the starting line and was wheel to wheel with Marriott at the 330’ mark before blowing the burst panel, coasting to a 4.36 at 131 as Marriott blasted by to take the win with a 4.06 at 181 mph, not quite enough to earn team “Shockwave” a ticket to the final, as Mary Reep and Jimmy Jones headed back to the pits in preparation for what looked to be a stellar final on paper.
First Round Eliminations:
(W) Terry Brian (.066 rt) 3.97 @ 183 vs. (L) Donnie Massey (.128 rt) 3.92 @ 183
(W) Nick Poloson (.063 rt) 4.06 @ 168 vs. (L) Howard Farris (.159 rt) 4.11 @ 185
(W) John Broussard (.041 rt) 3.99 @ 176 vs. (L) Roger Hennen (.143 rt) 4.48 @ 166
(W) Jimmy Jones (.081 rt) 3.93 @ 180 vs. (L) Aaron Leyda (.074 rt) 5.48 @ 83
(W) Mary Reep (.016) 3.90 @ 187 vs. (L) DoDad Burton (.161 rt) 4.57 @ 151
(W) Bobby Marriott (.144) 4.06 @ 181 mph vs. (L) Terry Brian (.084 rt) 4.36 @ 131
Look back to the race report from three weeks ago and you’ll see the warning that Mary Reep was coming for you boys, well, here she was heading into her first OFAA final round against the defending 2011 Painless Performance Series Champion Jimmy Jones. Reep had the advantage on paper, but we all know drag races are settled on the strip.
As the cars backed up from their burnouts anxiety mounted as the expected side by side three second final was soon to become a reality, but those hopes were dismissed as the winner was declared on the starting line. As Reep crept into the final stage beam and increased the RPMs her trans-brake failed and she rolled through the beams. A split second later, Jones’ took the green light and despite shaking the tires, claimed his first win of the season with a 5.84 time slip.
(Mary Reep vs. Jimmy Jones)
Final Round Results:
(W) Jimmy Jones (5.84) vs. (L) Mary Reep (8.31)
(Jimmy Jones & Team "Texas Tremor" - Texas Raceway Winners)
Not the result either team expected, but none the less a win for the “Texas Tremor” team who were undoubtedly deserving of their win, posting three solid passes to qualify in the top half of the field and make it to the final round.
For Reep, coming up just short of her first OFAA win took no smiles away from her and her team. Considering their troubles in getting to the event, posting two straight three second passes and a runner-up finish was a more than an acceptable outcome as teams now had just six days to prepare themselves for the next event, with the second half of back to back weekends scheduled for San Antonio Raceway on May 5th.
Congratulations to Jimmy Jones and the entire “Texas Tremor” team for their win at their home track and to the first lady of the OFAA, Mary Reep, who posted her first runner-up finish and claimed two bonuses in doing so. Other bonus winners included Roger Hennen who won the B&J Transmissions “Outside Looking In” bonus, DoDad Burton who took home the Competition Sales of Dallas “Luck of the Draw” bonus, Aaron Leyda who earned the Fuelish Habit Racing “Final Cut” bonus, Mike Wheeler who claimed the Lone Wolf Machining “Luck of the Draw DNQ” bonus and to our finalists Jimmy Jones and Mary Reep who took home a gift certificate from Wizards Warehouse.
The third event of the 2012 Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered season is this Saturday, May 5th at San Antonio Raceway. To see photos from this event, check the points standings, find out more on your favorite drivers and much more, visit www.ofaa.net. The Outlaw Fuel Altered Association would like to thank all the participating bonus program sponsors and Painless Performance Products for their support of the 2012 racing season.
Click Here to see photos from this event.
Low Elapsed Time - Donnie Massey (3.83)
Top Mile Per Hour - Mary Reep (187 mph)
Texas Raceway Bonus Winners:
Good Vibrations Quick Reaction Time - Mary Reep (.012)
DFW Napa Auto Parts Top Speed - Mary Reep (187)
B&J Transmissions "Outside Looking In" - Roger Hennen
Competition Sales of Dallas "Luck of the Draw" - DoDad Burton
Lone Wolf Custom Machining "Luck Of The Draw DNQ" - Mike Wheeler
Wizards Warehouse Finalists - Jimmy Jones & Mary Reep
Fuelish Habit Racing's "Final Cut" - Aaron Leyda
