Jones & Rigler Tango at Texas Raceway
Event 4 of 8 – Texas Raceway – Kennedale, TX – May 25th, 2012
Report: Chris Graves - Photos: Max Cackle Photography
The Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered Association returned to Texas Raceway on Friday, May 25th for the fourth of nine events on the 2012 tour. Jimmy Jones’s “Texas Tremor” team came into the event as the defending event champion after winning at Texas Raceway just one month ago over Mary Reep. Jones found himself in the midst of a heated points battle currently being led by the series’ most recent winner Terry Brian, with the OFAA’s youngest driver John Broussard occupying the number two spot and plenty of hungry teams filling out the Top 10.
(Terry Brian warming up)
(Jimmy Jones warming up)
(Brad Rigler warming up)
(Bobby Marriott warming up)
First Qualifying Session:
A total of sixteen cars came to entertain the crowd on a steamy late May evening in Kennedale, Texas. Nick Poloson clicked off the only three second pass of the first qualifying session, posting a 3.98 at 176 mph in the Tom Wood owned and tuned “Sundown” machine. Top points leaders Terry Brian and John Broussard both posted strong 4.02 passes to secure their spot in the top half of the field on their opening lap.
(Nick Poloson)
(John Broussard)
Brad Rigler wheeled the Danny Wright tuned “Toxic” machine to a solid 4.03 at 173 mph and Howard Farris wheeled the “War Wagon” to a 4.17 at 175 mph. Donnie Massey rounded out the top half of the field after the first session with his 4.19 at 157 mph as the teams returned to the pits to prepare for the final qualifying session.
(Brad Rigler)
(Howard Farris)
Second Qualifying Session:
(Raymond Dawson)
The quick twelve bump spot heading into the final session was Raymond Dawson’s 4.44 at 164 mph with Dodad Burton and Jim Overly outside looking in. DoDad Burton had his hands full in the opening session as the car started spinning the tires and made a wicked move to the centerline at the top end, Burton posting a 4.50 completely sideways as he went through the lights. On his second qualifying pass, Burton improved to a clean 4.23 at 162 mph to secure his spot in the show.
(Donnie Massey)
Donnie Massey improved to a 4.04 at 175 mph in the “Showtime” nitro burner which earned him the number five qualifying position and Jimmy Jones posted a 4.14 to qualify number six. Terry Anglin wheeled the “Psychotic Express” blown alcohol Fiat to a 4.27 at 157 mph to earn a spot on the show and Mary Reep snuck into the field on the bump spot with a 4.32 in the “Grim Reeper” machine.
(Terry Anglin)
(Mary Reep)
(Jim Overly)
Carnage took it’s toll on the OFAA teams as an unusual amount of cars were sidelined early. Chris Trussell’s “Assassin” nitro burner was on the sideline with mechanical issues, joined by John Broussard, Roger Hennen, Paul Gordon and Jim Overly. Eleven cars were left standing to fill the twelve car field, led by Nick Poloson’s converted 4.01 which earned team “Sundown” their first number one qualifier of the season and this also earned him the lucky competition single in the all important first round of eliminations. The first and only alternate left standing, Raymond Dawson, was inserted into the field as the teams returned to the pits.
(Chris Trussell)
Final Qualifying Order:
1) Nick Poloson (San Antonio, Texas) – 4.01 (3.98) @ 176
2) John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 4.020 @ 173
3) Terry Brian (New London, Texas) – 4.026 @ 182
4) Brad Rigler (Heath, Texas) – 4.03 @ 173
5) Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) – 4.04 @ 175
6) Jimmy Jones (Cleburne, Texas) – 4.14 @ 143
7) Farris / King (Tyler, Texas) – 4.17 @ 175
8) Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) – 4.20 @ 177
9) Chris Trussell (Canton, Texas) – 4.22 @ 169
10) DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) – 4.23 @ 162
11) Terry Anglin (Terrell, Texas) – 4.27 @ 157
12) Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) – 4.32 @ 132
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13) Raymond Dawson (Nevada, Texas) – 4.44 @ 164
14) Jim Overly (Oyster Creek, Texas) – 4.77 @ 115
15) Roger Hennen (Denton, Texas) – No Time
16) Paul Gordon (Weatherford, Texas) – No Time
Brad Rigler and DoDad Burton wheeled their blown alcohol altereds around the corner and through the waterbox to open the first round of eliminations. The quickest two winners from this round would advance to the final. Rigler was off the line first and the “Toxic” machine streaked right down the eighth mile to his best pass of the night, a 4.01 at 151 mph to advance over Burton’s 6.76 at 67 mph after Burton lost traction at the starting line.
(DoDad Burton)
Raymond Dawson was out next along side Mitch King. King was in attendance spectating and suddenly found himself behind the wheel of the nitro burning “War Wagon” fuel altered after Howard Farris suffered a shoulder injury during qualifying. As King crept into the beams, the car suddenly shut-off and Raymond Dawson soloed to the win with a 4.67 at 160 mph in the “High Octane” entry. It was later discovered that King accidently flipped the kill switch with his glove, an understandable mistake in a car he had never driven before.
(Nick Poloson)
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.
Donnie Massey and Terry Anglin were out next as Massey had this one from start to finish. Massey’s clean 4.02 at 182 mph was enough to advance over Anglin’s 4.38 at 134 mph. Massey’s best pass of the night was strong but a 4.02 likely wouldn’t hold up for a spot in the final with the caliber of cars still waiting in the staging lanes.
(Jimmy Jones)
Jimmy Jones and Mary Reep lined up as eliminations continued, this a re-match of the final round just one month ago where Jones earned his first win of the season. Reep ran into mechanical issues on the line and was forced to shut-off, giving Jones the single as he blasted to low elapsed time of the round with a 3.92 at 184 mph, securing his spot in the final round.
(Bobby Marriott)
Terry Brian and Bobby Marriott were out next, Marriott fresh off an intense between round thrash where his crew combined with help from a few other teams were able to repair a broken blower snout to make the call for first round. Marriott managed to click off his best pass of the night with a 4.16 at 178 mph in the “Shockwave” with header flames high, but the “II N’Tense” entry of Terry Brian was too tough and Brian took the big round win, with a 4.01 at 180 mph. Brian’s 4.019 was just short of Brad Rigler’s winning 4.018, so Brian would have to settle for the round win only as Rigler and Jones were set to go to the final with one car left to run.
Number one qualifier Nick Poloson wheeled the “Sundown” machine around the corner and laid down the standard mosquito clearing burnout. Poloson had already won half the battle, with the competition bye earning him the automatic round win, yet he had to post a winning elapsed time quicker than Brad Rigler’s 4.018 to advance to the final to face Jones. Poloson had clicked off the second quickest pass of the event on his opening qualifying pass, a 3.98, and had career best numbers of a 3.92. Despite the expected sub four second pass, Poloson was only able to post a 4.06 at 167 mph which came up short, advancing Brad Rigler and Jimmy Jones into the final round.
"The Sundown team was really excited about our first number one qualifying position. Tom (Wood, crew chief) made a small tuning change in both the clutch and the fuel system to really go for it in the first round. The car left great, and actually had better early numbers than our 3.98 qualifier, but the tires started spinning the second half of the track, and slowed us to the 4.06. That's ok though, we finished the evening with a round win, and a fast, healthy race car," said Poloson.
First Round Eliminations:
(W) Brad Rigler (.068 rt) 4.018 @ 151 mph vs. (L) DoDad Burton (.117 rt) 6.76 @ 67 mph
(W) Raymond Dawson (.338 rt) 4.67 @ 160 mph vs. (L) Farris / King (No Time)
(W) Donnie Massey (.079 rt) 4.02 @ 182 mph vs. (L) Terry Anglin (.152 rt) 4.38 @ 134 mph
(W) Jimmy Jones (.058 rt) 3.92 @ 184 mph vs. (L) Mary Reep (No Time)
(W) Terry Brian (.077 rt) 4.019 @ 180 mph vs. (L) Bobby Marriott (.104 rt) 4.16 @ 178 mph
(W) Nick Poloson (.063 rt) 4.06 @ 167 mph vs. (L) Competition Bye
Brad Rigler was entering his first final round of the season and looking to upset Jimmy Jones who came in with low elapsed time from the first round of eliminations. Rigler posted numbers in the high 3.80’s last season and has earned multiple OFAA event wins and two straight series Championships throughout their decade of racing with the association, clearly capable of a win at Texas Raceway tonight.
Jones’ “Texas Tremor” team is a rather new addition to the group, debuting in the fall of 2010, although they have enjoyed much success and are the defending Painless Performance Products OFAA Series Champs. The crews brought their machines to life as a hard hitting powerhouse pair of blown alcohol Hemis laid down side by side burnouts to kick off the final race of the night.
(Final Round = Jones "Near Lane" vs. Rigler "Far Lane")
The cars crept into the beams and at the flash of amber they were both off the line with good reaction times, Jones taking a slight advantage. Rigler was wheel to wheel with Jones as they passed the 330’ mark and at the stripe it was Jimmy Jones taking the win light with a 3.94 at 185 mph to Rigler’s very close 3.95 at 179 mph, one of the closest side by side finals in series history.
Final Round Results:
(W) Jimmy Jones (.048 rt) 3.94 @ 185 mph vs. (L) Brad Rigler (.056 rt) 3.95 @ 179 mph
(Jimmy Jones & Team "Texas Tremor" - Texas Raceway Winners)
Congratulations to the entire “Texas Tremor” team on their second win of the season and dominance at Texas Raceway in Kennedale. Jones took home not only the event win, but also claimed the Good Vibrations “Quick Reaction Time” bonus and North Texas Napa Auto Parts stores “Top Speed of the Event” bonus. To add icing on the cake, Jones also claimed the Painless Performance Products points lead by just three points over Terry Brian as the 2012 Outlaw Fuel Altered Association season reaches it’s halfway point.
Additional bonus winners included Raymond Dawson who won the B&J Transmissions “Outside Looking In” bonus, Paul Gordon who took home the Competition Sales of Dallas “Luck of the Draw” bonus, Mary Reep who earned the Fuelish Habit Racing “Final Cut” bonus, Jim Overly who claimed the Lone Wolf Machining “Luck of the Draw DNQ” bonus and our finalists Jimmy Jones and Brad Rigler who took home a gift certificate from Wizards Warehouse!
The fifth event of the 2012 Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered season is scheduled for Saturday, July 7th at North Star Dragway. 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 - Jimmy Jones (3.92)
Top Mile Per Hour - Jimmy Jones (185 mph)
Texas Raceway Bonus Winners:
Good Vibrations Quick Reaction Time - Jimmy Jones (.048)
DFW Napa Auto Parts Top Speed - Jimmy Jones (185)
B&J Transmissions "Outside Looking In" - Raymond Dawson
Competition Sales of Dallas "Luck of the Draw" - Paul Gordon
Lone Wolf Custom Machining "Luck Of The Draw DNQ" - Jim Overly
Wizards Warehouse Finalists - Jimmy Jones & Brad Rigler
Fuelish Habit Racing's "Final Cut" - Mary Reep
