Grim Reeper Rocks Ardmore Dragway Reunion
The Outlaw Fuel Altered Association, presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports and Lone Star Forklift, charged into Ardmore Dragway in Ardmore, Oklahoma to headline their annual Labor Day Nostalgia Reunion on September 1st and 2nd. With just three events remaining on the 2017 tour the Championship battle was developing quickly and only twelve points separated the top five contenders, led by Ken Singeton's "High Risk" team from Chickasha, Oklahoma. Singleton and company hoped for a solid outing at their hometown event in hopes of chasing Outlaw Fuel Altered Championship glory, but that would be no easy feat with plenty of stiff competition in the pits. Also on tap was a full field of nostalgia cars and cacklefest dragsters ready to put on a show.
Qualifying Highlights:
Friday night hosted the first of two qualifying sessions. Despite some struggles, Mary Reep was able to post a strong 3.94 at 157 mph in the "Grim Reeper" from Austin and John Broussard laid down a 4.09 at 157 mph in the "Purple Haze" Louisiana based entry. Saturday afternoon welcomed sunny skies and the final qualifying session where many of the teams found their tune up. Mark Billington scored his second straight top qualifying effort in the "Magic Dragon" nitro burner owned by Raymond Austin with a 4.01 at 161 mph. Jimmy Jones' new look "Texas Tremor" slid into the number two spot with a 4.041 and Broussard improved to a 4.046 to qualify third. Mary Reep and Raymond Dawson rounded out the top five heading into first round eliminations.
(Mary Reep)
(John Broussard)
(Raymond Dawson)
Clint Cross in the "Crossways" nitro entry got everyone's attention in the final qualifier when engine damage from the burnout caused a scary fire on the starting line. The engine had been shut-off but continued to run, burning oil and nitro that was getting through to the combustion chamber. As the engine wildly ran, billowing smoke and fire, the Ardmore Dragway safety team took charge to extinguish the flames and get the engine to finally shut down as Cross and company made a safe exit off the starting line in a wild turn of events. Repairs are already in progress for the team as they hope to return to competition as soon as possible. Kudos to the Ardmore Dragway staff for their quick response which resulted in zero injuries from this hair raising scene.
(Clint Cross)
Final Qualifying Order:
1. Mark Billington - 4.01 @ 161
2. Jimmy Jones - 4.041 @ 144
3. John Broussard - 4.046 @ 172
4. Mary Reep - 4.05 (3.94) @ 157
5. John Broussard - 4.05 (3.94) @ 174
6. Ken Singleton - 4.07 @ 180
7. Nick Poloson - 4.10 @ 153
8. Jody Austin - 4.37 @ 112
9. Clint Cross - 5.22 @ 100
10. Mark Hunter - 5.53 @ 77
11. Donnie Massey - No Time
(Jody Austin)
Eliminations:
First round kicked off with yet another bizarre turn of events as John Broussard and Nick Poloson came to the line. After a lengthy staging process, Broussard got a red light, while Poloson blasted to a 3.95 at 181 mph. After review, it was discovered one of the Christmas tree bulbs in Broussard's lane was broken during the burnout process, making his side of the tree work incorrectly, unfortunately ending their first round bid against Poloson.
(Nick Poloson)
Fire up the next pair as top qualifier Mark Billington came to the line against defending series Champion Raymond Dawson. Billington unfortunately was forced to shut off with a major fuel leak from the barrel valve, while Dawson ripped off a 4.02 at 171 mph to take the win. Mary Reep and Jody Austin were up next and Reep raised eyebrows with a stellar 3.91 at 181 mph to defeat the tire smoking Austin.
(Jimmy Jones)
(Ken Singleton)
Eliminations continued with Jimmy Jones taking the starting line, up against points leader Ken Singleton. Singleton really needed a win here, but Jones had other plans as he posted low elapsed time of the round with a 3.81 at 188 mph to defeat Singleton's respectable 4.07 at 181 mph. With an odd number of cars in first round, Mark Hunter benefitted from the competition bye run and posted a nice 4.03 at 156 mph in the "Jail Break" entry, but it was Reep and Jones who were final round bound as the two quickest first round winners.
(Mark Hunter)
In the final round, Reep and Jones came to the line, both looking for their first wins of the season. Under the beautiful canvas of a southern Oklahoma summer sunset, the ambers dropped and they were off the line with Jones taking the reaction time advantage. Problems set in for Jones shortly past the sixty foot as tire shake forced him out of the throttle, while Reep charged clean and hard down the eight mile to a 3.90 at 181 mph to score an impressive win for the "Grim Reeper" team. Reep and company put together four solid runs in a row at Ardmore and used consistency to come out on top. Congratulations to the team on their victory!
(Final Round)
Final Round Results:
(W) Mary Reep (.094 rt) 3.90 @ 181 mph -vs- (L) Jimmy Jones (.040 rt) 6.04 @ 79 mph
(Grim Reeper Racing - Ardmore Winners!)
The points battle got another big shake up as Jones and Reep charged to the top. Jones will hold just a six point lead over Reep heading into the two remaining events. Nick Poloson, Ken Singleton and John Broussard are well within striking distance as the top five contenders are separated by only ten points. It's going to be an intense battle at our next outing, September 23rd at San Antonio Raceway. The OFAA will close their season at the final event of the year, October 21st at Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma. Buckle up boys and girls, this battle is going to be intense!
Click Here to see photos from Ardmore!
