Nitro and History Collide at the 61ST Edition of This Classic

The World Series of Drag Racing is the premier race of the season for the teams of the Hedman Husler Hedders Dragracingonline.com AA/FC Challenge presented by COMP Cams. It’s the premier race for a variety of important reasons: 1. It’s the oldest national event in drag racing (it started one year before the U.S.Nationals); 2. It’s always the largest crowd they race in front of each year; 3. All points won at this race are multiplied by 1.5; 4. Track promoter Scott Gardner adds money every year to the standard DRO purse.

This year, in addition to the DRO AA/FCs, the fans at Cordova (Illinois) Dragway Park got to see the Victory Nostalgia Super Stock racers.

AA/FC QUALIFYING AND ELIMINATIONS

AA/FC teams representing seven states attempted to qualify for this elite eight-car field. After two hard rounds of qualifying, defending 2013 DRO AA/FC Challenge National Champion Shawn Bowen continued his domination of the series. He placed his Mike Bowen-tuned, Hemi-powered Violator ’77 Pontiac Firebird on the top line of the qualifying sheets with a strong 5.79/247.88 effort that had the rest of the teams covered by almost a tenth of a second.

Paul Romine, the 2009-10 series champ, came out of a two-year retirement to qualify his ‘79 Mike Spitzer-built Man O’ War Mustang second with a respectable 5.89/241.11. Maple Valley, Washington’s Mark Sanders and his son and tuner Jake made their first World Series appearance and qualified the Mr. Explosive Mustang in the three spot with a 5.93/234.

Rain, heat and extreme humidity challenged not only the nitro racers and tuners but the Cordova track crew too. The atmospheric conditions hampered early qualifying performances, just three cars made five-second passes in two rounds of qualifying. In the first round, Shawn’s dad, Mike Bowen’s tune-up got the Violator team a 5.88 E.T., and Hoosier Paul Romine drove his Mike Cavalierituned Man O’ War to a 5.89/241.11. No other car came close to a five-second E.T. in the first qualifying session.

Traction was at a premium for most racers during the first round of qualifying, resulting in some damaged timing cones and aborted runs, but by the time the fuel coupes were called to lanes for the second round, the track had started to come around.

… Sanders, who never gave up, pedaled and then got back on the throttle, catching and passing Bowen to take the prestigious World Series of Drag Racing win.

On race day a freak storm dumped more than 2 inches of rain on an already waterlogged track at about 10 a.m., but the track crew went to work and within a couple of hours the track was dry and ready for racing. However, the atmospheric conditions ensured that this race wouldn’t be decided by who could make the most power, but by which driver and tuner could adjust the best to a tricky track.

In the first round, Brian Stewart, making a rare DRO Series appearance in the Bear Town Shaker, showed he’s coming into his own as a driver. He put a .03 holeshot on Australian ex-pat Barrie “Bazz” Young in the Down-Under Thunder Camaro using a stellar .067 RT (Stewart had the best RTs of any FC driver for the event) and his 6.06/221.42 easily covered Young’s event best 6.13/232.91.

Favorite Bowen singled when Kevin Lennon’s Shake ’n’ Bake Arrow was shut off on the line for leaking fluids, and Bowen eased to a 7.05/130 pass.

Veteran Doc Halladay, who’d been DQ’d in the first round of qualifying driving his Jerry Newman-tuned Telstar Arrow, upset number-two qualifier Romine with his best effort of the weekend, a shut-off 6.04/202. 27. Romine had a decent pass going when the pinion gear in the rear failed forcing him to coast to a 9.24/97.43.

The final pair in the first round matched full-time IHRA Nitro Jam Series competitor Sanders against the Farndon and Lake team. Fred Farndon cut a .077 RT in the Nitro Express to Sanders’ .0111 and was ahead until tire shake ended his run. Sanders motored by on his best pass of the event with a 5.86/246.66.

In the semis, Bowen and Stewart lined up and Stewart used a .061 RT to Bowen’s .090 to take the early lead, but then he too succumbed to the dreaded tire shake and Bowen eased to a 5.99/246.21.

On the other side of the ladder, Sanders faced the 74-year-old Halladay. The good doctor left on the younger driver and looked to have the race in hand when his car also experienced tire shake down track. He pedaled the throttle in an effort to correct, but the car darted left across the centerline, disqualifying the veteran, while Sanders motored to a 5.97/236.01 round win and lane choice over Bowen in the finals by .005!

Bowen must have upped the nitro percentage for that final round race as the nitro fumes formed a cloud around the car and the normally stoic starting line crew could be seen coughing, gagging and crying from the fumes coming from the Violator’s headers. As the last yellow bulb flickered, Sanders nailed the throttle and left first, something the normally quick-leaving Bowen isn’t used to. Sanders had a .079 RT to Bowen’s respectable .090. Despite Sanders’ advantage, Bowen caught and passed him very quickly but at about 900 feet “death smoke” started pouring from Bowen’s engine and he lifted. In the other lane, Sanders, who never gave up, pedaled and then got back on the throttle, catching and passing Bowen to take the prestigious World Series of Drag Racing win. In that run Sanders set Top Speed of the meet with a 6.08/248.84 to Bowen’s slowing 6.18/195.99.

The win stopped Bowen’s three-race winning streak on the 2014 DRO circuit. Because the World Series event offers bonus championship points, the win vaulted the Sanders team to second in Hedman Husler Hedders DRO AA/FC Challenge championship points despite only racing at three events this season. However, Bowen’s runner-up finish and qualifying all guaranteed him a second DRO AA/FC national championship.

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