ROOKIE VERSTUYFT SURPRISES IN TOP FUEL

Pro Mod Runner Up Steve Rajcic

Words by Mark Westfall
Photos by Marty Reger
11/29/05

n recent years the Top Fuel racers at the biggest drag boat race of the year never really lived up to the hype. However, at the 2005 version of the IHBA Coors Light World Finals they did, and then some. When Sunday’s final rounds were complete, the capacity crowd left Charlie Allen’s Firebird Raceway, and all proclaimed the event was “the best drag boat race EVER,” and one racer definitely proved to be the “Top” story.

When the gates opened on Thursday morning for a day of “test 'n' tune,” one look around the pit area at the Firebird facility gave good indication of what lie ahead. More than a dozen of North America's best fire-breathing, nitro-guzzling Top Fuel Hydros were entered.

Former Pro Mod standout Doug “the Rooster” Verstuyft was among them, and was attempting to make the huge jump to Top Fuel with the all new Hot Licks Enterprises backed “Nitro Chicken”. To upgrade his license Verstuyft needed to make a smooth half track pass followed by a full pass, and accomplished the first with a very nice half track 6.56 run. The plan was to finalize his license, but time prevented a second run, and Verstuyft would have to wait until Friday.

With only a late Friday afternoon qualifying session on the schedule, most Top Fuel teams sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed a perfect Arizona fall day. That was not the case with Verstuyft and the Chicken / Hot Licks crew. They still needed a full pass in order to finalize the license. A 9:30 AM attempt ended with a tossed blower belt, but the crew quickly readied the boat. The second attempt about an hour later “unofficially” kicked off the weekend as Verstuyft roared to a 5.06 @ 241 mph blast, to not only gain his license, but to earn contender status among the best field of Top Fuelers ever assembled.

All day long drag boats ripped up the quarter mile, and the crowd eagerly awaited the final class of the day, Top Fuel. The spectators watched as the jet skis pulled the “Kings of the Sport” one by one to the staging rope, and when all was said and done, 13 were at the ready, trying to crack Sunday’s 8-boat starting line-up. When session number one was over, newly crowned World Champion John Haas in the Lou Osmon owned “Speed Sport Special” tuned by “Famous” Amos Saterlee was on top with a great 4.82 at a record eclipsing 252.24 blast. Torrance, CA racer Dale Ishimaru in Eddie Knox’s world record (4.77) holding “Problem Child” was next at 5.00, and Verstuyft was a surprising third at 5.11. The bump was already the quickest ever, held down by Jerry Kutz’s “Plumb Crazy” at 5.33.

Perfect weather again greeted Saturday’s packed house, and the fans were buzzing as the first session of Top Fuel prepared to attack the liquid quarter mile. RFC chaplain Paul Neighbors opened the festivities with the morning invocation, and as the last notes of the national anthem were sang, Glen Wilson and John Haas launched from the start and engaged in a great side by side 4 second match. Haas wasted no time backing up the 252.24 mph record run with a 250.66 blast coupled with a 4.91 ET. Wilson was right there with a 4.94 @ 237.12 in the “Toxic Rocket”.