TORKELSON CONQUERS THUNDER
MOUNTAIN
Words by Hank Schmitt
Photo courtesy ShowCase Photo
8/24/05
The mile-high racing at Bandimere Speedway
has humbled a lot of drivers and crew chiefs over the year
as they struggled to deal with the thin air. WorkMat Nitro
Coupe racer Wayne Torkelson and his Water Wetter Nitro Coupe
crew took it all in stride, whipping former Nitro Coupe
World Champ Dan Nickelson in the finals at Bandimere Sunday
(8/21). The win makes Torkelson, from Belpre, Ohio the odds-on
favorite to become the second rookie in a row to win the
Mickey Thompson Performance Tire and Wheel Nitro Coupe Challenge.
Former Nitro Coupe World Champ Dan
Nickelson
Torkelson was the event's low qualifier on
Saturday with a 6.494 at just under 200 miles per hour;
on Sunday, he kicked it up a notch, running a 6.398 at 220.01
miles per hour in the finals to best Nickelson, who could
only manage a 6.570 at 212.83 miles per hour in the '94
Beretta Nitro Coupe which Nickelson rode to a pair of world
championships.
It was Corvettes on both sides of the Top Sportsman final,
as Yakima, Washington racer Frank Tamez used a great light
to edge event low qualifier Lee Cooperman of Aurora, Colorado.
Tamez' .013 light in his '63 Vette gave him a bunch in the
bank on the way to a 7.891 second run off a 7.88 second
dial at 172.41 miles per hour. Cooperman ran a 7.820 (7.84
second dial) at 177.91 miles per hour on Saturday to take
the Trim Parts Low Qualifier bonus, but on Sunday his '64
Corvette slowed to a 7.873 at 176.81.
Top Sportsman Winner Frank Tamez
Nitro Coupe Eliminations - Sunday 8/21/05
| Finals |
|
R/T |
ET |
MPH |
| |
Wayne Torkelson def. |
.069 |
6.398 |
220.01 |
| |
Dan Nickelson |
.034 |
6.570 |
212.83 |
Top Sportsman Eliminations - Sunday
8/21/05
| |
Driver |
R/T |
Dial-in |
ET |
MPH |
| Winner |
Frank Tamez, Yakina, WA |
.013 |
7.88 |
7.891 |
172.41 |
| Runner-Up |
Lee Cooperman, Aurora, CO |
.074 |
7.84 |
7.873 |
176.81 |
