Just prior to the meeting, former fuel funny car owners Mark and Jackie Hawkins did a deal to rent the black CBD car off Knut Soderquist and bringing in most of their own crew and driver Gary Page. Although the crew change didn't prevent the wicked hooks to the right the car has shown over the season as the front end lifts on launching, Gary wrestled it to a wall-worrying 5.058 for fifth on the ladder. Having loaded up the front end with clutch discs, the front end stayed down against Joon in the first round of eliminations, but severe shake'n'smoke left Page looking at the back of the MPM car disappearing into the distance.

Peter Knight's silver bullet, usually the most consistent of performers with super shoe Jon Webster at the wheel and runner-up at the first FIA meeting of the year back in May, seemed slightly off colour. An untypical failure to start in the second qualifying prevented an improvement on a first session 5.159 (6th), and then shaking 5.171 wasn't enough to get around Callin in the first round of eliminations, despite the slight holeshot Webster had pulled at the lights.

Having secured backing to run the McDonald brothers fuel car at the last minute, Smax Smith flew in from his new domicile in Canada with high hopes of putting the car deep into the field. Unfortunately, a couple of issues in triggering the clutch cannon on both launches on the Friday produced an off pace best of 6.9. The arrival of the rain showers on Saturday saw Smax nervously pacing around the pits hoping to get the additional session in to realize the four second potential suggested by the earlier incrementals, but it wasn't to be.

Having missed the first qualifying session thanks to an oil leak on warm-up, Thomas Nataas (3rd in the points coming into the meet) really didn't need to go up in smoke and sideways on what would be his only qualifier. The washout on Saturday left what would have been a very real championship contender sitting forlornly behind the burnout boxes anxiously hoping that one of the qualifiers would fail to fire up in the first round of eliminations and let the Batmobile back into the race.