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Overwhelmingly, the elapsed times and speeds were well
off a national event clip. Low e.t. and Top Speed were turned by Garlits
and in Funny Car it was Tim Wilkerson (5.393) and event winner Tod Paton
(271.46). Cordova, despite all its bucolic charm, is next to the "Big
Muddy" and the air was moist, greatly affecting the traction, albeit
greatly enhancing the hair-raising action.
The featured Funny Cars were Dale Creasy Jr. in his parents
Dale & Linda's Craftsman Firebird, Wilkerson's Levi-Shoup-Ray Firebird,
the Mac Tools cars of Jack Wyatt and John Lawson, Paton's "NitroFish"
Firebird, and Bob Bode's Pro Motorsports.com Daytona. All went two rounds,
with the quickest two of the first round determining the final.
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And that came down to Paton and Wilkerson. Paton earned
that spot by slipping and sliding to a wild 5.83 to cover Lawson's early
shut-off effort, and Wilkerson chalked up the 5.39/258.27 to bump Creasy
and bump himself into the final. In that other first-round joust, Bode's
Charger was kayoed by Wyatt's 6.04/164.53.
For the World Series title, Paton made it number two in
a row when his and dad Barry's entry clipped Wilkerson, 5.50/271.46
to 11.79.
Bode deserves special comment. The Indiana driver put
on a great show when he and Wyatt tangled in a one-shot deal Friday
night. Wyatt was shut-off after his burnout when a suction line from
the oil tank to the pump was letting in too much air. On the solo, Bode
tried his best to put on a show, hammering the throttle at least four
times when his machine went wild on the slippery Cordova surface. Despite
the imbroglio, Bode managed a decent, considering the untoward circumstances,
6.16/183.10, a number that went over well with the packed house.
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