Named the unofficial DRO Best Engineered car, the Blastro van was one unreal piece of work with its blown 526-inch KB Olds motor and a "downsized" van body that must have eaten up about 10,000 man-hours of labor, and embodied everything we at DRO look for in a Q-8 ride. (photo by Magic Photos)

Also fighting it out with the time limit was Don Speer. His 7.13/187.67 lap beat out Ed Reaves' 7.18/186.02 for the last spot in the dragster lineup, but Speer hurt his best blower on the last qualifying pass just one hour before eliminations.

Illinois chassis builder, Don Speer and his crew never stopped thrashing and made the call to the lanes with time to spare.

Speer kept the father-son duo of Ed and Justin Reaves on the sidelines, as Justin would have been in for dad Ed, who torched a head on his blown big block Chevy-powered dragster in the last qualifying session. The Davenport, Iowa-based Team Reaves tried hard, but came up short against DRO Q-8 veteran Speer.

Other non-qualifiers had a variety of problems that kept them out of the lineup.

Mike Kurz brought in his Nostalgia Funny Car to the DRO show, and suffered through handling and engine woes. Kurz runs a short wheel base 1969 Plymouth Duster flopper that is powered by an iron block 392 Hemi burning alky, backed by a powerglide. He hopes to build interest in Midwest nostalgia Funny Car racing through his World Series appearance and other racing dates.

Adrian Deering drove in from Clinton, Iowa but failed to make the field. His Super Comp dragster came up short of the four blown dragsters who filled the available spots.