he 45th annual
K&N Filters March Meet, brought to us by the Goodguys and VRA, doesn't make
sense. It's the first race of the season, it's in the middle of nowhere i.e.
Famoso, CA, (sorry, "Bakersfield") and it consistently outdraws all the other
races on the vintage calendar in both spectator and car count.
There are so many different aspects to this deal that it is hard to describe. You have the rockabilly cats at the finish line, the car- show-time-out-doll types, the swap-meeters, fans of every imaginable size and flavor, the legendary Vipers, and, of course, the racers.
For a lot of the nostalgia folks, this race is it. The big one. The end all. Mecca. But whatever you want to call it, the March Meet is a must see, must do event. Maybe event is the wrong word, how about happening?
This year, of course did not disappoint. New rules in Top Fuel and the addition of a fuel Funny Car class added to the pre-happening hype.
So what happened at the happening?
TOP FUEL
Top Fuel had 21 cars looking to fill two eight-car fields. After a top end
incident involving Bob Richardson's Circuit Breaker during Friday's qualifying
session, we were down to 20 cars. After the much-talked- about Butch Blair/Howard
Haight car pass carnage (see Agent 1320's notes on this), we had 19 cars. After
three qualifying 
sessions,
the A- show runners looked like this:
In eliminations, Harris (photo) made short work of Tanko and Diehl, running a 5.888 to snake the surfer. Murphy k.o.'d Kaiser with a 5.961 and almost got bit by Brendan when both cars slowed, with Murphy's 6.321 holding Murry's 6.709. And just like it is supposed to work out, we had numbers 1 and 2 in the final.
Harris was away first with a .496 light to Murphy's .505, but the OSH car came around to get to the stripe first with a 5.882 @ 247.38 to Nitro Thunder's 5.926 @ 241.22.
 Low e.t. for the A show was Murphy's 5.882. Top speed, Murphy's 255.31. And he scored all these great numbers under the new rules and a new compound tire. Some "expert" on one of those message boards predicted that low e.t. would be a 5.99. Boy! The nerve of that guy! |
TOP FUEL B
 Mark Malde (left) and Lee Jennings |
Top Fuel's B (which means "Bueno!" if you live in Los Angeles and pay attention to the restaurant grades) was laid out like this:
1. Sean Bellemeur 6.178 @ 238.03
2. Lee Jennings sr. 6.207 @ 227.73
3. Rick White 6.377 @ 163.69
4. Rick McGee 6.380 @ 175.91
5. Denver Schutz 6.412 @ 226.07
6. Rick Rogers 6.554 @ 202.93
7. Mark Malde 6.614 @ 215.67
8. Dusty Renteria 6.702 @ 184.53
Also starting with the letter B is "breakage" and we had a little of that. Fred Farndon, Dan Rusk and Glenn Hutchinson were waiting in the wings as alternates, Farndon was out of parts so in came Rusk for Rogers. Hutchinson rode in for Renteria. This side of the show came down to the number 2 and 4 qualifiers. Lee Jennings trucked by Malde and got a free ride through the scales when White was a no show after his stellar 5.93 at only 217. Rick McGee poured his asphalt to Schutz and then Bellemeur to meet up with Jennings in the final. This time it was Jennings over McGee with a 6.121 @ 215.77 to a 6.717 @ 203.48.
 Sean Bellemeur was No. 1 qualifier and had top speed of the B main |
Low e.t. for the B show was 5.932 for Rick White with a top speed of 245.76 by Bellemeur.
NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR
|
1. Nate Bugg 6.241 @ 209.10 |
Nostalgia Funny Car had seven cars on the lot with six making the call on Sunday. After rather anti-climactic qualifying sessions, the flops filed in as follows:
Many a bleacher bum had thought that a match up between Nate Bugg and Dan Horan Jr. was inevitable; Bugg had Chuck Worsham in his bonnet and Horan had Dale Pulde. Although Horan ran a 6.18 in his match-up with Savage, valve train problems kept him from coming back. Walls defeated Adams and then a reinstated Savage to get his slot in the final. Godfrey got there by swatting Bugg and dodging the Dan Horan Jr. juggernaut when the Mustang couldn't make the call.
So it went, in this break-rule-ridden eliminator, with Randy Walls meeting Bob Godfrey in the final for the first March Meet Nostalgia Funny Car champion.
At the green, Godfrey left on Walls (.517 to a .609) but it was all Walls after 330 feet. So it was Randy Walls (photo) 6.751 to a 8.614 to become the first champ in the books with the new Funny Car class.
Low e.t. went to Dan Horan Jr. with a 6.180 and top
speed was
Mr. Horan again at 238.03
A/FUEL, which is Goodguys answer to top alcohol, had 17 cars out for a 16 car show.
Bill Wayne was on another planet as he turned an incredible
6.362 @ 219.94
to trounce the always- tough Ron Attebury, who ran a respectable 6.583 @ 212.91.
Wayne's numbers in the final were good for low e.t. and top speed.
JR. FUEL
A also featured a racer who was flirting with the twilight zone of his class. Scott Parks, son of Frank Parks of Neil & Parks fame, ran an amazing 7.003 in eliminations to come within a whisker of the elusive six-second time slip. In the final the six-second zone would have to wait until another day, as Scott ran a 7.019 @ 188.95 after Jon Rowley fouled away a 7.205 @ 184.95.
Low e.t. obviously went to Parks' 7.003 with top speed
also going to the
"tin-bendin' kid" with a 189.91 mph blast
JR. FUEL B was the domain of cagey slingshot veteran Don Enriquez who defeated another veteran in the guise of John Rasmusson in the final, a 7.269 to Rasmusson's 7.353.
Low e.t. went to Enriquez at 7.269 with top speed going to rival Rasmusson 182.18 mph.
Agustin Herrera was the A Gas winner
And so it begins, another year of Goodguys/VRA race action. After the March Meet, the other races always seem to lack a certain magic. Maybe with the return of Vegas and the return of night racing to Pomona, the Goodguys will be able to sustain the momentum and the car counts of the March Meet. For the good of our little "hobby," let's hope so!
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