DragRacingOnline.com - Drag Racing From a Different Perspective

Lexington, SC's Richard Lee experienced this big wheelstand in the first round of Q8 Outlaw when his wheelie bar broke right off the start. Lee still won the round, though, and made it all the way to the semi finals.

untsville Dragway hosted its 12th annual 'Bama Nationals Apr. 17-18, with an estimated crowd of more than 5,000 showing up over the two days to enjoy heads-up Alcohol Funny Cars, Outlaw Pro Mods, and the fledgling Quick 8 Outlaw Series, as well as Pro and Footbrake bracket classes. Also on tap were exhibition passes by Danny O'Day in his SuperWinch '34 Ford wheelstander and Pepsi's jet Freightliner, with Saturday's action capped off by a trackside rock concert. Not bad for a $20 one-day ticket.

Q8 OUTLAW

Sometimes the right idea just has to wait for the right time to be implemented. That certainly seems to be the case for the South Carolina- based Quick 8 Outlaws Series for automatics-equipped doorslammers, as it already has 40 members from eight states in its first year, according to director of operations Tommy Granger. "We created the series to give these guys somewhere to race, create a points fund, and keep the costs down," Granger said. In order to discourage all-out Pro Mod cars from entering, the series stipulates Powerglide transmissions only (with Jason Green's Bruno 3-speed grandfathered in for this season), so most entries are ex- or current Top Sportsman cars.

"Right now we're just trying to build our credibility and after just three races, we're already hearing back from tracks that said they weren't interested at the beginning of the year," Granger added. "I have to give a lot of the credit for that to George Howard (owner of Huntsville Dragway), because he believed in us from the start. Because of his reputation in the sport, he's been instrumental in getting other tracks to sign on with us."

Jason Green came up just a little short with his '63 Corvette in both qualifying and eliminations. Green said he burned a plug in the semi finals and hurt the engine again in the Q8 Outlaw final round against Nick Cline. "We probably just finished it off that time," he said.

Despite the name, Granger said the series aims to fill a 16-car field at each of its 11 scheduled races this season. Seventeen teams made the trek to the north-Alabama eighth-mile strip, with Nick Cline nipping Jason Green for top qualifying honors for the second straight race. Lined up side-by-side for their third and final qualifying attempt on Saturday night, Cline drove his nitrous-boosted '38 Chevy Coupe through the lights in 4.305 seconds at 167.13 mph, eclipsing the 4.332 that Green posted in the previous round.

Anthony Fooshee, from Smithville, MS, drove the only supercharged car entered in the Quick 8 Outlaws Series at Huntsville.

Nick Cline's '38 Chevy originally was built in 1999 by his father Mike and older brother Chris for Chris to race in Top Sportsman events. Nick took over the wheel in 2001 when Chris became a hired driver for an IHRA Pro Mod team.

The two were destined to meet again, as Cline advanced from a first- round bye to eliminate Tom Stringer, then his brother Stephan Stringer in a pair of first-generation Camaros. On the other side of the ladder, Green downed Neal Light's Chevy S-10, Anthony Fooshee's '63 Vette, and Richard Lee in his 2002 Grand Am.

In the final round, Cline left with a very small starting-line advantage, posting a .027 light to Green's .033, then went 4.349 at 167.59 compared to a 4.382 at 165.59 mph in the opposing lane. "It was tight down there," Cline said later. "I knew he was right with me all the way." He also acknowledged he "dodged a bullet" in the first round when severe tire shake forced him to shut off early. "Our day could've been a lot shorter than it was."

OUTLAW PRO MOD

Fresh off a match-race victory over Scotty Cannon a week earlier at Huntsville Dragway, Bil Clanton from Rome, GA, looked set to dominate again at the 'Bama Nationals, but mechanical woes prematurely ended his day.

Over in the Outlaw Pro Mod ranks, Bil Clanton earned the top qualifying spot with a 4.038-secs blast at 178.28 mph in his supercharged hemi- powered 1953 Studebaker. Clanton made a 4.08 pass in a first-round bye, but his luck ran out in the second round when his car lost fire after the burnout.

Meanwhile, sixth-place qualifier Danny "Buck" Gardner and number-nine Ron Stokes began their march toward a final-round meeting by taking out Jeff Fisher's blown Datsun 240Z and Rex Kelley's '63 Corvette, respectively, in the opening round. Next up for Gardner and his blown Olds-powered '98 GMC pickup was Michael Neal in a blown '92 Lumina and Kevin Reed in a 2000 Corvette. Stokes, meanwhile, took advantage of Clanton's misfortune, then got another gift in the semis from a redlighting Greg Holt in another blown late-model Corvette.

Rex Kelley was top qualifier among the nitrous contingent at Huntsville, slotting into eighth place with a 4.337-second pass in his 1963 Corvette.

Gardner left just .004 ahead of Stokes and his flamed '53 Corvette in the final round, but pulled away to win with a 4.196 pass at 172.31. Stokes slowed to a 4.375 at just 141.06 mph. "We just stayed where we were at and made them chase us," Gardner said afterward, referring to his qualifying set-up. "We struggled all year last year with tires, but finally went back to the Goodyears. I guess they're worth the extra money."

Featuring an all-new red paint job, "Buck" Gardner's 1998 Silverado made its 2004 debut at the Huntsville race. The truck, which originally raced in the Super Chevy Nitro Coupe series, is motivated by a 525 c.i. Olds motor built by Alan Johnson.

FUNNY CAR

Top qualifier John Sullivan (3.960/186.68) was the only Funny Car pilot to run in the threes at Huntsville, and he did it all day on his way to winning the final round over Jim Phillips, driving Monty Todd's '55 Chevy-bodied flopper. Still, it wasn't an easy weekend for Sullivan's Montgomery, AL-based team, as they had to thrash between the second and third rounds of qualifying. "We broke a rod and blew up a brand-new engine," Sullivan said. "We just barely got it back together in time to run that 3.96."

On raceday, Sullivan took it easy in a first-round bye run, then strapped a 3.953 on Jerry Freeman in the semis. Phillips, who qualified third, took out Dusty Sims in round one and ran his best pass of the weekend, a 4.14 at 170.68, in his semi-final win over Don Roddy.

John Sullivan (near lane) took an obvious advantage from the start and never looked back on his way to winning the Funny Car title at this year's 'Bama Nationals.

It was all Sullivan in the final round, as he laid a .115 holeshot on Phillips and streaked to a 3.3996-second pass at 184.46 mph, while Phillips put together an off-the-pace 5.734-secs effort. Car owner Todd later said he knew Phillips' ride was "sick" when it went to the line, but there was nothing he could do about it at the time.

Sullivan gave credit to crew chief Tommy Payne for being able to tune the car "consistently and conservatively," stressing, "that's key on a tight budget like we have. If you can run fast and consistent passes like that, that's how you wear people out."

SHOOTING GALLERY

Number-six qualifier Kenny Kneece, from Trenton, SC, went to the Quick 8 Outlaw quarter-finals, where he broke a rocker arm in his nitrous-boosted 706 ci engine while racing good friend Richard Lee.

Ron Stokes made it all the way to the Outlaw Pro Mod final, but the Columbus, MS-based racer came up short to Buck Gardner in "The Truck."

Toney Russell's '57 Chevy "Lowmad" was a clear crowd favorite. Russell made it into the Outlaw Pro Mod field in 12th place and lasted until the second round at Huntsville Dragway.

Edmund "Mr. 5-Speed" Hall qualified No. 10 in Outlaw Pro Mod with his nitrous-assisted 706 ci Trans Am, but fell in the opening round to Huntsville, AL's Kevin Reed.

It's not every day you see a blown 525 ci Olds in a Datsun 240Z, but if you did, this is what it'd look like. Talladega, AL's Jeff Fisher started 11th in the Outlaw Pro Mod field, but tire shake off the start put him out in round one.

Number-six qualifier Kenny Kneece, from Trenton, SC, went to the Quick 8 Outlaw quarter-finals, where he broke a rocker arm in his nitrous-boosted 706 ci engine while racing good friend Richard Lee.
Ron Stokes made it all the way to the Outlaw Pro Mod final, but the Columbus, MS-based racer came up short to Buck Gardner in "The Truck."
Toney Russell's '57 Chevy "Lowmad" was a clear crowd favorite. Russell made it into the Outlaw Pro Mod field in 12th place and lasted until the second round at Huntsville Dragway.
Edmund "Mr. 5-Speed" Hall qualified No. 10 in Outlaw Pro Mod with his nitrous-assisted 706 ci Trans Am, but fell in the opening round to Huntsville, AL's Kevin Reed.
It's not every day you see a blown 525 ci Olds in a Datsun 240Z, but if you did, this is what it'd look like. Talladega, AL's Jeff Fisher started 11th in the Outlaw Pro Mod field, but tire shake off the start put him out in round one.