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BETTER THAN GODZILLA VS. KING KONG, IT’S FUEL ALTEREDS VS. PRO MODS

July 6, 2016
by Bobby Bennett

Anthony Whitfield’s “Mighty Mouse” AA/Fuel Altered is sporting a new combination in 2016 with an ex. Jim Young Nostalgia Top Fuel nitro small block Chevy between the frame rails. This wicked entry lit up the sky with header flames and qualified sixth for the Fuel Altered field with a 4.18 at 165 mph. In round one action, Whitfield posted a 4.28 to defeat Eddie Roach’s Pro Mod, but in round two a piston snapped in half on the burnout ending the weekend on a negative note for the team from Elk City, Kansas.

The 4th Annual Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown lived up to it’s credibility as one of the most thrilling events of the summer in Texas at North Star Dragway. This event, presented by Lone Star Forklift, packed the facility just north of Dallas with pits full of Outlaw Pro Mods and Fuel Altereds and filled the stands with eager spectators ready to see this ultimate heads up shootout.

In this modified Chicago-style affair, the top twelve qualifiers in Pro Mod and Fuel Altered were paired in a massive twenty four car first round field. All round one winners advanced to the round two shootout where the quickest winning Pro Mod and quickest winning Fuel Altered would advance to the final round. Howard Farris’ “War Wagon” AA/Fuel Altered qualified number one and earned a spot in the final round to take on the hottest Pro Mod on the grounds, Eric Clark’s screw blown 1967 Ford Mustang entry.

In the final round, Farris’ 3.63 at 209 mph defeated Clark’s 3.83 at 193 mph to take home the win for the Fuel Altereds, making the overall score Fuel Altereds 3 – Pro Mods 1. This marks Farris’ second win in four years as he also claimed victory at the 2014 running of this event. It was an epic weekend filled with wild heads up outlaw action that can only be seen at The Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown.

One of two cars out of the Clayton Pool owned Outlaw Pro Mod stable was the “Wild Child” entry driven by Bill Doucet of Opelousas, Louisiana. In the third and final qualifying session, Doucet ripped off a stout 3.87 at 184 mph to qualify number four in the Pro Mod field. Doucet broke the blower belt at the hit of the throttle in his first round match-up with Mark Hunter’s Outlaw Fuel Altered.

Defending event Champion Brandon Lewis’ “Bad Ass 57” Pro Mod was in the house and looking to repeat a stellar effort at this event in 2015. In the third and final qualifying session, Lewis jumped to the top spot in the Pro Mod field with a 3.815 at 208 mph. Lewis clicked off a 3.84 at 208 mph to defeat Tommy Drozd’s blown altered in round one. In second round a 4.00 at 138 mph came up short of a ticket to the final round, but a good weekend overall for the team from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Brandon McKinney is a newcomer to the Outlaw Pro Mod ranks of the southwest and was in his first Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown event. McKinney was more or less getting seat time in this new ride, hoping he might sneak into the top twelve Pro Mod qualifiers. Unfortunately, his best of 4.76 at 120 mph came up short for a spot in eliminations.

Brian Barnett was in his first appearance in the Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown and his Yukon, Oklahoma based blown Pro Mod qualified fifth in the field with a 4.00 at 185 mph. In the opening round of eliminations, Barnett’s -.003 reaction time ended his weekend as Cory Holcomb’s Outlaw Fuel Altered took the win to move into round two.

NHRA Division 4 Top Alcohol Funny Car competitor Bryan Brown mounted an altered body on his screw blown alcohol burning entry and fought to keep the front end down in his first three qualifying attempts. With tuning assistance from Adam Rhodes, crew chief for Top Alcohol Dragster star Chris Demke, Brown dropped the hammer on the competition in the first round with a stellar 3.76 at 206 mph to take out Doug Riesterer’s nitrous oxide assisted Pro Mod. In round two, arguably the most thrilling drag race of the night, Brown lined up with Howard Farris. Farris’ 3.72 at 196 mph was just enough to hold off Brown’s 3.74 at 192 mph in the quickest side by side pass in North Star Dragway history. It was a fun outing for this camp who spent five days thrashing at Copeland Racecars and Fabrication in Gainesville, Texas to get ready for The Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown.

The grandstands were at maximum capacity on Saturday night as shirts were thrown into the crowd before the first pass of the night for the “Game XChange” Jet Dragster driven by Ray Kelley. Kelley lit up the sky with his jet dragster which pushed the 200 mph barrier to the applause of the crowd.

Donny McSwain’s Lone Star Forklift sponsored Outlaw Fuel Altered qualified second in his respective field with a 3.86 at 188 mph. Friday night McSwain had chute problems and stuffed his “Wild One” blown alcohol entry into the sand trap but with only minimal damage to the front wing, was able to continue into eliminations. A 3.93 at 179 mph scored McSwain and crew chief Kenny Trumble a first round win over Shawn Davis who’s 4.19 at 169 came up short in the Clayton Pool owned blown 1963 Corvette Pro Mod. In round two, McSwain stepped up to his best pass of the event with a 3.85 at 194 mph but that came up just short of a ticket to the final round. Overall a strong weekend for the team from Rockwall, Texas.

Eddie Roach entered the event on Saturday afternoon with only one shot to get into the top twelve field of Outlaw Pro Mods. In the final qualifier, Roach’s 4.42 at 171 mph was enough to grab the twelfth and final spot in the show. Roach fell to Anthony Whitfield in the opening round of eliminations.

Eric Clark and the Clark Brothers Paint & Body sponsored 1967 Ford Mustang thundered to the number two qualifying position in Outlaw Pro Mod with a 3.81 at 196 mph. In the first round, Clark benefited from a competition bye run after the “Crossways” AA/Fuel Altered driven by Clint Cross was unable to make the call. In round two, Clark charged to a career best 3.71 at 198 mph to earn him the precious spot in the final round to take on Howard Farris. A 3.83 at 193 mph came up short at the stripe in the final against Farris’ 3.63 at 209, but a great time was had by all as the Clark camp posted a strong runner up finish in a fierce field of competition at this year’s Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown.

East End, Arkansas racer Harry Crane looks forward to The Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown every summer with his nitrous assisted Pro Mod Camaro. Crane qualified tenth in the field with a 4.27 at 173 mph. Crane earned a first round win as his opponent Terry Brian in the flame belching “Nitro Warrior” AA/Fuel Altered had to shutoff after the burnout with mechanical issues. Crane ripped off a 4.23 at 171 mph to move into round two, but suffered engine damage on that 4.23 pass which ended his race weekend.

Springtown, Texas native Howard Farris and team “War Wagon” are arguably the most feared Fuel Altered in the entire southwest and for good reason. A defending Champion from 2014, Farris and company are known for big flames and big performances and they delivered when it counted at this year’s Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown. Farris qualified at the top of the pack in the AA/Fuel Altered field with a 3.76 at 216 mph and marched into the final round with a 3.90 at 184 and 3.72 at 196 to meet Eric Clark in the last dance. The “War Wagon” blistered the eighth mile to a 3.63 at 209 mph to claim low elapsed time of the event in the final round and secure their second Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown event win. Farris and company would like to thank Icon Pistons and Road Rage Fuel Booster for their support of the team at this event.

Jim Brinkerhoff’s nitrous pumping Outlaw Pro Mod 968 Camaro secured the number seven qualifying position with a 4.05 at 183 mph which earned him a date with Howard Farris in the first round of eliminations in this sportsman laddered field. In first round, Brinkerhoff took almost a full tenth of a second advantage off the line and at the 330′ mark the Pro Mod was out in front of Farris’ Fuel Altered. As they neared the stripe, Brinkerhoff was forced to lift as his Camaro made a move to the centerline, allowing Farris to blast by for the win.

Ken Singleton’s “High Risk” Outlaw Fuel Altered ran very strong all weekend and qualified third with a 3.88 at 197 mph with tuning assistance from Todd Martin. In a first round upset, Singleton was put on the trailer by Jay Ligon’s crowd favorite US Army Truck Pro Mod as Ligon used a quicker reaction time and posted a career best 3.97 at 187 mph to defeat Singleton’s quicker but loosing 3.91 at 196 mph.

The first pair down the track on Friday evening’s first qualifying session brought Jay Ligon’s US Army Truck Outlaw Pro Mod to the line against Raymond Dawson’s “High Octane” alcohol burning Outlaw Fuel Altered. Ligon carried the front wheels from half-track almost through the finish line as both cars hugged the centerline. Ligon’s 4.19 at 155 and Dawson’s 3.99 at 163 mph was a great way to set the pace for the remainder of qualifying on Friday night.

Mark Hunter is the newest driver to the Fuel Altered scene in Texas and qualified number ten with a 4.85 at 138 mph. In the first round of eliminations, Hunter’s career best 4.74 at 132 mph took out Bill Doucet who broke a blower belt at the hit of the throttle.

NHRA Division 4 Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Nancy Matter found herself behind the wheel of a blown altered at the Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown. This entry, owned by Jim Phillips of Evansville, Indiana, certainly won the long haul award at this year’s event. Matter and company battled a few gremlins but enjoyed their weekend at North Star Dragway qualifying ninth with a 4.84 at 109 mph but were unable to make the call for their first round pairing with Brandon Pesz.

The heavy hitting Outlaw Pro Mod entry of Brandon Pesz took the number three qualifying position in Pro Mod with a 3.86 at 179 mph and they stepped it up to a solid 3.81 at 199 mph in a first round competition bye run. In round two, Pesz ripped off an incredible 3.77 at 198 mph which shockingly failed to earn him a spot in the final as Clark’s 3.71 took the final round ticket. A successful weekend none the less for Pesz and company.

The “High Octane” Outlaw Fuel Altered driven by Raymond Dawson and tuned by Danny Wright was the picture of consistency over the two days at North Star Dragway. Qualifying passes of 3.99 and 4.00 earned him the number five spot in the Fuel Altered field. In round one competition, Dawson’s 3.99 at 181 took the win in a solo shot as Randy Rencher was unable to make the call. In second round, Dawson stepped up to a 3.96 at 183 mph but was no match for eventual runner up Eric Clark.

Terry Brian wowed the crowd in his “Nitro Warrior” AA/Fuel Altered with flames past the rear wing on his Friday night qualifying pass. Brian’s 3.96 at 146 early shutoff run showed just how much was left in this monster. Unfortunately, mechanical problems plagued the team all weekend and the Brian camp had to shutoff in the first round. Regardless, the biggest header flame award certainly goes to this team from New London, Texas.

Tommy Drozd made his first appearance in the Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown this year and wheeled his blown altered to a 4.53 at 156 mph to qualify seventh in the Fuel Altered contingent. Drozd drew defending event Champion Brandon Lewis in round one and went -.015 red with a 4.54 at 159 mph.

Doug Watkins scored his first win of the season in Southwest Heritage Racing Association Nostalgia Super Stock action. Watkins met Tony Smith in the final round and posted a 6.45 on a 6.41 dial to take the win light over Smith’s 7.08 on a 7.05 dial.

Jay Moore claimed victory in the Old School Backhalf class racing as he defeated Gary Epperson in the final round. This 5.00 index true backhalf class is a regular monthly program at North Star Dragway and always a great show. Fourteen cars were in competition at the Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown as Moore took home the big win.

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