If Competition Eliminator standout Rodger Brogdon had known that adding shingles to his B/Altered Planetary-classified Camaro was all it took to put a season of mayhem on the right track, he might have wrapped his car back in February. 

Brogdon, who owns Rooftec, Texas' largest roofer, debuted a new wrap sporting the likeness of Owens Corning shingles and went to the top qualifying position during the first of two events in the NHRA Division 4 weekend at the Texas Motorplex. 

Brogdon's previous wrap, which sported cartoonish disaster scenes, was a matter of life imitating art. The reigning NHRA Division 4 Comp champion abandoned the B/Altered Automatic class for a more index-favorable B/AP, and the start of his season closely resembled the old wrap. 

For whatever reason, Brogdon's calamities became a thing of the past when he made a test run in Wednesday's testing and ran -.559 under the index. After a washout of Thursday's action, Brogdon and his team picked up where they left off. He ran -.665 under the index with a 7.205.

"Well, if I knew for sure that was what fixed it, but we both know better than to think it was changing the wrap," Brogdon said. "Unless you're superstitious. Yeah, we had changed everything but with the wrap."

To take inventory, in the season-opener for the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund series, Brogdon broke a transmission that over-revved the engine, causing significant damage. This breakage forced the team to withdraw from the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. Then, after qualifying second at the Laris Motorsports Insurance Sports Nationals, inexplicably broke the top off a valve while sitting on the jackstands, an hour after the last run. 

The perseverance of his crew, led by Paul Brogdon, kept the team coming back. 

"I've said it a hundred times: my guys never give up, and they're really good at this, and they have so much passion for the game," Brogdon explained. It's incredible. It reminds me of when I was 25 years old or even up to 40 years old. And I don't have nearly as much passion for it before as far as being able to do everything myself like I used to. I'm very fortunate I have the guys I have, that it doesn't matter what it takes. They do it for me, and it shows. The hard work shows. I told them I'll do this as long as they want to keep doing it. But when they decide to do something else, I'm sure ain't doing it by myself."

Don Thomas put his C/Dragster Automatic entry in the No. 2 spot, running -.632, 6.968 under, finishing just ahead of Cali Neff's J/Dragster Automatic, -.627, 7.653.

There are 33 Comp cars in competition this weekend. 

This weekend is also a Central Region event, and in the Top Alcohol Dragster division, Shawn Cowie was the No. 1 qualifier with a 5.265, 276.70, while Bob McCosh Jr. set the pace for the Funny Cars with a 5.523, 265.99. 

Other No. 1 qualifiers included Aydan Patterson (Super Stock), Bob Vogel (Stock), Ross Laris (Top Dragster), and Jimmy Lewis (Top Sportsman).