Joey Haas laid the proverbial smackdown on the rest of the field this past weekend at the second edition of Funny Car Chaos’ Summernationals from Cordova Dragway.
Haas, at the wheel of his big bad nitro-burning Funny Car dubbed “Nimrod,” outlasted over 30 other Funny Cars to capture the trophy in the Rodaks Custom Roasted Coffee ‘A’ field. He not only qualified No.1 overall, but he also set low elapsed time and top speed of the meet during eliminations, sweeping the weekend and earning max points en route to his dominating victory.
Robbie Massey, Tom Furches, and Neil Girot also came up big in Cordova, joining Haas in the winners circle.
Haas wasted little time showing everyone in attendance at Cordova that he had the car to beat at the Summernationals. He lit up the scoreboard during Friday’s second round of qualifying, guiding his fourth-generation Camaro to a time of 3.480 seconds, 244 mph, to grab the No. 1 spot.
But Haas wasn’t finishing wowing the crowd, as he backed up his qualifying performance by rocking the house with another 3.4-second elapsed time during the first round of eliminations Saturday afternoon. He stopped the eighth-mile clocks with a dazzling 3.482, 234, to defeat Shayne Lawson in the alcohol-fueled “Man O’ War.’
As the sun began to set at Cordova, fans were treated to an incredible semifinal matchup as Haas faced off against his nitro-burning counterpart Allan Middendorf, who was making his Funny Car Chaos return after a two-year hiatus in his “American Outlaw” entry.
With header flames lighting the night-time sky, both cars pounded the ground. Middendorf got a slight advantage off the starting line, but his car lost fire just before the finish line, which allowed Haas to score the round win with another sensational 3.4-second pass. Haas ran a stout 3.479, 240, to Middendorf’s slowing 3.844, 162 to advance to his second final round of the season.
The final round in ‘A’ field at Cordova saw Haas take on defending Summernationals ‘A’ field champion Marc White. Marc White had an eventful day of his own in the ‘Drastic Plastic’ entry, kicking off eliminations with a 3.61, 219, win over Ray Drew, and then slaying reigning Chaos champion Kirk Williams, who red-lit, in the semis with a solid 3.524, 211.
White looked to be the one to stop Haas in his tracks and go back-to-back at Cordova, but it was not to be as he overpowered the racetrack right at the hit of the throttle. Haas finished off the night with 3.515, 243 to notchi his second FCC win of the year; he earlier won the ‘B’ field at the Texas Motorplex.
“It’s an awesome opportunity,” Haas said. “We ran with Motry (White’s car owner) for years, and Marc White, he’s one of the best as well. Our history with Motry goes way back and Cordova goes way back.
“I preached all weekend about consistency. The crew makes me look good and that’s all I got to say — Mike Kern, our crew. That’s the consistency we were looking for and that’s the job that got it done, and they made me look good.”
The methanol-burning machines were the story in the ‘B’ field, as Robbie Massey, in his fifth-generation Mustang Alcohol Funny Car, took home his first Funny Car Chaos victory.
Massey was given a bye run and an easy trip into the final four of the ‘B’ field when Dennis Rotter could not make the call in the opening round. Even with a single, Massey still went out and blistered the eighth mile at strong 3.851 at 197. He stepped that up to a 3.799, 198, to defeat Jim Chase in the semis and advance into the final round.
The final round of the ‘B’ field featured a classic Ford vs. Chevy showdown, with Massey taking on Jesse Clark at the wheel of his Chevy Impala Alcohol Funny Car. They put on a great side-by-side show for the fans in the final, as Clark got crossed up down track, hit the top-end time blocks and veered over the centerline. Luckily, Clark avoided Massey, who scored the win, running a 3.835 at 180 to Clark’s 3.838 at 173.
“So happy right now, I don’t know what to say,” Massey exclaimed. “I got to give all the thanks to my dad, Todd, Taylor, Jack, Shelly, and my mom and sister watching at home. I just can’t even explain it right now. Words can’t describe it. I’m the luckiest man on Earth.”
Although Funny Car Chaos was racing nearly two thousand miles away from California, the story in Wulff Pumps ‘C’ field had all the makings out of a Hollywood script. Tom Furches, at the wheel of his “Made In America” hemi-powered Pontiac Firebird, captured the trophy, boosting his Funny Car Chaos career win total to five overall. He did so on his birthday to put the icing on the cake, and the victory also vaulted him into the Funny Car Chaos points lead.
Furches dispatched Alex Barker, the FCC points leader, in the first round of eliminations, and that turned out to be a pivotal matchup in terms of the championship, as Furches ran a great 4.039 at 178 to Barker’s 4.392 at 161. The “Made In America” driver picked up a hundredth in performance in the semifinals, recording a 4.027 at 177 to defeat Steve Timoszyk in the “Detroit Tiger,” which ran a 4.051 at 186.
In the money round, Furches was uncontested as Bill Naves was unable to make the call. Furches stood on the gas in the final and closed the night out in the ‘C’ field in style, tying his semifinal elapsed time of a 4.027 but with a faster speed of over 178 miles per hour. Furches leads Barker in the standings by seven points with five races remaining in the season.
“How exciting!” Furches said. “It just so happens to be my birthday. I have my family here. We’re here in Cordova, Illinois, at the Summernationals. Funny Car Chaos is just so much fun and we’re just having a blast.
“We finished second last year, we had one spot to go. We’re in it now, and we’re going to do our best to be the champions at the end of the year.”
Just like Robbie Massey in the ‘B’ field, another first time Funny Car Chaos winner was crowned at Cordova as Neil Girot, in the “Twist N Shout” Funny Car, scored the big-time win in Michael Spitzer in Stankie Motorsport & Middendorf Companies ‘D’ field action. Girot took care of business against Kris Battey in the opening round with a 4.499 at 158, before he was gifted a single into the final round when his opponent Tony Acuri was shut off on the starting line after backing up from the burnout. Girot stepped off the throttle near halftrack during his semifinal run to save parts heading into the final round, stopping the clocks with a 5.354 at 89 miles per hour.
The last man standing in Girot’s way was Jordan Buller, as the two were set to square off in the ‘D’ field final. Buller was ready to go, cutting a lightning-quick .018-second reaction time, but he ran into problems immediately afterwards and Girot streaked away to a 4.455 at 159 to secure his first career Chaos victory.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Girot admitted. “Fourth Chaos race and it’s great to do it at home.
“Father’s Day, obviously I have to thank my dad. He’s been racing forever, and I drug him back into the Funny Car thing and I can’t ever tell him how much I appreciate him. And then of course Edwin and Chuck. My uncle and good friend of ours who comes out and helps. And then my sister Vicky came out from San Diego to watch us, so I really appreciate all of them.”
Funny Car Chaos will be back in action July 7-8 at Kearney (Neb.) Raceway.
