FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Amarillo Dragway - Amarillo, Texas

NOTE: Click on the thumbnails to display the full-size images

After a very successful - and that's putting it mildly - season opener at the Texas Motorplex, the FUNNY CAR CHAOS crews moved on to Amarillo Dragway for their second event of the 2021 season. With 37 cars on the pre-entry list (down a bunch from the world-record breaking 67 cars on the list at the 'Plex) it was still a very strong turnout, portending strong support for the FCC from the racers. Adding a third ("C") field to this race helped keep up the interest level among the racers and may lead to it becoming a fixture at future events. Here is the full report from the first day, Friday, with photos and results from both qualifying sessions.

After so many years in mothballs, it was very cool to see the original Amarillo Dragway sign (left) on display before qualifying, then we fast forward to 2021 and see the current "A" board (right)

A couple of pre-race pit shots are next, with Scott Pareso and the "Altered Reality" crew preparing to fire up the car before the first session, and Ray Stringer and the "Blown Cent-Less" crew spinning it over for the warm-up

First Qualifying Session

After two days of inclement weather, ranging from hail and rain, to wind and sun, conditions calmed down enough for the first qualifying session at the second FUNNY CAR CHAOS event of the season at venerable Amarillo Dragway. The starting line was tacky but most of the cars lost traction at some point enroute to the finish line. And it wasn't the "Big Show" cars that invaded the Texas Motorplex last month having trouble, as none were present in Amarillo, but everyone from low-buck Chevy operations, to serious blown fuel combos that were struggling to post good numbers. We don't have the first qualifying session results, but numbers quoted in our report are the best recorded for each car after two sessions.

Two of the series regulars, Daniel Butherus (left) in his Chevy-powered "Rat-A-Tude" and Dustin Bradford in the "American Dream" (right) tried their luck and came up with varying results. Butherus ended up #9 on the qualifying list with a decent 4.672 - 152.09 clocking, while Bradford had obvious problems in his first attempt when the 'chute popped out on the launch. He kept it in to the finish line in the evening session and put down a 5.426 - 137.83 for the #17 spot on the list

Two long distance travellers came out next, with Don Knoblauch making the long tow down from Sumner, WA to run his "Atomic Punk" Camaro,(left) but not finding results to his liking as his best pass of the day was only 7.011 - 72.42, landing him in the #23 slot. Coming from even farther afield, Edmonton, AB, Canada's Tim Boychuk brought his popular "Happy Hour" entry out for the first time in 18 months, and slipped and slid to a 5.459 - 125.57 for the #18 position

Coming out strong in his "Northland Express", Flagstaff, Arizona's Mitch Bowen (left) surprised quite a few people with a strong #3 qualifying pass of 4.405 - 160.50 pass. On the other hand, Kirk Williams in the "Williams Bros. Racing" entry, didn't get very far before shutting off to a last on the list 11.435 - 47.29, only "good" for the #29 spot on the list

It looks like a full-on burnout on the left and the start of a second one on the right, but Ray Stringer in the "Blown Cent-Less" entry had major grip issues on his launch, and could only manage a best of 7.525 - 116.55 to end the day far down the ladder in the #26 position

Coming out with a new body and new look this year was Steve Vang, as the "Wicked Weekender" (left) managed to put himself solidly into the "A" field (at least provisionally) with a 4th best 4.478 - 148.40 pass. The only Chevy Vega in the field, the "Hombre" driven by Mike Buchanan (right) was well down the list, clocking in at 5.346 - 104.46 for the #16 spot

A newcomer to the circuit this year, Jade Cook in the "Nemesis" (left), didn't get too far under power, with a timeslip reading 6.060 - 78.57, only good enough for the #21 position. Faring a little better was the beautiful high country Camaro of Colorado's Keith Jackson (right), as the "High Heaven" kept the throttle open long enough to land in the #15 spot with a 5.294 - 101.65 pass

Taking up a lot of space on the page is one of our favourite FCC cars, the very photogenic "Cone Hunter" entry of Albuquerque's Lyle Greenberg, seen doing his burnout, then backing up (upper photos), then leaving the line, dropping cylinders and spinning the tires hard (lower photos). The results weren't pretty as the scoreboards told the tale with a 7.448 - 107.43 displayed

Late in the first session the Texas-based "Guardian" of Nancy Matter ran, but she didn't get very far under power and ended up near the bottom of the list (#27) with a clocking of 8.524 - 79.69. The team was obviously hoping for much better results in the evening session

Closing out the first session was Nick Poloson (right), as he topped the charts, with a very good (for the conditions) 4.159 - 170.83 in the "Bucket List" car to take provisional pole going into the evening session. As the crews got busy in the pits prepping for the second session, the ever-threatening storm clouds gathered over the track

Second Qualifying Session

With the temperatures dropping rapidly after sunset, a number of teams decided against trying to hook up on the cold track and stayed in the pits. A few of the teams managed to improve but most of the racers were hoping for much better conditions in the final qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. With a better weather forecast on tap, it seemed like a prudent move. As the FCC gang doesn't provide separate reports for the first two sessions, we can only report the best numbers recorded for each racer from the combined results.

Streaking into the night, the "Prairie Fire", driven by Nick Johnson (left) anchored the "A" field in the #8 spot, with a solid 4.659 - 148.65, while Blaine Cunningham in his "Animalize" entry (right) went nowhere in a hurry, finally stopping the clocks at 8.983 - 71.96, leaving him near the bottom of the pack

The old school '55 Chevy (or is it a '57 ?) "Dragon Slayer" of Andy Mears ended up in the middle of the "B" field (#12) with a decent 4.987 - 132.16 e.t. and speed

Coming all the way from Washington state, the "Atomic Punk" of Don Knoblauch (left) had some extra tuning help on hand, as Jeff 'The Surfer' Diehl joined the team for the weekend. His first effort ended early with a 7.011 - 72.42 timeslip and a good second try was negated by rolling the lights and getting a NTR (no time recorded timeslip)

Out for the first time in a very long time, Canada's Tim Boychuk in the "Happy Hour" Camaro, couldn't have been overjoyed with an 18th best 5.459 - 125.57 that put him all the way down into the (just added) "C" field. With only one more chance to knock off the rust, Boychuk and crew have to be hoping for much better numbers on Saturday

Enjoying the day much more was Oklahoma's Shayne Lawson (right) as the sharp looking "Man O' War" pounded out a good 4.560 - 120.51 for the #6 spot and a chance to play in the "A" field on Saturday night

As reported earlier, Ray Stringer and his "Blown Cent-Less" didn't exactly light up the scoreboards with a best of 7.525 - 116.55.

We're not sure if Steve Vang and his "Wicked Weekender" (left) improved in the evening session, but he managed to hold on to the #4 position, while Tod Barker's "Back in Black" 'Vette surprised a few people with the second fastest speed of the day, and the #5 qualifying position, with a very good 4.523 - 163.63 timeslip

Sporting new colours for the 2021 season, the former "Magnolia Missile" of Jeff Cameron (left) is now known as "Jake's Speed Shop", and he didn't disappoint his new sponsors, coming in as the #7 qualifier at 4.588 - 139.53. The best looking 'Vette in the pits, the "Cone Hunter" of New Mexico's Lyle Greenberg (right) had mixed feelings about his evening pass, as he lit the tires on the launch and stayed with it, smoking the tires to the finish line and finally stopping the clocks at 7.448 - 107.43 to sit just outside the "C" field at #25. It wasn't good, but it was spectacular

Two of the final shots from this report featured Clay Cunningham in the "Still Crazy" entry (left), on his way to an on-and-off (and probably at least one more on-and-off) before the clocks (finally) stopped at 6.240 - 128.05 that put him in the #22 spot

Late in the evening Chuck Loftin in the "Motivation" Mustang made his second attempt, shutting off early to a 5.235 - 104.54, only good enough for the #14 spot on the ladder

Saving the best for last, defending Funny Car Chaos series champion, Ken Singleton in the "High Risk" entry shut off a tad early on his qualifier and slipped into the #2 spot on the ladder with a 4.173 - 142.34 timeslip, landing less than two hundredths of a second behind the provisional #1 qualifer, Nick Poloson

Going through the results, it's obvious that most cars shut off before the finish line as the 200+ mph speeds at previous events (especially the season opener at the Texas Motorplex) were lacking, as Nick Poloson's top speed of the day (170.83) would have been well down the rankings at almost any other event on the schedule. Here's hoping for a tighter track and warmer track temperatures on Saturday. Stay tuned for more pictures from Friday's qualifying and results from Saturday's eliminations.

After a tough day of qualifying for the FUNNY CAR CHAOS crew on the little used Amarillo Dragway, conditions improved slightly for Saturday afternoon's third (final) qualifying session. With the hot sun beating down on the old asphalt, no one expected any really quick e.t.'s, but a number of racers did step up and improve their positions heading into the evening elimination rounds.

QUALIFYING - Session #3 - Final

(LEFT) First out of the lanes was the beautiful multi-coloured "High Heaven" Camaro of the Jackson family, driven by Keith Jackson. They didn't improve on Friday's best of 5.294 - 101.65, and dropped out of the "B" field, falling from #15 to #21 on the final list

(RIGHT) Making a big move upwards, Jade Cook pushed her gasoline burning, nitrous boosted "Nemesis" to a 4.757 - 144.33 to advance from the middle of the "C" field (#21) into the "B" field in the #14 position

(LEFT) Another one who made a big step up was Chuck Loftin in his nitro hemi powered "Motivation" Mustang. After a Friday best of 5.235 - 104.54, Chuck moved up four spots to near the top of the "B" field, with a solid 4.550 - 134.01 pass

(RIGHT) Coming all the way up the ladder from the "lucky" #13 position to the very top of the heap, Colorado's Bill Bernard whipped the "Hellanor" to a much improved (from 5.032 - 110.69) to low e.t. and top speed marks of 4.084 - 177.67 and the #1 position in the "A" field

(LEFT) Before they ran, some of the racers checked out the starting line, with "hired gun" Jake 'The Snake' Sanders (left) giving his advice to New Mexico's Lyle 'Cone Hunter' Greenberg (right)

(RIGHT) With no NHRA national events on the immediate horizon, Jeff 'The Surfer' Diehl (left) came out from California to give Washington state's Don 'Atomic Punk' Knoblauch ideas on how to handle the traction issues

(LEFT) Despite a solid launch, Nick Johnson wasn't able to improve on his previous 4.659 - 148.65 in the "Prairie Fire" and dropped out of the "A" field, from #8 to #11, landing in the middle of the "B" field

(RIGHT) Even though he picked up more than a half second in e.t., Tim Boychuk only climbnd two rungs on the ladder, moving up from #18 to #16, leaving him at the bottom of the "B" field with a 4.659 - 148.65 clocking

(LEFT) Showing that there's still room in FCC for an old-school, short wheelbase Vega, Mike Buchanan pushed the "Hombre" to an improved 5.050 - 141.14 pass (over Friday's 5.346 - 104.46, but fell three spots from #16 to #19, and a spot in the middle of the "C" field

(RIGHT) After a solid previous day's showing that left him #3 on the list and solidly in the "A" field with his 4.405 - 160.50, the "Northland Express" of Mitch Bowen couldn't improve and dropped down to #6 on the final qualifying chart

(LEFT) Not content to sit on Friday's 4.588 - 139.33 (good for #7), Jeff Cameron coaxed a better pass out of the "Jake's Speed Shop" car, but his 4.457 - 151.45 didn't move him up the charts and he stayed in the #7 spot

(RIGHT) The biggest improver on the property was the Kirk Williams driven "Williams Bros. Racing" entry, as he went from the very bottom of the list, in the #29 spot at 11.435 - 47.29, all the way up to the middle of the "A" field - and lane choice in the first round of eliminations - with a very good 4.281 - 163.94 pass

(LEFT) Cutting nearly a full second off his Friday numbers (5.627 - 99.27), Bob Alberty Jr. jumped up from #19 to #13 (and advanced from the "C" to the "B" field) with a much better 4.732 - 151.61 out of the "Thunderin' Okie" entry

(RIGHT) Considering all the success he's had over the past few years at FUNNY CAR CHAOS events, it was surprising to see that Ken Singleton wasn't able to improve his performance or position with the "High Risk" car. He even dropped a spot from Friday's #2 to #3 on the final list, with his Friday run of 4.173 - 142.34 standing as his best going into eliminations

(LEFT) Another case of one step forward - and two steps back - as Shayne Lawson improved from Friday's 4.560 - 120.51 to a last session 4.465 - 145.68, but saw the "Man O' War" drop from #6 to #8 on the final list and a first round pairing with the low qualifier in the "A" field

(RIGHT) Saving his best effort for last, Lyle Greenberg got down the track in an improved fashion from Friday's dismal 7.448 - 107.43 timeslip to a much better 5.699 - 112.91 in the final session. That's where the good news stopped for the "Cone Hunter" as she only moved up one spot from #25 to #24 and a spot near the bottom of the "C" field

PRE-RACE CEREMONIES and FLYPAST

Before things got down to business, the Star Spangled Banner brought everyone to their feet, on the track and in the stands

While the announcer held court in front of the tower, a group of vintage USAF warplanes and aerobatic planes did an impressive flypast

Here's three more images of the vintage warplane flypast during the national anthem. Great shots on a very clear day.

I'm going out on a limb here, but I think these last two flypast photos are of a Tiger Moth bi-plane, a favourite of cropdusters and aerobatic flyers. Corrections are cordially invited

More areobatics as the show continues in the sky. On the left we see a pair of vintage bi-planes, while on the right, a more modern version of the bi-plane with an enclosed two-seater cockpit

ELIMINATIONS - Round One - "A" Field

With the pre-race festivities out of the way, it was time to get down to business, as the first pair of cars rolled out of the staging lanes and fired up to start eliminations. Leading the way were the "A" field.

On the left, we've got Kirk Williams lighting up the tires on the burnout, while Steve Vang slows to a stop after his tire heater on the right

Kicking off the first round of eliminations, the #4 and #5 cars in the "A" field faced off. Burning out first was Kirk Williams in the "Williams Bros. Racing" entry. When the light turned green, his opponent, Steve Vang in the "Weekend Warrior" launched first (.069 to .083) but couldn't hold off Williams' 4.487 - 168.22 as his 4.610 - 135.55 fell a couple of car lengths short at the finish line

Getting a free pass when scheduled opponent Shayne Lawson sat in the pits with breakage, Bill Bernard laid down some serious power with a very good 4.114 - 176.35 on the competition bye

Here's a quartet of Nick Poloson in the "Bucket List", burning out, then launching hard enroute to the win over the no-show (broken) Jeff Cameron. Just past the finish line, it looks like Poloson got into some trouble as he bounced across the centerline when he left the prepped and sticky area of the track surface, but it didn't disqualify his 4.133 - 176.95 pass

Slowing after his burnout, Ken Singleton in the very familiar "High Risk" car (left), got set to face Mitch Bowen in the "Northland Express"

Coming off the line almost together, with an .058 to .078 r.t. advantage to Ken Singleton (left), the win went to the "High Risk" car as Singleton's 3.936 - 191.76 (new low e.t. and top speed of the meet clockings), turned on the winlight over Mitch Bowen's (right) game effort of 4.279 - 165.32

ELIMINATIONS - Round One - "B" Field

Burnout time with Nick Johnson on the left, and Jade Cook on the right

If you just looked at the e.t.'s it appeared to be a close race - on paper - but Jade Cook in her "Nemesis" entry (left) gained a HUGE advantage right at the starting line as she left a sleeping Nick Johnson in the "Prairie Fire" (right), by a .067 to .333 margin, making her 4.682 - 145.20 pass much better than needed to hold off Johnson's way-too-late 4.686 - 146.65 losing effort

(LEFT) Stopping at the end of his burnout is Matt Nissen in the "Runnin' Down A Dream" car

(RIGHT) Staged up and ready to launch are Chuck Loftin in the "Motivation" Mustang (near lane) and Matt Nissen's "Runnin' Down a Dream" in the far lane

(LEFT) Launching first (.044 to .196) in the blown alky car, Matt Nissen (right side) took an immediate lead over Chuck Loftin (left side), but the bigger horsepower of the blown fuel entry took the winlight, by a 4.535 - 162.37 to 4.724 - 149.01 decision. The gap at the stripe was barely a car length in what turned into a very close race

ELIMINATIONS - Round One - "C" Field

ELIMINATIONS - Round Two - "A" Field

ELIMINATIONS - Round Two - "B" Field

ELIMINATIONS - Round Two - "C" Field

ELIMINATIONS - Final Rounds

Winner of the "A" field was defending series champion Ken Singleton in his all-conquering "High Risk" car. Runner-up was Kirk Williams in the "Williams Bros. Racing" entry.

In the "B" field, Daniel Butherus and his "Rat-A-Tude" took the big prize, while series newcomer Jade Cook garnered the runner-up spot in her "Nemesis" entry.

And finally, the "C" field trophy went to Tom Furches and his "Made in America" team. Runner-up was Clay Cunningham in his "Still Crazy" car.