The latest update as of October 16, 2023

There's good news and bad news in this report. The good is that we've got photos from all of the nitro sessions, qualifying in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Fuel Altered, plus the first round of eliminations for Funny Car. The bad news is that our hard working photographer, "Big" Bob Snyder wasn't able to stay for the final day of eliminations on Sunday. Even though we don't have pics from Sunday, we can reconstruct the racing through the NHRA.com detailed race results, and the NHRA.tv broadcast. We will fill in all the details during the coming week.
NOSTALGIA TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #2
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Our photographer loves to stake out a position deep in the shutdown area and capture some great 'chute shots, usually on a Saturday, so we start this report with Pete Wittenberg in the VFW entry. He pounded out a great 5.716 - 251.91, nearly a tenth quicker than his Friday effort, and jumped to the top of the ladder.
(RIGHT) Running alongside Wittenberg was Brayn Hall in the "H & H Nomad", but he went in the other direction, losing traction early and coasting to an 8-second clocking, leaving him outside the field in the #9 spot with just one more qualifying session remaining. With the bump spot already sitting at 6.245, and sure to drop as the session progressed, the Nomad team needed to step up from their 6.245 run on Friday.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Cruising to a stop, the "Overtime Special", driven by Tyler Hester jumped from #6 to #3 on the ladder with a very good 5.849 - 239.95 pass, knocking more than three tenths off Friday's 6.200 - 213.00 clocking.
(RIGHT) Coming all the way from Texas, Michael Anderson nearly broke into the 5-second zone in the "West Texas Hustler", stopping the timers with a 6.009 - 225.86 to move into the 8-car field in the #5 position. As good as his run was, there were still a number of cars in the lanes capable of bumping him down, or out, of the field.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) The beautiful mult-coloured full body entry of veteran Brendan Murry didn't make it all the way to the finish line under power, and his 6.734 - 145.11 pass didn't come close to making it into the show. With the bubble down to 6.223, the "Runnin' Wild" team needed to step up big in the final session.
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Already solidly qualified, Bret Williamson picked up the pace in the "Forever Young" car, notching a 5.836, coupled with a big speed of 253.47, but remained in the #3 position on the ladder.
(RIGHT) Williamson didn't stay #3 for long, as the next car down the track, the "Great Expectations III" car, driven by Tyler Hilton stayed hooked up all the way, pounding out the first 5.60 of the weekend, with a very strong 5.657 - 238.98 to vault to the top rung on the ladder.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) With Dan Horan Jr. busy tuning the team's Funny Car, veteran crew chief and driver, Pete Kaiser, was seconded to steer the "Patriot". Since Horan's mid 6-second run in Friday's first qualifying session wasn't close to qualifying, Kaiser had a clean slate to work with, but only two chances to get into Sunday's eliminations. He dropped a bomb on the entire field with a brilliant 5.631 - 259.41 to sweep everyone aside and take the #1 qualifying spot.
(RIGHT) This photo could be classified as "a lot of work for nothing" as Shayne Stewart in the "Sullivan & Stewart" entry left the starting line before the tree was activated. Consequently, they received no elapsed time or speed on the run. Their Friday pass of 7.082 - 171.62 was only good for #13, and well out of the field, with just one more chance before qualifying closed.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) The "Titan Engineering" entry of the Van Horn brothers, with Shawn Van Horn at the wheel, needed to cut at least a quarter second off their Friday run of 6.245 - 185.10, but instead, went in the other direction, slowing to a 6.484 - 167.51 to leave them #11 with several more racers to follow in the session.
(RIGHT) After a 6.223 - 209.10 first session run, the "Champion Speed Shop" entry of Bob McClennan, with Adam Sorokin driving, stepped up to a 6.059 - 213.43, but it wasn't enough to get into the field. Holding down the bump spot was Michael Anderson's 6.009 as the session came down to the last car in the lanes.
_500.jpg)
After a less than satisfactory result on Friday, a 12-second pass at 57 mph, Dusty Green, in the "Triple Threat" car, ran well to half track before fading to a 6.152 - 203.86, that left him a tenth and a half short of qualifying.
NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)
Friday's first two qualifying sessions generated an all 5-second field, ranging from Jerry Espeseth's top qualifying 5.595 - 259.11, down to #16 Steve Romanazzi, in his first appearance in more than a decade, at 5.5953 - 232.02. With 20 cars attempting to qualify, the final session was guaranteed to be a tension-filled afair for racers in the bottom part of the field, or worse, on the outside looking in.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Leading off the session was Brad Thompson in his "System 1" Camaro, aka Jailbreak, stepping up quite a bit from his #14 5.921 Friday best, to a very good 5.742 - 252.19 to jump all the way to the top half of the field in the #7 position.
(RIGHT) The always competitive Eddie Knox-owned "Problem Child" entry, driven by Billy Morris was already in a very good spot at #4 with his earlier 5.670 - 252.66, but chiseled a chunk off that number with a fantastic 5.601 - 257.43 to climb to the #2 rung on the ladder, trailing only Espeseth's 5.595 effort.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Running alongside Morris was young Drew Austin, third generation driver of the Austin family. At the close of a tough season, with the loss of grandfather and driving force for the team, Walt Austin a few weeks previously, the team was hoping to close out the year on a high note. A solid Friday best of 5.845 left them in the #11 spot, but they were already down to #12 before turning a 5.874 - 242.32 that was no help to them.
(RIGHT) The intinerant nitro driver, tuner, crewman, Cory Lee made a strong 5.759 - 257.24 pass in Gary Turner's "Pedaler" on Friday. Their last shot at improving on those numbvers wasn't succesful as a 5.832 - 243.94 came up on the scoreboard. With Brad Thompson's quicker run, it dropped Lee out of the top half of the field into the #9 slot.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Looking to back up his low qualifying 5.595 - 259.11 from Friday, the "Atlas Testing Labs" Camaro of Jerry Espeseth made a great, but not better 5.682 - 258.47 to show that they were ready to rumble in eliminations.
(RIGHT) Don Nelson's "California Hustler", with Kamaka Pocock driving, was sitting #6 going into the session, but fell back from his earlier best of 5.726 with a 5.877 - 250.74 clocking.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Starting the session in the #13 spot with his Friday best of 5.900 250.92, the "Speed Sport Special" tribute car of Jim Maroney wasted his last chance to improve, stopping the clocks at 6.448 - 163.83, but leaving a trail of foam block carnage behind him. Taking out not one, or two, but four timing blocks enroute to the finish line earned a DQ for the run.
(RIGHT) Sitting near the bottom of the field with three cars below him on the ladder still waiting to run, Ryan Horan needed to step up with the "Infinity Plumbing" Camaro. With father Dan doing the tuning, and not worrying about the dragster, young Horan ran hard to the 1000' mark before shutting off to a very good 5.774 - 235.35 to gain three spots to the #12 position on the list.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) Running in the lane opposite to Horan was "The Instigator", with Michael Peck Sr. in the hot seat this weekend, and he ran well before shutting off early to a 5.821 at omnly 222.03 mph. That left the Washington-based team in the #10 position going into the opening round of eliminations.
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) In the only side-by-side top end shot were Cory McClenathan in his iconic "Mac Attack" livery (left), paired with Canada's Tim Boychuk in his "Happy Hour" Camaro. Boychuk was already solidly qualified in the #8 spot with a Friday best of 5.749 - 250.55, but jumped into the 5.60's with a very strong 5.694 - 251.63 that was good enough to close out qualifying in the #6 position.
(RIGHT) McClenathan stepped up too, turning a career best in Nostalgia Funny Car, at 5.777 - 238.30 to climb from #18 to #12 and a spot on the eliminations ladder. With just one more pair waiting to run, it appeared that Cory Mac would face Geoff Monise in the first round, with the "Quarter Pounder" team holding lane choice by almost a tenth of a second.
_500.jpg)
Making quite a splash in his first Nostalgia Funny Car race since the 2008 March Meet, was Steve Romanazzi in his all-new "Warrior" entry, running 5.953 - 232.03 in the first qualifying session. He slowed a little in the second go-round to a 6.172 - 212.03, then only improved to a 6.058 -221.09 in his final attempt, leaving him in the #17 spot and not qualified for eliminations. A tough start to his comeback, but with three decent passes under his belt, the team can look forward to the 2024 season.
AA/FUEL ALTERED - Qualifying Round #1
Running on an invitational basis, the six fuel altereds on the entry list became five when Rodney Flournoy, driving the "Godzilla" entry, withdrew after a scary crash by his daughter Thais in her Nostalgia Eliminator One altered. Thankfully, the young woman was not seriously injured, but the family felt it best to concentrate on Thais and not race. The remaining five cars ran two qualifying sessions, before pairing off for eliminations on Sunday.
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) The first pair out of the staging lanes turned into a single when his opponent broke, so Mark Whynaught pushed the limits of the 6.00-index with his "Nitro Mamba" '23 'T' altered. He came close with a 6.049 e.t., coupled with a thundering 241.93 mph speed to easily take the top spot on the list.
(RIGHT) Now running out of the Pacific Northwest (Boise, ID) is the iconic "High Heaven" '32 Bantam roadster formerly owned by the Jackson family in Colorado. With young Shawn Callen driving, the car made an on-and-off pass that stopped the clocks at 7.052 - 206.80 and put them in the #4 spot on the ladder.
_500.jpg)
Running a solo with just five cars qualifying, second-generation Fuel Altered pilot, Dylan Winefsky piloted the "Nitro Moose" Fiat Topolino to a solid 6.225 - 228.07 to take the second spot in the field.
AA/FUEL ALTERED - Qualifying Round #2
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT) The second session of Fuel Altered "qualifying" saw Dylan Winefsky lay down a very consistent 6.238 - 211.20 to solidify his hold on the #2 spot, while in the other lane Mark Whynaught (not shown) ran just a hair quicker at 6.228- 234.99 to hold onto the top spot going into eliminations.
(RIGHT) Running by himself in the "Nanook" '23 'T', James Generalao Jr. took the reins from regular driver Kyle Hough, who was busy driving the family's new Nostalgia Top Fuel car. He had an eventful run, using up most of the lane before getting to the finish at 7.211 - 149.30 to slot into the bottom spot of the 5-car field.
NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR - Eliminations - Round ONE
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT)
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT)
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT)
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT)
(RIGHT)
NOSTALGIA TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT)
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT)
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)

_500.jpg)
(LEFT)
(RIGHT)
_500.jpg)
NOSTALGIA TOP FUEL - Final Round (Good Vibrations March Meet)
_500.jpg)