In round two of eliminations Krabill took the victory over Canadian Terry Capp in one of the closest matches of the event. Krabill’s 6.020/237.00 tune-up from crew chief Cory Lee nipped Capp in the lights at 6.094/239.05
In the other semi-final match Austin made another killer 5.893 ET at 232.96 to defeat Pruett’s 6.326 with the late afternoon crowd clearly cheering Pruett on.
The final round of nitro funny car found the Steve Plueger-tuned Arrow driven by Bucky Austin meeting underdog Kris Krabill. However, Austin blazed the tires just off the starting line giving the win to Krabill driving bicycle mogul Gary Turner’s “Pedaler.” Krabill made a solid pass turning off the timers with a 6.068 ET at 236.15 MPH as Austin idled down the track watching Krabill’s win light on the board.
For fans of nitro and funny cars the 27th Funny Car Fever at Sacramento Raceway was a spectacular event. Of note is that there was not one oil-down for the entire event from the first qualifying pass Friday afternoon through the final round late Saturday night. A rare occurrence indeed in today’s racing world.
The next nitro funny car shows for AA/FC VRA-legal cars will be held at the Strip at Las Vegas on May 2–4 for the NHRA-backed, Steve Gibbs-run Hot Rod Heritage Series event and then an event at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson on May 9–10.