“The car seemed to quit responding and around the finish line it took a wicked turn so I grabbed the wheel and it went up on its side with sparks shooting everywhere,” White explained. “Suddenly, the car took a turn for the opposite wall. All I could think about was running into Bobby. I wasn’t slowing down at all so I hit the chute and bent the brake handle because I was pulling so hard. The car hit the wall and bounced me around a lot, then started skipping to a stop and suddenly BOOM. Everything just took a bad turn. I was on fire and it was in the car with me wanting to play, but I wasn’t in the mood for any games.”
“The car finally slid to a stop and the fire started getting worse. I knew it was time to get out, fast. My next problem my new seat belt that I had not used before. I struggled for a second or two finding the switch to unbuckle. At this point, my whole lap and the inside of car were fully involved. I tried to stand up and jump out, but I was hung up. Instead of panicking, I sat back down to calm myself as the fire just got bigger and hotter. I flipped the belts back after finally unbuckling and climbed out. I started to run and realized the fire was following me as my boots and gloves were still on fire,” said White.
Marriott, in the opposing lane, had a front row seat for the experience. “My car smoked the tires and I looked over and saw Chris’s car with no right front wheel heading for my lane. The A-frame had broken off and he had no control. I got on the brake hard and he crossed in front of me and hit the guard rail in my lane. The car immediately burst into flames and before I could get stopped and get to him, he thankfully came jumping out of the car. If the North Star Dragway track crew hadn't been there quickly with their track fire truck, the car would have burnt to the ground.”
After the clean up racing resumed with the Poloson vs. Hay pairing that was also the Lufkin 2007 final round. Hay blew the burst panel in a huge ball of fire at the hit of the throttle and Poloson drove to a 4.26 to take the win and solidify his number six starting spot. David Purifoy made his OFAA debut in Herb Whisnant’s “Thrill Factor” machine and made it in on the bump spot with a 4.681 at 153 mph from the first session.
Roy Sanchez missed the field by eight thousandths of a second in his first event with the best of a 4.689. Sean Belt, Larry Reep, Clint Cross, Howard Knowles, J.T. Heslink, DoDad Burton and Dale Wilkens all packed up early as Jack Hodgson’s 3.93 led qualifying heading into first round eliminations. Unfortunately for the Waco based outlaws, their 3.93 resulted in a crucial parts failure and ended their night early bumping Donnie Massey’s 4.05 to the top spot. Tim Hay also called it a night after his boomer in the second session. Roy Sanchez and Sean Belt were brought in from the #11 and #12 alternate spots to fill the field.