“Sundown” Scores Second Win
The Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altereds put on their Summer Nationals at Ben Bruce Raceway in Evadale, Texas on Saturday June 21st, marking the halfway point of the 2008 racing season, a season which has been fortunate for some and forgettable for others. Nick Poloson, Donnie Massey and Bobby Marriott have each scored wins in the first three events, and all hold a spot in the Royal Purple Top 5 points standings.
Ben Bruce Raceway itself is a very unique place to race. Built on an abandoned landing strip, this facility is simply one long strip with nothing but grandstands on each side. The pits are located in the first half of the strip and the track itself makes up the second half. Surrounded by trees, the echo of fuel altereds brings goose bumps to those who understand their power. Combine all this with stadium style wrap-around grandstands circling the starting line, and you’ve got a fun filled event on your hands. And what better way to do it than with some blown fuel altered drag racing?
The 2008 season has seen three different winners and no repeat finalists as the competition is as strong as it has been in series history. Seeing a three second pass has almost become expected, and the number of cars capable of running low fours is growing per race. It’s no easy thing to win an Outlaw Fuel Altered event, as any of the competitors can tell you. Thirteen blown bandits came to give it their all in Evadale and the Royal Purple Summer Nationals got underway with two of the strongest teams, the “Shockwave” of Bobby Marriott and “Sundown” of Nick Poloson.
Marriott took us to the dark side with a new look black paint scheme for this year and his hot rod has been on kill since mid-2007. He has more final rounds, more wins and more number one qualifying efforts than anyone else in the series. A 4.09 at 182 mph lap from Marriott and 4.13 at 172 mph pass from Poloson started things off at a strong pace and proved the track could handle some serious power.
J.T. Heslink’s “Punisher” machine laid down a nice 4.22 at 174 mph and right off the trailer Brad Rigler went a 4.12 at 170 mph in “Toxic.”
Jack Hodgson’s “Southern Outlaw” looked to come back strong after a surprising DNQ at the last event in Denton, Texas. Unfortunately for the Waco based team, their luck did not change and the car kicked the rods on a 4.55 at 115 mph run ending their night far too early. Chris White brought back his “White Lightning” blown alcohol machine which was impressive to say the least. The car looked great and ran even better with a nice 4.43 at 160 mph lap. The same car had been virtually destroyed back in March and it was great for the team to bounce back to quickly and lay down a solid number. The final pair of qualifying put Donnie Massey along side Donny McSwain. They did their dance down the strip to post the best two times of the session. Massey’s 3.94 at 178 mph led the pack over McSwain’s 4.04 at 179 mph. Roy Sanchez, John Broussard, Larry Reep and David Purifoy all made runs but were after some better numbers in the next session.