Donny McSwain was the last car to run and had a single, but needed to run better than Purifoy’s 4.208 to get into the final round.  At this point, a pair of 4.20’s from Anglin and Purifoy were set to advance to the final as the two quickest winning elapsed times of the round so far, but if McSwain could lay down a quicker pass here, he would end Purifoy’s shot at his first final round appearance. McSwain did just that, with a 4.06 at 175 mph, to advance to his second straight final where he would face Terry Anglin, who was making his first trip to an Outlaw Fuel Altered final round. 

The Texarkana, Texas-based “Thrill Factor” team owned by Herb Whisnant with driver David Purifoy were yet again just fractions of a second away from their long overdue first trip to the finals.

Aaron Leyda and Dale Wilkens were impressive in their first outing and will bring nothing but more to the table in events to come. Wilkens is a founding member of the OFAA series from the late 1990s and made a big splash at Denton with a new hot rod and brand new team.

“I haven’t had my own racecar since 2004 and forgot what a great group of people and racers the OFAA has. Aaron last drove my blown BBC Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster in 2003 and to see him jump back in the seat of a blown car and do so well was very exciting.  Aaron wants to thank the North Star Dragway crew and the OFAA for being so supportive.  I want to thank my new crewmember Raymond who attended his first drag race here at Denton, and my fiancé, Marsha. We all know it takes a strong group to make every team work. We are looking forward to having a lot more fun in the future with this new team,” said Wilkens. 

Thankfully, Trussell and Broussard’s mechanical issues were relatively minor, unlike Poloson and Rigler, who could possibly be sidelined for the remainder of the season with the damage suffered in Denton. 

Anglin, in his rookie season with the series, hoped to notch the team’s first win while McSwain hoped he could make it two in a row and had the performance advantage on paper, but everyone knows you don’t drag race on paper. The call went out to fire em’ up and the final pair rolled through the water box.