Kevin Lennon (left) in the “Shake and Bake” ’79 Arrow and Doc Halladay in the “Telstar” ’78 Arrow.  (Bret Kepner photo

Funny car fans were rewarded by Troxel’s action when nine cars showed up for the St. Louis race -- an increase in car count by 50 percent over what he had last year. Not only were there more cars but more five-second, 235+ mph cars. The number one and two qualifiers, Indiana’s Paul Romine and Minnesota racer Shawn Bowen, both ran sub-six-second laps at over 235 mph. In all, four of the eight qualified drivers went over 234.5 mph. Eagan, Minnesota’s Doc Halladay and Marengo, Illinois, racerAnthony Bronge both ran personal best speeds of 238.72 and 237.75.

Bronge Racing’s ’69 Camaro is known as “The Punisher”.  (Jeff Burk photo

The nitro teams gave the fans great performances all weekend long despite some authentic St. Louis mid-summer 90+ degree heat and humidity that raised the track temperature to nearly 140 degrees and the water grain count in the air to over the 100 grains per million mark. It was a race that demanded the best from the drivers, crews, and cars.

Defending series champion Romine, driver of the “Man O’ War” Mustang, had one of his best outings as a driver since his return to nitro racing last year. Not only did he drive the ’79 Stang to the pole but during eliminations on Saturday night and Sunday he beat every one of his competitors on a holeshot, including a gigantic half-a-tenth on former fuel altered pilot and fuel coupe rookie Anthony Bronge in the final round.