Jimmy Jones took the 2011 OFAA championship.

Although Jimmy Jones didn’t advance to the final, his .010 margin of victory in first round was enough to secure his points lead by just five points over Terry Brian, official making Jimmy Jones and the “Texas Tremor” team the 2011 Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered Series Champions.

Jones posted six first-round wins in the seven-race season and advanced to two final rounds, winning them both. Those round wins coupled with consistency and excellent work from his crew added up to a dream season for the team. Jones never missed a round with parts failure nor did he oil the track a single time. Lots of hard work and passion went into a well-deserved title for the “Texas Tremor” team.

Marriott and team “Shockwave” were making their third final round appearance of the season, Rigler and the “Toxic” gang making their second. Two of the best in the business returned to the water box for the final time of the night as the call went out to fire them up in a classic blown alcohol vs. nitro fueled battle.
     
The cars were off the line almost dead even and remained side by side through the 330 mark. Rigler’s front end was floating and he made a move for the wall and had to ease off the throttle to keep control. That was enough for Marriott to pull ahead to take the win with low elapsed time of the meet, a 3.89 at 192 mph blast, which added his name to the list of winners of the Texas State Championships.

For Marriott and company, the win put an end to a successful season, posting two wins in the last three races after debuting a brand new car in September. Marriott’s win tied him with Terry Brian for second place and since Marriott had more round wins, more finals and more event wins, Marriott took second place overall with Terry Brian finishing third. The top three finishers in the standings were separated by only five points.
     
“What a season this has been,” Marriott said. “The competition has been intense and the camaraderie simply unbeatable. To have the points battle go down to the last rounds of the last event was great. Having to go back and count round wins to break a tie, proves how tough these guys are. Having our group being a part of the Texas State Championships is the perfect way to end the season and being able to win it really made our year. To have my name listed in the history of this event is definitely a career highlight.

“One of my crew guys, Allen Friar, lost his dad right after the Houston event and I would like to dedicate this event and this race win to Allen and his father,” added Marriott.  

2011 Painless Performance Products OFAA Top 10 Finishers:

1. Jimmy Jones – 246
2. Bobby Marriott - 241
3. Terry Brian - 241
4. Brad Rigler - 222
5. Chris Trusell - 190
6. Aaron Leyda - 185
7. John Broussard - 178
8. Mary Reep - 174
9. David Purifoy - 170
10. Nick Poloson - 164