The next pair up featured Todd Lesenko in the “Jolly Rogers” Mustang now also under the Plueger awning. This is a completely new car making its debut at the Ignitor, and things were looking to be very promising as on Friday night’s test and tune run, in weather conditions more akin to racing bobsleds, the new combination ripped off a very impressive 6.05. However, during the first session the “Jolly Rogers” did the exact same thing that the “L.A. Hooker” did, hiking the front end and bouncing off the wheelie bar, smoking the tires and going nowhere.

This left both Plueger cars on the outside looking in for the first time in many years.  

The temps then came up some, although the air density level dropped to just over 3400 feet, and the conditions came to Jason Rupert, who drives the Mert Littlefield tribute car. Rupert’s first attempt was a bit “wacky”, as the linkage for the barrel valve fell off leaving the engine idling very high, and preventing him from putting the car into reverse. He quickly shut the car off, preventing any engine damage. Brad Littlefield, Mert’s son, was actually working at this race getting his hands dirty doing the clutch on the car.
 
After the first session it was Harris on point and Mark Hentges at the wheel of uncle Bucky Austin’s Arrow tagging the rear of the field with a 12.07.

In the second and final session, Rajcic was out first. Even with a new fuel pump, the “Hooker” just didn’t seem to like what Plueger was trying to feed it, as it was spinning and shaking, hiking the front end up and down. Rajcic pedaled the car a couple of times but managed to make to the other end with a 6.26-second run, which put them in the show at least for the moment.

Next pair was Rupert and Hentges, and both took full advantage of the great weather and track conditions. Rupert laid down a very stout 5.87 second run at 247.79 miles per hour.  Less than a mile per hour off the track record of 247.97 set by Hentges at the Nightfire Nationals last year. Hentges was right next to him with a 5.89 at 238.41 mph.

Next up was Lesenko, and it was do or die for the “Jolly Rogers” team.  The bright yellow Mustang made a decent move off the starting line, but then got out of the grove, went to the center line where the Canadian gave the car a quick pedal job, tried to move it back into the grove but it would not go there, and Lesenko made it to about the 1100-foot mark where his fuel pump died along with a whole rack of pistons. The scoreboard told the tail as his 6.56-second run would not get him into the eight-car show, and for the first time in a long time, neither of Steve Plueger’s funny cars would be in an NHRA Heritage Series race.