David Purifoy	Brad Rigler

The next pair was another heavy hitting match-up with defending Champion David Purifoy and number one qualifier Brad Rigler.  As the cars crept into the stage beams and brought up the RPMs, Rigler’s “Toxic” machine suddenly jumped forward and rolled through the beams.  Shortly after, Purifoy blasted off the line and ripped off a 4.14 at 171 mph to take the win.  Rigler’s injector blades had frozen and as he worked the throttle to break them loose the car jumped on him just before the tree dropped.  An unlucky end for Rigler, yet overall a very successful “comeback” outing.

Mary Reep	Raymond Dawson

Mary Reep lined up with Raymond Dawson as Dawson made the show in his debut event with the series.  Unfortunately, the team had issues getting the “High Octane” machine fired and Reep earned a solo shot in the “Grim Reeper” machine.  As the ambers flashed Reep left the line but was off pace with electrical issues, yet earned the round win and precious Painless Performance points with a 5.12 at 122 mph and after qualifying well, can look forward to the next outing in two weeks. 

Bobby Marriott’s “Shockwave” and Howard Farris’ “War Wagon” were out next in a ground thumping pair of 1923 T bodied nitro burners.  The cars were almost even off the line as both held header flames high as they passed the 330’ cone, then Farris dropped off with nasty tire shake.  Marriott blasted through the traps to a 3.99 at 184 mph to take the win.  Farris’ car was running very strong before the shake managed to severely damage the rear wing, crack the brand new body and even blew a header tube off the side of the motor. 

So with one pair in the box, Marriott was guaranteed a spot in the final while Terry Brian and company had their 4.04 elapsed time slip clinched in their hands and could only hope it would stay the second quickest as the final pair laid down their burnouts.   Chris Trussell and Aaron Leyda backed up and the crews made their final adjustments.  Leyda, known for his starting line dominance, was late out of the gate and had the best seat in the house to watch Chris Trussell blast ahead to low elapsed time of the round with a 3.94 at 180 mph to advance to the second career OFAA final round for team “Assassin” and bump Brian from a chance to win his debut event.