The rest of Top Fuel qualifying went off without incident and to no surprise to anybody on the grounds, Long Island City, NY’s Tony Bartone was the number one qualifier with a 5.62 at just 249.86 mph. Bartone and tuner Steve Boggs, fresh of a mind-blowing 274-mph pass during testing in Florida, struggled in the first two qualifying sessions due to the unbelievable atmospheric conditions, but then Boggs zeroed in on a combination and secured the top spot 

Rick McGee was number two at 5.65 and third was Rick White in the Neil and White digger with a 5.66.  After taking off a year, Adam Sorokin and the Champion Speed Shop small block Chevy-powered dragster was in at number 7 with a respectable 5.78. 

As the first round of Eliminations got under way one could tell this race was going to be very different. If a Las Vegas bookie had made odds on which Top Fuel team would take the title at the March Meet he would have lost both his mind and his money when the winner was declared.

Only three of the higher qualified cars made it into the second round. The biggest upset was when number 14 qualifier Michael Irwin took out low qualifier Tony Bartone, who had two very strange things happen. First, Bartone had a faulty oil pressure gauge and in his haste to back up to investigate that problem the front wheels whipped back and forth, out of control eventually causing the steering arm to become bent.

The crew assured Bartone there was oil in the oil tank but didn’t notice the bent steering arm. At the green Bartone stormed off the starting line and the gold dragster started to get up close and personal with the left lane guard wall. Bartone, ever the fighter, did everything he could to keep the dragster from collecting the concrete wall, but the dragster would not cooperate and, rather than pile up his new McKinney car, he shut off the engine, allowing Irwin to take the win and a bye into the semifinals.

Adam Sorokin (Mark King photo)