Eventual runners up, Kevin and John Broussard of Lake Charles, La., came back from last year and ran a string of 3.9663 and 4.0010 ET’s that got the team into the final round against Brian. Unfortunately, they had to be shut off on the line when they discovered a broken front control arm. Brian did not want to disappoint the fans and even though it was a single, he put the pedal to the metal and recorded a 4.0009 ET with 182 MPH for the win.

On the “B” side of the event, it was all Tom Motry’s “Drastic Plastic” car dominating the field of previous competitors. New driver Allan Middenford, did not make a full pass during Friday night’s qualifying session as the result of a small backfire that shut the car off and popped the parachutes. Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session found them as number 14 after a major pedal-fest getting the car down the track.

They were faced with the fact that they would compete with slower cars with little or no nitro mixed with their alky. Clearly they were a big fish in a small pond IF they could get the car down the track on 92 to 94% nitro. Motry employed the help of veteran Top Fuel tuner Dale Suhr and his driver Roger “Radar” Lechtenburg to assist him with the setup of the car for Saturday evening’s competition.

With the additional help, the “Drastic Plastic” had Low ET and Top MPH in each round of eliminations. They delivered ET’s of 3.9557, 3.9682 and a final off-pace 4.4943 for the win.

Close behind with much less horsepower but equal dedication was newby Steve Elliott of Prior Lake, Minnesota. Elliot and partner Steve Samuelson ran the heart and soul out of the little Fiat altered powered by a 417 KB Hemi on 100% alky. Elliot posted a string of best reaction times in each round. He cut a .0148 in first round, a .0823 in second round and a .1637 in the final, almost beating the faster car. His driving skill and great reaction times against Middenford earned them a runner-up spot in their very first year of competition at the Fuel Altered Nationals.

This year’s race with more “real” nitro fuel alts goes a long way in showing that tune-up, driving skill and the ability to change the tune-up for conditions means winning or losing. More horsepower does not always get you into the winner’s circle. On this weekend less power to the wheels and more driving skills and preparation had a lot to do with winning a race. Although both winners were high percent nitro cars, it creates more of a challenge to get it down the track consistently. Fans cannot wait to see what 2013 brings to Eddyville, Iowa.