Monte Grace from Iowa is still shaking down his new Mopar.

We pick up the action in the quarterfinals. Number-one qualifier Rogers slows to a 4.369/165.51 in losing to number-eight qualifier and fellow Arkansas racer Mike Coldiron’s 4.185/168.07, an ET that was a tenth quicker than the ET he qualified with.

Holsted, the fifth qualifier, showed his hand with his second straight 3.93 in eliminations sending number-four qualifier Canadian Barry Daniluc home early. Oklahoman Troy Scott beat Bob Storie, and Missouri’s Jon Stouffer singled into the semis.

In the semifinals the top-half of the field qualifiers, Holsted and Stouffer trailered their opposition with Stouffer carding a 3.994/189.76 that made him the odds-on favorite going into the finals.

The final should have been a match between a couple of sub-four-second Pro Mods but evidently Holsted must have damaged his engine or car in his semifinal and was unable to answer the call for the final round. That put Coldiron back on the break rule to race Stouffer for the $2500 winner’s share of the purse.

The final was anti-climatic as Stouffer’s 4.088/188.91 dominated Coldiron’s 4.279/166. Despite a .078 RT advantage over Stouffer on the start, Coldiron still trailed by a tenth at the finish line.

10.5/X275 DRAG RADIAL CLASS

Missouri racer Craig Ondrick’s ’68 Firebird didn’t look too imposing but it was quick and fast and qualified in the number-one spot.

Twenty-eight drivers made qualifying laps in this combo doorslammer class and as a result this class was split into A and B fields.
Leading the qualifying for this combo field was Craig Ondrick from Carthage, Mo., in his ’68 Firebird whose 4.755/155+ was good for Low ET and Top Speed of qualifying.

Unfortunately, he would be unable to convert that performance to a win. Instead that honor went to Houston racer Cheetah Chip (car info unavailable – racers, remember to fill out those tech cards!). Chip ran 4/70/150+ laps all day long and got the lucky break all racers need when racing number-one qualifier Ondrick in the quarter-finals. Ondrick put a half-tenth holeshot on Chip but slowed to a 5.058/146.50 allowing Chip to advance to the semifinals with a 4.773/152.50.

Of the four cars and drivers in the semifinals of the Drag Radial A field, three were from Oklahoma and just one (Cheetah Chip) was from Texas. Chip had recorded the low ET of each round going into the semis. He kept that edge, defeating No. 1 plate holder Chris Swan with a 4.773/153.20 to Swan’s off-pace 5.207.

The other pairing in the semis featured Bob Bales and his Pontiac against the Mustang driven by Fred Silbernagel. Bales held off Silbernagel’s 4.882/150+ top-end charge with a stout 4.835/148.23 lap for the win.