Veteran nitro pilot Sam Wills (we’ve convinced he’s getting younger every time we meet him) has teamed up with Mike Dryden after a twenty year sojourn away from the saddle (we were looking over the TVL Kawasaki Wills rode in 1983 in Garlits’ Museum prior to arriving at Bradenton) to field the Nitro Conspiracy bike featuring Dryden’s drivetrain and Wills’ own Racing Innovations chassis. The Haltech Finals were a bit of a struggle as ignition and timing problems, including the occasional appearance of flames in the wrong place at the wrong time, prevented a better pass than a 6.400 in qualifying. A 6.426/210 in the opening round of eliminations couldn’t hold off Vantine, but hopefully the combination will propel Wills into the fives at some point next season.

Another veteran Chris Hand ended up in fifth spot on the ladder after suffering from dropped cylinders throughout qualifying, and an early shut-off as a consequence of those misfiring holes against McBride when he appeared to have the win in the bag ended his weekend, but it was a memorable one for the Redneck Express as Hand was inducted into the MTC 5 Second Club in the pre-race ceremonies thanks to the 5.891 blast he ran during qualifying at the NHDRO/Manufacturers’ Cup Thunder Nationals at Indy back in August.