Former NHRA/UDRA Pro Stock racer turned nitro racer Brian Stewart from Wisconsin, driving his own “Bear Town Shaker” car tuned and crew-chiefed by veteran Jim Stanke, ran a career-best eighth-mile lap with an early shutoff 3.888/183+ stepping off of the throttle at just 500 feet, which stood up and number-one qualifying time.

The race was scheduled as an eight-car open qualifying event but with both an IHRA and NHRA Heritage Series race for nostalgia Funny Cars on the same weekend and a couple of Texas-based cars opting to pass on racing and instead make exhibition passes at the NHRA race in Houston, the field was made up of five AA/FC’s and one Fuel Altered from the Outlaw Fuel Altered group. Series regular Shawn Bowen in the “Violator” was unable to attend due to flooding in his shop in Michigan.

With six cars the Mickey Thompson Tire DRO AA/FC Challenge presented by Comp Cams still ran three rounds of eliminations by bringing back the quickest loser from the first round to the semifinals.

In the first round Hale beat Johnson Jr. with a 3.851/193.07 to Johnson’s 3.891/178.07 and Stewart ran a 3.999/189.10 single when his opponent broke. Young bested Kennedale, Texas’s own AA/FC team and driver Kebin Kinsley when Kinsley’s ‘69 Mustang broke and he coasted to a losing 5.119/97.10. Young motored to an astounding 3.863/200.47 lap that saw him driving the AA/FC like he was in a drifting contest. “Guardrail to guardrail” best describes his pass.

All four cars in the semifinals had sub 4-second ET wins to advance. Hale was matched up once again against Johnson Jr., who was the quickest loser in the first round, causing Hale’s crew to ask themselves why they had to race that Illinois car again. Hale left first with a .107 bulb to TJ’s respectable .113 but again Hale’s potent Camaro marched straight down the track with a 3.818/196.07 effort that buried Johnson’s dead-game 3.860/191.29.