Toaster Jones (near lane) and DJ Reid in the second round. |
In 2013 the Outlaw 8.5 class racers have done amazing things on the “little tire”.
The racer that has become “The Talk of Outlaw 8.5” is Ryan “Toaster” Jones in his TTSBC 1965 Chevy II. Early in the 2013 season he was the first in the 4’s on 8.5 M/T slicks. Then he was the first to try 235 M/T Drag Radial, and only was he successful, he went 5.00 the first time out on 140+ track.
As with the TT5 racers, it was T-N-T all day and one qualifier for ladder position in the late afternoon. DJ Reid was the best in qualifying with a 5.213 at 146.48. Other qualifiers in order were Kevin Keller, Paul Frates, Matt Sendejas, Ryan Jones, Mike Orban, Ben Davidow, Damon Rivetti (H&H Racing) and Dan Hale.
Outlaw 8.5 Eliminations Round 1:
Reid, 0.085, 6.066, 147 mph – single
Jones def. Orban – no times
Rivetti 0.134, 5.53, 128 def. Frates – no show
Keller, 0.280, 5.47, 133 def. Hale – red light
Sendejas 0.722, 8.09, 84 def. Davidow – broke
Round 2
Jones 0.300, 5.046, 155.67 def. Reid 0.463, 5.033, 148.44
Sendejas 0.154, 5.76, 132 def. Rivetti 0.051, 6.11, 116
Keller - bye
Semifinals:
Sendejas advanced to the final round with the laddered bye.
In the other semifinal, Keller spun the tire immediately but Jones continued to get quicker, taking advantage of the night-time conditions and in front of 4,000 fans, he ran the first ever 4-second pass on a 235 Drag Radial (M/T) and the quickest and fastest pass in class history to advance to the final round. Jones ran 0.033, 4.923, 157.98 mph to Keller’s 0.153, 6.45, 85.
Final:
This had to be the most anticipated final round, as everyone was still talking about the 4.92 by Toaster, but the bigger question was would he go quicker or spin the tires?
Sendejas and Toaster have a little “history” and have raced each other for years in different venues. Although Jones had been the quickest car in eliminations, he had also spun in qualifying and that was the concern in the Jones camp.
Toaster Jones (far lane) got the Outlaw 8.5 win. |
Neither driver had a great light with Jones away first, 0.124 to 0.132, but when Jones started to pull away at the 330 mark it was obvious that the little Chevy II was on a killer pass! At the stripe it was Toaster taking the win with a 4.854 at 158.86 mph to Snedejas’s 5.642 at 132.
Top eight in Outlaw 8.5 points: Jones, Keller, Reid, Rivetti, Orban, Hale, Davidow and Ray.
In qualifying it was the nitrous SBC Camaro driven by Mike Saiki at the top with a 5.463 at 132.23 followed by Gary Brandt, Allen Gadberry, Toby Jackson, Jim DiMaggio and Adam Noyes.
Limited 10.5 Eliminations Round 1:
Saiki, 0.080, 5.37, 133 def. Noyes – broke
Brandt, 0.012, 5.538, 131 def. DiMaggio, 0/129, 5.804, 124
Gadberry, 0.032, 5.386, 132.54 def. Jackson, 0.192, 8.097, 89
Semifinals: Brandt took the R/T advantage 0.095 to Gadberry’s 0.107 and never looked back, advancing to the final round with a 5.662 at 129 mph to Gadberry’s 6.31/126. Saiki got the laddered bye run but put up a potential record ET in his 0.078, 5.280/133.74 run.
The final looked to be a good battle between the number-one and –two qualifiers with both racers having wins in 2013. Going into the final round Saiki was looking for the win and 1% back up for the ET record.
Both drivers had nearly identical RT’s and left together, but Saiki had a little too much for Brandt, taking the win and lowering his own ET record with his 0.068, 5.306, 133.14 lap over Brandt's 0.071, 5.415, 131.41.
The Limited 10.5 points are Saiki, Brandt, Noyes, Gadberry, Daughterty, DiMaggio, Hensley Racing and Jackson.
The WCHRA will return to AAA Auto Club Famoso Raceway for the 2013 West Coast Finals on Sept. 14-15. All classes will be running including the Brackets, Index, S/E, Pro Slammers, 6.90 Slammers, Turbo VW, the “New” Top Doorslammer class (dial in 6.60–7.60). In addition their three small tire heads-up classes will be battling it out in the Edelbrock Championship Shootout.