Number-one qualifier John Hale staged against fellow Texas racer and arch-rival Ronny Young with Hale the solid favorite to win this match and the race.

Hale had said before the race started that he intended to leave the track with the max amount of points. The most points that can be earned in one event is 170, which can only happen if a racer qualifies number one, wins the race and sets both ET and speed records.

His qualifying position and a new series speed record indicated Hale was liable to accomplish that. On the other hand, Ronny Young and tuner Kebin Kingsley were struggling to get the car to run quick and fast and not kill the engine in the process. It is worth mentioning that legendary tuner Roland Leong was seen in the “Blue Max” pits prior to the first round consulting with Kingsley.

As the yellows flashed Young reacted first with a .108 RT to Hale’s .146 and proceeded to make his best pass driving one of these cars with a stellar 5.731/253.79. Despite the great number, Hale was catching up to Young at about 700 feet when Hale’s tires started to spin and he pedaled the throttle. Hale still ran a 5.809/253.22 but lost in one of the biggest upsets of the 2013 DRO AA/FC Challenge season. Just for the record the race was the fastest side-by-side race in the five-year history of the series.

The final pair were Troy Martin in the “Chi-Town Hustler” against Marc White who had shaken the tires hard on every lap up to then. For some reason Martin, who doesn’t often drive the car anymore, ‘double-stepped’ the throttle and red-lighted. White, who once again went about 300 feet and blew the tires off, still coasted to a 8.314/105 gift round win. That win meant he would meet Gallen in the semifinals.

Ronny Young and Shawn Bowen - first and second in points at the time - were the first pair of the semifinals. Bowen left on Young with a .782 RT to Young’s equally respectable .090, but never had a chance to win  when the tires smoked and shook at the hit. Bowen cruised to a 5.900/247.76 win.

The other pair in the finals was a resurgent Gallen versus an up to then struggling White whose car is tuned by the legendary Fred Mandoline. Gallen was on the losing end of yet another upset when his respectable 5.839/246.73 wasn’t enough to hold of a charging 5.775/249.07 effort from White.

That upset meant a couple of DRO series regulars, Shawn Bowen in the “Violator” and Marc White in “Flashback” would meet in the final and Bowen would leave the race with the points lead.