FUNNY CAR ELIMINATOR

NHRA Heritage AA/FC champ Jason Rupert (shown) from California looked like he could easily win his third straight IHRA national event when, for the third consecutive race, he easily out-qualified the field with a solid 5.764/248.89. He was followed by resurgent Texas racer John Hale, who recorded a 5.825/243.63, and Ohio’s Mike McIntire Jr., who got in with a 5.904/235.41 effort.

McIntire found his way to the final round match-up with Rupert when the teams of Mark “Mr. Explosive” Sanders and Texan Ronny Young in the “Blue Max” Mopar, perhaps feeling the effects of three races in a month, weren’t able to make the call against the rookie. Sanders was a no-show in the first round and in the semis Young had a kill switch malfunction and his engine wouldn’t start.

On the other side of the ladder, Rupert looked like he was a lock to win his third IHRA event. Rupert had convincing wins over Mike Halstead in the Candies & Hughes ‘Cuda, and Tim Boychuk’s Roland Leong-tuned Firebird on his way to the final. Rupert set the Low ET and Top Speed of the meet with a blisteringly fast 5.703/252.38 against Halstead and came back with a win over Boychuck with a 5.858/248.75 effort to Boychuck’s game 5.875/243.30. But that win would prove costly, as the team blackened the crank in what apparently was their only engine.

Bruce Litton in the “U.S. Male”

The Bays & Rupert team did what they could to repair their damaged engine for the final, but to no avail, as they shut off the “Black Plague” after the burnout, reportedly due to severe vibration in the engine. McIntire then soloed for the win, making his best lap of the race with a 5.899/234.55 effort.

Qualifying - 1.Jason Rupert 5.764/248.89 2.John Hale 5.825/243.63 3.Mike McIntire Jr. 5.904/235.41 4.Bruce Litton, 5.964/241.87 5.Tim Boychuk 6.037/241.09; 6.Mark Sanders 6.058/238.66; 7.Ronny Young 6.101/231.77 8.Mike Halstead 6.105/238.91 9. Wayne Mellinger 6.534/155.35.

Funny Car Pit Notes

The third race in four weeks for the IHRA Funny Cars took its toll on equipment, as evidenced by the amount of engine carnage and parts failure seen at Bradenton. John Hale’s crew found two cracked frame rails on race day, and both Mark Sanders and Jason Rupert had race day parts’ failure. Big show veteran Lance Larsen was helping Wayne Mellinger in the new Candies Family flopper that Mark Oswald helped put together.