Headers between the frame rails?

Also worth noting was the fact that Kentucky racer Troy Ray is driving the only true Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car currently legal for both NHRA or IHRA competition -- a Dodge Charger with a chassis that is an exact copy of a vintage Logghe chassis. Ray not only qualified but beat eventual runner-up Young in first round action. (Young got back into the race as the quickest losing driver in the first round per DRO rules for six-car fields.)

Qualifying

Fred Farndon’s Vette

The weather conditions couldn’t have been much worse for the Beacon Dragway track crew. They began scraping, dragging and spraying the newly repaved eighth-mile track on Thursday and continued to do so right up to the 7 p.m. Friday first of two qualifying laps. This is the only eighth-mile event on the 2014 series schedule.

Despite their efforts, a relative humidity of 85% and temps in the 60-degree range made getting Nitro Funny Cars down the track problematic at best. As a result every pair of drivers engaged in a “pedal fest” on every lap much to the delight of the fans who braved the at times marginal weather. Past performance meant nothing at this race. There were no obvious favorites and each lap of qualifying tested the skills of both the tuners and drivers.