Leyda Claims First OFAA Win, Broussard Steals Points Lead

Mo-Kan Dragway Labor Day Classic

Words and photos courtesy OFAA Media

Event number six of the Painless Performance Products Outlaw Fuel Altered Association took the tour north bound to Mo-Kan Dragway just northwest of Joplin, Missouri as the series headlined the 49th Annual Labor Day Classic for the eleventh consecutive season.  Coming into Mo-Kan, Jimmy Jones held a slim twelve point lead over young gun John Broussard with Donny McSwain, Mark Bowman and Nick Poloson rounding out the top five, all holding a fair shot at the title with three events remaining.  A full twelve car field came to compete over the special two day event, which also included a three round elimination ladder giving teams additional rounds to earn those precious points.

Saturday night hosted two rounds of qualifying under the lights at Mo-Kan and per the norm, the fuel altereds brought plenty of wild action to the starting line.  At the completion of both rounds, Louisiana based John Broussard and the "Purple Haze" team led the charts with a 4.05 at 175 mph.  Donny McSwain and the "Wild One" team, who were racing with heavy hearts after the tragic loss of crew member B.J. Billings, qualified a strong second with a 4.07 at 162 mph.  Donnie Massey wheeled the nitro powered "Showtime" entry to a 4.11 at 166 to qualify third with Aaron Leyda and Raymond Dawson rounding out the top five.

During qualifying, Anthony Whitfield's "Mighty Mouse" machine suffered a wild engine explosion which resulted in a rather intense fire at the top end.  Needless to say, Whitfield's racing weekend was over but thankfully he was uninjured and has already started rebuilding for his next event.  Howard Knowles' also suffered mechanical issues which ended his race weekend early, as Doyle Smith's "Chemical Reaction" nitro burner was inserted into the field as an alternate to complete the ten car ladder for the first round of eliminations on Sunday evening.

FINAL QUALIFYING ORDER:
1. John Broussard (Lake Charles, LA) - 4.05 @ 175
2. Donny McSwain (Rockwall, TX) - 4.07 @ 162
3. Donnie Massey (Little Elm, TX) - 4.11 @ 166
4. Aaron Leyda (Bartlesville, OK) - 4.17 @ 171
5. Raymond Dawson (Nevada, TX) - 4.18 @ 147
6. Jimmy Jones (Cleburne, TX) - 4.241 @ 142
7. Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, TX) - 4.245 @ 170
8. Anthony Whitfield (Elk City, KS) - 4.276 @ 160
9. Mark Bowman (Oklahoma City, OK) - 4.279 @ 162
10. Sean Belt (Kansas City, Kansas) - 4.54 @ 120
11. Howard Knowles (Carthage, MO) - 5.45 @ 92
12. Doyle Smith (Paris, TX) - No Time (Centerline Foul)