Hedman Husler Hedders DRO AA/FC Challenge at Martin, Michigan

Mellinger tops field; Bowen clinches second series national championship

Words by Jeff Burk
Photos by Dennis Mothershed

The 10th annual Funny Car Nationals at historic U.S. 131 Motorsports Park is in the books and Ohio-based team owner/driver Wayne Mellinger overcame a lot of issues to get his first ever Hedman Husler Hedders DragRacingOnline.com AA/FC Challenge win.  

Mellinger and his all-volunteer crew put the Candies Family tribute Mopar in the winners circle despite some engine woes, body damage and a track that was more than a little slick from the inevitable dew by the time they faced World Series of Drag Racing winner Mark “Mr. Explosive” Sanders in an 11 p.m. Saturday night (Sept. 6) finale in front a big crowd of nitro fans.

In that final round Mellinger overcame an almost tenth of a second holeshot by Sanders to not only win his first DRO national event but also set Low ET of the meet.

Sanders’ Mustang, tuned by son Jake, left first with a respectable .106 RT to Mellinger’s .200 RT. The cars were almost dead even at the eighth-mile mark where Mellinger recorded a 3.827/199.36 while in the other lane Sanders had a 3.938/191.25.

Sanders was using his third engine of the night in the finals and that engine was already laboring since the car went just 191 mph and it gave up altogether just past the eighth-mile mark and he slowed to a 6.267/175.07 while Mellinger in the right lane wrestled his fuel coupe to a 5.811/227.81 for the win.