Dave Shaffer

Dave Shaffer was paired with newcomer Don Wilcox from Minnesota. Shaffer laid down a nice 4.7285 ET to a slower 4.9495 ET for Wilcox. Eight-year veteran Mike Allison, with his “Hot Rod From Hell” Fiat, was paired with newbie Mark Howard of Nebraska with a result of Allison winning with a 4.8289 ET against a slower 5.0651 ET for Howard. New competitor Terry Totten was asked to take a single run and put down a sound 4.7312 at 145 mph to ease into second round.

Round two of “B” field placed Totten’s “Lethal Injection” against Allison’s “Hot Rod from Hell”. A Tree malfunction gave the win to Allison after a re-run after Totten ran a nice 4.5579 ET. Anthony Whitfield of Elk City, Kansas, drove around Dave Shaffer with a 4.9201 ET to a red-lighting Shaffer’s 4.7244 ET.

Anthony Whitfield with his “Mighty Mouse” small block Chevy motor ran a low ET in the final with a 4.334 ET at 163 mph, racing past Mike Allison’s little red hot rod’s slower 5.0032 ET for the final round win.

Next year will be the 10th running of the event, and special things will be planned. Dennis Gauge of TV fame was on hand Saturday to see the races and talk to fans. Next year’s celebrity list had not yet been determined, but you can count on having a great time at Eddyville, Iowa, when the nitro thunder starts again in 2015.