Keith Haney

Oklahoma promoter and racer Keith Haney was number 4 with the fastest Nitrous car at 3.815, and No Mercy runner-up Joe Albrecht was number 3 at 3.812 in his blown GTO.

Round One of eliminations went pretty much as expected, with Jackson’s 3.826 being the best time. Other quick cars included Mitchell at 3.832 and Albrecht at 3.845. There were upsets: Marty Stinnett took out previous winner Duane Mills, and Jeff Sitton’s Camaro, the previous record holder at 3.75, blew the tires off and lost to Mark Micke.

Sunday’s Round 2 took place under the mid-day sun in tricky conditions. Mark Woodruff (3.865), Stevie Jackson (3.951), Keith Haney (3.962), and Tim Slavens (3.975) were the only 3-second winners. Barry Mitchell lost a close race with Slavens when he had to peddle to a losing 3.992, so the number 2 qualifier went down.

Jamie Hancock

Tim Slavens

In Round 3, Stevie Jackson beat Jamie Hancock in a close race, 3.834 to the losing 3.856 nitrous effort, but then it got crazy in the shut down area as Jackson had problems and tagged the wall. Woodruff took out Haney, 3.84 to the losing 4.06. Slavens took out Marty Stinnett in a close one, 3.923 to 3.938. Albrecht took out Alan Pittman (tuned by Scotty Cannon) 3.991 to 4.075.

In spite of major damage, the Shadow team of Jackson and Shuler decided to make repairs and race. There was some frame damage, new front wheels were needed, and major body work had to be performed on the nose piece. Chassis builder Rickie Jones was on hand and the crew pop-riveted aluminum to the nose and then taped it over, while chassis work and other repairs were made and routine engine maintenance was performed. It was a major effort.

Jackson made the call, and raced Woodruff. Jackson’s car stumbled, and Woodruff took the win with an engine-damaging 4.052 at only 167 mph. In the other semifinal, Slavens’ luck ran out and his 3.90 was no match for Albrecht’s consistent 3.845 at 201.40.