SPEEDFEST BY THE MISSISSIPPI

Words and photos by Jeff Leonard

Over the course of the last few seasons Cordova Raceway Park has earned the reputation of being a track that produced "big" numbers. Big as in record-setting. The recent IHRA show at the "little track by the Big Muddy" only served to enhance that rep, as all kinds of track, IHRA, national, and all-time speed and ET records went by the wayside. On the last run during Saturday night Top Fuel qualifying in fron of a capacity crowd of over 10,000, Clay Millican ran the fastest IHRA TF lap EVER at 326.63 MPH. It may have been the most remarkable number posted during the event, given the restrictions IHRA T/F rigs run under, but it wasn't the only striking performance.

Indeed, save for Millican's blast, the hearts and minds of the Cordova race fans might well have belonged to the Nitro Harley set. During qualifying, Doug Vancil swept aside all Nitro Harley low e.t. performances, past and present, with a world record 6.278. IHRA points leader Ray Price celebrated his 66th birthday during the Cordova event and qualified with a 6.46/220.15-mph lap. Johnny Mancuso had Top Speed during quals at 221.49. All told, six of seven Harley entries posted qualifying times of 6.99 or better, or 214 mph or faster, or both!

Pro Stock was "only" the quickest in IHRA history! Bump sitter Jerry Yeoman's 6.63 made it so, and an .08-second blanket covered the lot of them! Pole sitter Duane Rice shooed one of three Moser Engineering rides in the field to a 6.55/211.13 lap, with the next 11 cars in at 6.59 or better. Six cars ran over 211 mph, and no qualifier ran slower than 209.

Pro Mod was it's usual war for survival also. Mike Janis nailed down the number one slot at 6.13/230.06, perhaps easing his mind over choosing Cordova over Englishtown. The top eight cars were in at 6.34 or quicker, and the bump stood at 6.68. Fourteen of 16 Pro Mod qualifiers ran 212 mph, with 10 of those running over 220 mph.

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