By Brian Losness

The Shot Which Should Have Been Heard Around the World

If you're a consumer of media and sports, you’ve have seen and or heard of the last second half court shot to win the game, or a bouncing shot that goes between a goalie’s legs as the final horn sounds. Nevertheless, you get my drift. Those heroics that are accomplished when a team or a player’s back is against the wall are very memorable. Sometimes they are the stuff of legends.

Those who were in attendance at the 40th Pepsi Nightfire Nationals saw something damn special: the third quickest lap ever run by a front motored top fuel dragster, 5.57 seconds at 246 miles per hours. But it wasn’t run at the Patch in the fall, or at Bowling Green in the spring, with ‘mineshaft’ air conditions. This run was in the evening, with 108 degrees track temperature, and ambient air temperature hovering around the ninety degree mark. However the track was starting to come into its own, and this is when the bright gold and dark maroon dragster (tuned by somebody who could and should be considered a legend in the sport, Steve Boggs) of Tony and Michael Bartone rolled up to the water box.

As the car pulled into the right lane, nobody really had a sense of what might occur, as the Bartones had running and handling issues for the past two years at Boise. The first two laps at this year’s event were nothing to write home about. The field this year was short, only six cars, so there was no risk at missing the show, but Bartone was still dead last in qualifying.