Ken Singleston (near lane) and Allan Middendorf during Friday night qualifying.

 

The epic conclusion to the 2019 Best of Texas BBQ Sauce Funny Car Chaos Championship tour presented by Red Line Shirt Club unfolded in spectacular fashion at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas. The event, presented by Entech Oil & Lubricants, was held September 27-28 and welcomed the largest car count in series history with thirty cars from nine different states converging on the birthplace of the series to crown an inaugural series champion. Teams from California and North Dakota to Michigan all came for a piece of the Chaos fun in this final points race of the year.

 

Four racers stood a firm mathematical shot at the title as Ken Singleton's alcohol burning "High Risk" team came in atop the standings followed closely by Jordan Ballew, Allan Middendorf and Brandon Lewis. The competition was stiff, as nitro and alcohol burning funny cars of all kinds were ready for their shot at over $35,000 in event and championship payouts. The pressure was on and the anticipation was overwhelming.

 

This event followed the normal sixteen car 'A' & 'B' field format, but also included an all run 'C' field shootout available for any entry qualifying outside the quick sixteen. Racers and fans were welcomed by a sunny and warm, but thankfully dry weather forecast, and it was time to tango in Texas as Friday night welcomed two rounds of qualifying under the lights that brought record setting performances.

 

Justin Jones, the class top qualifier with a supercharger track record 5.518-second lap Saturday, went out in E2 after a red light and centerline-crossing wheelstand put him on the truck early. (Brad Baker photo)

 

“We knew we had a good race car, we were just chipping away at it,” Wells said with a huge smile from the Winner’s Circle. “It’s the first time in the quarter mile for us in this car and I knew we needed to take it one step at a time and keep working on it. If I just had another pass, we’d turn it up a little more. It’s been a good time. I always say you can’t win from No. 1, so it didn’t scare me not to be No. 1 qualifier.

 

“To go 266 mph is unreal. I think that puts us in the Top 5 fastest in the quarter mile, so it’s always respectable when you look at the names on that list. “

 

Wells’ mindset was to get the win and not the record. That being said, he said he left some speed on the track.

 

“Oh yeah!” he said, laughing. “It’s something like 40 degrees. The temperature dropped pretty hard on us, but we decided it was better to be safe than sorry and slowed it down just a little bit. It definitely had more, but it is what it is and you’ve got to be safe and race smart.”

In Crower Radial vs. The World action, Odessa, Texas’ Ronnie Hobbs crushed the competition the entire weekend. Whether it was his class-leading ETs and speed of 3.734 seconds at 208.71 mph or his dominating round wins throughout the weekend, Hobbs put his ’17 Mustang through its paces.  (Steve Carlton photo)

 

The RvW battle of the weekend took place in Sunday’s semifinals between Hobbs and Mark Woodruff, a former SCSN winner who dropped a 3.75 in the quarterfinals. Hobbs wasn’t afraid, beating Woodruff with a 3.734-second pass to advance to the finals, where he beat No. 10 qualifier Peter Campbell with a 3.989-second run.

 

Rob Goss from Sheridan, WY, took the .05-second margin of victory in the Mickey Thompson Tires X275 final over Clint Downs, Goss’s 4.360 beating Downs’ 4.412.

 

Other winners from Sunday’s SCSN 15 final rounds:

 

MagnaFuel Outlaw 10.5: Eric Halverson (4.044, 177.93 mph) over Rick Schmidt (no run)

 

Ross Pistons Limited 235: Daniel Dagata (5.254, 133.71 mph) over Mark Smith (7.713, 114.28 mph)

 

Vortech Outlaw 8.5: Jason McLean (4.752, 141.82 mph) over Tim Orello (5.110, 89.24 mph)

 

MagnaFuel XDR: Jason Gagnon (4.390, 184.62 mph) over Norman Chang (4.763, 171.40 mph)

 

MMR Open Comp: Monte Lefrenz (9.544, 142.12 mph) over Brent Calvert (8.801, 153.74)

 

Morrow Bros. Ford Mustang Maddness: Paul Calvert (11.939, 110.20 mph) over John Calvert (8.539, 163.20 mph)

 

Extreme Oil Triple Index: Craig Schell (10.636, 123.89 mph) over Sergio Crespo (10.627, 122.83 mph)

 

Nitrous Outlet Super Index: Michael Hadrath (9.634, 145.56 mph) over Dick Kreiger (8.550, 149.41 mph)

 

Calvert Non-Electronics: Brad Monroe (9.192, 139.88 mph) over Tony Driessen (8.163, 164.45 mph)

 

Unlimited Prod Electronics: Keith Winters (7.617, 146.27 mph) over Neil Pressimone (9.194, 141.34 mph)

 

Hughes Performance Big Tire No Time: Gilly Bobby Hildrebrand over Roger Holder

 

Limited Small Tire No Time: Rick Hart over Kelly Henry

 

Flying A Small Tire No Time: Brian Manske over David Clarke