Tucson Finals - Race Report
On Saturday Night October 9th, the WFA held its final race of 2010 in front of a packed house at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Arizona. In conjunction with the Jet Car Nationals this event was the highest attended ever. The place crawling with people kept the drivers busy signing autographs.
Fourteen cars made the call for first round all vying for the 8 car payout. New comers to the series Dean Oberg and Eric Gates even showed up to strut there stuff. The round started out slow with Jerry Hall breaking on the burnout. Then things picked up with several cars in the low 7 second range. Becky Sylvester had the crowd on their feet with a crazy wild ride. This time, she was able to keep it off the guardrail and returned for second round. Following the Sylvester thrill show, Jim Carter and Jim Maroney put on a great side by side exhibition of how it’s done with Carter’s 7.03 to Maroney’s 6.72.
Second round, teams stepped it up with four cars running in the sixes. Eric Gates started it off, setting the pace with a 6.90. But once again Danny Levitt, Jr. wasn’t going down without a battle as he set the stage for the final when he ripped of a nice 6.75. Mike Boettcher in “Mike’s Madness” fiat cut a nice .011 reaction time to collect the Airaid / Torco reaction time money. Dean Oberg was set on kill with Maroney in his sights. At the launch he had Maroney coved by two car lengths, too bad we race 1/4 mile as his burst panel and blower belt was only good for half track as he watched Maroney reset both ends of the series record and take home the RBS Superchargers low et award, with a stellar 6.65 at 207.
The final round paired up Maroney and Levitt. Levitt, loaded with everything but the kitchen sink was determined to knock Maroney off his pedestal! When the tree came down, Levitt woke up first and held his lead until 1200 ft when Maroney squeaked by while fighting the centerline. When the dust cleared, Maroney’s 6.62 to Levitt’s 6.68 put Maroney in the winners circle after the closest and fastest race of the season. Excellent race!
After the record setting final round, teams were presented season awards. Jim Maroney won top honors followed closely by Dan Levitt, Jr. and Sheldon Lofgreen. Team Dinosaur took home the road warriors award for the most miles traveled. Frank Davidson and Mike Nervik received the ultimate sacrifice awards for destroying cars at a WFA event, and Hal Sanguinetti was presented with an outstanding service award as the series race director and announcer.
Thanks to everyone that supported our series this year, Sponsors, Tracks, Racers and especially the Fans. 2011 is just around the corner, with new cars being built and new venues to race at.
See ya next year!
For more information on the Western Fuel Altered series visit our website at:
Southwestern International Raceway – October 9th
Track Website: http://www.sirace.com/
This is it guys and gals, the final race of our inaugural season is here!
This event is in conjunction with their Jet Car Nationals. Similar to the Fuel Altered show earlier in the year, the stands will be packed.
Paid member entry is: Free car/driver, 4 crew and 2 vehicle passes. You must be pre-entered to get in free.
Friday Night (Optional) - You will be able to park on Friday evening and set up for Saturday. They will have a Test and Tune. If you want to make a pass Friday night you will need to purchase a run/tech card. Gates open at 4pm, tech closes at 8pm.
Saturday – There might be the opportunity for a test pass early in the day. Everyone makes the first two passes on Saturday. The quick 8 cars in first round will get paid first round money. The quick 8 cars, in the second round, will get paid second round money. The 2 quick ET’s of the night, either round, come back and RACE in the final.
The following is the tentative run schedule:
Driver Meeting: 5:00 pm
Final: 10:00 pm
Hotels: The track hotel is Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, Tucson Airport North. For the track rate of $55, go to the track website and click on the Holiday Inn ad.
Pre Entry List as of 10/4/10:
Becky Sylvester
Jim Maroney
Robert Winefsky
Chris Thomson
Jim Carter
Bob Brown
Mike Nervik
Chris Phelps
Dave Ward
Jerry Hall
Danny Levitt Jr.
Sheldon Lofgreen
Dean Oberg
Eric Gates
Mike Meitzner