FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Penwell Knights Raceway - Odessa, Texas

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The FUNNY CAR CHAOS season continued with the third (of eight) events, this time at Penwell Knights Raceway at the Caprock Motorplex in Odessa, TX. With 28 cars on the pre-entry list, the three field format - which looks like it could be a semi-permanent fixture at these races - was in place. We've got the first set of photos from our "road warrior" BIG Bob Snyder, taken during the first qualifying session on Friday evening. We'll try to get the second session shots up later this evening, and hopefully the pictures and all the details from Saturday's final qualifier and eliminations on Monday.. or Tuesday. It all depends on how long it takes Bob to get home, get some sleep, and download the cache in his camera. Stay tuned!

Friday - Qualifying Session #1

Before it got loud and fast, everyone stood for the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner"

(LEFT) The first qualifying session got underway on Friday evening with Jordan Ballew sporting a new Camaro body on his well-known "Ballew Thunder" entry. His best effort of the evening was a decent 4.750 - 144.97, placing him in the #21 position on the qualifying list

(RIGHT Burning out to start his weekend, Nick Johnson in the Reinart & Johnson "Prairie Fire" entry saw a 4.596 - 149.20 come up on the scoreboards that was only good enough for the #18 spot on the qualifying list

(LEFT) The old-school "Brutus" Mustang of Troxel & Schneider, driven by Chris Schneider rang up a slightly slower 4.666 - 144.00 to slot into the #20 spot on the list

(RIGHT) Quickly climbing up the charts, rookie Jade Cook made her opening statement in the "Nemesis with a solid 4.617 - 147.30 pass that put her solidly (#19) into the "C" field

(LEFT) Despite a solid launch, Damon Kuhn's unique looking "Passin' Gas" faded later in the run, posting only a Friday best of 5.502 - 125.10, leaving him on the outside of the three fields, sitting in the #25 spot going into Saturday afternoon's final qualifying session

(RIGHT) The Canadian invader, Tim Boychuk, in his party-themed "Happy Hour" Camaro, laid down the best numbers of the early runners, landing on the #9 rung on the ladder with a solid 4.175 - 149.90. He launched hard, with the Goodyears showing some serious wrinkles, and lots of clutch dust, but it appeared from the speed that he was off the throttle a little early

(LEFT) We're still getting used to the 2021 look of Steve Vang's new body, and the ever-changing car name which is currently "Wicked Weekender Racing". He ran a little slower than normal, only slotting in near the bottom of the provisional "B" field with a 4.442 - 134.90 effort

(RIGHT) One of the "hitters" in the FCC series was out next, as Nick Poloson in the colourful Doak & Poloson "Bucket List" car nearly hit the 3-second zone, with a 4.054 - 179.93, good for the lucky #7 spot in the "A" field

(LEFT) It hasn't taken long for series newcomer Tom Furches to make his mark in the Funny Car Chaos wars, as he came into this event as the points leader in his "Made in America" and put down a 4.162 - 171.62, slotting him into the #8 position overall

(RIGHT) Taking time off from the NHRA Top Alcohol grind (he last ran a national event in 2019), Kirk Williams drove the "Williams Bros. Racing" entry to the top of the ladder, taking the #1 position with a very strong 3.894 - 195.65 to take low e.t. and top speed of the first day of qualifying

(LEFT) Surprising more than few folks with a run almost equal to Kirk Williams, the nitro burning "Shazam!" Corvette of Eric Eoff went all the way to the #3 spot and a guaranteed position in the "A" field with an excellent 3.964 - 183.80 pass

(RIGHT) The always popular '57 Chevy "Dragon Slayer" of Andy Mears put up a respectable 4.490 - 155.12, good enough for #16 on the list

(LEFT) Looking like a series regular, appearing in the last five FCC events (last season and this year), Nancy Matter in the Dale Pulde-tuned "Guardian", was way up the ladder in the #5 position at the end of Friday, with a 4.029 - 174.76 best, placing her in the middle of the "A" field

(RIGHT) Switching from an open-bodied fuel altered to the enclosed body of a flopper, the "Bushwhacker" AA/FA driver, Jody Austin piloted the Gordon & Austin "Red Baron" into the 3-second zone, with a 3.985 - 178.50, good for the #4 position on the qualifying sheet

(LEFT) From out of the high country of Colorado, Doug Schneider brought down his "Milliken Monster" and landed near the top of the heap, with a great 3.959 - 180.14 pass that trailed only the low qualifying effort of Kirk Williams

(RIGHT) In one of the most colourful cars on the circuit, second generation funny car driver, Bob Alberty Jr. pushed his "Thunderin' Okie" to a decent 4.440 - 158.39 to place him solidly into the "B" field in the #14 position

(LEFT) As the first qualifying session drew to a close, Dustin Bradford brought his bright white "American Dream" 'Cuda to the starting line and made an on-and-off-and-on pass that clocked in at 5.322 - 140.58, leaving him at the bottom of the "C" field in the #24 spot on the overall list

(RIGHT) Closing out the round with an easy checkout pass was California's Scott Cousimano in the Texas-based Fuller & Cousimano "WTF Racing" entry. He finally stopped the clocks at 6.252 - 80.62 to sit in the #27 position, leading only Randy Mueller who failed to record a time or speed

Friday - Qualifying Session #2

(LEFT) The second qualifying session opened up under the lights, with the booked-in match race between the John Robinson Turbo Diesel Dragster (near lane) against the Ray Kelley Jet Dragster, sponsored by "Game XChange", as they put on quite a show of pyrotechnics and power

(RIGHT) Leading off the competition part of the evening was the ever-popular Troxel & Schneider "Brutus" entry, driven by Chris Schneider, and he stayed with his earlier best of 4.466 - 144.00 in the #20 spot on the list and a place in the "C" field

(LEFT) Coming out for his second hit of the day, Nick Poloson finished the day in the #6 qualifying position, courtesy of a 4.054 - 179.93 effort

(RIGHT) Gaining experience and improving performance with nearly every pass, Jade Cook made her presence felt with a solid 4.617 - 147.30 that put her near the top of the "C" field in the #19 position

(LEFT) Looking to move up the ladder, Tim Boychuk (near lane) took on Andy Mears in a battle of Chevy-bodied machines, with Boychuk coming out on top for the day with a 4.175 - 149.90, while Mears trailed on the qualifying sheet with a best for the day of 4.490 - 155.12. They both ended up in the provisional "B" field with Boychuk sitting #9, while Mears languished in the #16 spot

(RIGHT) Battling for the top spot, Kirk Williams (near lane), held onto the #1 spot with a 3.894 - 195.65, while Steve Vang (far lane), sat down near the bottom of the "B" field in #15 with a 4.442 - 132.90 pass

(LEFT) Finishing the first day of qualifying in the #10 spot (near the top of the "B" field), Jeff Cameron in the "Jake's Speed Shop" car put down a very good 4.244 - 165.99 lap

(RIGHT) Hanging on to the last rung in the provisional "A" field, Tom Furches clocked in at 4.162 - 171.62 in the patriotically hued "Made in America" car

(LEFT) It's difficult to see Doug Schneider in the far lane, but he was there and happy to be all the way up the ladder in the #2 slot, courtesy of a 3.959 - 180.14, while in the near lane, Daniel Butherus could only coax a 4.494 - 159.18 out of the Chevy-powered "Rat-A-Tude". That left him in the #17 spot, just outside the "B" field

(RIGHT) Taking his shot at the top of the heap, and falling short (#8 spot), was heavy hitter Ken Singleton in the very familiar "High Risk" car. His best of the day was "only" a 4.078 - 181.60, but he still had one more chance on Saturday afternoon to improve his placing in the show

(LEFT) Not having a very good day at all, Bill Bernard ended up well down the list in the lowly #23 position, with a "best" of just 5.014 - 97.95 and at risk of not even qualifying for the "C" field. He had one more shot on Saturday to get down the track though.

(RIGHT) Always contending for the best appearing award, Bob Alberty Jr.'s southwestern muralled "Thunderin' Okie" finished Friday near the bottom of the "B" field with a 4.440 - 158.39 for the #14 spot on the ladder

(LEFT) Not quite making it all the way to the finish line under power, evidenced by his 4.279 - 157.45 timeslip, Shayne Lawson in the former Paul Romine-owned "Man O' War" Mustang, ended the day in the #12 spot in the middle of the "B" field

(RIGHT) The evening qualifying session came to a close with another pass by the "Red Baron" as new driver Jody Austin muscled it into the 3-second zone with a best of the day 3.985 - 178.50 for the #4 rung on the ladder

Here's a shot of one of the non-qualifiers, as Scott "Nitro Mafia" Cousimano could only manage a "best" of 6.252 - 80.62 in qualifying. This picture pretty much sums up the trouble that the "WTF Racing" team was facing. Note the throttle position - wide OPEN - and the flames coming out under the body and through the front wheel wells. Looks like it's back to the drawing board for the Fuller & Cousimano team

Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)

Before the final qualifying session began for the Funny Cars, a variety of support classes took to the track, and not all met with great success, as can be seen here. On the (LEFT) it appears that the "Bad Boyz" Chevy II had a "minor" nitrous malfunction, while on the (RIGHT), the Camaro SS has some directional control issues, as the obviously overpowered narrow slicks are not gripping the track very well

(LEFT) It was a case of "good news, bad news" for Steve Vang as he did improve on Friday's best of 4.442, running nearly a tenth quicker and a bunch faster, at 4.358 - 161.00, but he only improved from the #15 to #14 on the ladder and stayed near the bottom of the "B" field

(RIGHT) This is something you don't see every day (thank goodness!) at the track, as a faux Roman Centurion appears to be threatening Chris Schneider to do a good burnout before his final qualifying pass

(LEFT And it gets worse, as the "BUB" (Back-Up Bob) moves into action, directing Schneider into the best launch position

(RIGHT) With his "helper" safely removed from the starting line, Schneider moves into stage, but all the assistance he was given was no help as he failed to improve on Friday's best of 4.666 - 144.00 and fell from the #20 to #22 on the qualifying sheet

(LEFT It was a case of one step forward... two steps back, as Nick Johnson picked up a "nickel" from Friday's 4.596 to a slightly improved 4.543 - 152.03 in his last qualifier, but he dropped two positions, from #18 to #20, to the middle of the "C" field

(RIGHT) Maintaining his spot (#25) but managing to sneak into the bottom of the "C" field was Damon Kuhn as he got in due to Tod Barker's breakage. He did pick up quite a bit from Friday's sub-par 5.502 - 125.10 results, to a 5.177 - 132.39, but it was for naught as other racers stepped up also

(LEFT He didn't stand pat on his previous runs, but Jordan Ballew's improved 4.662 - 149.06 still left him in the #21 spot and in the middle of the "C" field

(RIGHT) Unable to move up as he wasn't able to better Friday's 4.244 - 165.99, the "Northland Express" dropped one spot to #12 and put Mitch Bowen in the middle of the "B" field

(LEFT In yet another case of step up or move backwards, Daniel Butherus stayed stuck on his previous best of 4.494 - 159.18 which moved him down to #19, and a spot near the top of the "C" field

(RIGHT) Another one of the "failed to improve" bunch was Lynn Logue in his "Back in Black" entry, as his Friday numbers of 4.932 - 146.72 saw him drop one spot to #23, near the bottom of the "C" field

(LEFT One car/driver that did improve was the Mustang-bodied "Man O' War" of Shayne Lawson as he jumped all the way from #12 to #6 and a spot in the "A" field, courtesy of a strong 4.021 - 184.96 pass

(RIGHT) Unable to improve on her Friday best of 4.029 - 174.76, and consequently dropping two spots from #5 to #7, Nancy Matter remained in the "A" field but faced with a very tough opponent (Ken Singleton) in her first round match

(LEFT Improving by nearly two tenths, from his Friday 4.440 - 158.39 to a 4.264 - 163.99, the "Thunderin' Okie" of Bob Alberty Jr. only picked up one spot to #13 for the first round of eliminations

(RIGHT) Not having the same luck, but still in a very good qualifying position, Doug Schneider's Friday best of 3.959 - 180.14 moved down to the #3 spot in the top half of the "A" field

(LEFT The "Red Baron", driven by "reformed" AA/Fuel Altered pilot Jody Austin didn't improve on Friday's 3.985 - 178.50 clocking and dropped down one spot from #4 to #5, losing lane choice in the first round of "A" field eliminations

(RIGHT) No improvement on Friday's numbers for Andy Mears meant that the "Dragon Slayer" slipped down the charts two spots (from #18 to #20) and out of the bottom of the "B" field into the top of the "C" group

(LEFT After a miserable Friday, with a 5.014 - 97.95 best, Bill Bernard cranked up the volume in the last session with a better 4.450 - 126.09 that showed there was a lot left in the tank, judging by the early shutoff speed

(RIGHT) Treading water and staying in the #24 spot, Dustin Bradford kept his "American Dream" alive by improving more than a quarter of a second to a 5.039 - 141.46 clocking

Pre-Race Ceremonies

Despite skies that looked a little gloomy, the pre-race ceremonies of an invocation, the national anthem, and the sweet sound of "Fire the first pair!" rang out over the P.A. system, signalling the start of eliminations

Eliminations - Round One - "A" Field

(LEFT) First out of the lanes were the #1 and #8 qualifiers in the "A" field, with Kirk Williams in the far lane putting down an excellent 3.912 - 193.05 to take out Nick Poloson's (near lane) close - but not close enough - 4.061 - 177.87 effort. Poloson left first, by three hundreths of a second, but the gap at the finish line was nearly three car lengths

(RIGHT) It wasn't scheduled to be a bye run, but when Jody Austin failed to show in the broken "Red Baron", it gave a free pass to the semi-final to Eric Eoff and he took it easy with a 17-second pass at 37 mph to save on the equipment for the next round's match against Kirk Williams

(LEFT) The next race saw the #3 and #6 cars paired up, with a little more than five hundredths (3.95 to 4.02) separating them in qualifying. Both drivers were sharp on the tree, with Shayne Lawson (near lane) leaving first by an .043 to .047 margin, but he ran into trouble downtrack and shut off to a losing 4.636 - 123.97. Taking the win in the far lane with a much better 3.995 - 177.44 time was Colorado's Doug Schneider in his NHRA Top Alcohol flopper

(RIGHT) Finishing out the first round was defending FCC series champion, Ken Singleton, (near lane) as he took a close decision based on elapsed times over Nancy Matter in the far lane. The big winning margin at the finish line for Singleton came largely from a huge reaction time advantage, as he cut a decent .097 light against Matter's rather sleepy .201 launch. The timeslip difference was much less, as Singleton's 3.960 - 190.52 covered Matter's 4.016 - 184.20, but it was all about the reaction times in this race

Eliminations - Round One - "B" Field

With a spread of four tenths of a second (4.062 - 4.467) between the eight cars in the "B" field, the "index" was set at 3.862, two tenth of a second less than the top qualifer's e.t. The intent of the index is to minimize the possibility of someone "sandbagging" in qualifying, then blowing everyone out of the water with much quicker runs during eliminations. One small caveat: the index is abandoned for the final round. It's all-out for the win then.

(LEFT) Leading off the "B" field were the #4 and #5 qualifiers, with Bob Alberty Jr. (near lane) overcoming a tardy reaction time (.223) to overcome Mitch Bowen's (far lane) much quicker leave (.084). The e.t.'s and speeds were all in Alberty's favour, as his 4.332 - 162.10 easily covered Bowen's slowing 5.129 - 107.07 clocking

(RIGHT) Next up were the #3 and #6 qualifiers, separated in qualifying by nearly two tenths, with Jeff Cameron (far lane) holding the performance advantage over Steve Vang (near lane). Vang led Cameron off the starting line (.087 to .121), but the scoreboards told a different tale as Cameron's 4.437 - 157.84 gave him the victory over Vang's 4.571 - 121.56. The margin at the stripe was a tenth of a second; just two car lengths

(LEFT) With the withdrawal of Tod Barker from the field due to breakage, surprising newcomer Jade Cook (near lane) moved up to the #8 position in the "B" field and found herself matched up with top qualifier Tim Boychuk. Running a carbureted nitrous assisted big-block Chevy, against the blown fuel Hemi of Boychuk, she left first by two hundredths (.099 to .119), then played "Jill the Giant Killer" by outrunning her heavily favoured opponent, 4.441 - 154.53 to the close, but losing, 4.512 - 163.34 effort of Boychuk. The gap at the finish line was roughly two car lengths

(RIGHT) Finishing out the opening round were the #2 and #7 cars, with Tom Furches (far lane) holding a nearly three tenths advantage in qualifying over Bill Bernard (near lane). But when it counted, Bernard turned on the (NHRA Top Alcohol) "big show" power and ran away from Furches, taking nearly a full tenth of a second lead on the launch (.037 to .128) and lengthening it all the way down track to take a decisive 4.016 - 169.17 win over Furches' losing 4.248 - 170.58 effort

Eliminations - Round One - "C" Field

(LEFT) Leading off the "C" field eliminations was Jordan Ballew on a bye run, as scheduled opponent Chris Schneider was unable to show, allowing Ballew an (almost) automatic advancement to the semifinals, and he took it easy, with a leisurely leave (.259 r.t.) and turned on the winlight with a 4.707 - 148.32 clocking

(RIGHT) The first pair of the round were the #1 and #8 cars, with a nearly seven tenths gap between them in qualifying, and that margin held in this race, as Andy Mears (far lane) laid down a solid 4.469 - 151.31 to leave Damon Kuhn (near lane) far behind as he could only muster a 5.404 - 108.10 time. Making the race look even more one-sided was the (.012 to .408) reaction time advantage for Mears

(LEFT) With nearly half a second advantage in qualifying times, Nick Johnson (near lane) didn't have to push the tree, but he nearly went too far, clocking a nearly unbelievable .0009 reaction time to open up a sizeable lead instantly over Lynn Logue's (far lane) much slower .191 launch. Johnson stopped the clocks with a 4.562 - 151.31 to trainlength Logue's 4.868 - 146.34 numbers

(RIGHT) Closing out the first round of eliminations, the #2 and #7 qualifiers met, with Daniel Butherus (far lane) leaving second (.127 to .061), but finishing first over Dustin Bradford (near lane), taking the winlight with a 4.636 - 145.96 to handle the much slower 5.031 - 142.63 pass of the "American Dream" 'Cuda

Before the final rounds started, someone at the far end of the track phoned in a RUSH order for a pizza, and the local Domino's franchise was only too happy to oblige, with their promised rapid delivery. With the 1/8-mile racing distance, it looked like their motto was "FIVE seconds... or less... or it's on us!"

Eliminations - Round Two - "A" Field

(LEFT) Getting down to the serious business of the semi-finals, Doug Schneider (near lane) took on Ken Singleton (far lane) and together they put on the best side-by-side match of the evening, leaving almost together (.035 to .038 r.t.'s, favouring Schneider). It was a different story at the finish line as Singleton took the winlight with a best of eliminations 3.904 - 192.97 that just nipped Schneider's 3.986 - 185.57. The true win margin was little more than a car length

(RIGHT) The other half of the semis featured Eric Eoff (near lane) and Kirk Williams (far lane), and it was the NHRA Top Alcohol car taking the win to advance to his first Funny Car Chaos final round. From the picture it's obvious that Williams opened a considerable margin over Eoff right off the starting line, as "Shazam!" was in trouble very quickly and slowed to a 11.064 - 50.77 losing pass, initiated with a slow reaction time (.167). Williams really turned up the wick with a new low e.t. and top speed of the meet at 3.877 - 196.42 to earn lane choice for the final

Eliminations - Round Two - "B" Field

(LEFT) Earning the first berth in the "B" final was Jeff Cameron (near lane) as he took care of opponent Bill Bernard (far lane), despite Bernard's very quick 3.937 - 174.49 pass. Bernard left first by a margin of .080 to .181, but threw it all away when he took out the finish line timing cone, disqualifying him and preventing Cameron from receiving an e.t. or speed

(RIGHT) The other racer to advance to the finals was the hard running newcomer Jade Cook (near lane) as she dispatched the "Thunderin' Okie" of Bob Alberty Jr. to move into her second final in a row, and put herself into the top ten in the points standings. She left first with a great reaction of .033, to Alberty's .053, then outran him to the stripe 4.428 - 155.82 to the losing 4.803 - 151.98 for Alberty

Eliminations - Round Two - "C" Field

(LEFT) Moving down to the "C" field, we can see Nick Johnson (near lane) opening up a sizeable lead right off the starting line, but he left a redlight on the tree, wasting a decent 4.634 - 152.08 pass with a -.189 reaction time. Opponent Daniel Butherus (far lane) took the win with a 4.587 - 155.71 pass and advanced to the final for the second consecutive event

(RIGHT) Taking the other spot in the "C" final was Jordan Ballew (near lane) as he took out the "Dragon Slayer" of Andy Mears for the win on a holeshot. Ballew's .043 to .095 reaction time advantage made his 4.516 - 155.01 turn on the winlight over the very close 4.471 - 158.23 of Mears, for the closest decision of eliminations, with just .005 separating them as they crossed the finish line

Eliminations - Final Rounds

(LEFT) With the threatening skies putting a few raindrops on the track, it was a battle between Mother Nature and the track crew to keep things running, but they were able to prevail for the first two ("C" and "B") final rounds. Taking the first winlight was Jordan Ballew (near lane) as he lit up the scoreboards, defeating opponent Daniel Butherus to take home the points, the bucks and the trophy. Both drivers redlighted, but "first or worst" prevailed, and Butherus's -.079 reaction was worse than Ballew's -.006 leave. Ballew kept his foot in it to clock a 4.609 - 154.16 pass, while Butherus coasted through at 6.433 - 71.60

(RIGHT) What turned out to be the last race of the event was the "B" final, as Jade Cook (far lane) took her first Funny Car Chaos event win over Jeff Cameron (near lane) and showed how far she has come in just a few months. The numbers indicate that both drivers were unable to hook up on the slick track, but Cook's 6.606 - 67.76 prevailed over Cameron's 7.609 - 67.58 pass. And as she did all night, she left first by a .071 to .167 margin

(LEFT) After dodging the rain drops for the first two final rounds, the track crew just couldn't keep up with the precipitation, and following a conference on the starting line between series promoter Chris Graves, and the crews of the "High Risk" (Ken Singleton) and "Williams Bros. Racing" (Kirk Williams), it was agreed to postpone the "A" field final until the next event at Eddyville Raceway Park (June 4-5th)

(RIGHT) Never one to give up easily, especially after a 700+ mile drive to the track, BIG Bob Snyder hung around under the protective covering of the timing tower until the official decision to call the event came down