NHRA West Region "Fall Shootout" at Firebird Motorsports Park
NOTE: Click on the thumbnails to display the full-size images
While there was a full field (and then some) of dragsters, only three funny cars made the trek to Chandler (Phoenix), AZ's Firebird Motorsports Park. Qualifying got underway with the funnies, then the dragsters took to the stage. All went well until the third pair of dragsters pulled up to the waterbox, when the power to the control tower and surrounding lighting suddenly failed. That brought everything to a dead stop for two hours until an electrician managed to get the tower up and running and lights on one side of the track. You'll notice a much darker hue to the later pictures since flash photography is a no-no at NHRA events.
TOP ALCOHOL Qualifying - Session ONE
(LEFT) Back in action for the first time since her early September crash at Virginia Motorsports Park, <>b>Annie Whiteley was ready to lay down a number, but heavy tire shake ended her first attempt and a 13-second timeslip was the result.
(RIGHT) Having much better luck as she neared the end of her short - but very successful - Top Alcohol career, Maddi Gordon put down a very good 5.600 - 262.04 to grab the top spot on the ladder.
Facing an almost overwhelming task of taking over the points lead, #2 in the standings, Brian Hough ran into a problem common among the blown cars: tire shake. He was forced to pedal nearing the 300' mark, and recovered decently, but the end result was only a 5.821 - 252.90 that lagged well behind Gordon's quick e.t. of the session.
(LEFT) The dragsters followed, with long-time veteran Chris Demke engaging in a close pairing with Casey Grisel. It wasn't all smooth sailing for Demke, as he lost time in the first half of the run and could only manage a 5.566 - 250.46 clocking.
(RIGHT) In the other lane, Casey Grisel in the "Darien & Grisel A/Fuel car, had a soft launch with a .999 60' time, and never really got up to full pitch. His numbers were nearly identical to Demke's, with a 5.566 - 254.23 showing up on the scoreboard.
(LEFT) Running in the last pairing before the power outage, Oregon's Mike Austin laid down another impressive pass with his blown alky entry, taking the top spot - at least temporarily - with a good 5.364 - 267.80. Running in the other lane, and not shown, was Pennsylvania's John Ausherman in his injected nitro entry. He lit the tires instantly and coasted to a 15-second e.t.
(RIGHT) When the lights came on more than two hours later, the next pair up had Taylor Januik facing Shaunda Blinzler, not shown due to a lack of lighting on her side of the track. Neither driver was able to run quicker than Austin, but Januik came closest with a solid 5.389 - 274.11, while Blinzler trailed with her decent 5.429 - 266.37 clocking. Unfortunately for the Blinzler team, they hurt the engine and weren't able to appear on Saturday.
(LEFT) Coming all the way from Florida, with the McPhillips Racing team, Anthony Troyer was still hopeful of getting into the championship conversation. While his hopes were on a very thin edge, they still made the trek in hopes of closing the almost insurmountable gap to points leader Shawn Cowi. He got his weekend off to a good start with a new #1 qualifying time of 5.320 - 271.68 time.
(RIGHT) Slotting into the second spot on the ladder was the Duane Shields Racing A/Fueler, being driven by third generation drag racer Madison Payne. She pounded out a good 5.348 - 269.56 to start her event.
The final pair of the round featured the top racers in the points standings, with defending champion - and current leader - Shawn Cowie (not shown) matched up against his only real challenger for the 2025 championship, Joey Severance. He pounded out a new low e.t. of the evening, with an excellent 5.233 - 277.03 to put a sizeable margin between him and the rest of the field. However, only half a tenth back was Cowie with a nearly as good 5.281 - 271.73 effort.
With all the time lost during the power outage, and rapidly cooling track temperatures, it was decided to call it an evening for qualifying, and give the racers a second - and final- session on Saturday afternoon. We'll be back tomorrow with that coverage.
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER Qualifying - Session TWO
Under much brighter, and more conducive to photography, the mid-afternoon final qualifying session got underway with the dragsters out first.
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TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR Qualifying - Session TWO
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TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER Eliminations - Round ONE
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