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The latest update as of March 6, 2020
Thursday testing pictures, notes and results from Bakersfield
The March Meet started with a "test 'n tune" for the nitro-burning cars and 25 of them took advantage of the session to acclimate themselves to the AutoClub Famoso Raceway surface. There were some great passes, led by nitro newcomer Mike Peck from Washington state, who put down a very good 5.749 - 253.14 that surpassed even the dragsters. We've got a bunch of photos of some of the entrants, including a few new cars and new looks for others.
(LEFT) Coming out for his umpeenth season of nitro racing (he dates back to the late 1960's) is four-time March Meet champion Jim Murphy in his "WW III" entry. He shut off early to a 6.025 - 188.96
(RIGHT) A car that's been around for quite a while with Rick McGee driving is under new management with Tyler Hester handling the driving duties on the "Overtime Special" and he ran to the 1000' mark before pulling the pin to a 6.182 - 174.62 clocking.
(LEFT) Hoping for much better results this year (he crashed in testing at this event last year) is Matt Bynum driving the "Matthews Motorsports" Camaro and he ran straight and strong until shutting off early (recurring theme, eh?) to a 6.181 - 171.23 clocking.
(RIGHT) A true "jack of all trades" in drag racing is veteran Cory Lee who's been driving Gary Turner's "Pedaler" for the past few years, and he ran strong right out of the box with a 6.080 at - you guessed it, another sub-200 speed - 192.47 mph.
(LEFT) The purple-flamed "Capitol Punishment" Camaro of Tony Jurado didn't have the best numbers of the session with a 6.793 at only 127.86.
(RIGHT) Billy Morris in the "Problem Child" Camaro got off the loud pedal early, posting a 6.325 - 161.46.
(LEFT) The long-time fuel racer out of Canada, Tim Boychuk in his "Happy Hour" Camaro carded a 5.955 - 228.58 to show that he's ready to rumble at Bakersfield again.
(RIGHT) Rebounding quickly from his disastrous exhibition appearance at the recent Winternationals, where he put his car into the catchnet when the chutes failed, Dan Horan Jr. pounded out a 5.942 - 218.05 on an easy pass to open his weekend.
(LEFT) Here's a new one to us, a '69 Camaro named "Atomic Punk" that we know nothing about, other than it ran in the test session. We're waiting for more info from our (t)rusty correspondent "Big" Bob Snyder and the "oracle" of results, Drag Race Central. The official word is that it's Don Knoblauch from Sumner, WA.
(RIGHT) This name ("Nasty Benjamin") has been around the nitro ranks for five decades now and Dave Benjamin is still running strong. We haven't got the new driver's name yet, but it did run a solid 6.649 - 150.85 with the chutes out early. UPDATE: The driver is ex-boat racer Kevin Burgess from Lake Havasu City, AZ.
(LEFT) The Bob Godfrey "Burnin' Money" '72 'Cuda didn't get very far before running into problems that left a 14.956 at only 46.21 mph on the scoreboards.
(RIGHT) One of the big guns in the class, from Sturgeon, AB is Ryan Hodgson in the "Pacemaker" Camaro and he didn't have a very good opening pass either, with a 9.421 - 88.56 coming up on the clocks.
(LEFT) Down from Oregon is the Dan Hix driven "Meanstreak" Camaro and it might need some more fine-tuning after posting a test number of 7.545 - 123.13.
(RIGHT) We're not sure who's driving the "Fighting Irish" car this year - it's been around for quite a while with several different owners and drivers - but we do know that it's got Charlie O'Neill's name on the side. A bit of sleuthing just provided the answer as it's Dean Oberg behind the butterfly (wheel) instead of his usual ride, the "Holy Toledo" Jeep. PS: It ran 10.898 - 71.83 on a shakedown pass.
(LEFT) Here's the Panic" fuel altered of Shawn Van Horn burning out in the period-correct example of a true AA/FA.
(RIGHT) An evil-looking car with the BIG wings (front and rear) is the "Witch Doctor" of Keith Wilson. Unfortunately we have no times for these fuel altereds.
Here's two more AA/Fuel Altereds, both without any numbers to report from the test session, but we know it's (LEFT) Eric Gates and (RIGHT) Mike Halstead.
Taking a bit of a "busman's holiday", big show Funny Car driver Ron Capps slid in behind the wheel of the "Good News" Fiat and made his first AA/Fuel Altered pass of the season. This year he's hoping for better results at the March Meet.