The latest update as of November 15, 2020
It's been very quiet here this month but we've got some photos and words from our ever-intrepid SouthWestern correspondent "BIG" Bob Snyder. He attended the final Western Fuel Altered Association event of the 2020 season this weekend at Tucson Dragway. Qualifying ran on Friday night, and eliminations were yesterday on what was a very cold and somewhat slippery track in the Arizona desert. With ten cars in attendance, plus a few others testing, the variety of machinery was welcomed by the fans, and the performances improved as eliminations progressed. Note that the racers were running on a 6.70 index to level the playing field for the various engine and chassis configurations.
Western Fuel Altered Invitational - ADRA Memorial Race - Tucson Dragway - Tucson, AZ - November 14, 2020
Running in conjunction with the ADRA Memorial Race, the Western Fuel Altered gang put on a great show for the Tucson fans. With a total of 10 cars attempting to qualify, over two days and three sessions, the decision was made to put everybody - at least everyone who wasn't broken - into eliminations. Only one racer. Tony D'Orca failed to appear for the first round, but a bonus of two cars testing, Rob Winefsky's AA/Fuel Altered and Phil Flower's Funny Car, added to the show.
(LEFT) Between working on Sheldon Lofgreen's fuel altered, crewman Phil Flower found the time to make a few check-out passes in his recently completed Funny Car
(RIGHT) Here's a shot from the final qualifying session on Saturday morning, featuring (near lane) Greg Holman in his "Carbon Copy" 23-T, running against (in the far lane) Sheldon Lofgreen. Holman ended up in the #6 position, with a best qualifying number of 6.911 - 205.07, while Lofgreen fell just short of the top of the charts, finishing in the #2 spot with a best of 6.795 - 191.21
Out testing in preparation for license runs in a "big show"-style AA/Fuel Altered, Sean Cash brought out his "Rabble Rouser", burning out on the left and launching hard on a planned early shutoff on the right. Assisting Cash in getting himself and the car dialled in is legendary Fuel Altered (and Funny Car and Top Fuel) owner, driver, and tuner Johnny West. The plan for Cash is to run the Midwest Fuel Altered Association in 2021
Round One Eliminations
(LEFT) In first round action, Mic Williams in the "Redeemer" (near lane) took on Scott Pareso (far lane) in the unique twin-turbo big-block Chevy. The winlight came on in Pareso's lane as he carded a 6.953 to easily cover Williams' losing 7.240 effort
(RIGHT) The next pair turned into a virtual single for the "Rust Bucket" of Flagstaff (AZ)'s Mitch Bowen (near lane) as his opponent (Pat Neal) in the far lane pitched the blower belt on the launch and barely left the starting line. Bowen stopped the clocks with a close-to-the-index 6.761 for the win
(LEFT) Another turbo monster, this time featuring a TFX hemi, was driven by Sheldon Lofgreen (near lane), matched up against Greg Holman (far lane). It was an ultra-close match as both drivers flirted with the 6.70 index and clocked identical times of 6.736. Taking the win via reaction time advantage was Lofgreen
(RIGHT) The last pair of the first round was a bit of an oddity. In the near lane, Terri Brewster launched her "Retro Rocket" front-engine dragster before the tree was activated, taking the automatic loss, and handing the win to the far lane's Steve "Flattop" Faller" in his "Bad Moon Rising" altered. He didn't get a time either as he also left before the tree, but the "first or worst" rule applied in this case
What if they held a fuel altered race and a "Top Fuel" car showed up? Keith Livsey brought out his twin-mag late-model BAE-powered dragster and was slotted into the show to help amp up the entertainment value for the fans. He qualified #1 with a 6.765, and took a first-round bye in the 9-car field, running just a tad under the index at 6.696, but nevertheless advancing to the second round
Round Two Eliminations - Quarter-Finals
With a 9-car field in the first round, the five winners (one on a bye) advancing to the second round meant someone got a single. Earning the spot was the #2 qualifier, Sheldon Lofgreen, in his hard-running turbo car, and he put down a very close to the index 6.711 to earn his spot in the semi-finals
(LEFT) In the near lane, Mitch Bowen drove the "Rust Bucket" to an easy win over Steve "Flattop" Faller" (far lane) in the "Bad Moon Rising". Bowen cranked out a solid 6.761, while Faller fell by the wayside early, finally stopping the clocks at 10.124 for the loss
(RIGHT) The second round concluded with Keith Livsey, in the far lane, matched up against the only out-of-state entry, Colorado's Scott Pareso, and in a very close race, Livsey took the win by a 6.768 to 6.840 margin. His pass wasn't quite quick enough to earn lane choice over Lofgreen in the semis though. As a consolation, Pareso took the "Best Burnout" award, doing a 1000-footer for the prize
Two views of a local blown fuel altered (AA/FA), the "Coyote Express", driven by Rob Winefsky, making some test passes for the crowd. He started the year with a runner-up finish to Ron "BIG Show" Capps at the fabled Good Vibrations March Meet, but hasn't had very many opportunities to race since. Rob was testing a new supercharger in preparation for the 2021 season.
Round Three Eliminations - Semi-Finals
(LEFT) Yes, it's another single, as 9-cars (Rnd #1) became 5-cars (Rnd #2) and now it's down to three cars in the semi-finals. The bye run this time went to #7 qualifier Mitch Bowen and he took full advantage of the situation to see just how hard he could run without worrying about breaking out of the 6.70 index. The scoreboards rang up a low e.t. of the meet 6.624 as he blasted his way into the final round. Presumably without lane choice though, due to the "breakout"
(RIGHT) In the only side-by-side match of the round, Keith Livsey (near lane), appeared to leave first, and he did, but courtesy of a red-light, giving the automatic win to Sheldon Lofgreen, in the far lane. Despite a quicker time (6.725), Livsey saw the automatic winlight come on in Lofgreen's lane, as he carded a solid 6.818 to move into the final round
Round Four Eliminations - Final
Sadly, we don't have any pictures, or first-hand reports to post, as our correspondent left before the final round as the dropping temperatures made it simply too uncomfortable to wait for the final pair. But we do have the results, as Mitch Bowen in the "Rust Bucket" took the win in the closest race of the day, turning a 6.740 over the close-but-no-cigar effort of Sheldon Lofgreen, who trailed with a valiant 6.758 effort in the loss. Making the race even closer than it appeared from the timeslips was the .017 reaction time advantage for Lofgreen that made the margin of victory for Bowen at the finish line a miniscule .0012 of a second. What a finish to a great day of racing in the Southwest.