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The latest update as of June 7, 2021



Funny Car Chaos - Eddyville - 2021

We've got the photos from the final round of qualifying at Eddyville, taking place on Saturday afternoon. This time the angles are a little different, with the cars coming at our photographer with the chutes out in the shutdown. As a bonus, the first pair down the track were not only trying to improve their qualifying positions, but were also running the rain-delayed final round from the previous race at Odessa, TX. It was a titanic battle, with both drivers giving it all they had trying to secure the win, the $5000 winners purse, and the all-important points towards the season championship.

FINAL QUALIFYING SESSION

Ken Singleton - 'High Risk' (left lane) vs 
Kirk Williams - 'Williams Bros. Racing' (right lane) --- Kirk Williams - 'Williams Bros. Racing'

(LEFT) The battle for the event win from race #3 (Odessa) saw Kirk Williams (left lane) take on Ken Singleton (right lane) and it was all over at the tree as Singleton left too early, handing the automatic win to Williams. But the top qualifier spot was still up for grabs and Singleton laid down his best run of qualifying at 3.861 - 201.79 in a vain attempt to take back the #1 spot on the ladder

(RIGHT Cruising past with one chute out, Kirk Williams won the race and held onto the top spot with a good 3.76 - 202 pass that was a little slower than his best Friday effort of 3.732 - 200.62

Ken Singleton - 'High Risk' --- Chris Foster - 'Everybody's Nightmare'

(LEFT) Adding insult to injury, Singleton's chutes came out late and he wound up going off the end of the track, but fortunately got it stopped before going into the trees. There was no damage to the car and they were able to get it ready for eliminations without any major stress

(RIGHT) Making good on his last shot, Chris Foster pushed his "Everybody's Nightmare" into the "A" field, improving on his Friday best of 4.342 - 129.80 to a #5 qualifying 3.955 - 192.88 that was much more representative of the car's capabilities

Justin Herbst - 'Scorpion' --- Phil Landram - 'Easy Money 2.0'

(LEFT) The last shot for Justin Herbst saw him improve from Friday's 4.577 to a 4.564 - 152.80, but he fell two spots from #18 to #20, remaining in the "C" field

(RIGHT) On the flip side, Phil Landram knocked more than one second off his previous best (6.882 - 66.86) and moved up one spot from #25 to #24 with an improved 5.546 - 124.41 to slot in near the bottom of the "C" field

Robbie Massey - 'Moats, Massey & Grimm' (near 
lane) vs Monty Stotz - 'Blue Thunder' (far lane) --- Monty Stotz - 'Blue Thunder'

(LEFT) There's actually two cars in this photo, but in the far lane - and far, far back - is Monty Stotz, while in the foreground is Robbie Massey in the "Moats, Massey & Grimm" entry. Massey didn't improve over his Friday best of 3.875 - 190.19 but it was still good enough to hold on to the #3 position

(RIGHT) Long after Massey went by, came down, trailing two chutes despite a 'no improvement' that wasn't quicker than his previous 4.505 - 144.28 and saw him drop out of the "B" field into the "C" group. As it turned out, that wasn't such a bad thing for series newcomer Stotz

Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros.' --- Ivan Mercer - 'Mac, Cheese & Joe'

(LEFT) Finally starting getting on top of the combination needed to get down the track, Lance Van Hauen made a big leap up the ladder, from #21 to #14 and placed himself solidly into the "B" field with a decent 4.401 - 165.32, nearly half a second quicker than Friday's efforts

(RIGHT) Showing off his flat black paint scheme, Ivan Mercer slowed after making a big improvement of nearly two seconds and six places in the order, from #24 to #18 and a spot in the "C" field with his 4.477 - 162.45 a vast step forward from a 6-second best on the first day of qualifying

Steve Timoszyk - 'Detroit Tiger' --- Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop'

(LEFT) The last pair of qualifying started with Steve Timoszyk in his great looking "Detroit Tiger" Monza, and he stepped up just a fraction, from a 4.049 on Friday to a 4.038 - 180.22, that dropped him back one spot from #6 to #7 in the final order

(RIGHT) Closing out our qualifying coverage, Jeff Cameron stepped up nicely, picking up 17 hundredths and climbing from #17 to #12 and a spot in the "B" field for eliminations with his 4.343 - 143.45 clocking


Before eliminations could begin, there was some serious shuffling of the ladders for the three fields. The #8 qualifier, at the bottom of the "A" field, Mary Reep withdrew with a broken motor. Chuck Loftin didn't have enough parts to repair the damage on his aborted Friday afternoon 9-second qualifier and couldn't make the call for the "C" field, while John Umlauf wasn't able to fix his car after Friday's two sessions and had to drop out of the "C" field also. A big shock was Tom Furches being unable to make a pass all weekend due to a bad input shaft (nobody had one that fit his combination), and saw himself drop from #3 in the points standings to the #5 position.


"A" Field - Round One Eliminations

Ken Singleton - 'High Risk' (near lane) 
vs Steve Timoszyk - 'Detroit Tiger' (far lane) --- Kirk Williams - 'Williams Bros. Racing' 
(near lane) vs Bill Naves - 'Shooting Star' (far lane)

(LEFT) The first pair out of the lanes featured points leader Ken Singleton in the near lane against Steve Timoszyk in the far lane. Singleton left first by a tad and steadily pulled away going down the track, stopping the clocks with a great 3.826 - 201.70 to overshadow Timoszyk's good try of 4.263 - 171.04 in the losing cause

(RIGHT) Next up were the winner of the last event on the circuit, Kirk Williams (near lane) against the #9 qualifier (inserted to th "A" field due to Reep's breakage) Bill Naves in the "Shooting Star". Williams left first by nearly half a tenth and ran away from his fellow Top Alcohol racer with low e.t. of the round at 3.810 - 201.34 to cover Naves' slowing 4.109 - 149.80 pass

Robbie Massey - 'Moats, Massey & Grimm' --- Robbie Massey - 'Moats, Massey & Grimm'

It's BURNOUT time, as Robbie Massey lights them up big time in the left photo, then lines up in the near lane (right photo) against.... nobody, as Shayne Lawson had the chutes pop out before staging and left Massey to run a solo. He didn't take it easy, even cutting a great .026 light, then followed up with a 3.983 - 184.50 to advance to the semi-finals

Chris Foster - 'Everybody's Nightmare' --- Chris Foster - 'Everybody's Nightmare' 
(near lane) vs Levi Keenen - 'Illinois Thunder' (far lane)

Another big time tire heater in the left photo, as "Everybody's Nightmare" warms up the track, then Chris Foster (near lane) stages up against Levi Keenen's Arrow-bodied "Illinois Thunder" in a fairly close side-by-side race. Leaving nearly together, Foster took the winlight with a 3.910 - 196.76 over Keenen's solid effort of 4.036 - 184.20. All four winners in the round ran in the 3-second zone, with Massey's 3.983 being the slowest winning time of the group


"B" field - Round One Eliminations


To eliminate possible sandbagging, the FCC rules stipulate that the "B" and "C" fields have an index, fixed two tenths of a second below the lowest qualifying e.t. in the respective fields. With one car broken in the "A" field (Mary Reep) causing Bill Naves to be elevated to the "A" group, the #10 qualifier, Steve Vang, who ran a best of 4.252 in qualifying became the standard bearer for the "B" field and consequently made the index for that group 4.05. Moving down to the "C" group, their quickest qualifer was Jeff Krug with a 4.466 and that made the index 4.27. The index system may sound a little odd, but it's necessary to keep people from going slow in qualifying, then "getting after it" and steamrolling the competition during eliminations. NOTE: The final rounds are heads-up; no breakout.


Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) 
vs Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (far lane) --- Steve Vang - 'Wicked Weekender' (near lane) 
vs Jeff Krug 'Obsession' (far lane)

(LEFT) Leading off the "B" field, Jordan Ballew (near lane) matched wheels with Chris Schneider in the very familiar "Brutus" in the far lane, and the race was over before they left the line, with Ballew turning on the redlight, making Schenider's 4.539 - 162.22 pass the winning timeslip, as Ballew was off the pedal early with a 4.638 - 126.80 coming up on the scoreboards

(RIGHT) Next out of the waterbox were Steve Vang (near lane) against Jeff Krug (far lane). Krug, in the "Obsession", cut a very quick .006 light, leaving half a tenth ahead of Vang and taking the holeshot win, with his 4.314 - 168.22 holding on for the win over Vang's quicker 4.296 - 165.56 losing effort

Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop' (near lane) 
vs Andy Mears - 'Dragon Slayer' (far lane) --- Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (near lane) vs 
Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros.' (far lane)

(LEFT) Old against new, as Jeff Cameron in his late model body (near lane) took on the early Chevy "Dragon Slayer" of Andy Mears (far lane) and came close to the index with his winning 4.105 - 158.84 over Mears' 4.390 - 161.41 second best

(RIGHT) The round finished with fan favourite Jade "The Giant Killer" Cook (near lane) taking on the big horsepower Top Alcohol car of Lance Van Hauen, (far lane), leaving first by a smidge, then hanging on for the win with a solid 4.314 - 162.69 pass that took the winlight over Van Hauen's 3.930 - 193.30 effort. Can you say breakout? How about BREAKOUT! as Van Hauen went more than a tenth under the index, and his 193+ mph speed shows that he was on the loud pedal right into the lights


"C" Field - Round One Eliminations


Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (near lane) vs 
Daniel Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude' (far lane) --- Monty Stotz - 'Blue Thunder' (near lane) 
vs Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (far lane)

(LEFT)The bottom eight qualfiers ran in the "C" field and it opened with Mike Buchanan (near lane) in his "Hombre" Vega leaving second by a ton, "cutting" a .284 light against opponent Daniel Butherus's .062 launch. Starting with a deficit of nearly a quarter of a second, Buchanan made it up and more, crossing the 1/8-mile finish line with a 5.590 - 104.43 pass to easily cover Butherus's slowing 6.106 - 75.20 as he limped through the lights

(RIGHT) In the next pair, Monty Stotz (near lane) left second, but finished first, as he made up for his late launch (.195 to .057) against Dustin Bradford's 'Cuda, putting down a 4.608 - 135.87 to easily outdistance Bradford's 5.201 - 130.32 losing pass

Justin Herbst - 'Scorpion' (near lane) 
vs Phil Landram - 'Easy Money 2.0' (far lane) --- Ivan Mercer - 'Mac, Cheese & Joe'

(LEFT) Nearly giving it away with an almost comatose reaction time of .477, Justin Herbst (near lane) had his work cut out for himself, but his much better 4.597 - 149.70 was more than enough to take the win over Phil Landram's losing effort of 5.216 - 132.51 and advance to the semi-final

(RIGHT) Closing out the first round of eliminations, Ivan Mercer, the low qualifier in the "C" field, got to take a single as there was simply no one left in the pits ready to give him a race. He took it easy on the bye, stopping the clocks at a leisurely 5.039 - 116.10 to wrap up the round


"A" Field - Semi-Finals


Ken Singleton - 'High Risk' (near lane) 
vs Robbie Massey - 'Moats, Massey & Grimm' (far lane) --- Chris Foster - 'Everybody's Nightmare' 
(far lane) vs Kirk Williams - 'Williams Bros. Racing' (far lane)

(LEFT) Opening the round of four with a great battle, Ken Singleton (near lane) cut a not-so-good light with a reaction time of .152, while opponent Robbie Massey (far lane) took a full tenth of a second advantage at the green with his .047 launch. It took all the horsepower that Singleton could muster to turn on the winlight with his 3.804 - 201.34 just holding off Massey's very competitive 3.941 - 188.68 effort. The margin at the finish was barely a car length

(RIGHT) The other pairing of the semi-finals didn't disappoint, as Chris Foster (near lane) left a tad ahead of Kirk Williams (far lane), but couldn't hold on for the win as his 3.893 - 198.24 fell to Williams' superior 3.827 - 200.62 pass. Again, it was only a one car length victory for the winner, but Williams lost lane choice to Singleton for the final round


"B" Field - Semi-Finals


Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop' (near lane) 
vs Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (far lane)

The first pair featured Jeff Cameron (near lane) against Chris Schneider (far lane), with both cars leaving almost together, but Cameron turning on the winlight with a 4.152 - 155.82 beating Schneider's 4.446 - 160.66 second best effort

Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' --- Jeff Krug - 'Obsession'

(LEFT)Putting down a nice burnout, Jade Cook looked like she might have a chance to be advancing to her third consecutive final round, but the car let her down after the tire smoker and she was forced to shut off before staging

RIGHT)The grateful recipient of Cook's misfortune was Jeff Krug and he made his best pass of the weekend, cranking out a very good 4.203 - 173.21 to advance to his first final round of his Funny Car Chaos career


"C" Field - Semi-Finals

Monty Stotz - 'Blue Thunder' (near lane) 
vs Justin Herbst - 'Scorpion' (far lane) --- Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (near lane) vs 
Ivan Mercer  'Mac, Cheese & Joe' (far lane)

(LEFT)Starting the "C" field semi-finals were Monty Stotz (near lane) continuing his good luck ways with a winning 4.503 - 154.64 that was enough to make up for his late leave (.197) and defeat Justin Herbst (far lane), who took a five hundredths advantage at the green and hold the lead until the 300' mark, but saw his 4.767 - 133.93 fall short at the finish line

(RIGHT) The last race of the semi-finals saw both racers sit for a rather long time at the line, as Mike Buchanan's .265 reaction time actually outdid Ivan Mercer's even worse .462 effort. Once they actually got in motion, Mercer's 4.551 - 160.20 overcame his late launch deficit, and easily covered Buchanan's 5.170 - 129.80 losing pass


Monty Stotz - 'Blue Thunder' (near lane) 
vs Ivan Mercer - 'Mac, Cheese & Joe' (far lane)

In the "C" field final it was Monty Stotz (near lane) taking the win in the "Blue Thunder" Camaro in his Funny Car Chaos debut, over Ivan Mercer in his "Mac, Cheese & Joe" entry


Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop' 
(near lane) vs Jeff Krug - 'Obsession' (far lane)

Closing out the "B" field eliminations, it was Jeff Cameron in his "Jake's Speed Shop" car (near lane) taking the win over Jeff Krug in "Obsession" (far lane)


Kirk Williams - 'Williams Bros. Racing' 
(near lane) vs Ken Singleton - 'High Risk' (far lane)

In the "A" field final for the BIG money ($5000 + contingencies to the winner), it was Kirk Williams in the "Williams Bros. Racing" entry (near lane) doubling up with his second event win of the day over Ken Singleton in the "High Risk" entry in the far lane. With the win, Williams moved into a tie for the points lead with Singleton at the halfway point of the season


Steve Vang - 'Wicked Weekender' (near lane) 
vs Ray Kelley - 'Game Xchange' (far lane)

As an added bonus for the fans, they finished the night with an impromptu match race between a funny car, Steve Vang in the near lane, matched up with the "Game Xchange" Jet Dragster of Ray Kelley in the far lane. No times or speeds recorded