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The latest update as of July 13, 2021


58th Summer Nationals - Kansas International 
Dragway - Funny Car Chaos

Yes, we have pictures from the latest FUNNY CAR CHAOS event, held last weekend at Kansas International Dragway, as the feature attraction at their 58th annual Summer Nationals. These are shots from the first qualifying session, held early on Friday evening. Many, many more to follow as the day progresses. Captions will be filled in as soon as the first day's qualifying photos (two sessions) are posted. Stay tuned! We don't have access to the first round qualifying results, as the cumulative results of the two sessions are posted at the end of Friday's qualifying.


Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' --- Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder'

(LEFT) Leading off our coverage is Jade Cook in her "Nemesis" entry and she continued to impress with a solid run from her UNblown (nitrous BBC) entry, posting a best for the day of 4.670 - 128.79 to provisionally place her in the #15 spot, near the bottom of the "B" field.

(RIGHT) Following a hard charging burnout, the "Ballew Thunder" Camaro of Jordan Ballew put down a slightly off-pace 4.870 - 148.17 that left him well down the qualifying sheet in the #20 position.

Tod Barker - 'Back in Black' --- Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War'

(LEFT) The flamed GTO "Back in Black" is now running under new ownership. It started life as an NHRA Nitro Nostalgia Funny Car run by Dennis La Charite, then passed along to Funny Car Chaos runner Lynn Logue, and fittingly enough is now running as part of a two-car "Back in Black" team of Tod and Alex Barker. Father Tod is now driving the GTO while his son Alex wheels the familiar black Corvette. His best of the day 4.812 - 126.12 placed him in the #18 slot on the list.

(RIGHT) Continuing his perfect attendance record (all six events on the FCC calendar so far), Shayne Lawson ran hard to a very good 4.106 - 146.10 pass (note the early shutoff speed), in his Mustang-bodied "Man O' War" entry, putting him in the #4 spot and solidly in the "A" field going into the final qualifier on Saturday afternoon.

Justin Herbst - 'Scorpion' --- Chris Schneider - 'Brutus'

(LEFT) Laying down some rubber before his run, Justin Herbst made a decent pass of 4.731 - 147.88 in his short wheelbase Monza-bodied "Scorpion". The run put him in the #16 position and gave him a toehold on the last spot in the "B" field.

(RIGHT) Longtime FCC racer Chris Schneider wheeled the "Brutus" Mustang to a solid 4.471 - 157.18 that left him near the top of the "B" field in the #9 position after Friday's two sessions.

Mary Reep - 'Grim Reeper' --- Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream'

(LEFT) Not making much of an impact in the first qualifying session, Mary Reep struggled to a best of 5.065 - 91.28 on Friday in her "Grim Reeper" and was down near the bottom of the sheet in the #22 position.

(RIGHT) Having even worse luck on Friday was Dustin Bradford as this hellacious burnout was followed with a "No Time Recorded" clocking as the "American Dream" 'Cuda failed to make it down the track.

Dave Gallegos - 'Nitro Clown' --- Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' (near lane) vs 
Robin Rish - 'Blown Retirement' (far lane)

(LEFT) Making quite an impact in the first session was the "Nitro Clown" Z28 Camaro of Dave Gallegos as he pounded out a very good 4.230 - 168.73 that put him in the #5 position and solidly in the "A" field.

(RIGHT) Making an even bigger impact was the NHRA "Big Show" car of Mike Newkirk (near lane) as he stopped the timers with an excellent 3.936 - 188.44, good enough for the #3 position on the overall list and a spot in the "A" field for the "Disturbed" team. In the far lane, Robin Rish in his "Blown Retirement" entry fell back early and stopped the timers later at 5.577 - 129.65, landing in the #24 spot on the qualifying sheet.

Kirk Williams - 'Williams Bros. Racing' --- Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop'

(LEFT) The big news this season has been the performance of the "Williams Bros." team, as driver Kirk Williams went straight to the top with the low e.t. and top speed of the day, carding a 3.725 - 203.80 to show that they were aiming for the fifth straight final round of the season.

(RIGHT) Launching hard, with the wheels up and the chassis torqued over, Jeff Cameron was forced to lift and get back on the pedal in the "Jake's Speed Shop" entry. The end result was a mediocre 5.393 - 127.59 timeslip that put them in the #23 spot and a possible "C" field position going into Saturday's final qualifying session.

Ken Singleton - 'High Risk' --- Tony Arcuri - 'Firefighter'

(LEFT) Points leader and two-time defending series champion Ken Singleton showed that the "High Risk" team wasn't lacking in performance as they took the #2 spot on the ladder with a very good 3.794 - 202.25 effort.

(RIGHT) Running last in the first session was series newcomer Tony Arcuri in his "Firefighter" and a serious lack of propulsion put him near the bottom of the list with a nothing-to-write-home-about pass of 20.417 - 31.31 best for the day.


Dueling BackUp People'

BackUp people come in all shapes, sizes and genders, as evidenced here by the fun-loving "Reverse Gear Assistant" making a funny face (left) and the Greek warrior guy who backs up the "Brutus" car.


With the sun long since set and the track lights on, the second qualifying session saw some improved performances and at least a few sets of header flames from the nitro burning cars. With a new position near the starting line, our photographer (BIG Bob Snyder) took a series of side-by-side shots in the evening qualifying session.

Matt Nissen - 'Runnin' Down a Dream' (near 
lane) vs Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (far lane) --- Justin Herbst - 'Scorpion' (near lane) vs 
Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (far lane)

(LEFT) In the near lane, Matt Nissen in his "Runnin' Down a Dream" pushed his way into the middle of the "B" field in the #14 position with a decent 4.625 - 131.31 pass, good enough for the #14 position, while in the far lane, Chris Schneider made a better run (4.471 - 157.18) for the #9 spot.

(RIGHT) Putting down a solid effort on Friday was Justin Herbst (near lane) in the Monza-bodied "Scorpion", clocking in at 4.731 - 147.88 for the #16 spot, while in the far lane, Jade Cook ended the day with a best of 4.670 - 128.79 to hold down the #15 slot on the list.

Nick Johnson - 'Prairie Fire' --- Andy Mears - 'Dragon Slayer' (near lane) vs 
Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List' (far lane)

(LEFT) Pushing the "Prairie Fire" to the #10 position, near the top of the "B" field, was Nick Johnson as he carded a 4.480 - 154.16 best on the first day of qualifying.

(RIGHT) Partially obscured in the near lane, Andy Mears in his "Dragon Slayer" Chevy laid down a 4.547 - 153.64 to grab a spot in the "B" field in the lucky #13 position, while over in the far lane, the Doak & Poloson "Bucket List", driven by Nick Poloson, shut off early but still put down a good 4.503 - 117.71 for the #11 spot.

Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' --- Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) 
vs Tod Barker - 'Back in Black' (far lane)

(LEFT) Looking to improve his performance after a few difficult outings, Chuck Loftin (far lane) tried hard with the nitro burning "Motivation" Mustang but came up short with a best for the day of only 4.848 - 149.60, good only for the #19 position and a provisional spot in the "C" field. Mostly obscured in the near lane was Robin Rish who failed to improve on his earlier 5.577 pass.

(RIGHT) In the near lane, Jordan Ballew finished the day with a 4.870 - 148.17 best, while on the far side, Tod Barker in the former Lynn Logue car fared a little better with a 4.812 - 126.12 after the second qualifying session.

Jim Chase - 'Wicked Quick' --- Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre'

(LEFT) Showing that he was serious about competing with the Funny Car Chaos regulars, Jim Chase clocked in at 4.402 - 165.20 in his "Wicked Quick" '57 Chevy, leaving him in the #8 spot, and a spot in the "A" field going into Saturday's final qualifier.

(RIGHT) In one of the shortest wheelbase cars on the circuit, Mike Buchanan made a best of the day 4.958 - 147.88 run in the "Hombre" Vega, leaving him in the #21 spot and safely in the "C" field.

Dave Gallegos - 'Nitro Clown' --- Steve Vang - 'Wicked Weekender Racing'

(LEFT) Running under the lights, the "Nitro Clown" of Dave Gallegos put on a good flame show (not shown here unfortunately) for the fans, and finished Friday in the #5 position on the list.

(RIGHT) After a semifinal finish at the previous event (Kearney, NB), Steve Vang wanted to keep the momentum going and pushed the "Wicked Weekender" to a very good 4.299 - 163.99 that placed him #7 and a spot in the "A" field going into Saturday's final session.

Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (near lane) vs 
Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop' (far lane) --- Kirk Williams - 'Williams Bros. Racing'

(LEFT) In the near lane, Tom Furches launched his "Made in America" to a competitive 4.231 - 169.81 time that put him #6 and well into the "A" field, while in the far lane, Jeff Cameron had his troubles continue as he was unable to better his earlier 5.393 - 127.59 and sat near the bottom of the "C" field in the #23 position.

(RIGHT) Coming out to back up his earlier low qualifying 3.725 pass, Kirk Williams appeared to start his burnout well out of the groove, and didn't better his earlier low qualifying numbers, but still held on to the #1 spot going into the final Saturday qualifying session.

Ken Singleton - 'High Risk' --- Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed'

(LEFT) With the heavy hitters in the earlier session coming up near the end of the second session, Ken Singleton held onto his #2 spot with a 3.794 - 202.25 timeslip.

(RIGHT) Closing out the evening was Mike Newkirk and he stayed in the #3 spot with his 3.936 - 188.44 pass in the "Disturbed" car.