The latest update as of March 25, 2022

2nd annual FUNNY CAR CHAOS CLASSIC is happening!

Here's our first batch of photos from yesterday's test session, in preparation for the BIG event, starting with the first qualifying session at noon (CDT) today. There's another session this evening, with the later cars running under the lights. And then it really revs up tomorrow with a final qualifying session at noon, followed by six hours of non-stop eliminations from 5:00 pm until... whenver it's done. It's going to be a great show and we'll have as much of the details and tons of photos as we can post up as soon as we can. Stay tuned and remember to refresh/reload this page each time you visit.

We've only got time this morning to fill in the first two captions. The balance of the writing, plus the rest of Thursday's photos will be posted later today.

Before the test session started, the Funny Car Chaos crew got their merchandise stand setup, with Chris Graves (right) running the show. Visiting before taking his usual spot at the 200' mark, was veteran (putting it mildly!) photographer Dave Kommel, (center) who's enjoying his "retirement" by just going to select races now. That's Dave's wife on the left.

(LEFT) Coming out with a new car was series regular Nick Johnson, who was formerly partnered Wayne Reinert in the "Prairie Fire" car, and is now on his own with his "Razzle Dazzle" entry. His first attempt was an on-and-off-and-on affair with the timers stopping at 4.718 - 124.51 that gave him a starting point.

(RIGHT) Three-time defending series champion Ken Singleton also had a new body, new paint and a new sponsor (Maxima Batteries), and had a wild first pass of the year. He skated all over his lane early, taking out the 330' timing block, then fishtailing back into his lane - without lifting - and blasted through the lights at 3.865 - 161.93. Even with all the extra distance travelled and an early shutoff, he still ran a mid-3.80 on his first attempt.

(LEFT) Test sessions see all types of car, and this blown fuel late model Hemi-powered slingshot dragster, being driven by Texas Drag Racing Association member Jonathan Johnson laid down a good run. I'll have to review the video to see what the timelsip looked like.

(RIGHT) Still making a very old-school short wheelbase Vega-bodied car work, Mike Buchanan went up in smoke on the launch, then pedalled the "Hombre" to a 6.044 - 108.47 clocking.

(LEFT) The first fuel altered to run was Keith Zimmerer in his "Penny Pincher" '32 Bantam, and he was off the throttle early, coasting through the lights at 4.602 - 114.68 mph.

(RIGHT) Making some serious noise, the "Illinois Thunder" Plymouth Arrow of Levi Keenen put down a good 4.061 - 192.03, despite a very lazy launch of 1.173 at the 60' clocks.

(LEFT) One of the biggest stories coming into the event was the brand-new and untested "project car" out of Randy Meyer Racing, being driven by Julie Nataas. After not getting very far down track in a private test session on Wednesday, the car instantly went up in smoke on the launch, and barely rolled to the finish line at 16-seconds and 21 mph. Still a few bugs to sort out.

(RIGHT) Back for another season of FCC competition, Michigan's Steve Timoszyk hauled down his "Detroit Tiger" Monza and put down a decent 4.262 - 141.19 to knock the rust off the driver and crew.

(LEFT) Another one of the dozen or so Fuel Altereds in the pits, Donny McSwain lit up the tires on the "Wild One" on the burnout, but was forced to shut off before staging with an unknown problem.

(RIGHT) Getting on the injected nitro bandwagon was series regular, Tod Barker in the "Back in Black" 'Vette. His first pass with the combination wasn't terribly successful, with a 7-second 64-mph result lighting up the scoreboard.

(LEFT) The first A/Fuel Altered (injected nitro) altered to get down the track was this unidentified car and driver that were reportedly making a license pass. It did pretty well for a first pass, with a stunning 3.856 - 161.31 showing on the timers, putting this team at the top of the class. See the closeup view of the engine below.

(RIGHT) Switching over from AA/Fuel Altered trim to a Funny Car for 2022, the Darby & Morrow team, with Aaron Morrow at the wheel, made their FCC debut with the "Nitro Relapse". The car headed for the centerline early, before Morrow clicked it off and coasted down at 5.831 - 80.71 mph.

It might not be as fancy as the setup on the Randy Meyer car, but it obviously works.

(LEFT) After a first pass that resulted in an early shutoff (4.341 - 129.55), last year's #5 finisher in points, Tom Furches instantly lit up the tires and coasted to a 16-second clocking on his second try in the "Made in America" Corvette.

(RIGHT) Another member of the TDRA, in a slingshot dragster, Michael Anderson, pushed his blown (not sure if it's nitro or alky) small-block Chevy car to a decent clocking that will have to be dug up from the YouTube video of the session.

(LEFT) From the Outlaw Fuel Altereds website we know that the "Psycho Too" is owned by Wilkins %amp; Gilliland, but we don't know who was driving on this "license" pass as the car stopped the timers at 5.720 - 136.47 mph.

(RIGHT) Having trouble early with the car heading for the centerline, Shayne Lawson had to wrestle the Mustang-bodied "Man O' War" back into the groove before shutting off to a 5.966 at 78.35 mph.

(LEFT) Running one of the only (possibly the only) blown fuel Big-Block Chevy Funny Car in the world, New Mexico's Ray Stringer ran hard for a few hundred feet before clicking the "Blown Cent-Less" to a 4.941 - 115.22 pass.

(RIGHT) It took quite a few passes before the first 200-mph speed came up on the scoreboards, but Chuck Loftin managed it with a very good 3.895 - 203.34 out of his "Motivation" Mustang.

(LEFT) Joining the 3-second bunch due to some off-season improvements, Dustin Bradford rang up a very good 3.948 - 184.90 out of the 'Cuda-bodied "American Dream" entry.

(RIGHT) Another one of the familiar faces at FCC races, "Brutus" Mustang of John Troxel, driven by Chris Schneider made a decent 4.302 - 173.94 on their first pass.

(LEFT) It was pretty much a usual run for the next Fuel Altered out of the lanes, as the "High Octane" car of Raymond Dawson wiggled it's way to a 4.468 - 151.21 that showed there was definitely serious potential.

(RIGHT) A name out of the distant past, the "China Syndrome" Dodge Omni of Wayne Hofmann, (son of famous NHRA Nitro Funny Car racer Al Hofmann) debuted his new blown alky car with a troubled 5.016 - 97.84 pass. The car wouldn't shift, necessitating an early shutoff.

(LEFT) More Fuel altereds, with Donnie Massey out next, but the burnout was as much as the "Showtime" was capable of before shutting off.

(RIGHT) The next AA/FA up was the "Penny Pincher" (not sure if the name is still on the car) of Keith Zimmerer who laid down a very impressive 3.809 - 196.78 to set the pace for the Fuel Altered contingent.

(LEFT) Coming all the way from Sweden to drive a California-based car, Joacim "Joe" Ljungberg put down a solid 4.274 - 167.56 in the "Raw Valley" entry.

(RIGHT) One of the "Back in Black" cars, the Firebird-bodied car of Alex Barker (son of Tod Barker, driver of the other 'B in B' car) bogged on the launch and shut off to a 8.921 - 47.49 clocking.

(LEFT) After a number of years driving an NHRA Top Alcohol car, Christine Foster (nee Chambless), brought out the second Foster family car, aptly named "Family Feud", but shook and pedalled to a 4.869 - 111.94 to start her weekend.

(RIGHT) Making another pass, and still igniting the tires on the launch was Julie Natass who recorded a 15-second pass at only 24 mph as the car barely made it to the 660' mark before stopping. Our starting line correspondent, Bob Snyder, noticed that all the raw fuel accumulating in the headers at idle was dripping out through the holes drilled in the bottom of them and puddling in front of the fires. Should be a simple fix, but what do we know?

(LEFT) Another unidentified car making a license pass was this one, but the results weren't very good at 9.720 - 97.82 mph.

(RIGHT) He's certainly sane, but the car is "Still Crazy" as driver Clay Cunningham is back for another season of FCC racing, but got off to a bad start by breaking on the burnout.

(LEFT) Bannering a new sponsor ("PC Disposal.com", the #8 finisher in the NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car standings, Kyle Smith blitzed the timers to the tune of 3.655 - 181.57 to nearly set low e.t. for the day. He was only slightly behind Ken Singleton (no picture posted) who turned a best of 3.609 - 216.01 for the best numbers ever for his "High Risk" entry.

(RIGHT) Ready to contend for Top Ten honours again after her great rookie season, finishing #3 in the standings, Jade Cook was unable to show what the "Nemesis" car was capable of as she couldn't get it in reverse after the burnout.

(LEFT) Last year's #7 in FCC points, Jeff Cameron is still sponsored by "Jake's Speed Shop", but appears to have a new paint scheme happening. It looks partly finished (at least we hope so) with the current look being a drastic change from last year's glossy black colour. His first pass of the week ended with him pedalling and giving up to a 9.229 - 106.36 clocking.

(RIGHT) The familiar "Obsession" entry of Jeff Krug didn't have a great time with the car losing fire while attempting to stage.

After a disappointing outing three weeks ago at the March Meet, where he ended up as third alternate, nearly eight tenths short of the bump spot, Don Knoblauch had a better start to his Classic weekend with an on-and-off 4.080 - 189.22 to show some potential for future improvement.

(LEFT) After the test session ended, the Funny Cars lined up for a group photo with approx. 50 cars on the track. Our photographer was able to get upstairs in the tower and capture this great shot from the third floor.

(RIGHT) Holding the microphone and explaining what was about to happen is Funny Car Chaos founder Chris Graves.

In a special finish to the day, Keith & Natalie Jackson were wed on the starting line, with all the Funny Cars assembled behind them. The wedding ceremony is in progress (left) and completed (right).

(LEFT) The happy Bride & Bridesmaid leave the ceremony

(RIGHT) Afterwards, in the pits, the happy couple, Keith Jackson (left) and Natalie Jackson (next to him) celebrated their marriage.

Bob Snyder with his "new girlfriend"

If you're a FLORacing subscriber, then you can watch the event on their livestream, but if you just want to see the testing video from Thursday (for FREE), catch it on the Funny Car Chaos YouTube channel.