The latest update as of March 26, 2022 - 6:00 PM UPDATE

2nd annual FUNNY CAR CHAOS CLASSIC Friday 2nd Qualifying Session Report

First out of the lanes for the second qualifying session on Friday evening were the members of the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association, followed by the Funny Cars. We've got the Fuel Altered photos posted below, but it will be tomorrow before we can get to the Funny Cars. Also, we don't have any e.t.'s or speeds for the altereds.

(LEFT) The first pair featured Clint Cross in the Cross & Meyer "Crossways" entry in the near lane, with longtime Outlaw Fuel Altered series competitor Bobby Marriott in his "Shockwave" in the far lane.

(RIGHT) Next up were Rick Lewelling in the "Midnight Special" (near lane) matched up with what appears to be (sorry, we're not certain) Randy Meuller in his battleship grey "Crazy Randy" entry on the far side. Mueller crosses over between FCC and OFAA with a flopper body and an altered.

(LEFT) The 2021 Outlaw series champion, Keith Zimmerer in his "Penny Pincher" entry appeared to be making a bye run.

(RIGHT) The Hunter & Wasson-owned "Jailbreak", driven by Mark Hunter (near lane) paired up next with Donny McSwain in the "Wild One" in the far lane.

(LEFT) It was the Jimmy Jones driven "Texas Tremor" out next (near lane), up against John Broussard in his "Purple Haze" entry on the far side.

(RIGHT) The last Fuel Altered out of the "chutes" was the "Psycho Too", owned by Wilkins & Gilliland. We don't know who was driving, but "License Run" was shoe-polished on the rear wing.

(LEFT) Following a disappointing appearance at the March Meet, Don Knoblauch (near lane) put down a solid 3.962 - 188.56 to slot into the middle of the pack in the #16 spot on the provisional qualifying list. In the far lane, Chris Schneider wheeled the "Brutus" Mustang to a decent 4.114 - 179.68 that placed him 23rd and, if there were not changes in the final qualifying session, near the bottom of the "C" field.

(RIGHT) Doing a hard burnout in the "Ballew Thunder" Camaro before making a so-so pass, was Jordan Ballew. His 4.816 - 137.86 was well off the pace, leaving him in the #40 spot, and outside any of the fields. At this point there were 36 spots open for eliminations, with a 4-car bonus "Shootout" field for racers who failed to make any of the four 8-car fields.

On the left, burning out before making his run, was Jeff Krug in his "Obsession" entry. In the photo on the right, he launches alongside Jade Cook, who's barely visible in the far lane. While Cook recorded a decent 4.504 - 160.11 to land in the #33 position, Krug didn't show up on the qualifying sheets so he must have either left before the tree or been disqualified for a boundary infraction.

Another good burnout picture on the left, with Damon Kuhn's "Passin' Gas" lighting up the tires before facing Dusty Hunt's (far lane in the right photo) "Nitro Pony". Kuhn stumbled to a 7.146 - 81.90, while Hunt whipped the blown fuel car to an early shutoff 4.212 - 148.92 that placed him, temporarily at least, in the #27 spot on the qualifying sheet.

With the sun down, the skies nearing full dark, the nitro flames started climbing into the sky as Brad Tuttle burned out, then launched hard in his "Big Show" "Nitro Bandit". He lit up the scoreboards big-time with an e.t. that covered the field by a bunch: 3.329 - 264.16 to be the odds-on favourite to take the win in the "A" field.

(LEFT) Another car with a serious blown fuel combination, Terry Totten driven "Rednecks 'n Fuel" entry pounded out a good 3.916 - 184.03 that placed him 14th on the list, near the bottom of the "B" field, going into the final qualifier on Saturday.

(RIGHT) With the car "re-branded" as "Maximum Overdrive" (near lane), Smiley Cordero paired up with Steve Vang and his "Wicked Weekender" in the next pairing. Smiley got to the finish line first at 4.297 - 168.88 (#30), while Vang trailed at 4.619 - 157.53, putting him #37 on the list.

Making his Funny Car Chaos debut, Wayne Hofmann burned out (left photo), then lined up his "China Syndrome" in the near lane against Nick Johnson's all new "Razzle Dazzle" entry in the far lane. Johnson "won" the race with his 4.257 - 165.10 easily covering Hofmann's trailing 4.570 - 152.46 clocking.

The Fuller & Cousimano "WTF Racing" team showed up with a replacement driver, Jon - not Ron - Capps in their car for this race. Capps showed his experience behind the wheel of a nitro funny car by cranking out a 4.247 - 131.58 in the near lane, despite an early shutoff. In the far lane, Matt Nissen trailed in his "Runnin' Down a Dream" entry with a decent 4.431 - 165.10, good for the #32 spot on the qualifying sheets.

(LEFT) Making another attempt to put down a competitive pass, but falling well short, was Julie Nataas, in the near lane. Her 11-second timeslip was no help for the struggling "Meyer & Nataas" team. In the far lane, Lyle Greenberg had no trouble with his NHRA-legal Nostalgia Funny Car, cranking out a very good 3.759 - 200.86 in his "Cone Hunter" Corvette. That run placed him at the bottom of the "A" field in the #8 position.

(RIGHT) Running by himself from all appearances, Dustin Bradford in the "American Dream" ran what was probably a career best of 3.999 - 180.39 to nearly make into the "B" field, with the run putting him provsionally in the #17 spot on the ladder.

Long-time series regular, Chuck Loftin, seen burning out on the left in his "Motivation" Mustang, and launching hard in the photo on the right, made one of his best runs in a long time, stopping the clocks at 3.831 - 198.55 to grab the #11 spot on the list. In the far lane, barely visible, is Danny Mann in the earlier model "Pony Up" Mustang, but he didn't show an elapsed time on the qualifying list due to an unknown cause. Breakage, red light, etc?

(LEFT) After many years of competing with the Outlaw Fuel Altereds, the Darby & Morrow team switched to a Funny Car body over the winter, and Aaron Morrow launched with the flames up high in the "Nitro Relapse" entry. They didn't stay up for long though, as the pass resulted in a 6.723 - 65.49 timeslip.

(RIGHT) The next pair saw Steve Timoszyk (near lane) in his familiar "Detroit Tiger" Monza making an on-and-off pass that stopped the clocks at 4.810 - 170.60 for the #39 spot on the list. In the far lane, Mike Tobacco surprised a few poeple with a very competitive 3.952 - 181.95 that landed him in the #15 spot and a foothold in the "B" field. It was a very good start for the FCC series newcomer

Making her FCC debut was Christine Foster in her new "Family Feud" NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car, and she had an on-and-off run that resulted in a #38 qualifying 4.731 - 152.46 time that didn't reflect the car's true capabilities. However, with one more chance to improve on that in Saturday's final qualifying session, the Foster team were looking for more, much more from the car.

Warming up the Hoosiers in the photo on the left, the "Northland Express" of Mitch Bowen, who had been off the FCC "tour" since last May, laid down a good 4.016 - 180.63 that close to the magic 3-second territory, placing him #19 on the provisional list, and solidly in the "C" field. Running beside him in the photo on the right was Charles Ware in his "Juggling Rubies" entry, as he made a solid 4.561 - 168.65 pass. That put him #35 on the list and just outside the "D" field.

(LEFT) Even though she brought two cars to this event, Nancy Matter was only running her tried-and-true "Guardian" and it ran very well, with a great 3.746 - 204.05 clocking, one of her best ever, that placed her in the "A" field in the #7 spot on the ladder.

(RIGHT) After a strong finish to the 2021 season, with a runnerup showing in the "A" field at the season finale in San Atonio, Bob Alberty Jr. was looking to keep up that pace with his very colourful "Thunderin' Okie" car. His 4.038 - 181.83 was a good start to his weekend, putting him #19 on the qualifying sheets and near the top of the "C" field.

(LEFT) Laying down another hard burnout in the "Still Crazy" entry was Clay Cunningham as he prepared for his second qualifying attempt. This run put him in the #21 spot, in the "C" field, with a 4.040 - 181.58 coming up on the scoreboards.

(RIGHT) Two blown fuel entries paired up next, as Levi Keenen pushed the "Illinois Thunder" Plymouth Arrow (near lane) to a very good 3.881 - 189.35 to grab the #13 spot on the list and a solid position in the middle of the "B" field. Barely visible in the far lane is Dave Gallegos in his "Nitro Clown" who trailed with an early shutoff 4.162 - 142.16 that left him in the 25th spot on the qualifying sheets.

(LEFT) Next up was Mike Newkirk in his Top Alcohol Funny Car, laying down a hard burnout before taking it down the track to a very quick 3.831 - 205.99 that nearly nabbed a spot in the "A" field, falling just short as he landed in the 10th position on the ladder.

(RIGHT) Newlywed Keith Jackson didn't have a very "High Heaven" run as their run showed up at the bottom of the list, with no time allotted. Disqualfied or broke before getting to the finish line, we're not sure. In any event, they were down to one final shot to make the field, at noon Saturday.

(LEFT) Another solid runner on the circuit, finishing in the Top Ten for the past three seasons, Jeff Cameron wheeled his "Jake's Speed Shop" entry to a #9 qualifying 3.802 - 197.13 pass that put him near the top of a very crowded qualifying list.

(RIGHT) NHRA regular over the past three years, with a Top Ten finish in Top Alcohol Funny Car in 2021, Kyle Smith pushed his newly sponsored "PC Disposal.com" entry to the second best time of the day, with an excellent 3.560 - 211.33 lighting up the scorebaords.

(LEFT) The final pairing of the night matched the #1 & #2 finishers in the FCC standings last season in a fitting finale to the evening's second qualifying session. Seen here burning out was Kirk Williams in his "200 Proof" Firebird, before he put down a very good 3.686 - 203.23 that was "only" good enough for the #6 spot at the end of the session.

(RIGHT) Closing out the show was the three-time defending series champion, Ken Singleton, showing off his new sponsor ("Maxima Batteries") as he launched on his second qualifier. His earlier effort netted one of his best runs ever, a 3.662 - 215.15 that placed him #4 on the list. This run however, ended early as the crankshaft broke at half track, starting a huge fire that kept burning all the way down to the end of the track.

It took quite a bit of work for the safety crew to extinguish, and the car was virtually destroyed. Sadly, Singleton suffered some very serious burn injuries to a large percentage of his body, and as of late Friday was in the intensive care unit of the Burn Center at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Further updates on his condition were provided on Saturday.