The latest update as of September 2, 2023

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway - Asbury, MO

Qualifying Session #1 (Mo-Kan) & Eliminations Round ONE (Kearney)

Due to the rainout of eliminations at the Kearney, NB race in early July, it was decided to run eliminations for that race as part of qualifying at Mo-Kan. Of the 24 cars that qualified at Kearney, six elected not to attend this event, leading to a number of bye runs in the first round of eliminations. At the end of Friday night, two qualifying sessions and two rounds of eliminations were completed. Today, during the final qualifying session, the final rounds from Kearney will be run, then eliminations for Mo-Kan will happen this evening. The weather forecast looks good, so the penultimate race on the 2023 FCC schedule should be completed as scheduled.

(LEFT) Before the seriously fast cars started running, the "Prospector" did a sky-high wheelstand to entertain the spectators.

(RIGHT) It's Matt Nissen in the "Runnin' Down A Dream" entry in the near lane, matched up against Daniel Butherus in the BBC-powered twin-turbo "Rat-A-Tude" Trans-Am in the far lane. Nissen stopped the clocks with a 4.647 - 152.49, easily outdistancing the slowing 7.623 - 59.41 for Butherus to open qualifying.

(LEFT) The first nitro fueled car out of the lanes was the Darby & Morrow "Nitro Relapse", with Aaaron Morrow at the tiller. He got a little too anxious and launched before the tree came down, negating the 3.45 e.t. that came up on the scoreboard. He stayed on the throttle all the way to the finish with a 191.98 speed showing. The team would have to go into the next session with no time recorded.

(RIGHT) Down from Michigan, the "Detroit Tiger" Monza of Steve Timoszyk was next out on a solo after the "Blue Max" of Ronny Young had to be shut down before the burnout. Timoszyk ran hard to the finish line with a good 4.10 - 178.93 to take a temporary hold on the top qualifying position.

(LEFT) After destroying the Dodge Avenger body at the end of the track in Eddyville earlier this year, Mike Newkirk brought out a new Monte Carlo-bodied "Disturbed" and looked to lay down a big number in their Top Alcohol flopper. He overpowered the track early, shaklng the tires and shutting off to a 4.78 - 107.18 clocking after a strong .916 time at the 60' mark.

(RIGHT) Out next was the sharp looking "Tremor" entry of Dana Kleinhoffer making his debut at Funny Car Chaos. The car appeared to labor most of the way down the track, stopping the timers with a 4.71 - 156.47 to give him something to work with in the next session.

(LEFT) Regular competitor Mary Reep brought the Mustang-bodied "Grim Reeper" up from Austin, TX and looked to blast her way into the "A" field. She left the line hard but had to shut off early to avoid crossing the centerline and could only post a 4.99 - 96.67 time.

(RIGHT) After repairing a broken fuel system fitting, the "Blue Max" gang made their first pass of the weekend with the blown fuel Dodge Omni entry. Driver Ronny Young put down the first 3-second pass of the event, with a 3.936 - 189.47 lighting up the scoreboards, despite a quick pedal job shortly after the 330' mark.

The balance of the qualifying session was also the first round of the delayed eliminations from the Kearney event in early July. The driver's runs counted for that event, and also served as qualifying runs for the Mo-Kan race.

(LEFT) Leading off eliminations was North Dakota's Jim Chase in his newly rebodied ('57 Chev out - Pontiac Trans-Am in) "Hot Pursuit". He didn't win the round, losing to Shayne Lawson (not shown), but his 3.814 - 192.47 was pretty impressive, just not quick enough to match up with Lawson's tremendous 3.723 - 209.21 numbers. That put Lawson into the Kearney semfinals and the top of the list for Mo-Kan qualifying. As a consolation, Chase took the #2 spot on the list.

(RIGHT) In the next pairing, Jeff Cameron was very late (.371 r.t.) off the line, and didn't keep on the loud pedal all the way to the finish line, but his 4.104 - 160.14 was still enough to get past Lance Van Hauen (not shown), who clocked in with a 5-second elapsed time.

(LEFT) Launching with a big wheelstand, Keith Zimmerer let it all hang out with his "Penny Pincher 2.0" as he was on a solo when scheduled opponent Jesse Clark didn't make the trip to the rain date. Zimmerer ran hard to the 330' mark before lifting and coasting to a 4.253 - 123.12 as he advanced to the next round of Kearney eliminations.

(RIGHT) The first car from the Kearney "B" field was the "Nemesis" entry of Jade Cook, and she got past her first round opponent (Tony Arcuri not shown) with an early shutoff 4.282 - 136.40 over Arcuri's 4.435 - 152.75 effort. Cook's car slowly drifted toward the wall before she lifted, but was still able to turn on the winlight.

(LEFT) Leading the FCC points standings coming into this event, Colorado's Tom Furches, in his "Made in America" Corvette, had a bye run due to a no-show in the other lane. He left strongly with the wheels up and clocked .965 at the 60' clocks, before clicking it early to a winning 4.282 - 134.21 pass.

(RIGHT) The first pair of the "C" field featured Michael Neal in the "Burnin' Love" Nova against Mike Buchanan (not shown). They left together (.061 to .063) with almost identical reaction times, bu Buchanan pulled away for the win with a better 4.332 - 163.99 over Neal's losing 4.755 - 146.10 clocking.

(LEFT) The next pairing went weird after both cars staged. Casey Geeslin (not shown) launched before the tree came down, and Kris Battey redlighted in the "Battmobile" when he reacted to Geeslin's faux pas. Battey stumbled off the starting line, pedalled, then kept on it to the 660' stripe, stopping the timers with a 5.840 - 148.81 timeslip. That was it for the first round of eliminations from Kearney.

(RIGHT) Making a licensing pass was newcomer Roger Eckhert in the early model Chevy II entry. It appeared to be the ex-Mitch King car but we're not completely sure about that. He made a hard launch in the right lane, but before the 330' timing blocks made a left turn, crossed the centerline and finished his pass in the left lane. And that was it for the first qualifying session (Mo-Kan) and first round of eliminations (Kearney).

Qualifying Session #2 (Mo-Kan) & Eliminations Round TWO (Kearney)

(LEFT) Looking to put a BIG number up on the scoreboard, Aaron Morrow in the Terry Darby tuned "Nitro Relapse" (near lane) laid down an excellent 3.920 - 204.36 to jump well into the top half of the "A' field. In the far lane, the Swedish "Raw Valley" car, driven by Joacim Ljungberg made a decent 4.67 - 152.75 to assure them of a spot in one of the fields.

(RIGHT) Next up was Jim Chase in his new look "Hot Pursuit" in the near lane, and Michael Neal in the "Burnin' Love" Nova. Both drivers improved, with Chase closing the gap on the top qualifier (Shayne Lawson), as he rang up a brilliant 3.776 - 194.22 to solidify his hold on the #2 spot on the ladder. Picking up nearly a tenth was Neal, who posted a solid 4.694 - 148.37 to move further up in the "C" field.

(LEFT) Out on a single, Shane "Smokey" Blanton, driving the Chevy Lumina-bodied "Bad Company" posted a 4.560 - 130.97 to put himself into a qualifying position.

(RIGHT) Two second generation racers paired up next, with Bob Alberty Jr. in the "Thunderin' Okie" in the near lane, and Wayne Hofmann in the "China Syndrome" tribute to his late father Al in the far lane. Alberty laid down a great number, breaking into the 3-second zone with a 3.993 - 182.85, while Hofmann's 4.43 - 126.80 effort was DQ'd as he took out the finish line timing block. Alberty was well into the "A" field, but Hofmann still didn't have an e.t. on the sheet and was down to his last shot in the 3rd session tomorrow morning.

(LEFT) Looking to vastly improve over her first session 4.99 pass, Mary Reep brought the "Grim Reeper", in the near lane, up against the "Detroit Tiger" Monza of Steve Timoszyk who was near the top of the "B" field with an earlier 4.10 e.t. Both drivers improved, with Timoszyk flirting with the 3's, as a4.026 180.43 showed up on the scoreboard, while Mary Reep jumped up to a 4.100 - 162.16 to move into the "B" field.

(RIGHT) The "Back in Black" Pontiac Trans-Am of Alex Barker in the near lane faced the "Proclaimer" of newcomer to FCC, Howard Seldon in the far lane. Barker stopped the clocks with an early shutoff 4.60 - 127.80, while Seldon posted a 4.760 - 144.05 after having trouble staging the car. Both drivers grabbed a spot in the "C" field going into the final qualifying session.

With the track in full darkness, and plenty of nitro in the tank, the "Blue Max" of Texan Ronny Young, burned out with flames over the roof and launched with the same pyrotechnic show. Young was looking to move closer to the top of the "A" field but fell short, shutting off early to a 4.06 at only 133.49 mph. The run looked very good until just past the 330' mark before the candles went out. His 60' time was a stout .930 seconds.

(LEFT) The next pair featured a pair of racers looking for some serious improvement, as Casey Geeslin, in the "Gambler" Camaro (near lane) left before the tree came down in the first session, and Lance Van Haeun in the far lane, could only muster a high 5-second time. Geeslin did record an e.t. this time around, but a 5.854 - 83.10 was nowhere near what they were expecting, while Van Haeun rocketed to the middle of the "A" field with an excellent 3.877 - 192.55 timeslip.

(RIGHT) Another big improvement came when Mike Newkirk in the "Disturbed" entry, as he put down a competitive 4.055 - 157.13. It could have been closer to a 3-second pass but Newkirk was off the throttle a little early as the car started dancing around on the top end.

(LEFT) We're back to Kearney eliminations, and in the "A" field semifinal it's Jeff Cameron in the "War Machine" in the near lane facing Kirk Williams in the Williams brothers "200 Proof" entry in the far lane. Both drivers did their job on the starting line, with nearly identical (.024 to .027) reaction times, but Williams lost traction early and slowed to a losing 7.030 - 66.12, while Cameron ran away from him with a very good 3.925 187.81 to move into the "A" field. Williams remained near the bottom of the "C" field.

(RIGHT) The other semifinal (from Kearney) featured Shayne Lawson in the "Man O' War" Mustang in the near lane against Keith Zimmerer in the Penny Pincher 2.0" on the far side. Lawson launched first by a small margin but lifted the front wheels early and slowed to a 4.093 - 136.03. Taking the winlight and vaulting into the #3 spot in the "A" field, Zimmerer ran 3.876 - 193.13 and earned lane choice in the Kearney final against Jeff Cameron.

(LEFT) The "B" field semifinal matched the FCC points leader Tom Furches in the "Made in America" Corvette in the near lane, against Jade Cook in the "Nemesis" in the far lane. It was all over when Cook redlighted, handing Furches the automatic win and a spot in the Kearney final round. Despite the foul start, Cook kept the pedal down all the way to a career best 3.966 - 183.15 to move into the #8 spot in the "A" field, while Furches ran into trouble early and coasted to a winning, but slow, 5.605 - 107.48 timeslip.

(RIGHT) In the first "C" field semifinal match, it was Kris Battey in the "Battmobile" in the near lane faced off against Mike Buchanan in his still unpainted "Hombre" Vega. Battey left first, by a bunch, with a .020 to .170 reaction time advantage, but he was forced to pedal at the hit, posting a 1.76 second time at the 60' clock. Buchanan took full advantage and quickly pulled away to a winning 4.646 - 129.50 time, despite lifting early. Battey tried hard to catch him but a 5.762 - 149.06 was too little and too late.

(LEFT) Seen just as the engine died on the burnout, the "Blown Retirement" car, driven by Robin Rish was done for the night, allowing his opponent a free ride into the "C" field final round on Saturday.

(RIGHT) Taking full advantage of Rish's plight, Jordan Ballew pushed the "Ballew Thunder" to a 4.383 - 167.29 to gain lane choice for the Kearney final against Mike Buchanan.

That was it for the evening's action, with a final qualifying session on tap for Saturday, and the final round(s) from the rain-delayed Kearney event happening simultaneously.