The latest update as of April 9, 2024

4th annual FUNNY CAR CHAOS Classic

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - "A" Field Eliminations - Round TWO

Planning to face the quickest car in the field, Bill Bernard had the car tuned up and ready to run hard. However, his scheduled opponent, John Hale in the "Red Baron" was unable to appear after finding a broken crankshaft following his first round win. Bernard didn't spare the horses on his bye run, as he pushed "The Grinder" to an excellent 3.664 - 209.09 to advance to the "A" field final.

(LEFT) Another Colorado-based NHRA Top Alcohol racer, Doug Schneider in his "Milliken Monster" laid down a hard burnout before his semifinal round battle.

(RIGHT) Facing Schneider in the second round was the 2022 Funny Car Chaos champion, Kirk Williams, in the Williams Brothers "200 Proof" entry (far lane), and he gave him quite a battle. Williams left first with a perfect .000 light, but faded on the top end and was "only" able to muster a 3.863 - 203.21 that wasn't enough to overcome Schneider's winning 3.698 - 205.49 effort. As good as his run was, Schneider gave up lane choice for the final to Bernard by three hundreths of a second.

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - "B" Field Eliminations - Round TWO

(LEFT) Coming into the round with back-to-back 3.80 passes under her belt, Mary Reep lit up the tires on the burnout in her "Grim Reeper". But it all unravelled at the end of the tire-heater, with a trail of oil behind the car, and the crew giving her the dreaded "kill" sign.

(RIGHT) Reeps' opponent, Nick Poloson in the Loftin & Poloson "Bucket List" took full advantage of her plight, pulling into the staging beams and shutting the car off for the automatic win and advancement to the final round.

(LEFT) The other pairing in the semifinals featured the "Illinois Thunder" of Levi Keenen, coming in with 3.91 and 4.02 passes on his ledger, and hoping to drop deeper into the 3-second zone.

(RIGHT) Keenen was going to need that better performance to take out Mike Newkirk (near lane), in his new "Silver Slipper" entry. Newkirk left first, by a bunch but it was all for naught as he left a big red light glowing on the christmas tree, negating his excellent 3.851 - 199.09. Keenen took the win gratefully, as he ran into trouble on the launch and rolled to a stop well before the finish line.

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - "C" Field Eliminations - Round TWO

Warming the tires on his "Motivation" Mustang (left photo), Chuck Loftin faced a tough opponent in Connecticut's Wayne Hofmann in his "Western Auto" colours. Loftin was running well, with back-to-back 4.0's in the final qualifying session and first round of eliminations. Hofmann had actually run quicker with his final qualifying pass of 4.079 and a consistent 4.111 in the first round. But when the lights flashed, it was Loftin away first, on an .031 light to Hofmann's solid .046 reaction. Loftin's nitro burner finally showed its potential with a strong 3.984 - 187.22 for the win, as Hofmann faded early and clocked in at 5.150 -94.19 in the losing effort.

(LEFT) After a solid qualifying effort in the "Hellbound" entry with a 4.158 - 178.64, Joe Morrison slowed to a 4.57 in the first round and looked to be overmatched against a quicker opponent in the semifinals.

(RIGHT) Following a forgettable Friday, where he was stuck in the 4.70's, Sheldon Lofgreen whipped his "Arizona Thunder" to a 4.068 - 181.94 in the final qualifying session, then followed it up with a 4.111 in the first round.

Lofgreen (far lane) nearly dropped into the 3-second zone against Morrison, with a 4.000 - 184.92 that lit up the scoreboards and turned on the winlight. Morrison (near lane) left first by nearly a tenth (.063 to .155 reaction time advantage), but ran into trouble downtrack and shut off early to a 4.641 - 127.97 in the losing cause.

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - "D" Field Eliminations - Round TWO

(LEFT) Looking very comfortable in her "borrowed" ride, Jade Cook prepped the tires before her semifinal race. She had been consistent all weekend, with a batch of mid 4.20 passes under her belt and was looking for more of the same.

(RIGHT) And that's exactly what happened as Cook (near lane) whipped the "Bad Intentions" entry to a very good 4.248 - 168.31 to easily dispose of Mike Buchannan in the "Hombre" Vegas. Buchannan redlghted by just six thousandths and shut off shortly after.

The other second round pair turned into a single for Colin Thomas (not shown) in his "Twisted Sister" as his scheduled opponent, Alex Barker in the "Back in Black" Pontiac GTO broke in his first round win and was unable to appear. Thomas merely staged the car, took the green, and shut off at the starting line to automatically advance to the final against Cook.

NITRO CHAOS - "A" Field Eliminations - Round TWO

(LEFT) Blazing across the starting line in the Farris & Kinsely "War Wagon" entry, Kebin Kinsley prepared to make another 3.40 pass in the world's fastest fuel altered. He earned that distinction by running 304.59 in the 1/4-mile at the Motorplex in 2021.

(RIGHT) As can clearly be seen, Kebin Kinsley (near lane) reacted first and pulled into an early lead enroute to his quickest and fastest run of the event, a brilliant 3.428 - 232.16 to advance to the final round. His opponent, Jody Austin in the "Bushwhacker" (far lane), fell behind early and clicked it to a 14-second time as Kinsely sped off into the evening.

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NITRO CHAOS - "B" Field Eliminations - Round TWO

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NITRO CHAOS - "C" Field Eliminations - Round TWO

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