The latest update as of November 15, 2024

We just received photos from Thursday's qualifying. There's not enough time to get them all posted this morning, but we'll be working on it later in the day.

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT) After making his first appearance at a national event in nearly a decade at the Las Vegas event, Aaron Olivarez, driving a McPhillips Racing car, started qualifying with a very strong 5.240 - 264.86 here. Even though the speed was a little down, it was an impressive shot for the rest of the field to take notice of.

(RIGHT) This is a classic shot: flames shooting out of the headers, rear tires starting to smoke, and the front wheels in the air. You'd think it was a disaster in the making, but Trevor Larkin held it together and put up a decent 5.515 - 260.04 to start his weekend.

(LEFT) Launching hard, with the front wheels dangling in the air, Kim Parker ran strongly until the wheels kept going skywards, forcing her to lift to bring the front end down. That move certainly hurt her e.t. and the scoreboards reflected that as a 5.737 - 259.91 displaying.

(RIGHT) Things got back to normal with another Northwest racer, Garrett Bateman, being tuned by Rick Henkelman, posting a solid 5.330 - 271.68, despite losing the "mud flaps" (body panels placed in front of the rear tires) as he neared the finish line.

(LEFT) Next up was Texan Kirk Wolf, driving the Minnesota-based A/Fuel Dragster of Dean Dubbin. Despite a slightly sluggish launch, Wolf picked up the pace considerably going down track, stopping the timers with a 5.316 - 272.94, placing him #4 on the qualifying lis. However, with nearly a dozen racers waiting in the lanes, it was almost certain to drop at least a spot or three.

(RIGHT) Former world champion Joey Severance, with assistance from J&A Services started strongly with the quickest 60' time of the session, at .911, but started shaking the tires and headed towards the centerline, forcing him to shut off to a 7.898 - 104.83 timeslip.

(LEFT) Joining the 5.30 crowd next was Joe C. Maynard in the "Leatherwood Distilleries" backed A/FD. He made a solid opening lap at 5.339 - 271.30, but it paled in comparison to Madison Payne's (not shown) pass of 5.161 - 277.37 that shot her to the very top of the field with a career quickest elapsed time.

(RIGHT) Running on a single when scheduled opponent Mike Coughlin was unable to appear, Angelle Sampey nearly bogged down low, then ran hard to the 1000' mark before dropping a cylinder and stopping the clocks with a 5.317 - 257.19 to grab a very tentative hold on the #6 spot in the order.

(LEFT) Defending world champion Julie Nataas, in the Randy Meyer Racing entry wanted to finish her season on a strong note, and started well with a 5.290 - 272.72 to place herself in the #4 spot with only one pair of cars remaining to run the session.

(RIGHT) The points leader, Canada's Shawn Cowie, was certainly amped up with the possibility of becoming the 2024 Top Alcohol Dragster champion. To do so, all he needed to do was qualify and win his first round of eliminations. It didn't take long to accomplish the first step when numbers of 5.254 - 277.32 flashed up on the scoreboard.

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT) Paying homage to his father "Jam-Air" John Martin, second generation flopper pilot Will Martin, pedalled his way to a decent 5.701 - 263.00 to open his weekend. With only 11 cars entered, he was solidly qualified but needed to quicken-up the car in the next qualifying session.

(RIGHT) Making his seventh appearance of the season in the late Rick Jackson's car, former (2017) world champion Shane Westerfield didn't waste any time getting down the track. He stopped the timers with a good 5.500 - 266.21 to show the field that they were coming to race.

(LEFT) Making her first trip out to the west coast was Iowa's Christine Foster, who's spent most of the season in the TA/FC Top Ten standings. She didn't get off to a good start with her first pass going up in smoke instantly as she shut off to a 12-second clocking.

(RIGHT) All the way from Sweden, the long distance warriors, the Leanders brothers, with Ulf Leander driving, prepared to make what is planned to be their last appearance in Top Alcohol Funny Car. They got off to a decent start with a second best to this point 5.544 - 259.96 pass. In case you're wondering why their car is for sale, it's because they're planning to move up to Nitro Funny Car near the end of the 2025 season.

(LEFT) The second to last pair of the round provided the first side-by-side 5.40 passes of the event. Oregon's Brian Hough got the ball rolling with a strong 5.466 - 268.44 to jump into the top spot on the ladder, while in the other lane, Annie Whiteley (not shown) was almost as quick with a 5.473 - 266.58 effort.

(RIGHT) Closing out the session was the 2024 world champion in the "Killer B's" car, Sean Bellemeur, and he showed why they've been the dominant players in the class on their "Retribution" tour. He nudged Hough back one notch with a top qualifying 5.455 - 266.06 to show that they intended to finish the year with a "perfect" season of seven national event wins and three regional victories.