The state of Texas is blessed with a wide variety of entertainment venues, from some of the nations largest franchise pro sports teams to a plethora of drag racing activities ranging from national events to Friday night test ‘n tunes. Among that plethora, you’ll find three groups based in Texas that are unique, keeping that old school tradition alive by racing blown fuel altereds, injected front engine dragsters and more!
The Outlaw Fuel Altered Association is the leader of the pack, in it’s thirteenth season, the OFAA is recognized by national audiences and in high demand each season as track owners put together their upcoming schedules. Known for the wildest heads up racing in the area, this group puts on an incredible show displaying drag racing how it used to be and executing it in fine fashion usually finishing the event in close to five hours, which includes four rounds of racing. No 2 A.M. final rounds here and plenty of nitro fumes to boot!
Bobby Marriott is the President of the OFAA series and a 5 Time Champion including back to back efforts in 2008 and 2009. The OFAA events regularly attract cars from Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and of course Texas. Ripping off three second passes and sometimes eclipsing the 200 mph mark in the 1/8th mile keeps the fans on their feet and the only place to see it is at an Outlaw Fuel Altered event, so make sure you mark a few down on your calendar because you won’t be disappointed! Visit www.ofaa.net for more information.
2010 OFAA Series Schedule:
April 3rd - North Star Dragway's Spring Nationals - Denton, TX
April 30/May 1 - AHRA Reunion Event @ Thunder Road Raceway - Shreveport, LA
May 8th - Dallas Raceway’s Summer Nationals - Crandall, TX
May 22nd - Texas Motorplex's Super Chevy Show - Ennis, TX
June 5th - Dallas Raceway's Heat Wave Nationals - Crandall, TX
June 19th - Penwell Knights Raceway’s Long Haul Nationals - Odessa, TX
September 4/5th – Mo-Kan Dragway Labor Day Classic - Asbury, MO
September 18th - Ben Bruce Raceway's Fall Nationals - Evadale, TX
October 2nd - North Star Dragway's OFAA Finals - Denton, TX
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association started out in 2006 performing exhibition events and they held their first official points series in 2007. Cypress, Texas runner Keith Breazeal clinched three straight SWJFA Championships before pursuing other interests in 2010. The SWJFA series is truly unique in that it brings back not only the ability for fans of nostalgia drag racing to see 20+ junior fuel dragsters at one event but also gives the racer a competitive series to campaign their cars that might normally not have a place to race.
“There were a number of cars around the area but we had no place to run them. A few people had tried previously to form some sort of nostalgic racing series, but nothing really caught on so I gave it a try. I think we started our first season with twelve members, this year we have twenty three active members and rumors suggest that seven additional cars will be completed this year and expected to see action on the strip in 2010,” said series President Mike Millsap, who also campaigns a hard running junior fuel dragster and manages the family business, Sachse Rod Shop in Sachse, Texas.
These cars can cover the 1/8th mile with times dipping into the 4.60s and much like the fuel altered series, the SWJFA is the only series that offers this unique style of racing for fans of the glory days of the sport. The SWJFA is also one of the only groups in the region that compete in ¼ mile events for you 1320 lovers. If you like wheel standing, heads-up, front engine dragster action this is the series for you. Mike Millsap and the SWJFA would like to thank Smiley’s Racing Products and Champion Spark Plugs for their continued support in the 2010 season. For more visit: www.swjfa.com.
SWJFA 2010 Series Schedule:
April 17th – Ben Bruce Raceway’s SWJFA Season Opener - Evadale, TX - 1/4 mile
April 30th/May 1st – AHRA Reunion Tour Event at Thunder Road - Shreveport, LA - 1/4 mile
June 18-20th – NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Event at Beech Bend - Bowling Green, KY - 1/4 mile (Non Points Race)
July 3rd - North Star Dragway’s Independence Day Drags - Denton, TX - 1/8 mile
July 31st – Dallas Raceway’s Summer Nationals - Crandall, TX - 1/4 mile
September 4th – Ardmore Raceway’s Hot Rod Reunion - Ardmore, OK - 1/8 mile
September 25th – Tulsa Raceway Park’s Nitro Nationals - Tulsa, OK - 1/4 mile
October 16th – Ben Bruce Raceway’s Fall Nationals - Evadale, TX - 1/4 mile
November 6th – Dallas Raceway’s SWJFA Finals - Crandall, TX - 1/4 mile
Last but certainly not least, the 2010 season will welcome a brand new organization to the heads up nostalgia drag racing entertainment arena. The Texas Blown Fuel Association, formed by former SWJFA members Keith Breazeal and Rick Grindstaff along with me, Chris Graves, is anticipating a very successful debut season. The TBFA series was announced in October 2009 and already there are over 20 cars set to participate, with many more expected to follow.
Rules are simple, you must have a blower, you must field a center steer nostalgic style car, no computer data acquisition allowed. Why? Because old school is cool! This group is an index class, which will effectively keep the cost of operation down for the racers and still bring heads up, all blown, nostalgia drag racing action to a racetrack near you. In addition to the series, a small group of nitro burning drag bikes will provide between round nitro fumes and excitement and you may even see a Cacklefest or two!
“The idea of TBFA is to go fast, but have reasonable costs associated with Drag Racing. TBFA was established with this purpose in mind. The other motive behind TBFA is for community outreach. We are believers in helping folks less fortunate than ourselves and want to give back something to the community. We will be donating any left over proceeds to the Shriners Burn Hospitals. They treat children with critical care needs at no cost to the families. We are also asking our track operators to get into the spirit of giving by donating small portions of the gate proceeds to the Shriners Burn Hospitals also. We can truly make a difference in kids’ lives and have a blast doing it. Please help us help the kids, and let's go racing!” says Grindstaff. For more visit: www.texasblownfuel.com.
TBFA 2010 Series Schedule:
March 6th – Ben Bruce Raceway & TBFA Season Opener - Evadale, TX
April 17th – Ardmore Raceway’s White Walls & Drags - Ardmore, OK
April 30th/May 1st – AHRA Reunion Event at Thunder Road - Shreveport, LA
May 29th – Ben Bruce Raceway’s Summer Nationals - Evadale, TX - 1/4 Mile
June 5th – North Star Dragway’s Witko Nationals - Denton, TX - 1/8th Mile
August 7th – Texas Raceway’s BHRA Nationals - Kennedale, TX - 1/8 Mile
October 9th – Ben Bruce Raceway’s Fall Nationals - Evadale, TX - 1/4 Mile
The 2010 racing season will provide plenty of action all across this great nation, but for the die hard nostalgia fans of the southwest, you’ve got plenty of entertainment to choose from with these three premier associations. Note, you can catch all three groups in action at the same time April 30th/May 1st at the AHRA Reunion Event at Thunder Road Raceway in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Report & Photos By: Chris Graves
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