John Hale wins Nostalgia Funny Car finale at the NHRA Heritage Series Rockabilly Rod Reunion at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
LAS VEGAS - John Hale of Addison, Texas defeated Jason Rupert of Yorba Linda, Calif. to claim Nostalgia Funny Car honors at the May 26-27 Rockabilly Rod Reunion/NHRA Heritage Series at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The three-day even got off to a windy start as 40-mph gusts and dusty conditions forced cancellation of Friday's Test 'n' Tune session.
NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR: Qualifying took place on Saturday and Steve Densham of Bellflower, Calif. topped the nitro Nostalgia Funny Car field with a pass of 5.753 sec./247.61 mph. Qualifying was frantic as 19 drivers tried to earn a berth in the eight-car field. Those who failed to qualify included Tim Boychuk, Nathan Sitko, Dennis LaCharite, Dale Van Gundy, Rian Konno, Kris Krabill, Roger Garten, Brad Thompson, Rick Rogers, Kurt Cruise and Chris Bennett.
Hale, who just made it into the field in the eighth and final qualifying position, defeated No. 1 Qualifier Densham in the first round. Rupert defeated Tim Nemeth in the first round and Will Martin took out defending Las Vegas champion Paul Romine. The final first-round bout was won by Bob Godfrey of Moreno Valley, Calif. over Jim Obalek of Mission, British Columbia, Canada.
Hale faced Godfrey in the second round and put him on the trailer with a pass of 5.826 sec./252.28 mph (to Godfrey's 6.012 sec./211.66 mph). Martin lost to Rupert in the second round, 5.932 sec./245.27 to 5.806 sec./252.52 mph.
Although Rupert posted a better reaction time, Hale's Camaro crossed the finish line first to claim the Nostalgia Funny Car crown, 5.737 sec./251.81 mph to 5.848 sec./252.19 mph.
A-FUEL: Kin Bates of Anderson, Calif. was handed the win by Jerry Kumre Jr. (Rohnert Park, Calif.) who fouled on the starting line. For the record books, Bates title-winning run was 6.522 sec./221.34 mph.
JR. FUEL: Dean Carter of Glendale, Ariz. defeated Don Enriquez of Mission Viejo, Calif., 7.062 sec./186.54 mph to 7.191 sec./185.51 mph.
7.0 PRO: Chuck Roark of Great Falls, Montana defeated Troy Sitko of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 7.047 sec./181.20 mph to 7.093 sec./192.49 mph.
NOSTALGIA ELIMINATOR 1: Tony Wimer of Redlands, Calif. (7.708 sec./157.95 mph) defeated Hans Jakob of Ontario, Calif. (7.731 sec./172.19 mph) in the final.
NOSTALGIA ELIMINATOR 2: Fresno's Cecil Molina defeated Todd Maas of Lindsay, Calif., 8.756 sec./145.00 mph to 8.811sec./144.60 mph.
NOSTALGIA ELIMINATOR 3: Derek Harkema (Sun City, Ariz.) defeated Rich Harrison (Lakewood, Calif.) in the final, 9.816 sec./132.02 mph to 9.778 sec./133.68 mph.
A/GAS: Dean Hall (Guerneville, Calif) defeated Brandon Frye (Taft, Calif.). Frye went red on the starting line and Hall ran 7.773 sec./178.64 mph.
B/GAS: Brian Rogers won over Jim Stewart. Rogers, of Mira Loma, Calif., went 8.778 sec./154.71 mph as Stewart, of Santa Paula, Calif., lit the red bulb on the starting line.
C/GAS: Wayne Hoover (Alta Loma, Calif.) over Bakersfield's Michael Williams. Hoover's winning run down the quarter mile was clocked at 9.757 sec./137.29 mph to Williams' 9.778 sec./139.73 mph.
D/GAS: Chris Kurtis (Bakersfield, Calif.) defeated Ed Carey of LaJolla, Calif. in the final, 10.850 sec./125.23 mph to 10.831 sec./124.88 mph.
HOT ROD: Kim Clover (Henderson) defeated Andy Pressimone (LasVegas) in the Hot Rod final. Pressimone led the red light on the starting line and Clover ran 11.168 sec./122.29 mph.
BRACKET 1: Jason Dawson of N. Las Vegas posted a reaction time of .001 and went on to win the Bracket 1 final over Keith Winters of Las Vegas, 7.965 sec./165.50 mph to 8.646 sec./154.90 mph.
BRACKET 2: Dick Krieger of Las Vegas drove his '23 T Altered around Karen Comstock's "Blondie" '55 Chevrolet, 8.470 sec./148.51 mph to 10.620 sec./120.80 mph. Comstock's 1934 Chevrolet won Best Paint in the Rockabilly Rod Reunion car show Sunday.
The Rockabilly Rod Reunion took place on the midway and included live music, a traditional car show, vendors, a swap meet and contests.
Rockabilly bands included Brian Lee Dunning, Mad Max & The Wild Ones, The Hot Rod Trio and Danny Dean & The Dragerton Beat.
Janelle Olivas of Las Vegas won the pin-up girl bathing suit contest on Sunday. Marlana Batten of Las Vegas won Saturday's pin-up girl costume contest.
Car show awards:
Best Custom and Best In Show - John Cornell (Las Vegas), 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.
Best Paint - Karen Comstock (Bradbury, Calif.), 1934 Chevrolet Cabriolet.
Best Interior - Bob Tolman (Las Vegas), 1959 Chevrolet panel truck.
Best Bucket ("T") - Michael Adams (Ely, Nev.), 1923 Ford Model T.
Best Truck - Randy Batemon (Las Vegas), 1956 Ford F100.
Lowest Vehicle - Marcos Urrabazo (Las Vegas), 1963 Chevrolet pick-up.
Best Car - Harvey Starrett (Las Vegas), Plymouth.
Best Rat Rod - Eric Garcia (Las Vegas) 1957 Ford wagon.
Best Original - Sherri Nestmarn (Maple Park, Ill.), 1957 Chevrolet truck.
Event coordinator: Samantha Rudder. Stage M.C.: Nathan Hirschi. Drag strip announcers: Nathan Hirschi and Fred Garcia. DJ: John Bisci.
