If you are a spectator or fan reading this article, my free financial advice is to continue paying the $20 at the gate, bring your cooler of food and beer, and enjoy what this family of sick minded adrenaline junkies do month after month with no regard to logical finances. Class Racing is not easy or cheap, and trying to win a points series could push you to your financial and mental limits. These racers show up every month and make it look easy, but the lack of sleep from countless hours of wrenching while trying to maintain a healthy family lifestyle hides behind the scenes. I take my hat off to these racers and I hope the spectators can appreciate the sacrifice it takes to make 3 and 4 second passes month after month, but even if they don’t they certainly get their money’s worth!
This is the fourth scheduled event in a six event series. May’s event was cancelled due to weather, June’s event ended early because of May Flies stuck to the track, and July ended early due to weather. This could be anyone’s Series to win! At the end of July, Matt Reese is currently the points leader over Robert Cox by 7 points and over Dale Arbogast by 9. In my opinion, Reese has been the MVP of the year so far. His car is running consistently fast and he’s been doing it seemingly under the radar.
As we inched our way closer to the August event, I made a few predictions:
- There would be a bump spot (more than 16 cars) in Qualifying
- There would be an all 4 second qualifying field
- Robert Cox would win this month.
After the first round of qualifying (Q1), there were 16 cars (no bump), less than half of the cars went 4.XX, BUT Robert Cox was the number 1 qualifier with a 4.33 in the heat of the day. I might salvage being right 1 out of the 3 predictions. JR Gibson was number 2 with a 4.49, Dave Harmer number 3 with a 4.56, and points leader Matt Reese number 4 with a 4.68.
Going in to Q2, everyone is qualified with a time and I’m hoping to see some big tune ups get down the track and possibly get closer to my prediction of an all 4 second field. At this point I don’t think it is possible for this month but I’m still hopeful. It’s fairly warm out and the track has had the sun on it all day. Q1 track temp was 123 degrees and for Q2 it had only dropped to 121. When the qualifying round was over, I grabbed the Q2 sheet from the tower to see where everyone stood and realized that there were now 17 entries! I laughed a little that my prediction for a bump was right but then my heart sank as I noticed who was qualified #17. In the bump spot and not in the show yet was the team of Seher Schultetus Racing. I’d watched their Facebook updates through the week and they seemed doubtful they would have the car together in time. They had been struggling all year but all of the stars seemed to align and with some help and overnight shipping from Menscer they made it just in the nick of time. The top of the Qualifying sheet was Robert Cox still number 1 with a 4.33, 3 Time Track Champion Mike Barran number 2 with a 4.47, and JR Gibson in number 3 with a 4.49.
Going in to Q3 I’m feeling pretty good about my predictions. Robert Cox has the field covered by a tenth and a half, there’s a bump, and there are 10 cars in the 4’s and 4 of them not in the 4’s I know can run 4’s. It’s no secret that by the time Q3 comes around the track will always start to come around to nearly perfect condition as the temperature drops and the sun goes down. I know the big boy tunes are loaded in and Total Venue Concepts (Jason Ruckert this month) has the track prepped to hold them. The first pair down were Aaron Johnson and Rick Reynolds. I needed Johnson to run a 4 second pass to keep my prediction hopes alive but he only went 5.01. My disappointment was short lived as next to him Reynolds went 4.589 setting a personal best ET again this month. The drivers never get to see the crew celebrate a win light, a reaction time advantage or a personal best ET. It’s unfortunate because sometimes I believe it’s more valuable than any money they could win. These crews are as invested as the drivers are. Fortunately we were able to capture Rick’s Crew Chief Adam Tarrant after Rick set his personal best ET. Congratulations Rick and Adam!
After Reynolds pass, the rest of the field continued to qualify. There were some improvements but none of the cars I needed to run in the 4’s made it in the 4’s yet. As the lanes were being prepped for this round I stood in the staging lanes with a few guys. One of them was Chris Schultetus, he mentioned that because they were currently not qualified in the field the plan was to make an easy pass on 1 kit of nitrous just to get in the field. Then with a Chuck Norris style smile he said if they happen to spin again off the line again they decided Greg should get back into the throttle and give it all the kits they have. Here’s a video of what happened, and I assure you this video does not do it justice.
Last months fireworks were canceled due to the weather, but this months fireworks were sponsored by Seher Schultetus Racing. We hope they can get things figured out soon and get that car back to the standard it’s known for. This is a great group of guys, they have no quit in them and have tons of heart. I’m certain you will see them back next month and their car will be stronger than ever!
After the fireworks show the qualifying order was set.
- Robert Cox 4.33 @ 180.09 mph
- Mike Barran 4.47 @ 172.10 mph
- JR Gibson 4.49 @ 156.61 mph
- Dale Arbogast 4.52 @ 167.89 mph
- Dave Harmer 4.54 @ 164.85 mph
- Matt Reese 4.55 @ 162.48 mph
- Rick Reynolds 4.58 @ 152.92 mph
- Scott Carter 4.71 @132.83 mph
- Kevin Hecht 4.74 @ 153.45 mph
- Randy Darocy 4.86 @ 158.45 mph
- Aaron Johnson 5.01 @ 141.22 mph
- Mike West 5.02 @ 139.79 mph
- Wes Blankenship 5.04 @ 164.43 mph
- Mike Smith 5.07 @ 144.18 mph
- Don Turner 5.11 @ 141.63 mph
- Jim Parrott 5.17 @ 134.01 mph
—————————————- - Greg Seher 5.58 @ 142.18 mph
Round 1 of Eliminations (E1)
Mike West over Dave Harmer (Harmer Broke)
JR Gibson over Mike Smith
Rick Reynolds over Randy Darocy
Dale Arbogast over Wes Blankenship
Aaron Johnson over Matt Reese
Robert Cox over Jim Parrott (Parrott Broke)
Kevin Hecht over Scott Carter (Carter Broke)
Don Turner over Mike Barran (Barran Broke)
Round 2 of Eliminations (E2)
Dale Arbogast over Mike West
Aaron Johnson over JR Gibson
Robert Cox over Kevin Hecht
Rick Reynolds over Don Turner
Semi Finals (E3)
Rick Reynolds over Aaron Johnson
Robert Cox over Dale Arbogast
Finals
Robert Cox over Rick Reynolds
It was great to see Robert Cox win the Drag Radial class in the Aeroquip Heads Up Series at Milan Dragway. They have been fighting through their fair share of struggles and bad luck along the way, including a previous DQ on a bye run after they qualified number 1 in June over Matt Bell. Congrats to Cox and his crew on a job well done! The car is getting more and more consistent every month and if that continues through the next two events, we are looking at the new Track Champion in the Drag Radial Class. Only time will tell. Here are the points standings after this months events.
It’s fairly early to make any predictions for next month, but 2 out of 3 for this month isn’t bad. I feel like JR Gibson has a hotrod that should win an event and we can never count out the 3 time Champ Mike Barran. As we wind down the series into the cooler months, I can see Cox, Gibson and Barran making 4.20’s passes. Currently only Cox has been in the 4.20’s here. I would love to see an all 4 second field with a bump at some point this year!
As a side note, I see today that Tyler Crossnoe posted some rule changes for Limited Drag Radial (LDR). The Heads Up Series Drag Radial Class is in the process of adopting the previous rules, I’m curious if they will affect the rules moving forward. That being said, I don’t believe the changes would affect anyone currently racing in this Drag Radial Class.
We will catch you all next month! I hope to see Don Turner, Mike Smith, Moe Alfaqih, and Jim Parrott make the long trip again and keep the car count for this class high!
