INDEX CLASSES
Bo Simpson made the long haul from Knox, TX, worthwhile by qualifying his ’69 Nova (near lane) on top of ORSCA’s first-ever 4.70 field with a 4.713 at 151.15 mph, then advancing to win the first race of his driving career. In the final round, Simpson cut a perfect .000 light, then laid down a 4.733-seconds pass at 147.05 while Allen Keller (far lane) got way out of shape off the launch in his 1990 Trans Am and had to shut off early.
“We had problems our first day here, but did a little testing, a little tuning on it and the problems went away. My engine builder, Taylor Lastor, gave me some good pointers and we got the car qualified number one and just went from there,” Simpson said. “It was my first win—ever—first win ever.”
Jeremy Ellis of Phenix City, AL, squared off against Winder, GA’s Bart Tobener (near lane) for the 5.30 index final and at the far stripe it was Ellis taking the win with an off-the-pace 5.577-seconds pass in his ’67 Chevy II. Tobener’s 2004 Mustang had even more problems, though, going 6.095 at exactly 119 mph. Paul Baxter earned his first number-one qualifying position with a 5.301/133.16 in his ’86 Monte Carlo, but broke out in the opening round.
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In the 6.0 final, Scott Flowers (near lane) got away first with a .008 light in his ’72 Nova, then made a winning 6.015 pass at 112.56 while Blaine Aldridge played catch-up, but broke out with a 5.995/114.48 combination. Both David Harvey and Chris Baumgardner ran 6.003 in qualifying, but Harvey’s 114.57 mph was .076 faster than Baumgarner’s speed and gave him the pole position.
After a couple of last-second lane switches by Al Hause (far lane), who held lane choice for the 7.0 final, Ricky Pennington remained unaffected and made a leisurely 9-seconds pass after Hause went red by .009 off the start. The win boosted Pennington into a tie with Hause for the season championship heading into the final race at Huntsville, AL. Danny Broughton was the top 7.0 qualifier after making a perfect 7.000/98.46 pass in his ’69 Nova, with both second- and third-place starters David Johnson and Mark Armstrong just one thousandth behind, but Johnson getting the position based on going a little over a mile an hour faster.