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Final Qualifying Order:
1) Bobby Marriott – 4.02
2) Tim Hay – 4.10
3) Travis Bouchey – 4.13
4) Brad Rigler – 4.15
5) Nick Poloson – 4.22
6) Jack Hodgson – 4.37
7) Wayne Lewis – 4.41 (Broke)
8) DoDad Burton – 4.48
9) Donnie Massey – 4.71
10) John Tappan – 5.07
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11) Dale Wilkens – 5.24 (Broke)
12) Chris White – (Broke)
Marriott’s solo first round lap got eliminations underway and with outstanding consistency clicked off yet another four-o pass, 4.05 at 181 mph. Rigler dropped off his qualifying pace with a 4.35 at 161 mph but still took out DoDad Burton who fell off pace to a 5.09.
Poloson absolutely destroyed Massey out of the gate and stepped up in Tom Woods’ “Sundown” machine with a very nice 4.20 at 170 mph to defeat Massey’s 4.60 at 145 mph. Poloson jumped from seventh to fifth by the conclusion of the event and the team would surely love a top five finish with one event remaining at Lufkin.
Hay went red on the starting line and laid down a 4.30 to Hodgson, who won with a 4.50 at 152 mph and a stout .010 reaction time to earn him the Cen-Tech Scales quick reaction bonus. Hay’s day came to an end but the event was a tremendous success for the team as he regains his comfort zone behind the wheel.
It was Poloson and Marriott headed to the final round with one pair to go, but when that naughty “Excitation” Fiat is sitting in the water box you know your spot is not secure. Bouchey tattooed Tappan on the line and blistered both ends of the North Star Dragway’s track record (formerly held by Marriott) with a 3.79 at 192 mph to put Tappan on the trailer. Fasty McNasty? Darn right! For the fourth time this season Bouchey and Marriott would advance to an all nitro final round. Bouchey has the advantage with a 2-1 record over Marriott in final rounds claiming wins at Lufkin and here at Denton in July.
The Outlaw Top Sportsman and Southwest Junior Fuel Associations wrapped up their final rounds and two nitro powered fuel altereds were sitting in the water box like two caged monsters ready to rip each others hearts out. Many fans were still in attendance as the clock struck midnight to see this battle of the 2007 OFAA heavyweights and plugged their ears as the boys laid down side by side burnouts that could choke a Texas grasshopper with ease.
The “Shockwave” team was searching for their fifth victory and Bouchey hoped to defend his North Star Dragway title from July and claim his third win of 07’. Marriott got sixth hundredths of a second advantage off the line and the cars were almost dead even as they blasted past the 330 cone with header flames high in the sky. After borrowing a blower belt from Marriott for the final, Bouchey put on a big top end charge that pulled him past Marriott as they tripped the clocks. Bouchey re-set his own track records with a gargantuan 4.78 at an even more impressive 203 mph! Marriott made his best lap of the night with a 4.01 at 184 mph but could not hold off Bouchey’s big top end move. Both drivers made the turn safely and the fans were cheering louder than the announcer could talk on the intercom because they witnessed a great event and outstanding final round.
“It was nice to run Bobby again in the final and not get shutoff on the line like at Mo-Kan. This was the first race of the season I had the great help of Brent Fanning who got me up and running with my nitro combination. I also want to thank the rest of my crew for their hard work and Capps Rentals for their support of the team. I really enjoyed watching the North Star Dragway staff get so excited about me breaking their track record. It is something for the crew and I to be proud of but all the records will be broken if the other tracks are as good as North Star was,” said Bouchey.
Bobby Marriott holds a 68-point lead over Travis Bouchey in the official points standings and since you can earn a maximum of fifty points per event that makes Bobby Marriott your 2007 Outlaw Fuel Altered Champion! This is the “Shockwave” team’s third championship (1999 & 2003) and congratulations go out to the entire team.
There is one event left, the East Texas OFAA Finals, at Pine Valley Raceway in Lufkin, TX, on October 6 where huge numbers are common and you can bet the boys will come with their guns drawn at the season’s last event. Log onto ofaa.net to browse photos from this event and for info on the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association.