OFAA at Dallas Raceway

Words and photos by Chris Graves

It isn’t every weekend you get to race at a brand new facility, much less an all concrete drag racing palace that has been tickling the eyes and imaginations of drag racers in the area for it’s five year construction.  The highly anticipated opening of the IHRA sanctioned Dallas Raceway had finally arrived and the Royal Purple Outlaw Fuel Altered series took the pleasure of headlining the track’s second weekend with open gates.  Track owner Kenny Barnes and manager Sammy Lattner left no stone unturned in creating one of the most appealing facilities in the country, to both racers and fans alike.  OFAA points leader and latest winner Donnie Massey looked to continue his hot streak in the “Showtime” machine as thirteen cars suited up to face-off for the quickest ten spots, including new comer Chris Trussell, who made his OFAA debut in the Darby & Trussell “Assassin” machine.

This is the first of back to back race weekends for the OFAA and doing well at both of these events will prove crucial to whoever plans on contending for the championship in 2009.  The tuners must ride the fine line to run fast enough to win yet safe enough to make their parts last through two weekends of torture.

Bobby Marriott’s “Shockwave” lined up with Jack Hodgson in the “Southern Outlaw” as the first qualifying session got underway with Hodgson laying down a 4.31 at 166 mph while Marriott fought his car down the track pedaling to a 4.58 at 129 mph.  Mary Reep rolled through next in the Austin, Texas based “Grim Reeper” machine along side the “Purple Haze” of John Broussard.  Reep made history here as she became the quickest and fastest female at Dallas Raceway with a nice 4.14 at 175 mph with Broussard clicking off a 4.40 at 165 mph.  Nick Poloson came out next in the “Sundown” with DoDad Burton’s “Free Spirit” along side.  Poloson wheeled his Tom Wood owned and tuned machine to a strong 4.04 at 176 mph to take the top spot at the time, with Burton clicking off a 4.31 at 174 mph, a career best mile per hour.