All Star Nostalgia Funny Car 2017 SEASON SUMMARY AND WRAP UP

ST LOUIS – Hello race fans!!!  Since we’ve wrapped up our 2017 season, I thought you might appreciate a summary of the events and accomplishments.  Recall that in April of this year, the IHRA announced they had chosen to “defer” the 2017 National Pro Championship Series resulting a lesser number of race events that defined our season.  With this challenge, we set out to maximize the opportunities at each event we participated in.

Looking back at this year, we can proudly say we met our objectives as it was one of the most rewarding and enjoyable seasons yet.  The car was very consistent, team records were set, and we visited Winner’s Circle at 3 of the 4 events attended.

Our first event of the season was the 15th Annual NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion held in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Amid some of the most challenging weather conditions we’ve raced in, in terms of temperature and humidity, we qualified in the last position and worked hard to advance against the better performing cars.  The other competitors struggled as we did and we were able to advance through eliminations and make it to the final round.

Little did we know we were about to experience the closest drag race in our history.  At the hit, I left first with a reaction time of 0.118s, 0.096 sec faster than Paul Romine’s Man O War and the race was on.  I drove it straight down the groove and the car continued to pull all the way.  I crossed the finish line first to take the win with a 6.009s, 232 mph run although the Man O War ran a 5.98s, 246 mph pass. A fan favorite “holeshot” win and our first visit to Winner’s Circle this year.

Video from the 15th Annual NHRA Hot Rod Reunion qualifications can be seen at this https://youtu.be/7nm6OJoXu3A and a video of the winning run can be seen at this link:  https://youtu.be/P5ygIP6rqFo

The second race of the season was the 18th Mopar Nationals in Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada in August.    This was the 5th visit to this racetrack in 7 years and historically we’ve performed very well there to include an IHRA event win in 2012.

Throughout the qualifying rounds we struggled with our “gremlin” that liked to alter the engine’s performance at high RPMs; at the shift point and at the top end of the run.   That resulted in a 4th place qualification position and put us deep in the field.  Unfortunately we faced the number 1 qualifier in eliminations on Sunday who ironically was Paul Romine in the Man O War Mustang….the car and driver we beat in the finals at Bowling Green.  I staged the Allstar Challenger and on “yellow” cut one of my best reaction times yet leaving the line first.  My acceleration continued and with the starting line advantage I was slightly ahead at the 60 ft increment and even at the 1/8th mile increment.   At the finish line I crossed second but only by a 10th of a second and 4 mph.

A very close finish and almost the result I’d hoped for but the one who crosses the line first wins which meant our weekend was over.  Below are some videos of the car in action.  The first is my view from the time in the staging lanes to the finish.  On this video the car in the other lane left before he was supposed to; -0.225 seconds before we got the green light. Note how far out in front of me he is even just by leaving 0.225 seconds early.

Q2 Jake’s View: https://youtu.be/ucRmeum5YWU

The second is the same run but a view from the rear of the car as it does the burn out and leaves the line.  Those parachutes come out fast don’t they?

Q2 Rear View: https://youtu.be/cAGypg7b9LY

The third is my view during our close finish in the eliminations round.  Notice that the Man O War car doesn’t appear in the side window until just at the finish line.  That’s a close finish.

E1 front view: https://youtu.be/bDDROqsw87g

The third race of the season was the 14th Annual Funny Car Nationals held at “Michigan’s Fastest Track”, the 131 Motorsports Park, Martin, Michigan in September.  My lifetime ET and speed records fell twice and new ones were set at this event and we visited winner’s circle for the second time this season.  In the first qualification round, I left the line strong, stayed in the groove, held the shift point slightly longer and without falter, the car tripped the lights with a surprising and personal best ET of 5.80s at 248.48 mph (first record reset).

A smooth ride and solid pass without any engine damage or hesitation that we’d seen before….our efforts to rid ourselves of the “gremlin” were successful.  For the 2nd round of qualifications, the most critical variable yet to be determined was the weather and more specifically the atmospheric pressure and humidity levels.  Oddly, those variables were all over the place during the afternoon and final call was not able to be made until much closer to race time.  W

hen the time came, I made the call, set the percentage of nitromethane and we moved to the staging lanes.  It is sometimes a delicate and tough call as too much or too little nitro greatly effects performance. Initially, the variables were not in our favor and were changing such that fuel mixture was not optimal but after a long delay to clean up the track due to an oil down, all things came back in our favor.   And man did they.  At startup, the car just sounded strong and seemed to want to run for us.  With the burnout complete, I staged the car and “on the yellow” let it go.   What seemed like an eternity to reach the finish line in reality was in fact the fastest speed we’d ever run and the lowest ET….a team record run of 5.76s at 250.78 mph!  Yes, I just set and reset my personal best records AND joined the coveted 250 MPH Club.  In addition, that ET gave us the spot in the finals by a mere 0.002 seconds…that was close.  Once again, we’d meet Paul Romine and the Man-O-War Mustang to determine the event winner.

The Man O War car had lane choice and chose the left lane…the lane we’d run our best times in all weekend.   So, to us the right lane was yet another unknown variable.  Startup and the burnout were normal and again the car sounded good and strong with plenty of nitro vapor in the air.   At the light, I mashed the pedal, the car went straight down the lane in the grove.  In the left lane, the fans saw tire smoke and had the ability read the wording on the side of the Man O War car as he was on an off the throttle trying to save it.  Too late!  I was gone and crossed the finish line for the second event win of the year with a 5.81 sec 249.31 mph pass.

Winner’s Circle as well as other photos and a video from that weekend can be viewed at the following links.  The video also includes a run by the Lagana Brother’s Capco sponsored Nitro Ninja Top Fuel Dragster who was at the event for testing and preparation for several NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Race Series events coming up.   Pretty impressive to see that machine go the full quarter mile.

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iptMm46FnOVLqxjt2

Video: https://youtu.be/jPMK9GtQkPY (Credit to Drag Strip Riot)

Our 4th and final race was the 6th Goodguy’s Nostalgia Nationals in Bowling Green, Kentucky in October. The car’s remarkably consistent performance resulted in lowest event ETs for the weekend with 5.81s and two 5.91s ETs.  After successfully managing the car’s desire to overpower the race track during qualification rounds, I drove the Allstar Challenger to the finals and again into Winner’s Circle for our 3rd event win of the season.

In summary, we had a great season.  We continue to improve the car’s performance and we’ve seen what it can do even when it’s not at 100%.   A few statistics for this year:

Lowest  ET: 5.76s (team record)

Best MPH: 250.74 (team record)

Best Qualifying Position: 1st (Goodguy’s Nostalgia Nationals).

Best Race Finishes: Wins at the 15th Annual NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion, 18th Funny Car Nationals, and 6th Goodguys Nostalgia Nationals

I would not have accomplished these great feats without the help of our sponsors.  I’d like to thank our great sponsors for their generous support this race season: All Star Dodge Chrysler Jeep, HotShots Bar and Grill, AMT Racing Engines, Vital Signs, Kodiak Equipment, Vinyl Images, Nu-Way Construction, Reese Kittle, and David Zientara Racecraft.  Stay tuned to our Facebook page for off-season updates. Finally, I’d like to wish everyone a joyous and safe holiday season.