To paraphrase legendary rock ‘n roller Chubby Checker “…there was a whole lot of racin’ going on…”
March 23-24 was the 2013 the season opener for West Coast Hot Rod Assoc. “WCHRA”. This year at its opener WCHRA raced with Division 7 Summit Series. On Saturday both qualifying and elimination rounds were held in the index and bracket classes. The index and bracket classes completed the first race in both series while the WCHRA heads-up classes ran only qualifying rounds. Likewise on Sunday the index and bracket classes ran qualifying and elimination rounds and completed the second race in both series. The WCHRA heads-up classes ran their elimination rounds on Sunday and completed race #1 of the WCHRA series.
This year WCHRA added Super Pro, Pro and ET Motorcycle classes which allowed racers to race in both WCHRA and Summit series this week-end. Some, but not all, racers raced in both series. The winner of each class took home the prize money no matter which series the winner raced in. Every racer who raced both Summit and WCHRA (or only WCHRA) and was a class winner took home not only the prize money but also a WCHRA trophy. Combining the two series at one event made it possible for racers to accumulate points in both series.
Smokey burnouts were a common sight during the week-end
Mark Kirby shifts the weight to the rear tires of his Plymouth Duster
Many of the cars did impressive wheel stands.
A lot of motorcycles raced this week-end. Below is a gallery of photos of many of the bikes at the event.
In addition to the Summit and WCHRA cars racing this week-end, the first two races in the Southern California Super Eliminator series were also held. This class runs on a 7.9 index and completed races on both Saturday and Sunday.
These above photos are of Chris standing next to his Super E in the pits and behind the wheel on the track.
Steve Mattenson of Paso Robles in his Super E
Also joining in the fun this week-end were cars from the Pro Slammer Door Car Association. Two classes of slammers raced – one a heads-up class, the other on a 6.9 index.
John Durden, on the right in the ’58 Corvette was the eventual winner in the Pro Slammer class.
Scott Oksas the runner up in the Pro Slammer class
Tony Jurado and his crew with his trophy for winning the 6.9 slammer class
And just to make sure everyone got their fill of racing, WCHRA ran an open comp class. This class, where all pairs are random, allows all cars, trucks, dragsters, altereds and motorcycles to compete against each other.
SUNDAY RACE RESULTS
Limited 10.5 – Gary Brandt, the #1 qualifier bested Tom Daughtry. In the finals Brandt had a reaction time of .058 running 132.56 mph on an ET of 5.450.
True 10.5 – The #4 qualifier David Singletary took the win over Roger Holder. Singletary in a ’69 Camaro ran an ET of 5.078 at 140.05 mph.
Outlaw 8.5 – No. 2 qualifier, DJ Reid, ran the ladder to win this class with an ET of 5.139 at 145.41 mph. Reid met Jason Pyons, the #3 qualifier, in the finals but with a .094 reaction time led the way off the line.
B/Gas (8.6 index) – Crumlich beat the #1 qualifier Brian Rogers, in Round 2 of eliminations and bested Casey Truer in the 3rd round by .006 to advance to the final round against Richard Deuschelle. Crumlich’s 8.644 ET and 140.77 mph easily beat Deuschelle who ran an ET of 8.693 at 109.54 mph.
C/Gas (9.6 index) – No. 1 qualifier Jason Barta ran through the ladder to meet #9 qualifier Paul Weichmann in the finals. Barta ended in the winners circle posting an ET of 9.624 at 135.58 mph. Barta’s reaction time of .006 gave him the win. Weichmann had a reaction time of .072 and an ET of 9.601 but his mph was 128.05.
D/Gas (10.6 index) – CORRECTION: #2 qualifier Lori Dodes met the #1 qualifier Josh Conrad at the line. Conrad took home the winner’s trophy. (Due to incorrect information we previously reported Dodes as the winner.)
E/Gas (11.6 index) – Jeff Beck, the runner-up in Saturday’s race, took the winner’s spot on Sunday. Beck won with an ET of 11.679 after Mark Simonian red lighted.
Sportsman – CW Hoefer in an ’87 Firebird ran an ET of 12.039 on a dial-in of 12.03 to beat David Dowdell running on a dial-in of 12.90 with an ET of 12.836. Hoefer was the #2 qualifier and Dowdell the #3 qualifier. The #1 qualifier Kevin Tanata redlighted in the quarter finals sending Dowdell to the finals.
Motorcycle – Terry Rolin the #6 qualifier came out on top in the final match-up against Scott Hewitt. Rolin left the lights first with a reaction time of .046 to Hewitt’s reaction time of .079. Rolin with a dial-in of 9.42 ran an ET of 9.442 while Hewitt had a dial-in of 8.61 and an ET of 8.646.
Pro – The winner, CW Hoefer, who also won the Sportsman class, again ran a dial-in of 12.03 but had an ET of 11.983. Matt Fritts ran on a dial-in of 10.05 but broke out with an ET of 10.003.
Super Pro – Kyle Rizzoli, the #2 qualifier, bested Eric Trubey in the finals. Rizzoli with a near perfect reaction time of .001 ran 158.65 mph with an ETof 7.746 on a 7.67 dial in. Trubey got a slower start with a reaction time of .049 and ran an ET of 7.677 on a dial in of 7.62. Crumlich the B gas winner lost to Rizzoli in the semi-finals.
Open Comp – Jim Israel and his ’71 Nova bested all comers running a 10.775 on a 10.87 dial-in in the finals. Lori Dodes was at the line next to Israel in the finals but broke giving Israel the win.
Super E – The final round ended with a double break-out. Steve Casner ran 7.891 on a 7.9 index to break out in the final round. However. Eddie Fischle also broke out with an ET of 7.863. Casner came closet to the index thus taking the win.
Pro Slammers – John Durden in a ’58 Corvette took the win against Scott Oksas. Durden ran an ET of 6.375 at 230.21 mph to Oksas’ ET of 6.679 at 236.75. In Round No. 1 of elimination Oksas ran his Mustang to an astonishing ET of 6.036 at 259.06 mph but he couldn’t repeat his performance in the finals.
6.9 Slammers – This class runs on a 6.9 index. Tony Jurado in his ’69 Camaro ran a 6.994 ET at 199.76 mph in the finals to take the win over Tom Huggins’ ’53 Corvette. Huggins ended in the #2 spot with an ET of 7.176 at 190.40. Jurado was the #1 qualifier and Huggins the #2 qualifier.
Combining the WCHRA and Summit series and including the Slammers and Super E brought in more than 200 racers for week-end and led to two days of non-stop racing. Thankfully, the week-end weather at Famoso didn’t include the bad weather that bedeviled March Meet. Racing this week-end provided a wide variety of classes and cars.
April 27-28, 2013 will see WCHRA, Summit racing, the Southern California Super Eliminator series and the Pro Slammer Door Car Association all back at Famoso for another week-end of never ending racing.
West Coast Hot Rods will race its heads-up classes at Famoso on June 1-2 as part of Super Chevy and again on July 13 as part of the Famoso Nitro Night. On September 14-15 all classes of WCHRA, Summit, Super E and the Slammers will all be back at Famoso for another 2-day race event.
SATURDAY RACE RE-CAP
Racing is over for today. West Coast Hot Rods finished the first race of the week-end for the index and bracket classes. The heads-up classes ran qualifying rounds.
The final results for index and bracket classes are:
Super Pro: Joe Ghysellnck was the winner with an ET of 7.455 at 180.31 mph. Greg Tremain was the runner-up even with a reaction time of .000. Tremain ran an ET of 7.618 at 175.35. The #1 qualifier was Steven Shearer.
Pro: Kyle Rizzoli in his ’69 Camero was the winner with an ET of 10.268 at 122.39. Runner-up was James Kirkman in a ’73 Nova with an ET of 10.41 at 132.69 mph. The #1 qualifier was Chris Pedersen in a ’63 Ford Falcon.
Sportsman: Don Lutz, the #7 qualifier, came out on top in this class in a ’09 Corvette with an ET of 12.101 at 114.85. Runner-up David Dowdell in a ’03 Corvette qualified at #2 and had an ET of 12.877 at 108.21 mph. Leslie Richards was the #1 qualifier in an ’05 Mustang.
Super Eliminator: This class which runs on a 7.90 index, not a class in WCHRA ran the race today. Matt Fiscle qualified at #2 and won the race with an ET of 7.937 at 172.45 mph. Don Meziere qualified at #11 and was runner-up with an ET of 7.948 at 161.77 mph.
E/Gas: This is an index class running on a 11.60 index. Dustin Lee was the winner on a double break-out. Lee in a ’53 Ranchwagon ran an ET of 11.597 at 111.95 mph.
D/Gas: On an index of 10.60 Hugo Casal prevailed over Josh Conrad. Casal in a ’69 Dart had a reaction time of .009, an ET of 10.639 at 122.28 mph. Conrad’s ’67 Nova had an ET of 10.629 at 128.27. Lori Dodes was the #1 qualifier with an ET of 10.602.
C/Gas: This class runs on a 9.60 index. No. 6 qualifier Bill Mizid in a ’33 Willys took the win with an ET of 9.794 at 117.47. The #1 qualifier was William Becker in a ’68 Nova with an ET of 9.603.
B/Gas: On an index of 8.6 Brandon Stalnaker was the winner with an ET of 8.634 at 156.41 mph. Stalnaker was alone at the line when the #1 qualifier failed to stage.
Motorcycle: The #9 qualifier Anthony Delatorre was the winner in this class with an ET of 8.963 at 141.80 over runner-up Scott Hewitt, the #7 qualifier, who had an ET of 8.599 at 148.23 mph.
Racing will start at 8:30 Sunday morning with all the index and bracket classes running qualifying and elimination rounds and the heads-up classes running their final rounds.
Pre-Race Info:
The first West Coast Hot Rod event of the 2013 season will be held at Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield, CA on March 23-24, 2013. The week-end will feature two races for the bracket and index classes and one race for the heads-up classes. Qualifying for the bracket and index classes of the first race of the Springnationals will start on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and the first round of eliminations for the bracket and index classes will start at 1:00 p.m. Heads-up classes will begin qualifying at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Qualifying for the second race for the bracket and index classes will start on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. with all finals at 4:30 p.m. Heads-up elimination rounds will start at 11:00 a.m.
This season West Coast Hot Rod Assoc. (WCHRA) will crown champions in True 10.5, Outlaw 8.5, Limited 10.5, B/Gas, C/Gas, D/Gas, E/Gas, Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Motorcycle. Future races of the 2013 season will be held on April 27-28, June 1-2, July 13, and September 14-15. Not all classes will race at all events. WCHRA has added new sponsors this year and it looks to be a great season of racing.
