CALIFORNIA HOT ROD REUNION, OCT. 19-21, 2012 FAMOSO RACEWAY

SUNDAY WRAP-UP:

This week-end saw the running of the 21^st California Hot Rod Reunion.  Not only has the Reunion come of age, it now has spawned two offspring –  the first, Bowling Green, is now 10 years old and the second, New England, will arrive in September 2013.  Steve Gibbs, the “daddy” of the Reunion, missed the mark when he famously said “we are only going to do this once.”

The Reunion has certainly grown up.  The inaugural reunion held Nov. 14-15 1992 offered qualifying and eliminations by top fuel and jr. fuel dragsters.  In 1995 A Gas was added to the line-up.  This year saw nearly 240 racers entered in nine different classes.   Bill Dunlap was the top fuel winner at the inaugural Reunion running in the 6.90’s. The 2012 Reunion saw Bill Dunlap running in the 5.90’s behind the butterflies of High Speed Motorsport’s top fuel dragster.

Cacklefest, another brainchild of Steve Gibbs, was added to the Reunion in 2000.  At that first Cacklefest, nine nitro-burning nostalgia top fuel cars were push started to light the fire before making a run down the track.  This year a whopping 64 nitro-burners entered the Cacklefest.  Now, Cacklefests are being held at events all over the country.

The 21^st  California Hot Rod Reunion provided three days of fantastic racing including some exciting exhibition runs.  The Reunion is one event which provides day-long entertainment.  In addition to the racing, the Grove overflowed with hot rods, customs, classics, muscle cars and some ingenious rat rods.  Shopping was also available at huge swap meet and in the Midway where a great many vendors were set up.  A whole host of vendors were on hand to provide food, snacks, and drinks, including beer so it wasn’t necessary to leave the track.

Below are a few of the nice cars parked in the Grove.

Sunday morning the pre-race ceremonies were kicked, off as always, by Steve Gibb’s in his  Ford Coupe giving a push to Red Greth in the Speed Sport roadster.  The Speed Sport roadster came up the track, turned around at the start line and made a run to the finish.  Watching this veteran of the quarter mile is always exciting.

Back to racing:

Eliminations started on Saturday.   Sunday evening the final rounds of eliminations began with the Funny Cars at 5:11 p.m. and ended with A Fuel at 7:20 p.m.

The winners of the Reunion were:

Funny Car:  The final pitted Mike Lewis, the #4 qualifier, in Brand-X  against Steven Densham in Teacher’s Pet, the #7 qualifier.   Lewis had a reaction time of 0.030 to Densham’s .111. At half-track Lewis was traveling at 199.55 mph to Desham’s 186.74.  Lewis reached the finish line going 244.38 with an ET of 5.785.  Densham broke after the half-track mark and slowed to 150.33 when he crossed the finish.  Even though Jason Rupert did not qualify, he won the Heritage Series championship

Top Fuel:  Rick Williamson, the #1 qualifier came out on top besting Adam Sorokin.  Sorokin beat Williamson at the line but sent up a wall of smoke at the finish spreading oil at the top end.  Williamson had an ET of 5.809 traveling 235.23 mph. Sorokin was leading the points race in the Heritage Series and held onto his lead to capture the Series championship.

A Fuel:  Kin Bates, the five time Heritage Series winner, came in second to Les Davenport.  Davenport got off the line first with a reaction time of .028.  Davenport stayed in the lead even after slipping around after the half-track mark.  Davenport got the car under control and finished with an ET of 6.260 @ 213.16. Bates lost this one at the start line with a reaction time of .105.

Jr. Fuel:  Bud Hammer the #1 qualifier sat next of Don Enriquez.  Enriquez got a big lead with a reaction time of .116 to Hammer’s .30, but Hammer had the power and took the win with an ET of 7.044 @ 187.57. Enriquez finished with an ET of 7.572 @ 179.42.

Pro Mod:  Marc Meadors was the winner of this race after Scott Bailey broke after his burnout.  Meadors also posted the fasted speed of the meet at 249.03 and the quickest Pro Mod run of the week-end at 5.873.

7.0 Pro:  This was a large class with 41 racers taking the field.  After qualifying, the class was divided into two.  7.0 included the top 16 qualifiers, with the remainder making up 7.0 B.  This class runs on a 7.0 index.

7.0 Pro:  Ronnie Lennon had a reaction time of .030, an ET of 7.250 with a speed of 161.56.  His opponent Bob Murphy spun the tires and ended with an ET of 19.245.

7.0 Pro B:  Dewayne Sanders had a great reaction time of .022 and an ET of 7.062 to beat Peter Leahy.  Leahy broke-out with an ET of 6.956.

A Gas:  This class runs on a 7.6 index.  Frank Merenda in a ’59 Rambler red lighted giving Rob Patten the win.  Patten drove a ’63 Corvette to the win.

Nostalgia Eliminator I:  This is an index class running on a 7.6 index.  Don Taros had a near perfect  .011 reaction time to beat Steve Schoenfeld.  Taros had an ET of 7.699 @ 165.46 to Schoenfeld’s 7.731 @ 146.05.

AFX:  The final of this race found Ernie Algorri, the #2 qualifier, sitting next to Doug Hampton at the line.  Hampton who qualified #5 took the win after a double break-out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 22nd California Hot Rod Reunion will be held Oct. 18-20, 2013 at Famoso.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SATURDAY RESULTS:

After completing qualifying runs Funny Car, Top Fuel, Pro Mod, A Fuel, Junior Fuel and 7.0 Pro ran their first elimination rounds.  A Gas, Nostalgia Eliminator, and A/FX will begin eliminations tomorrow.

The second round of Funny Car eliminations:  No. 1 qualifier, C. Head  advanced and will meet D. Worsham the #8 qualifier;  M. Lewis the #4 qualifier will meet G. Bateman the # 5 qualifier; No. 2 qualifier J. Arend will face #7 qualifier S. Densham; D. Horan, Jr., #3 qualifier, will run against J. Crawford who qualified #6.   Jason Rupert who was leading the points race in the Heritage Series did not qualify.

Top Fuel second round of eliminations:  #1 qualifier R. Williamson will have a bye in round 2;  R. McGee, the #4 qualifier will meet R. Bartone the #5 qualifier; #2 qualifier R. White will meet #7 qualifier T. Cox at the line;  J. Murphy who qualified #3 will meet P. Romine the #6 qualifier.  Adam Sorokin who was leading the points race in the Heritage Series did not advance to round 2.

Pro Mod:  M. Meadors, #1 qualifier will meet the #4 qualifier T. Housely in round 2; S. Bailey the #2 qualifier will line up against #3 qualifier B. Williamson.

A Fuel:  L. Davenport, the #1 qualifier will face #6 qualifier C. Beverett in round 2, K. Bates, Sr. the #2 qualifier will run against #5 qualifier S. Corbari; J. Harless the #3 qualifier will line up against #4 D. Waters in round 2.

Jr. Fuel:  This 9 car field will see #1 qualifier B. Hammer pitted against M. McCormick the #5 qualifier in round 2; B. Lander, #2 qualifier will have a bye.  D. Enriquez the #3 qualifier will sit at the line next to F. Notzka, the #7 qualifier.

7.0 Pro:  R. Huegli, the #1 qualifier will meet #8 qualifier J. Adams in round 2; J. Steckler, #4 qualifier will face off against #5 qualifier B. Murphy; #2 qualifier R. Phillips will meet #7 qualifier D. Brant; #3 qualifier J. Woods advanced to meet #6 qualifier R. Lennon.

A Gas with a 30 car field did not begin eliminations today but the following pairings will run round 1 tomorrow:  #1 C.Beanes and #16 R. Logsdon; #5 J. White and #20 J. Ferren; #12 K. Morovich and #27 P. Cogswell; #3 A. White and #18 B. Chafee; #10 F. Merenda and #25 C. Treur; #7 R. Wilson and #22 K. Harvey; #14 R. Quiroga and #29 B. Schauer; #2 B. Frye and #17 T. Newton; #9 K. Ratzloff and #24 J. Data; #6 D. Hall and #21 S. Galileo; #13 J. Godec and #28 R. Armstrong; #4 R. Padgett and #19 D. Roberts; #11 A. Hiemstra and #26 A. Wardell; #8 E. Bush and #23 A. Herrera; and #15 R. Patten and #30 S. Faller.

Nostalgia Eliminator I did not start eliminations today and the following pairs will meet in round 1 tomorrow:  #1 D. Taros and #18 A. Hull; #6 G. Anderson and #23 J. Scott; #14 M. Capps and #31 G. Crisp; #4 M. Whynaught and #21 R. Tietz; #12 L. Ferreira Jr. and #29 K. Roufosse; #8 H. Jakob and #25 E. Cook; #16 P. Sattler and #33 C. Bennett.

A/FX: The pairings haven’t been set the the qualifiers are: #1 D. Franklin; #2 E. Algorri; #3 L. Knapp; #4 D. Schroeder; #5 D. Hampton; #6 S. Whitemore; #7 B. Shaffer; #8 T. Hoffman; #9 B. Grace; #10 J. iner; #11 D. Sanders; #12 M. Reiser; #13 P. Borovicka; #14; J. Keller; #15 R. Pool.

Throughout the day several cacklefest cars went down the strip and will cap the night by lighting up the Famoso sky when 64 of these nostalgia nitro-burning cars line the track from start to finish.

FRIDAY RESULTS:

Qualifying began Friday with 34 funny cars and 16 top fuel dragsters.  At the end of racing on Friday Mike Lewis is the No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car with an ET of 5.820 traveling at 243.15 mph.  Lewis turned in low ET of the day while top speed was set by Del Warsham at 252.99 mph.

No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel is Rick Williamson with an ET of 5.750 at 261.02 mph.  Williamson had the low ET and top speed of the day.

Another round of qualifying will be held in these two classes starting at Noon on Saturday with the first round of eliminations starting at 3:30 pm.

Qualifying began in the remaining classes and will continue on Saturday.  As of the end of racing on Friday Kin Bates is the #1 Qualifier in A Fuel with an ET of 6.338 @ 221.16 mph.  This is low ET and top speed in this class.  Bud Hammer sits at #1 in Jr. Fuel with an  ET of 7.080 @ 186.67 mph. Hammer had low ET and top speed in Jr. Fuel.  In 7.0 Pro Ron Huegli  is at #1 with an ET of 7.005 and top speed of 199.26.  In Pro Mod Terry Housley is the #1 qualifier with an ET of 6.167 @ 233.80.   Housley had low ET but Scott Bailey the #2 qualifier had top speed of 236.38.  Jimmy White sits at #1 in A Gas with an ET of 7.608 @ 181.76.  Kelly Harvey set top speed of 185.26.  Don Taros is #1 qualifier in Nostalgia Eliminator I with an ET 0f 7.602 @ 173.38.  Mark Capps had the top speed of 189.55.  In AFX Ernie Algorri is the #1 qualifier with an ET of 9.626 at a speed of 140.59.  He had both low ET and top speed of the day.   Eliminations in these classes will be held on Sunday.

Friday racing saw a couple of exhibition runs with more to come tomorrow.  We saw Winged Express sitting in the pits as well as the Pick Your Parts  jet truck.

 

Below is the latest release of the racers to take part in the 21st NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion.  CHRR will be the final Heritage Series race for Top Fuel and Funny Car.  Adam Sorokin and Rick Williamson sit #1 and #2 in the points for Top Fuel.  In Funny Car Jason Rupert is #1 and John Hale is #2.

 

Nostalgia Top Fuel Tony Bartone Jim Boyd Terry Cox Fuller/ Mindy Fry Jack Harris Dan Horan Hultgren/Haight Rick McGee JMCL/Adam Sorokin Jim Murphy Brendan Murry Ousley/Paul Romine Richardson/Rasmussen Shelar/Bill Dunlap Rick White Craig/Rick Williamson

Nostalgia Funny Car Trotter/Jim Adolph Powers/ Jeff Arend B. Austin/Kriskrabill Tim Boychuk Nathan Bugg Mike Cook Rich/Josh Crawford Robert/Scott Cousimano Turner/ James Day Chris Davis Gary & Steve Densham Brad Faria Roger Garten Bob Godfrey Dan Horan Jr. Mike Lewis Lewis/”Bodie” Smith John Hale Lemon/ Rian Konno Dennis La Charite Leggitt/Bateman Lavoie/Eickmann Will Martin Alex Miladinovich Nelson/Robert Overholser Tim Nemeth Dwayne Patton Cruz Pedregon Jennings/Powers Ed Dougan John Powers Rick Rogers Jason Rupert Dennis Taylor Brad Thompson M. Thompson/R. “Dean” Oberg Ronny Young

A/FUEL Archibald/Frank McGee Ken Bates Chip Beverett Mark Borjon/Rick Ackerman Cowin/Dennis Allen Shawn Corbari Les Davenport Genco/Bill Genco John Harless Dennis Murphy Mike Pawluk Roger Stanke Darrel Waters Bill Wayne

 

JUNIOR FUEL Tim Beeman Dan Fenton Bud Hammer Johnnie Laird Bob Lander Marc McCormick Bob McKray/ Don Enriquez Mike Millsap Neuman/Notzka Jon Rowley Johnson/Jimmy Scott JD Zink	7.0 PRO Leon Aines B. Austin/Neil Fagan Jerry Beach Michael Beursken Sherrie Bodnarchuk David Brant Caldwell/High Sammy Daghir Don Dicero Jdykes/ Rodd Swinford Bob Murphy Lawton Ferreira Jr. Jimmy Fersch Mark Hall Don Harter Shane Harter Greg Holman Greg Howland Ronald Huegli Webb/Jeremy Jelinski Norm Kolwich Peter Leahy Matthew Leonard Cofer/Ronnie Lennon Chris Marshall Cecil Matthews Todd Miller Michael Peck Andre Pegues Richard Phillips Ken Rappaport Dave Rosenberg Rowley/Brewster Dewayne Sanders Ross Sekura Joey Steckler Jessie Sturgen Mark Tarabochia Cal Tebb Chaysse Trimp Tony Trimp John Turk/Bobby Cottrell Smith/Scott Smith/Scott Darrell Webb Bill Windham Jeff Woods	A/GAS Randy Armstrong David/Chris Beanes Eric Bush Pete Cogswell Steve Castelli Jim Data Steve Faller Tom Fowler Brendon Frye Steve Galileo Jim Godec Korbel/Dean Hall Kelly Harvey Terry Hatcher Phil Herrera Ofria/Andy Hiemstra Rick Logsdon Frank Merenda Keith Morovich Ray Padgett Rob Patten Leonard Perry McClure/Terry Newton Rafael Quiroga Ken Ratzloff Boyd Schauer Casey Treur Aaron Warnell Al White Jimmy White Richard Wilson
NE-1 Waite/George Anderson Taros/Wes Anderson Kirby/Anzalone Dave/Jason Barta Chuck Bayuk Worm/ Trevor Bechmanis Chris Bennett Jim Black Gruzen/Tim Brown Chestley Bushey Bob”Stormy” Byrd Dan Cantrell Treleaven/Mark Capps Bryan Carmack Ed Cook Don “Nick” Capogni Garret Crisp Chris Edwards Mike Fitzello Denise Gilbert Roger Gilbert Ken Gillispie Dave Gruzen Alan Hull Hans Jakob George Johns Bobby Lee Phil Lukens Richard MacDonald Frank Miller Jimmy Moroson Randall Kearney Kevin Roufosse Bobby Runyon Kevin Sarginson Paul Sattler Steve Schoenfeld Dan Schrokosch Eily Stafford Mike Talbot Don Taros Ryan Tietz Dave Ward Dan Whiteman Mark Whynaught Tony Wimer James Valencia	AF/X Ermest Algorri Mike Dunn David Franklin Glenn Gibbons Jack Goodrich Clint Haskin Todd Hoffman Doug Hampton Gerald Keller Larry Knapp Joel Miner Roy Pool Marvin Reiser Juystn Ruby Denny Sanders Dave Schroeder Brad Shaffer Thomas Tusuo Steve Whitemore Chris Whitney	CACKLEFEST Hayhurst/Tommy Allen Jessica Anderson Austin/ Frank Hall Austin/ Hank Johnson Austin/ Jerry Ruth W. Austin/Dave Jeffers Bruce Bartlett Baney/Rossi Frank Bartlett Don Bowman John Bradley Mariani/ Roy Brizio Peter Broadribb Hairy Burkholder Carpenter/Cardoza Richard Carey Samuel Chastain Larry Crossman Childs/Rod Hynes DeBurn/Jim Kirby Peter Eastwood John Ewald Brian Friesen/Terry Capp Frye/Paul Sutherland Tocco/Roger Garten Red Greth Dave Gruzen Ken Gupton Hampshire/Jim Nicoll Bobby Hamsen Bob Hirsch Ron Johnson Dave Kiley Wayne King Kipp/Tommy Thompson Kuhl/ Bill Tidwell Trevor Larkin Lee/Donn Blount Roger Lee Tom McIntyre Bowman/Dusty McWilliams Jerry Maestrjuai Sonny Messner Al Nosse Passalaqua/Larry Dixon Herman Petersen Mullen/Bennie Osbourn Neil O’Kane Carl Olson Lynn Park Pitts/Jeep Hampshire Danny Rice Don Prieto Dan Rini Steve Rutkowski Schavrien/Stevens Ken Schell Jesse Schrank Ronnie Stearns Tarvin/Ross Preen Joe Thomas Randy Warriner

THE REUNION SCHEDULE:

Friday:  Qualifying & Exhibition  Runs  8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.;                                    Top Fuel qualifying 1 p.m.; Funny Car qualifying 2:00 p.m.

Saturday:  Qualifying & Exhibition Runs 8:00 a.m. Top Fuel qualifying Noon;  Funny Car qualifying 1:00 p.m. Top Fuel Round 1 Elimination 3:30 p.m.  Funny Car Round 1 Elimination 4:30 p.m.  Honoree and Twilight Memorial 5:30 p.m.; Cacklefest 5:45 p.m.

Sunday:  Eliminations 9:00 a.m.; Funny Car Round 2 Elimination 11:00 a.m.; Top Fuel Round 2 Elimination 11:30 a.m.; Final Eliminations all categories 4:00 p.m.