2013 March Meet Funny Car Winner Tim Boychuk
2013 March Meet Top Fuel winner Jim Young in the Crop Duster
Last year March Meet went to four days to ensure that bad weather wouldn’t prevent completion of a field of 500 entrants. The change worked well last year when the weather was fair. This year, however, an unusually wet and cold storm lingered over Famoso for 48 hours and cancelled racing all day Friday and Saturday morning. This meant there simply wasn’t enough time to run all classes on Sunday and racing continued into Monday. All classes got in at least one round of eliminations and Top Fuel and Funny Car ran their final rounds. The final in Top Fuel was between Denver Schutz in the Raisin Express and Jim Young in the Crop Duster. In a close race, Young reached the finish line first with an ET of 5.65 at 269 mph to Schutz’ ET of 5.70 at 242 mph. The final Funny Car round was between Tim Boychuk and Mr. Explosive, Mark Sanders. Sanders broke his transmission and Boychuk took the victory with with an ET of 5.81 at 249 mph.
Racing ended on Monday around 3:30 p.m. with 7.0 Pro final round between Michael Peck and Bobby Cottrell. Peck took the easy win with a 7.027 ET on the 7.0 index after Cottrel broke about quarter track.
Monday Results:
A Fuel
The final round of A Fuel saw Bill Wayne and Darrell Waters at the line. Wayne came off the line first and stayed ahead until half-track where Waters caught up and pulled ahead for the win. Waters had an ET of 6.352 at 220.58 mph to Wayne’s ET of 6.432 at 211.69 mph.
Jr. Fuel
Wayne Ramay was the winner in Junior Fuel. Ramy and Richard Brady went to the final round but Brady couldn’t back up from his burn out and had to be pushed back. Ramy ran alone to the finish line with an ET of 7.046 at 187.68 mph.
A Gas
A Gas went through five rounds of eliminations to find Dean Hall and Ray Padgett side-by-side. Hall, the 2012 Heritage Series A Gas champion, came out on top with an ET of 7.622 at 183.49 mph. Padgett red lighted.
B Gas
The final round of B Gas pitted John Saliani against Kevin Riley. Saliani took the win with an ET of 8.612 at 157.37 and Riley broke out with a 8.584 (the index is 8.6).
C Gas
Ken “Racer” Brown and Jason Barta prevailed through 5 rounds of eliminations in C Gas to advance to the final round 6. This is a 9.60 index class. After a double break-out Racer Brown took the win. Brown ran an ET of 9.576 at 130.48 but Barta broke out with a faster 9.544 at 137.13.
D Gas
D Gas runs on a 10.60 index. Ed Carey was the winner with an ET of 10.681 at 120.83 mph beating David Mallory with an ET of 10.753 at 124.51 mph.
NE I
Dan Schrokosdh and Steve Schoenfeld ran the ladder to get to the final round in Nostalgia Eliminator I. This class runs on a 7.6 index and Schrokosch left the line first and took the win with a 7.627 ET at 167.93 to Schoenfeld’s ET of 7.631 a 165.76.
NE II
Nostalgia Eliminator II runs on a 8.6 index. Rick Nordness and Jason Francev went to the final round. Nordness go a hole shot with a reaction time of 0.028 to Francev’s 0.057. Nordess had an ET of 8.611 and Francev broke-out with an ET of 8.550.
NE III
Ray Turley and Lindsey Lister were in the finals of Nostalgia Eliminator III, a 9.60 index class. Lister broke-out with an ET of 9.507 and Turley took the win with a break-out ET of 9.539. Another double break-out.
Hot Rod
A huge number of Hot Rods took this class to seven elimination rounds. The final round number 7, pitted Alan Ross against Bill Smith, Jr. Ross ran a 10.355 on a dial-in of 10.37 to take the win. Smith dialed in 11.99 but the raced ended when Smith went red at the start line.
Below are a few photos of the racing action.
Chutes out!
Justin Herbst in a NE 11 car gets side-ways at launch.
Mark Kirby does a wheels-up launch in Hot Rod class
Sunday morning opening ceremonies featured Grand Marshal Billy Meyer and started with presentation of two trophies. The first was presented by the Grand Marshal and went to Bob Davies and his 1934 Sedan Delivery. The second trophy was presented by Car Craft Magazine and went to Michael Yaklyvich and his 1965 Mustang.
Bob Davies with his trophy
The trophy winning 1934 Ford Sedan Delivery
Michael Yaklyvich receiving the Car Craft trophy
The trophy winning 1965 Mustang
Sunday ceremonies also included parading several historic top fuel dragsters down the return lane in front of the grandstands. Two of those cars were Chris Karamesines’ Chizler and Tommy Ivo’s Barnstormer.
The Chizler
The Barnstormer
Below are a few top fuel cars.
Below are a few of the 34 Funny Cars that ran at March Meet. One of the funny cars shown below is LA Hooker driven by Ron Capps. We understand that this was the last U.S. run of LA Hooker as the car has been sold to an Australian collector.
March Meet hosted about 500 entrants making the racing fantastic.
There were about 150 nice cars in the Grove. Those that arrived on Saturday had to brave some threatening skies.
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SATURDAY RACE RECAP
Saturday morning was cold and an overnight rain prevented the track from drying out. Racing got underway about 11:30 with the first round of eliminations for the Hot Rod class. At the end of the first round 67 Hot Rods prevailed and will be back to race tomorrow. Several classes ran qualifying rounds, setting the fields for racing tomorrow.
Top Fuel – Jim Young qualified No. 1 with an ET of 5.687 at 245.18 mph and Denver Schutz qualified No. 2 with an ET of 5.736 at 255.24 mph;
Funny Car – in this 34 car field Jason Ruppert qualified No. 1 with an ET of 5.702 at 254.47 mph and Ron Capps qualified No. 2 with an ET of 5.735 at 245.90 mph;
7.0 Pro – in this 23 car field Mike Smith qualified No. 1 with an ET of 7.006 at 194.04 mph and Jon Kostelechy qualified No. 2 with an ET of 191.00;
Jr. Fuel – Don Enriquez qualified No. 1 at 7.156 mph and Richard Brady qualified No. 2 with an ET of 7.196;
A/Fuel – Darrell Waters qualified No. 1 with an ET of 6.376 at 281.80 mph and Bill Wayne qualified No. 2 with an ET of 6.429 at 208.75 mph;
D Gas – in this 31 car field Steve Whitemore qualified No. 1 with an ET of 10.601 (on a 10.60 index) at 126.33 mph and Ed Carey qualified No. 2 with an ET of 10.607 at 124.30 mph.
The temperature throughout the day stayed cool and at 1:00 p.m. the track surface was only 72.2 degrees. Tomorrow A/Gas, B/Gas, C/Gas, NEI, NEII and NEIII will finish qualifying.
Today about 150 show cars braved the weather and parked in the Grove.
This nice ’34 Ford Sedan Delivery showed up early even though the weather was threatening
Thursday racing went as scheduled and finished up around 4:30 p.m. In testing Top Fuel driver Tony Bartone set the bar running an ET of 5.56 at 220.19 mph. Bartone shut down before the finish line.
Roy Poole doing some testing in his Mercury Comet on Thursday in Hot Rod class
Some classes ran qualifying rounds on Thursday. The results:
A Fuel Darrell Waters ET 6.376;
Jr. Fuel Don Enriquez ET 7.256;
7.0 Pro Mike Buersken ET 7.075;
Nostalgia Eliminator I Mark Capps ET 7.608;
Nostalgia Eliminator II Dick Krieger ET 8.604;
Nostalgia Eliminator III Mike Brock ET 9.602;
A Gas Gauge Gerrera 7.606;
B Gas Leonard Perry ET 8.604;
C Gas Jason Bart ET 9.611;
D Gas Steve Barta 10.608.
Hot rods and nitro cars did some testing.
Started raining Thursday night and kept raining until about 1:30 Friday afternoon – too late for any racing on Friday. Saturday the weather is predicted to be dry and mostly sunny. Racing will start at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.
Celebrating 55 years of racing, the March Meet is a four-day speedfest of quarter-mile drag racing. It attracts drag racers and spectators from around the world and also includes a hot rod car show, swap meet and a vendors’ midway. The 2013 March Meet will be held Mar. 7-10 at historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway. March Meet advance ticket sales, as well as tickets for car show registration and camping, are now available on the Auto Club Famoso website and at www.TheFOAT.com.
The Kern County Racing Association operates Auto Club Famoso Raceway (just north of Bakersfield, Calif.) and promotes a full schedule of races year round, including the world famous March Meet, which is recognized as the Mecca of nostalgia drag racing. For more details, visit www.autoclubfamosoraceway.com. The race schedule which has been released is posted below:
| Thursday, March 07, 2013 Times Are Approximate 9:00 AM Hot Rod T1 D/Gas Q1 C/Gas Q1 Nostalgia Eliminator 3 Q1 Nostalgia Eliminator 2 Q1 B/Gas Q1 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 Q1 A/Gas Q1 7.0 Pro Q12:00 PM A/Fuel Q1 Junior Fuel Q12:30 PM Nitro Testing Session T1 Hot Rod T24:30 PM SecureFriday, March 08, 2013 Times Are Approximate 8:00 AM Hot Rod T3 D/Gas Q2 C/Gas Q2 Nostalgia Eliminator 3 Q2 Nostalgia Eliminator 2 Q2 B/Gas Q2 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 Q212:00 PM Funny Car Q1 Top Fuel Q11:40 PM A/Gas Q2 Junior Fuel Q2 A/Fuel Q2 7.0 Pro Q2 3:15 PM Funny Car Q2 Top Fuel Q25:00 PM SecureSaturday, March 09, 2013 Times Are Approximate 8:00 AM Hot Rod E1 D/Gas E1 C/Gas E1 Nostalgia Eliminator 3 E1 Nostalgia Eliminator 2 E1 B/Gas E1 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 E1 Prep Track/Break ..12:00 PM Top Fuel Q3 Rear Motor TF Q1 Funny Car Q3 A/Gas E1 Junior Fuel E1 A/Fuel E1 7.0 Pro E13:30 PM Top Fuel E1 Rear Motor TF Q24:00 PM Funny Car E14:45 PM Secure |
Sunday, March 10, 2013 Times Are Approximate 8:30 AM Hot Rod E2 D/Gas E2 C/Gas E2 Nostalgia Eliminator 3 E2 Nostalgia Eliminator 2 E2 B/Gas E2 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 E2 A/Gas E2 7.0 Pro E211:00 AM A/Fuel E2 Hot Rod E3 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 E3 Opening Ceremony12:00 PM Funny Car E2 Top Fuel E2 Rear Motor TF E1 Junior Fuel E2 A/Fuel E3 7.0 Pro E3 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 E4 A/Gas E3 B/Gas E3 Nostalgia Eliminator 2 E3 Nostalgia Eliminator 3 E3 C/Gas E3 D/Gas E3 Hot Rod E4 Prep Track/Break2:00 PM Funny Car E3 Top Fuel E3 B/Gas E4 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 E5 A/Gas E4 Nostalgia Eliminator 2 E4 Nostalgia Eliminator 3 E4 C/Gas E4 D/Gas E4 Hot Rod E5 Prep Track/Break B/Gas E5 C/Gas E5 D/Gas E5 Hot Rod E62:55 PM Presentations, ETC3:30 PM All Finals as they Return.Secure |
Wednesday, March 6:
The March Meet gets into full swing with the traditional kick off party Wednesday March 6th, 2013 in the parking lot between Original Roadhouse Grill and Chuy’s, 8660 Rosedale Hwy. Drivers, crews and hot rodders will be showing off their cars starting at 6pm. Drag Racing fans of all ages are welcome to attend this free event.
Original Roadhouse Grill and Chuy’s restaurants will be offering dinner and drink specials throughout the night. Free prizes, tickets and other goodies will be given away during evening festivities.
“The Kick Off Party is always a fun way for the fans to hear some cars fire up and get a little taste of what the March Meet is all about.” – Blake Bowser,VP and GM of the Kern County Racing Association
The Kick Off Party marks the start of the March Meet. Current NHRA drivers Ron Capps, Del Worsham, Jeff Arend and Chad Head will be competing against drivers from all over the Nation. The March Meet is biggest 4 days of drag racing in the Nation and runs from March 7th to March 10th. Tickets available online at www.autoclubfamosoraceway.com and at the gate during the event.
Thursday, March 7:
Join drag racing stars from the past and present Thursday night March 7th, 2013 at the World Famous Crystal Palace. Automotive journalist and historian Dave Wallace Jr. will be moderating a open forum with some of drag racing’s greatest stars. Tom “Mongoose” McEwen, Ron Capps, Del Worsham, Chad and Jim Head are just some of the many guests expected to attend.
The Night of Champions is a non-formal race attire event that is open to the public. Admission is free! Doors open at 5pm, with the question and answer forum starting at 7. Reservations are recommended. The Crystal Palace will be open for dinner and drinks. Bring your camera and autograph book! The celebrities will be hanging around for a meet and greet after the event.
Again this year, March Meet looks like to place to be March 7-10, 2013.
