Wardell Wins Big in Medford
Aaron Wardell had a great outing in Medford as he made impressive runs all weekend driving the J Ray Concrete sponsored dragster. In the final round he beat Oregon's Rich Bailey who smoked the tires at the hit. Aaron's winning time was a solid 6.45.
Steve LaBurn made the long tow all the way from Orange County and had this wild wheelstand in the semi final round against Bailey. Photos by Larry McFarland.
2010 Top Eliminator West Schedule
We are pleased to announce the addition of two new tracks to the 2010 Top Eliminator West schedule. This year is shaping up to be one of the best ever starting with the “Cool April Nights” program in Redding and wrapping up with an appearance at Pinks All Out at Infineon Raceway.
Along the way we will also be racing at Sacramento Raceway Parks “Nitro Nite of Fire” and traveling to beautiful Champion Raceway for the always-exciting “Night of Fire” event Fourth of July weekend. Every stop on the TEW 2010 schedule will give our racers the opportunity to race in front of huge crowds. It is always our goal to provide you, the racer, with the best possible events available.
April 16-17 Redding "Cool April Nights"
May 8 Redding Event Canceled
June 11-12 Sacramento "Nitro Nite of Fire"
July 2-3 Medford, OR "Nite of Fire"
Sep 17-19 Infineon "Pinks All Out"
Please note that pre-registration will be required and priority will be given to current TEW points participants. Contact us
Governors Cup Ends to 2009 Season
The biggest race is the last.
The Governors Cup started only 10 years after the Winter Nationals that makes it one of the top races in California. This one being to 40th Annual brought even more status to the winner.
The Qualifying started out even more intense for two cars in the field. Porcopenko and Stroupe were the only two drivers that could with the championship and qualifying points could make the difference. Right out of the trailer Stroupe ran an impressive 6.305 with Porcopenko a slightly too fast 6.298.
Final Qualifying Order:
Butch Stroupe 6.305 225.04 mph
Kenny Buzdas 6.310 225.55
Simon Procopenko 6.333 225.63
Steve LaBurn 6.490 220.16
Pete Ortiz 6.700 215.48
Curtis Clevenger 7.361 200.42
Michael Halstead 7.813 179.00
TEW started the race with 6 cars, Buzdas without the block on the last qualifying run.
First round Stroupe has a complete handle on Halstead with a 6.64 to 12.55 with engine issues. Procopenko drove around Clevenger as Clevenger was all over the track. LaBurn took out Ortiz Jr. when Ortiz had trouble.
Semi brought Stroupe the bye to the final. Procopenko had the long road to the final, he had to go through LaBurn. This round would also determine the champ for TEW of 2009. The pressure was all on him; win and you are the champ, loose and Stroupe is the champ. When the tree came down and both sides were green all he had to do is get to the stripe first and below 6.30. LaBurn’s car at 600’ sneezed the nitrous and looked a lot like a Jet Car. Procopenko ran 6.42. The Championship was done, but they still had the cup to settle. Just like all year the cars that battled for the championship were still fighting for the race. Final round was late at night, 11:30 pm, with Stroupe winning the 40th Governor’s Cup 6.45 to 6.29.
I can’t believe that the year is over. It seems like we just got started at Funny Car Fever. I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait to race at Medford again. I do hear that TEW will have a couple of new cars with us for next year. Lastly, I want to tell you all that you put on a fantastic show and that will help the class to continue to grow.
Thank you again,
Curtis Clevenger
Famous Fox Hunt Results
Wow! The 35th annual Famous Fox Hunt started out fast. Everyone in the class seems to be stepping up. Friday afternoon Kenny Buzdas ran a 6.10 and then slowed to a perfect 6.300. Clevenger's first pass out of the trailer blew up the pro charger unit and had to use the “Plan B” car. When first call came Simon Procopenko laid down the number to shoot for 6.333 at 233.85 mph. Thank you J. Ray Concrete for low qualifying bonus money, or Simon thanks you, again!
Final Qualifying Order:
Procopenko
Buzdas
McBee
Stroupe
Ortiz
Clevneger
LaBurn
Prior to round one, Buzdas had to drop out with the timing gear in pieces. First round put Porcopenko against LaBurn. Procopenko came out on top with a 6.35 to a breakout 6.25. It's Procopenko in the Final again. That makes 3 out of 4 finals. Next up were McBee and Clevenger. With Clevenger cutting .001 reaction time, McBee’s 6.37 almost didn’t catch him, I said almost. Stroupe moved on the starting line First and reached the Final line first and put the Outcast funny car on the trailer.
The semi final show was McBee and Stroupe. Stroupe’s pass was clean and straight but too fast as he ran a 6.28. McBee however was left then right, no no, then left again. I think he ran 1531 feet, but got the win light after all. The final was set Porcopenko and McBee. It looked good on paper and should be a great race. Then McBee moved .201 red and the race was over. Procopenko took another win. Great job Porcopenko crew!
This year the championship is coming down to two cars, Porcopenko and Stroupe both from Santa Rosa, CA. They are only 40 points apart, two rounds. Don’t miss Governors Cup it will be a battle!
Thank you for a great show
Top Eliminator West
Curtis Clevenger
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