The Outlaw Fuel Altered Association gladly accepted the invitation to be a part of a very special event at Texas Raceway in Kennedale. The 3^rd Annual B.H.R.A Nationals is a one-of-a-kind event in honor of the late Bill Hielscher that this year featured a pair of Simpson racing fuel funny cars, A/Fuel dragsters, pro mods, jet cars and of course the wild Outlaw Fuel Altereds.

The group headed into Texas Raceway with their heads held high after establishing a record-setting 4.29 bump at the last event at Pine Valley Raceway. Sixteen altereds came to help celebrate the life of Hielscher, as did thousands of nitro-crazed fans, who filled the bleachers and lined up their vehicles past the finish line. As the national anthem concluded the first pair of altereds cranked up to kick off the event and first round of qualifying. The fun meter was pegged and the show was on.

Donnie Massey came out and laid down a nice 4.27 at 163 mph alongside Jim Pruett's 4.27 at 157 mph. Pruett almost missed first session after he ran into reverser problems in the pits. Luckily he was able to temporarily solve the issue, but was forced to use the push back method from the early days to get the "Cone Shark" back to the line after his burnout. LaDonna Caulk was on a nice pass when a fuel line connected to the barrel valve failed causing raw fuel to pour out underneath the left rear tire as she thundered down track.

Caulk's "American Dream" fuel burner then immediately headed towards the opposite lane guardrail, narrowly missing Parke Whisenant, who was in his first Outlaw Fuel Altered event. Caulk fought the wheel and was on her way to correcting the car, but smacked the left-hand guardrail on a very narrow track, which unfortunately caused enough damage to sideline her for the remainder of the event.

"I'm fine. I'm just mad that I can't race anymore tonight," said Caulk. "The fuel line blew off and there was nothing I could do but try to fight it back heading straight. We will be back and plan to have both cars running at the event in Houston."

Racing quickly resumed and points leader Eric Buchanan's "Texecution" threw up a 4.29 at 166 mph alongside Missouri racer Howard Knowles' 4.48 at 140 mph. Gary Wheeler and Bobby Marriott also laid down great 4.29 passes, but then the "Hayride" stole the show. Tim Hay's nitro burner clicked off a career best 4.23 at 171 mph to take the top spot after the first session. This was Hay's third event in a row where he had improved on his career best elapsed time. Should you be scared? Yes! Seven cars were already in the 4.20's and Brad Rigler's "Toxic" rounded out the quick eight with a 4.36 at 161 mph with one session still to come.

Back in the pits, everyone on the property must have gone to catch a peek at the "Hayride" Chevrolet on fuel that just went low as the crews and drivers were hard at work preparing for the final qualifying session. There was added pressure for a many competitors as Texas Raceway is the home track for a handful of altered racers who had friends and family out to enjoy the show. The air conditions improved drastically between rounds and the second qualifying session was host to some great racing.

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Travis Bouchey went from not qualified to the number two spot with stout 4.19 at 169 mph. Wheeler thundered to a 4.22 at 165 mph with his Chevrolet powered entry which was good enough for the four spot. Rigler jumped off the bubble with a clean 4.20 at 169 mph putting him in third. Jimmy Todd had his hands full in both sessions as his beautiful Fiat went into wild wheelstands on both passes. Todd's 4.51 best was just short of making the field. Pruett kicked Hay off the top spot with a very strong 4.18 at 166 mph. Hay elected to skip this session to make sure he was ready for eliminations. His 4.23 held up for the number five position.

Marriott, Buchanan, and Massey all improved from first session and Massey's 4.27 at 163 mph pass rounded out the quick eight. The Outlaw Fuel Altereds had unbelievably re-set their quickest field ever from the prior event's 4.29 bump spot. The fun meter had now blown off the wall and disintegrated into a million pieces. Pruett took the Meyer Enterprises Low Qualifier award and looked like he was turning things around after a hairy start.

The first round pairings told the story: Pruett vs. Hay, Buchanan vs. Bouchey, Rigler vs. Marriott, Wheeler vs. Massey. The first round was going to have a large impact on the points standings as five of these eight were involved in a tie for the top three spots in the standings after Pine Valley.

The "Cone Shark" and the "Hayride" kicked off eliminations with the quickest side-by-side race of the season. Pruett got a five-hundredths advantage off the line and clicked off a 4.15 at 166 mph. He needed everything he got because Hay improved his career best on a wild guardrail-to-centerline 4.20 at 164 mph with header flames high to the finish line. Hay ran a career best elapsed time and lost to Pruett by no more than a few feet. 

Next up, Bouchey treed Buchanan by a slim margin then fell off to a 4.70 at 147 mph, loosing to Buchanan's 4.16 at 170 mph. Marriott and Rigler squared off next as Rigler was looking to sneak himself into the top five in points. He was off the line first and never looked back, blowing up the scoreboards with low elapsed time of the round, 4.12 at 170 mph, to Marriott's loosing 4.25 at 162 mph. The "Toxic" boys looked very good heading into the finals. Wheeler and Massey lined up in the final pair of first round. A major run would have to come here if they wanted a trip to the finals. In a very close race, Wheeler's 4.36 at 161 mph defeated the "Showtime" with a 4.39 at 159. A 4.12 and 4.15 by Rigler and Pruett advanced them to the final round which had everyone guessing who would win this one.

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After a handshake and a few jokes in the staging lanes the drivers suited up then lit up the hides side by side under the lights. The cars crept into the beams and Rigler left red with a -.011 light, handing the win to a tire-smoking Pruett. Rigler thundered to a 4.19 at 169 mph to Pruett's winning 11.10 at 39 mph. Rigler was forced to settle for runner-up for the third time in 2005 as he searches for that elusive first win of the season. The victory was Pruett’s first of the season and it allowed him to jump to fifth in points; not bad considering he missed an event early in the season. The defending series champ appears to be on a shark hunt.