NHRA O'Reilly Fall Nationals
Dallas, Texas
by Brian Lohnes; Photos by Roger Richards

SUNDAY SPORTSMAN NOTES

Gasparelli thinks fifty is nifty – Steve Gasparelli threw the gauntlet down in the first round of TAFC with a pass of 5.57, 255. That pass is in another time zone compared to the rest of the field who were running solidly in the 70’s for the round.

Gasparelli struggled in qualifying and was just able to sneak into the field in the No. 16 spot. His performance improved greatly as the elimination rounds got under way, however. It may be the only time in recent memory that it could be said that the number 16 qualifier looked to be the favorite to win the race.

This is not Steve’s first rodeo, so it will be interesting to watch the rest of the day unfold. Everyone loves an underdog, even if it is just on paper.

Not on Sunday, please, not on Sunday – The alcohol cars have a reputation, either deserved or not, for oiling the racing surface with more frequency than any other class.

There was a small oil situation during the second round of TA/FC when a driver who shall remain anonymous left an oil slick out to 300 feet on his burnout. Thankfully, starter Rick Stewart reacted quickly and got the car shut down before a major incident could occur.

Other than that, there was no leakage or other unnecessary delays during the running of both the Dragsters and the Funny Cars.

How do you like these apples? – TAD pilot Steve Torrance wanted to let everyone know that Aaron Olivarez may have out-qualified him, but he was not going to be intimidated by anyone.

Torrance unleashed a 5.202, 276.46 blast that stunned the rest of the field. Being in the hunt for the national championship can do funny things to a team.

Some people collapse under the pressure, others wilt in the limelight. The best and most successful operations are the ones that can take the pressure and thrive on it.

With that pass, it is clear that Torrance and his team are of the latter disposition.

Will the immovable object (Torrance) meet up with the unstoppable force (Olivarez)? It will all depend on how the ladder plays out.

The final pairings are set -- In TAD it will be the No. 1 qualifier Aaron Olivarez taking on the No. 2 qualifier Steve Torrance.

The Californian and the Texan are ready to duel it out. This crowd is a little less than partial so we suspect that hometown favorite Torrance will be staging to a loud ovation.

Over on the other side of the alcohol ranks in Funny Car the final is a bit on the bizarre side, with No. 16 qualifier Steve Gasparrelli facing No. 10 qualifier John Johnson.

Steve Gasparrelli captures third event of season – Steve Gasparrelli managed to win his third national event of the season today in Ennis, Texas.

Gasparrelli and his crew struggled mightily in qualifying and only managed to squeak into the field in the No. 16 hole.

“We had some problems in qualifying,” Gasparrelli said. “We shook the tires on the first run and then the second run got rained out so we ended up sixteenth. It is always hard when you have to run the top qualifier in the first round.”

Working his way from the bottom of the field up showed that Gasparreli and his team are made of the right stuff.

“We made a couple of changes that really worked. We changed the setup to make the car run harder through first gear,” Gasparrelli said. “After we ran that 5.57 in the second round we just wanted to be conservative and not beat ourselves.”

In the final round he outran John Johnson with a mark of 5.668, 256.70. Johnson was no push-over by any means, as he threw the kitchen sink at Gasparrelli with a pass of 5.679, 255.10.

Texan conquers TAD in Texas – Texas native Steve Torrance defeated Aaron Olivarez in a pressure-packed final round in Top Alcohol Dragster.

They two men represented the No. 1 (Olivarez) and No. 2 (Torrance) qualifiers in the category. They are also both locked into the battle for the national championship.

Torrance loaded his elephant gun for the last pass of the day and threw a 5.259, 268 number down in front of Olivarez, who could only muster a losing effort of 5.316, 266 run in the other lane.

The two competitors and friends were set for this match-up from the end of qualifying and it showed through the weekend.

“This is an unbelievable dream,” Torrance said. “I just have to thank everyone so much.”

Torrance then pointed into the crowd and said, “That’s our clutch guy over there. He’s the one who won everything for us.”

Torrance and his team move one step closer to capturing the big prize with this weekend’s victory.

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SATURDAY NOTES

Top end chatter – It’s interesting to observe the top-end habits of the alcohol drivers as they exit their cars, and prepare their vehicles for the tow back to the pits.

Two of the most animated drivers are Aaron Olivarez and Steve Torrance, currently qualified No.1 and No.2 in TAD. Olivarez ran ahead of Torrance and his pink dragster was parked waiting for his crew to get him while Torrance was waiting to run in the next pair.

Olivarez ran a 5.249-second, 273-mph pass to grab the top spot away from Oregonian Torrance. When his crew arrived it was high fives all around because the No.1 qualifier will have a bye run in the first round.

Before they towed away, some good-natured ribbing took place between Torrance and the crew of the Oilvarez entry. “Sorry, but we got it,” a crewman said. Torrance responded with a handshake and congratulations.

As Olivarez and crew pulled away, Torrance yelled, “I don’t know what I ran, but I guess it was not as good as you guys!”

Air brakes – It was the best of times and the worst of times for Jeremy Johnson today. The good part was his career-best pass in TAFC. The bad part was his high-speed entry into the sand trap off the end of the track.

After laying down a 6.15-second, 238-mph run, Johnson had an issue with his parachutes and the car failed to stop. He plowed into the only thing left for him to hit, which was the sand.

As the car hit the trap it became airborne and managed to get tangled in the catch fence that prevents cars from heading out into the Texas prairie. When the car hit the fence it stood up on its nose briefly before landing hard back on its wheels.

Although the damage was not terminal, it would take a small miracle to have the car ready for competition this afternoon. It will be interesting to see if the team can pull off the repair in the face of some very long odds.

Having witnessed the safety safari response first hand, the one word that seems to describe it best would be precise. Before the car made it to the sand emergency personnel were already in position and prepared to respond to the vehicle, no matter where it ended up.

The emergency workers were at the car almost before it stopped moving and had Johnson out of the flopper in no time flat. It is a great testament to the people who endure hours of boredom only to respond so quickly in moments of sheer terror.

Hang onto it— Pro Mod drivers often get all the credit for being the horse wranglers of the short wheel-base crowd. Anyone with that opinion should be sure to check out the alcohol Funny Car class.

These racers often talk about trying to stay ahead of the car, and when they fall behind it’s not a pretty sight.

Watching these ill-handling monsters from the rear as they negotiate the quarter-mile is a real thrill as they narrowly avoid painting the guard wall on every lap.

Upsets abound in round one of TAD – It was not a good thing if you happened to be qualified well in the field for Top Alcohol Dragster here in Ennis as four or eight pairs resulted in upsets.

The most glaring example was John Haley, the No.14 qualifier, who took out No.3 runner James Thompson Jr.

The left lane appeared to be an issue as most of the surprise victories came from the right hand side. Judging by the number of celebratory hugs and high fives at the starting line, it is going to be a hopping night here at the Motorplex.

The big guns are all still in, though. Torrance, Olivarez, and Force are ready willing and able to march to the brick-filled winner’s circle here in Ennis.

The Alky racers often get lost in the mix of the big time pros, but there are some great stories about the people who run these classes and the amount of heart and soul they race with.

Aussie qualifies numero uno in TA/FC – For Australian Steve Harker, a day that started out with such promise ended up being one that he wants to forget.

Harker, from Queensland, Australia, qualified number one with a 5.63, 256 mark. That was the good news. He had to face Steve Gasparrelli in round one. Undoubtedly this is the upset of the meet as of right now, but the impossible happened. No.16 knocked off No.1.

Only two of the top five qualifiers survived the first round. Harker, Jay Payne and Brandon Lewis were all victimized in the opening stanza of this race.

In a bizarre pairing, Will Hanna was facing off with Richard McClain. McClain completed his burnout and was readying the car to stage before Hanna could get his car to fire.

Hanna then did a burnout, with McClain idling the entire time. Hanna was struggling mightily to back the car up as McClain’s car and crew were getting increasingly hot.

Finally back to the starting line, Rick Steward motioned violently to have the car into the beams and literally grabbed one of the crewmen and pulled him away from the car. When the tree came down both drivers hit the throttle and Hanna’s car began a wheelstand that continued to climb to a nearly vertical position by 200 feet into the run.

McClain shot down the right lane for the win.

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Sportsman Notes – Friday

Somebody stop me – Super Class racers are going to be putting more throttle stop into their cars across the board this afternoon. The cool air has seen just about everyone running well below the index targets.

It’s gotten to the point that the NHRA may want to readjust the index to 8.80, 9.80 and 10.80 as a very high percentage of racers are running quicker to 80 than 90. It will make for a confusing and frustrating weekend for the people in the Super classes because tomorrow’s weather will undoubtedly present an entirely different set of conditions to work with.

In classes that see races normally decided by only a couple of thousandths of a second per pair, the weather pendulum affects everyone (and every combination) differently.

Payne on top after one session – Jay Payne is currently qualified number one in TAFC after the first session. Payne managed a 5.65 at 254 mph. He has been running strong all season long and is currently fourth in the PowerAde TAFC points.

If Payne is able to put together a strong event he will be able to surpass Mick Snyder for third and make a strong run at Frank Manzo for the second spot. With only two races left in the season has Payne an outside chance to reign supreme when all is said and done.

He is doing his normal double-duty this weekend, driving both the Pro Mod and the Funny Car.

Torrance thunders to number one in TAD – Steve Torrance blasted to a 5.25 at more than 270 mph to grab the top qualifying spot in Top Alcohol Dragster here in Ennis. His grip is not exactly a strangle-hold, however, as Aaron Olivarez was able to make a 5.26-second pass in the following pair.

Torrance, a Texan, is only 18 points behind Steve Ferdelin in the hunt for the national championship in Top Alcohol Dragster. Federlin is not at this race, so it looks like Torrance will take the points lead over here this weekend.

The points chase for the title in TAD is geographically divided between the Midwest and the West Coast as four of the top five are from America’s heartland and the fifth, leader Steve Federlin, is from Oregon.

The coast is clear – Only one half of the Roger Brogdon, Tony Stephenson Competition Eliminator catfight is present this weekend. Brogdon is currently qualified number seven after the first session.

For those of you not familiar with the situation, Brogdon and Stepehenson are fighting for the national championship in Competition Eliminator and have been taking pot shots at each other in the media.

These are two of the hardest-running, best-funded teams in the country and their very public clash has garnered a lot of media attention for the often-overlooked Competition Eliminator category.

For those who really like the mechanical diversity associated with professional drag racing, Competition Eliminator is really the last vestige of unbridled creativity in the NHRA.  

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