WEST COAST HOT ROD SHOOTOUT AT SUNDOWN

WEST COAST HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
SHOOTOUT AT SUNDOWN
August 6-7, 2011 Famoso Raceway

Drag racing in Bakersfield in August.  Are you nuts? It’s 100 degrees out there!  West Coast Hot Rod Assoc. (WCHRA) found the solution to this problem – it started racing late in the day on Saturday and continued into the night under the lights.  On Sunday the racing started early in the morning and was essentially done by noon.

This is one of the better run races we’ve attended.  By making sure the cars were in the staging lanes well in advance, there were no delays between runs.  Oil downs were few and the race ran on schedule.  This all lead to two days of continuous racing action.  Some classes were heads-up racing, some were bracket, while others ran on an index.  The gassers run on an index:  A gas runs on a 7.6 index, B gas a 8.6 index, C gas a 9.6 index, D gas a 10.6 index and E gas runs on an 11.6 index. WCHRA will hold five races this year – all at Famoso.

WCHRA has in the past held races in Arizona and Sacramento; however, the location of its races depends on track availability.  The next race will be September 10, 2011 in Famoso.  The racing will again be under the lights and joining WCHRA will be the nostalgia nitro cars.   About 130 WCHR racers occupied the pits in Famoso at the Shootout at Sundown and ran in 12 classes.  The classes and the winners were:

• Extreme 10.5* – Al White driving a 1965 GTO ET 4.726 MPH 151.61.
•  True 10.5* – Dave Boles driving a 1963 Chevy Nova ET 9.46 MPH 73.64
•  Limited 10.5 – Mike Orban driving a 1968 Camaro ET 8.891 MPH 149.46
• X275 DR VS Radial* – Jeff Kyle driving a 2000 Mustang ET 5.037 MPH 150.55
• Outlaw 8.5* – Mark Washington driving a 1985 Mustang 5.0 ET 5.653 MPH 128.55
• A Gas – Del Perkins driving a 1996 Firebird ET 7.722 MPH 139.76
• B Gas – Tim Scott driving a 1968 Camaro ET 8.690 MPH 143.72
• C Gas – Tom Fowler driving a 1970 Camaro ET 9.604 MPH 140.77
• D Gas – Alan Ross driving a 1965 Mustang ET 10.613 MPH 124.49
• E Gas – James Brown driving a 1978 Malibu Wagon ET 11.632 MPH 111.63
• Sportsman – Alex Rogeo driving a 2007 Dodge ET 13.499 MPH 105.33
• Open Comp – Alan Ross driving a 1965 Mustang ET 10.661 MPH 119.73   (yes, Alan Ross won both classes)
  * These classes run on a 1/8th mile track.

We want to note that the winner of the Sportsman class, Alex Rogeo is a young lady who did a fine job of proving that drag racing is not just a “guy thing”.  Good job Alex.

The racing also included 2 second chance classes.   2nd Chance Sportsman – Dustin Lee driving a 1953 Station Wagon (ET 11.650 MPH 111.012) and Second Chance Pro – David Looney riding a 1989 Suzuki (ET 9.508 MPH 132.92). The second chance classes allow racers who have previously been eliminated to continue racing.  Below is a photo of David Looney riding to the win.

Also racing with WCHRA this week-end were members of the Pro Racing Association (PRA).  PRA is Volkswagen drag racing at its best.  The ‘bugs’ and ‘Ghias’ raced in three classes and a new ET record of 8.039 was set in the Pro Modified class. The classes and winners were:

• Pro Modified – Kris Lauffer ET 8.088 MPH 172.14
• Super Street – Joe Maestas
• Pro Gas – Kevin Barrett ET 11.032 MPH 118.76

 For “Best Pit Crew Under Three Feet Tall” we have selected the two boys shown below who helped Matt Deaeseleer receive his runner-up trophy in Limited 10.5.

Put WCHRA’s next race on Sept. 10 on your calendar.   Racing under the lights is definitely a summer treat.  Take a look below at some of the photos from the race. The photos on this site as well as other photos of the race are available for purchase.  Just click on the link to SmugMug (upper right).