NOSTALGIA FALL CHAMPIONSHIPS, October 15-16, 2011, Famoso Raceway
With California Hot Rod Reunion happening next week-end, you might think the Nostalgia Fall Championships held this past week-end at Famoso Raceway was the calm before the storm. You would be wrong. About 240 racers tore up the track at the Nostalgia Fall Championships to provide some of the best drag racing of the year.
The Nostalgia Fall Championships was the series final for Group 2 in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series, however, Groups 1 and 2 ran at this event. Group 1 includes: A Fuel, Jr. Fuel, and 7.0 Pro. Group 2 includes: A/Gas, B/Gas, C/Gas, D/Gas, Hot Rod, Nostalgia Eliminator l, Nostalgia Eliminator II and Nostalgia Eliminator III.
This race ran smoothly, often ahead of schedule, and most classes ran at least three and some four qualifying rounds. There were few oil downs and no crashes providing the many top fuel and funny cars on hand some time to do a little test and tune before the Reunion.
The only notable meltdown of the week-end came during the Friday test session when the Dietz and Ward altered Dinosaur grenaded scattering pieces and parts at about 300 feet down the track. A few of engine pieces are shown here on top of the k-rail.
The event winners were:
| CLASS | WINNER | ET | MPH |
| A Fuel | Kin Bates | 6.259 | 221.67 |
| Jr. Fuel | Dean Carter | 7.099 | 186.56 |
| 7.0 Pro | Mike Burksen | 7.069 | 187.99 |
| A Gas | Al White | 7.633 | 180.14 |
| B Gas | Brian Rogers | 8.600 | 157.56 |
| C Gas | Michael Boss | 9.602 | 136.86 |
| D Gas | Chris Kurtis | 10.456 | 125.22 |
| NE I | Tony Wilmer | 7.669 | 160.50 |
| NE II | Cecil Molina Jr. | 8.620 | 143.02 |
| NE III | Ryan Tietz | 9.596 | 135.24 |
| Hot Rod | Adrian Cobb | 11.569 | 117.78 |
Of the 11 class winners only three started the eliminations as the #1 Qualifier – Kin Bates A Fuel, Dean Carter Jr. Fuel and Adrian Cobb Hot Rod.
Walking around the pits provided an opportunity to see the race cars and to talk to the drivers and crew.
Unlike other recent races, this week-end Mother Nature shined on Famoso with good weather. The next currently scheduled races at Famosa are the Reunion Oct. 21-23 and March Meet March 1-4, 2012. The March Meet has been extended to four days to ensure Famoso finishes the race no matter what curve balls get thrown its way.
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