In front of a near capacity crowd, the Nitro cars rocked the house at the 45th Annual Pepsi Nightfire Nationals at Firebird.
Saving his best for last, Tony Bartone drove his New York-based Top Fueler to a near track record 5.664 (record 5.663) at 255.63 mph to lead the field. In AA/Funny Car, Cory Lee was “Mr. Consistent” belting out a 5.77, 5.77 and 5.78 to top the flopper qualifying list. And not to be overshadowed, the AA/Fuel Altereds put on a whale of show. Dan Hix grabbed the pole at 6.02, followed closely by his the Dave Hix (Dan’s uncle) Fiat Topolino, which carded a bitchin’ 6.08 with Todd Miller behind the wheel. Nailing the two top performances in BB/Funny Car, Greg Howland (6.75) will square off with Jesse Welch (6.79) in the Chicago-style final on Sunday afternoon.
Congratulations to all the Saturday night champions in the Meridian Automotive & Machine Bracketeer Series. Competing in his first Nightfire, Woodburn bracket ace Kurt Gross swept the $7,500 cash prize in Bracketeer and Brandon Umberger (joined by a massive contingent of racers from Grand Junction, Colo.) scored the $3,000 winner’s take in Pro.
Lastly, thanks to all the fans who attended the thrilling Nightfire event on Saturday night. We celebrated the 45th Anniversary of Firebird’s “signature event” and indeed, it was unequivocally one for the ages.
AA/Fuel Dragster
1. Tony Bartone, Long Island City, NY, 5.66, 255.63
2. Rick Williamson, Stockton, Calif., 5.79, 234.04
3. Jim Murphy, Santa Rosa, Calif., 5.80, 236.63
4. Adam Sorokin, La Crescenta, Calif., 5.87, 221.05
5. Dusty Green, Pleasant Hill, Calif., 5.93, 248.43
6. Bret Williamson, Gilroy, Calif., 5.95, 231.71
7. Tyler Hilton, Cincinnati, Ohio, 6.67, 193.54
AA/Funny Car
1. Cory Lee, Oceanside, Calif., 5.77, 249.95
2. Steven Densham, Bellflower, Calif., 5.78, 249.95
3. Tim Boychuk, Edmonton, Alb., 5.81, 244.92
4. Ryan Hodgson, Sturgeon County, Alb., 5.82, 250.04
5. Kris Krabill, Kent, Wash., 5.86, 238.26
6. Dan Horan Jr., Sylmar, Calif., 5.86, 247.43
7. Richard Townsend, Oakdale, Calif., 6.08, 230.29
8. Scott Stanger, West Point, Utah, 6.20, 225.63
Not qualified
9. Wally Giavia, Klamath Falls, Ore., 6.21, 224.36
10. Jon Rice, Pocatello, Idaho, 6.26, 225.22
AA/Fuel Altered
1. Dan Hix, Central Point, Ore., 6.02, 240.64
2. Todd Miller, Boring, Ore., 6.08, 227.73
3. Keith Wilson, Chula Vista, Calif., 6.13, 180.14
4. Jim Holtz, Sylmar, Calif., 6.16, 209.20
5. Jeremy Sullivan, Lake Mathews, Calif., 6.30, 233.56
6. Shawn Callen, Boise, Idaho, 7.96, 132.24
7. James Valencia, Bakersfield, Calif., 9.25, 96.96
Bracketeer
Kurt Gross, Oregon City., .002, 7.90 (7.90 dial) 166.31 def Bud Pruess, Grand Junction, CO., .034, 7.59 (7.58 dial) 173.94.
Semi: Don Juel, Spokane, WA; Dan Lafferty, Wendell, ID.
Quarter: Marissa Kidd, Twin Falls, ID; Dustin Hentges, Olympia, WA; Tom Elliott, Richland, WA.
Eighth: Brent Hodson, Selah, WA; Mike Coltrin, Boise, ID; Sam Northup, Boise, ID; Mark Sievers, Grand Junction, CO; Rodney Snider, Grand Junction, CO; Ed Franek, Payette, ID.
Pro
Brandon Umberger, Grand Junction, CO., .065, 8.97 (8.96 dial) 147.17 def Richard Rush, Boise, ID., .047, 11.70 (11.71 dial) 114.36.
Semi: Nicholas Shepherd, Tigard, OR.
Quarter: Todd Morse, Littleton, CO; Steve Kelly, Camas, WA., John Kidd, Jerome, ID.
Bracketeer Consolation
Krista Suydam, Bakersfield, CA., .029, 7.70 (7.71 dial) 174.44 def. Steve Lambert, Boise, ID., .021, 8.05 (8.06 dial) 169.57.
Semi: Mark Austin, Star, ID; Tim Wallace Jr.
Pro Consolation
Jason Thomas, Meridian, ID., .044, 10.43 (10.35 dial) 118.97 def. Larry Hale, Buhl ID., .008 (foul) 13.49 (10.54 dial) 81.49.
Semi: James Bennett, Boise, ID; Vern Chitwood, Boise, ID.
Heavy
Paul Saunders, Phoenix, AZ., .004, 13.19 (13.12 dial) 99.85 def. Tessa Lancaster, Ontario, OR., .091, 13.10 (13.09 dial) 99.77.
Semi: Dustin Wurtz, Nampa, ID.
Quarter: Steve Wingert, Boise, ID; Paul Jordan, Butte, MT.
Sled/Bike
Chad Hofert, Meridian, ID., .068, 8.78 (8.90 dial) 151.61 def. Jacob Wood, Meridian, ID., .078 (foul) 8.76 (8.72 dial) 147.62.
Semi: David Wood, Caldwell, ID.
Quarter: Kevin Hutto, Kuna, ID; Roy Barrera Jr. Boise, ID.
Sportsman
Luke Jacobson, Caldwell, ID., ..097, 12.49 (12.48 dial) 104.77 def. Bobby Barrett, Middleton, ID., .076, 12.60 (12.56 dial) 105.99.
Semi: Mike Rock, Nampa, ID; Craig LaRue, Meridian, ID.
Quarter: Dora Northup, Boise, ID; Janet Barrett, Middleton, ID; Mike Ritz, Boise, ID.
Pro All-Star Dash
Steve Kelly, Camas, WA., .025, 10.39 (10.39 dial) 121.68 def. Les Migneault, Meridian, ID., .004 (foul) 10.06 (10.06 dial) 133.71.
Semi: Carl Youngstom, Caldwell, ID; David Deming, Nampa, ID.