2012 NTRA Finals Qualifying

Nostalgia Funny Car Qualfying

It's a glorious day on the California coast – sunny, mid-70s, and a perfect afternoon for racing. The ace Lions crew has spent the morning prepping the track, and it's smooth and fast.

Today's schedule at the 2012 NTRA World Finals calls for qualifying in the two featured classes – Nostalgia Funny Car and Gasser. Each entry will make three runs, with the qualifying order determined by the car's quickest elapsed time. The cars will pull out of the staging lanes in the order of their entry numbers.

The starter dials in the power to 13.8 volts DC. It's 74 degrees as the first car pulls to the line. It's JJWallace's No. 1 Twisted Texan Mustang from Texas – where else? JJ's third run is his best, 1.269/8.97 mph.



JJ has to hustle back to the staging lanes to qualify the No. 2 red Mustang. This one's a little quicker, running 1.233/9.28 on its third pass. That's going to give some other racers a headache!

Now it's Kbuck's sharp-looking No. 3 Pontiac's turn against the clocks. Kbuck's running a lot of downforce, and it drags the Poncho down to 1.634/6.92.

Next out of the lanes is Tazman's No. 4 Mustang. Tazman is also using dual traction magnets, and it's just too much for the bite at Lions. The Mustang stops the timers at 1.530/7.50 on its third pass.

Jimrussell is a rookie at Lions, and he's got his No. 5 Mustang set up without any traction magnets. The Mustang is a bucking bronco going down the Lions quarter-mile, lots of bouncing and several near deslots. Jim hangs on and posts a 1.285/9.77 mph.

Falcon's No. 8 Blue Max Mustang is a crowd favorite at Lions. He's running narrow rear tires, and no magnets. The 'Stang is super smooth, but just doesn’t have the ponies it needs against this bunch. The Max runs a best of 1.644/6.40 mph.

The first of Dragfool's beautifully painted N/FCs to the line is the No. 11 Pinto. He's running a single traction magnet and short rear tires – the time slips says maybe much downforce as the Pinto trots to a 1.623/7.14 mph qualifying run.

Dragfool is an equal opportunity racer, and his No. 13 Vega is next into the staging beams. The Chevy sounds much freer on the warmup, and runs quicker than its stablemate with a 1.523/6.82 qualifying pass.

Will No. 13 be lucky for PCEng's Cuda? It sounds stout on the warmup, and the Beast from the East runs its best numbers, 1.325/8.61, on its first pass down the famed Lions quarter-mile.

PCEng's No. 14 star-spangled blue Cuda is next to the line. This one's a heartbeat quicker at 1.318/8.60 mph.



Wazzer's black No. 15 Vega is ready for its maiden run at Lions. Wazzer's Wild Thang has taken a different approach, with an original Aurora chassis and no downforce magnets. The drivetrain feels very free, and the Vega powers to a 1.244 at 11.29 mph – the biggest speed number on the scoreboard so far.

The No. 16 Wazzer Vega spins the tires on its first pass, then hooks up and runs 1.359/9.43 to put it solidly in the NFC field.

The Slotfather's No. 18 orange Mustang is also running without traction magnets on its AutoWorld chassis. It's quiet and smooth, but doesn't quite have the horsepower to match Wazzer's pace with a 1.411/8.08.



But the Slotfather's not done yet. He rolls out his No. 19 blue Mustang, and fires at shot that knocks Wazzer off the top of the qualifying order. The Slotfather takes the No. 1 spot at 1.193/9.60 mph!

We've got some heavy hitters coming up now, with EagleRacing's No. 20 Camaro pulling to the line. The Eagle flies to a 1.307 at 9.03 with his first entry.



Now it's the red-white-and-blue wrapped No. 21 EagleRacing Camaro's turn to take on Lions. Another Aurora chassis without traction magnets, and this bird really takes off. EagleRacing goes to the top of the chart with a 1.075 at 11.23 mph for Low ET and Top Speed in N/FC!

That's a tough act for TGM2054's No. 23 orange Omni NFC to follow. The Dodge has got some problems today, with several vicious deslots. Looks like those rear tires aren't running true, and that's causing big problems. The driver has to baby the Omni to get it down the track at 1.487/7.85 mph. He's in the field, and that bumps out the Blue Max Mustang.

TGM's No. 24 Corvette also has some rear tire issues. The car's in severe tire shake as it runs 1.843/6.94 mph. Not good enough, and the Corvette won't make the show.

The final qualifying runs in N/FC are coming up with Charley's No. 25 Vega. It's got dual downforce magnets, and it's just too stuck to the track – but Charley's in the show with a 1.629/6.39 mph, bumping Kbuck's Pontiac by five thousandths of a second. Wow, tough luck, Kbuck!

All right, race fans, here is the qualifying order for Nostalgia Funny Car at the 2012 NTRA Finals. They're celebrating in Texas tonight as racers from the Lone Star State take the top three spots!

Pos. Car No. Entry Best ET Best Speed
1 21 EagleRacing Camaro 1.075 11.23
2 19 Slotfather Mustang 1.193 9.60
3 2 JJWallace Mustang 1.233 9.31
4 15 Wazzer Vega 1.244 11.29
5 1 JJWallace Mustang 1.269 8.97
6 5 Jimrussell Mustang 1.285 9.77
7 20 EagleRacing Camaro 1.307 9.03
8 14 PCEng Cuda 1.318 8.60
9 13 PCEng Cuda 1.325 8.61
10 16 Wazzer Vega 1.359 9.43
11 18 Slotfather Mustang 1.411 8.11
12 23 TGM2054 Omni 1.487 7.85
13 12 Dragfool Vega 1.523 7.03
14 4 Tazman Mustang 1.530 7.50
15 11 Dragfool Pinto 1.623 7.14
16 25 Charley Vega 1.629 6.39
DNQ
17 3 Kbuck Pontiac 1.634 6.92
18 8 Falcon Mustang 1.644 6.40
19 24 TGM2054 Corvette 1.843 6.94

And here is the lineup of the 16 NFC qualifiers. It's a great looking field for Sunday's eliminations!



Race Control has called the Gassers to the lanes, so get ready for some wild qualifying action coming up at Lions Drag Strip!

Great job Rick, and all the racers too!
I'm going to pull the Omni out of the race to let K buck get in. I've run there before and I believe it's his first time, he's been hard at it this year and deserves a shot at it.
Don't worry too much about the Willy's, I had to switch rear axle and tires at the last minute because of an accident, I was wondering about those wheels and tires.
There's always next time! Good luck all!

Rick, looking good as always commentary and pics top shelf as always. Looking forward to the race good luck to everyone.

Rick, great job so far, keep the comments and photos coming, that and your fine Lions facility makes the event very realistic. We'll be needing more pics of Aurora Divine before the days out, though.

Good luck to everyone today! An excellent lineup of great looking cars in both gasser and n/fc. Car detail is amazing, I'm always impressed with what you guys can do to an HO car.

Let the burnouts begin!

Tim

Thanks dragfool! I also want to say thanks for the comments on my falcon. I raced a '65 falcon in C/G in the 70's. Hence the handle of falcon. The BlueMax is from the GREAT Hairy Canary !! His bodies and decals are the best! I also need to thank Bob Case for the great wheelie bars!

Bob