Bakersfield, CA - October 12-14, 2007: The 16th NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion lived up to its star billing in spades. From the opening of the gates on Friday, record crowds filled Famoso Raceway and considering this is one of the two premier nostalgia drag racing events in the country, the teams came here loaded for bear with one thought in mind - winning.  21 Top Fuel dragsters rolled in for the 16 car show and what a show it was.

Racing was halted during the first Nostalgia Top Fuel qualifying session by a brief sprinkle. With the Reunion Reception set for Bakersfield, the Wally Parks Museum staff made the decision to continue that session on Saturday. The Honoree reception, which included a mini-Cacklefest with five cars roaring to life in the Doubletree Hotel parking lot, included a tribute to Wally Parks by long-time NHRA announcer and master of ceremonies, Dave McClelland.

However Saturday saw the end of the wet stuff and the two qualifying sessions and Cacklefest went off on cue.

Brad Thompson took the Nostalgia Top Fuel class victory with fastest speed of the meet - 5.721 seconds at 261.62 mph over Pete Kaiser's 5.924 and 228.54 respectively. Thompson capped a perfect weekend in which he qualified # 1 and ran the second quickest time in history in the semi finals (5.706).

The Nostalgia Funny Cars, ran in a "Chicago style" match race. Bucky Austin took the honors in his "Northwest Hitter" over Terry Capp in the Edmonton, Canada based "Bubble Up" entry. In Chicago style racing, only the top eight qualifiers advance to eliminations. Here, 16 cars ran for times, sending eight home after just one run. The eight-fastest ran again, with Capp and Austin the two quickest winners, advancing to the final. Capp defeated NHRA Big Show star Ron Capps, taking a brief break from the Countdown to One. Capps' POWERade Series crew chief was CHRR Reunion Grand Marshal Ed "The Ace" McCulloch.

The only noteable incident of the weekend was the horendous fire that totaled Randy Walls' Nova Nostalgia Funny Car. Incredibly Walls only suffered two minor burns but the car is totaled. Randy is one of the guys who could least afford a set back like this. There are many photos of the incident withing the coverage here.

Now it is our pleasure to present the end results of the efforts of Tony Thacker, Steve Gibbs, Greg Sharp, Wayne Allison and the rest of the staff at the NHRA Wally Parks Motorsports Museum. Many kudos as well to Blake and John Bowser and the Famoso Raceway staff for superbly preparing the facility - especially the track itself. Super prepped - now super smooth.

 

Photos by: Bob Brown, Jason Ellis, Steve Justice, Dan Kaplan, Tim Hanaseth, John Ewald, Pam Schavrien, Paul Hutchins and Don Ewald.

 

First Qualifying Session - Friday

3:05 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 64 degrees, relative humidity 44 percent, barometer 29.76 inches.

Note: The first qualifying session was scheduled to go off at 3:00PM and it did. But at 3:10PM, after five Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragsters completed their first qualifying runs, rain postponed the completion of the program for the day. The remaining cars (including Harris) were scheduled to take their first attempt at At 10:00AM on Saturday.

 

The first car out was Shannon Stewart in the newly front-halfed (after a crash at Boise) Circut Breaker of Bob Richardson. He had a single to make sure the car behaved correctly.

 

 

 

Stewart, being the first fuel car to test the starting line, left hard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car was straight as a string, but sounded just a bit lazy at half track to 1000ft. Nonetheless Stewart's 6.012 at 228.42 was a nice opening salvo.

 

 

As the clouds overhead darkened, the first pair to take a shot at qualifying was Scott Mason in the potent Utah based Chevy powered "Sudden Impact".  And in the other corner was Howard Haight in Butch Blair's "Fugowie!".

 

 

Both drivers got off the starting line wihout a hint of tire smoke.

 

 

 

 

Mason was on one when the small flash out of the left back led to a huge flash and a loud bang from the supercharger. His 5.934 at 238.66 would cost him a bullet.

 

Haight carded an off pace 6.073 at 223.15.

 

 

Next out was Pete "Fritz" Kaiser in the Ground Zero entry and John Shoemaker in his "American Eagle" fueler.

 

 

 

Kaiser's ride left very hard while Shomaker's a bit soft.

 

 

Kaiser clocked a stout 5.885 at 243.04 while Shoemaker coasted through with a 6.314 at 215.77.

 

First Qualifying Session - Part 2 - Saturday

Friday's rain lingered until early Saturday so the 10:00AM schedule was moved to noon.

Saturday morining wasn't exactly the dawn of a beautiful day but with deserved optimism the track prep went on as scheduled.

 

 

By the time the first pair of Top Fuel cars fired up it was a sold out crowd under clearing skies.

 

 

12:09 p.m. the first pair out was Rick White in the Neal & White car and Jason Richey in Dave Smith's "Nitro Fever".

 

 

 

 

Neither car was a slouch out of the gate.... White was dumping a lot of clutch dust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

White stopped the clocks with a clean 5.998 at 242.78. Richey was a tad quicker with a 5.960 at 249.79 but used up several pistons in the process.

 

 

After a topend clean up Rick Rogers in the Full Throttle News entry and Mark Malde in "The Birky Bunch" did their burnouts.

 

 

 

 

 

Malde had a '5' going until about the 330 mark when the run unraveled. The car jumped out of the groove and he had to pedal. Rogers was off pace at the hit with a 1.311 60 ft time.

 

 

 

 

Both cars ended up clicking early and coasting through with 8 second times. They would have one more shot to make the show.

 

 

Jack Harris in John Rodeck's "Paso Posse" car was paired with Rick Williamson in the lightly raced Hot Rod Bill entry. They both do their first burnout of the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both cars left together but Harris' car was on the soft side and went into tire shake early on.

 

 

After two or three throttle slaps Harris called it quits.

 

 

Williamson had no problems at all carding an easy 5.929 at 228.65.

 

 

Harris coasted through with a 8.597 at 101.10.

 

The seveth pair out would be a great final round at any track and would live up to its star billing here. Brett Harris in "Nitro Thunder" and Jim Murphy in his WW2 Racing fueler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both cars left as one - and hard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going into the first ET light Harris found a new way to get a world class oil bath. You will note that the spark plug tubes and wires are literally flying out of the valve cover on the left bank.

 

Murphy had none of the chaos going on nextdoor clocking a very stout 5.871 at 250.90... and this was their "baseline" run.

 

The right side follows suit. This is what happens when you don't put the tube seals into a set of new Alan Johnson heads. By the way, the run netted a 5.879 at 244.69 which would put him #2 at the time.

 

 

After a 15 minute clean up the next pair was Rick McGee in the Tedford & McGee "Overtime Special" and Mike McClennan in Mike Fuller's hot rod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both cars were a little soft at the hit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the 1200' mark McGee was done settleing with a 6.307 at 225.05.

 

McClennan legged it through with a 6.082 at 235.60.

 

Next out, and good to see, was Brendan Murry back in the seat after his horrible blower explosion and fire at Columbus earlier in June. He was paired with Denver Schutz in the "Rasin Express".

 

 

 

 

 

Murry felt something amiss in the engine after the burnout and shut off on the line. No such problem for Schutz.

 

 

 

 

On a nice clean pass Denver wheels his ride to a very nice 5.886 at 250.62.

 

 

A dejected Murry took the long tow back to the pits.

 

 

The next to last pair featured another two cars capable of not only taking the poll but setting records. Adam Sorokin in the RB Entertainment - Champion Speed Shop car and a red hot Brad Thompson in his LG Bless sponsored flyer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both drivers left with authority.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorokin was good until just before the 1000' mark when the car got loose and he aborted the run, pulling the chute to straighten out the car.

 

 

 

Sorokin slowed to a 6.371 at 156.63.

 

 

 

Thompson went low by a bunch stopping the clocks with a stunning 5.741 at 255.89 ... a pass well worth sacraficing some aluminm for. His incremental times: 60ft-1.043 sec., 330ft-2.648, 660ft-3.859/206.65mph, 1,000ft-4.876. Impressive to say the least.

 

 

 

 

The final pair in session one was Troy Green in the High Speed Motorsports flyer and Mendy Fry in the Arizona based late model 426 hemi powered car.

 

 

 

 

 

Green leaped out first as Fry's car was very soft - like hardly moving.

 

 

 

 

 

Knowing the run was junk, Fry clicked it very early and coasted to a 14.360 at 81.98.

 

Green encountered some problems at the 900' mark and shut off to a 6.904 at 141.77. This would give crew chief Johansen a baseline but would not be good enough to get into the show.

 

 

2nd Qualifying Session - Saturday

Eliminations - Sunday

Eliminations - Sunday Part 2

Funny Cars & All Winners

Randy Walls Fire

Other Cars - Pits - People

 

 

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