Donovan and Scott Take Home B.H.R.A. Nationals Wins; Breazeal Crowned 2007 Champ
Event 5 of 5 – Texas Raceway – Kennedale, TX – August 3rd and 4th
The Southwest Junior Fuel Association wrapped up their debut season at Texas Raceway as a part of the spectacular 5th annual B.H.R.A Nationals to honor the late Bill Hielscher. With four races of the five race debut season in the books Keith Breazeal held a 45 point lead over Steve Dunkin in the Smiley’s Racing Products points standings which meant the championship was technically still up for grabs! A season high fourteen Jr. Fuel dragsters packed into Texas Raceway to entertain the fans who were lined up past the finish line. Mike Millsap has done a wonderful job heading up this new organization as well as participating in his own events with his Jr. Fueler. Breazeal dominated the first three events taking home three event wins but Oklahoma native Robert Donovan took the title at the last event in Denton, TX and looked very strong.
Friday night and Saturday evening the Jr. Fuelers qualified to set up an A and B field of dragsters. The quick eight would make up field A while the last six combined to form the B field. Odie Coker, fresh off his win at the NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion in Columbus, took Ron Ussery’s Carrollton Paint and Body sponsored dragster to the top spot of the A field with a 4.83 lap at 141 mph. Robert Donovan claimed the second spot just a few hundredths behind at 4.85 and Millsap jumped in the three spot with his nice 4.87. Chuck Rearick made his SJFA debut and his 5.19 at 131 mph was good enough for the bump spot in the A field. Rick Huckabee, Keith Breazeal, Richard Brady and Ricky Marshall all clicked off times quick enough to qualify for the A field heading into first round. Roy Rogers took the top spot in the B field with his 5.31 at 129 mph. Don Scott, Steve Dunkin, Greg Green, Mike Mauldin, and Travis Beardmore also made the show in the B field and it was time to pair up and kick off eliminations under the lights!
(Steve Dunkin and Mike Mauldin stage during Friday qualifying)
Final Qualifying Order:
A Field:
1) Odie Coker (Dallas, TX) – 4.83 @ 141
2) Robert Donovan (Choctaw, OK) – 4.85 @ 140
3) Mike Millsap (Sachse, TX) – 4.87 @ 137
4) Ricky Marshall (Burleson, TX) – 5.02 @ 133
5) Richard Brady (Ft. Worth, TX) – 5.12 @ 131
6) Keith Breazeal (Cypress, TX) – 5.15 @ 131
7) Rick Huckabee (Aubrey, TX) – 5.17 @ 129
8) Chuck Rearick (Arlington, TX) – 5.19 @ 131
B Field:
1) Roy Rogers (Corpus Christi, TX) – 5.31 @ 129
2) Don Scott (Garland, TX) – 5.45 @ 120
3) Steve Dunkin (Aledo, TX) – 5.64 @ 124
4) Greg Green (Midlothian, TX) – 5.87 @ 91
5) Mike Mauldin (Wylie, TX) – 5.99 @ 112
6) Travis Beardmore (Mansfield, TX) – 6.33 @ 109
A Field Eliminations: Rick Huckabee lined up with points leader Keith Breazeal to kick off the first pair of Jr. Fuel A. Huckabee got out of the gate first with a .056 reaction to Breazeal’s .096. He needed all he could get and took the holeshot win in one of the closest races of the season, 5.22 to Breazeal’s quicker but loosing 5.18 (mov: .004 sec). Huckabee took out the points leader early but with Breazeal earning points for showing up, making both qualifying rounds and qualifying in the A field he clinched his first SJFA Championship! Although their day ended early the Cypress, Texas based team had a great season and came out on top. Congratulations!
“We had so much fun this season with all the great teams that make up the SJFA. When we won the first race at Shreveport after a long lay off from racing I thought it couldn't get any better than that, but to win the championship that was really awesome! I need to thank Johnny Spiegel for all he has done on the car and of course my crew: Jack Chittum & Keith Maguran. These three guys really don't get the credit they deserve. I would also like to thank Mike Millsap because he has really worked his tail off to make this group a success and I think it's starting to pay off! We are going to do a lot of work to the car during the off season to try to catch up performance wise with the fast guys. I'm sure everyone else is as well, so next season should be very exciting and we are looking forward to it,” said Breazeal.
Number one qualifier Odie Coker came out next lined up with Chuck Rearick. Rearick left early and Coker clicked off a nice 4.85 at 140 mph to advance to the semi-finals. Next up was a big match up between two of the quickest cars on the property, Donovan vs. Millsap. Both drivers cut great reaction times, Donovan with an astounding .003 light to Millsap’s very good .014. In a great side by side drag racing Donovan’s 4.86 at 139 mph defeated Millsap’s 4.90 at 135 mph. Ricky Marshall paired up with Richard Brady in the final pair of first round. Marshall’s 5.03 at 133 mph was enough to take out Brady’s 5.13 at 130 mph. What a great opening round in the A field!
Jr. Fuel A First Round Eliminations:
(W) Rick Huckabee (.056 rt) 5.22 at 127 mph vs. (L) Keith Breazeal (.096 rt) 5.18 at 130 mph
(W) Odie Coker (.175 rt) 4.85 at 140 mph vs. (L) Chuck Rearick (red light)
(W) Robert Donovan (.003 rt) 4.86 at 139 mph. vs (L) Mike Millsap (.014 rt) 4.90 at 135 mph
(W) Ricky Marshall (.034 rt) 5.03 at 133 mph vs. (L) Richard Brady (.050 rt) 5.13 at 130 mph
Huckabee knew he had a disadvantage in performance lining up against Donovan in the semi so he went for it on the tree. Huckabee toasted Donovan off the line with a .008 reaction time to Donovan’s hibernating .164 but the big horsepower car ran Huckabee down with a 4.86 at 140 mph to defeat Huckabee’s 5.21 at 128 mph. Donovan would advance to his second final round in a row against the winner of the Coker vs. Marshall match up. Marshall tried to get the advantage off the line and lit the red bulb by just two thousandths of a second going -.002 red. Coker clicked off a 4.88 at 139 mph to advance to his first SJFA final.
Jr. Fuel A Semi Final Eliminations:
(W) Robert Donovan (.164 rt) 4.86 at 140 mph vs. (L) Rick Huckabee (.008 rt) 5.21 at 128 mph
(W) Odie Coker (.044 rt) 4.88 at 139 mph vs. (L) Ricky Marshall (-.002 rt foul) 5.00 at 133 mph
(Odie Coker behind the wheel of Ron Ussery's dragster)
Wow! This final couldn’t get any better on paper as both cars had run nothing but 4.80 passes all night. In a stunning final round race both cars clicked off 4.854 elapsed times at 140 mph. Unfortunately for Coker he left -.008 red and gave the win to Donovan for his second straight SJFA event title which catapulted him to seventh in points after running just the two final events. Donovan represented Oklahoma very well in a field of all Texas based cars with an exception to his.
(Robert Donovan under the lights at Texas Raceway)
"It seems that every race that the SJFA puts on is better than the one before. Everyone is really stepping up and it is getting harder and harder to go rounds. Every round we went was basically decided at the tree because the cars were so even. In the final I felt it was going to come down to who red lit the least and we were fortunate enough to turn on the win light and take home another "SMILEY". I would really like to thank Mike Millsap and Smiley's Racing Products for giving us such a great series to run. Every single team is made of great people and every race has been a great time. We can’t wait until the start of next season," says Donovan.
Jr. Fuel B Eliminations: Steve Dunkin’s “Foolish Pleasure” lined up with Mike Mauldin to start eliminations in Jr. Fuel B. Dunkin got a “freebie” after Mauldin went -.007 red and clicked off a 5.44 at 125 mph to Dunkin’s off pace 6.03 at 112 mph. Don Scott lucked out and drew a bye run in first round but laid down a nice 5.44 at 120 mph to advance. Travis Beardmore left on Roy Rogers by five hundredths but Rogers ran him down with low elapsed time of first round in the B field, 5.35 at 129 mph to Beardmore’s 6.43 at 108 mph.
Jr. Fuel B First Round Eliminations:
(W) Steve Dunkin (.061 rt) 6.03 at 112 mph vs. (L) Mike Mauldin (-.007 red foul) 5.44 at 125 mph
(W) Don Scott (.127 rt) 5.44 at 120 mph vs. (L) Bye
(W) Roy Rogers (.132 rt) 5.35 at 129 mph vs. (L) Travis Beardmore (.083 rt) 6.43 at 108 mph
Don Scott had the best luck of any Jr. Fuel competitor at Kennedale as he drew the bye run again in the semi-final and clicked off a 6.71 at 64 mph to advance to his first final round. Roy Rogers got off the line first and ran his best elapsed time of the event with a nice 5.10 at 134 mph to defeat Steve Dunkin’s 6.78 at 107 mph. A first time winner was guaranteed in Jr. Fuel B as Scott and Rogers both advanced to their first career SJFA final round with Rogers being the favorite based on performance.
(Roy Rogers advanced to his first SJFA final round)
Jr. Fuel B Semi Final Eliminations:
(W) Don Scott (.106 rt) 6.71 at 64 mph vs. (L) Bye
(W) Roy Rogers (.109 rt) 5.10 at 134 mph vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (.147 rt) 6.78 at 107 mph
Both drivers were feeling the pressure of a final round for the first time and Rogers’ nerves got the best of him when he left before the tree activated. Scott also went red but most likely in reaction to Rogers leaving earlier. Scott clicked off a 5.96 at 80 mph to take his first SJFA win!
Jr. Fuel B Final Round Eliminations:
(W) Don Scott (-.196 rt) 5.96 at 80 mph vs. (L) Roy Rogers (.000 foul) No Time
(Don Scott took home his first SJFA at Kennedale)
Congratulations to Don Scott and Robert Donovan on their wins at the 5th Annual B.H.R.A. Nationals at Texas Raceway! The SJFA points season has now come to and end with Keith Breazeal winning over Steve Dunkin by a 39 point margin. A big thanks goes out to Smiley’s Racing Products for their support of the SJFA and to Mike Millsap for handling all the responsibilities as President.
"I think the season we very well for it’s first year I could not be happier. We never had less than seven or eight cars so we brought full fields to all our events and even had a two car field at Kennedale. I know of numerous new members already finishing their cars that will debut next season and it seems that the group will continue to grow. I’m looking forward to it, that’s for sure!" says Millsap.
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