Brainerd Bounces Back with Tulsa Win
Tulsa Raceway Park - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Event #6 - September 25th, 2010
Race Report by Chris Graves
Photos by Jenny Huckabee

The SWJFA held their sixth event of the 2010 season at Tulsa Raceway Park showcasing during the Nitro Nationals event for the second straight year. Richard Brady brought a forty five point lead over Mike Millsap into Tulsa with two events left in the season after Tulsa. Eleven injected front engine diggers came to battle in T-Town including the debut of two new cars. Willie Brainerd debuted the “Black Gold” machine and Darrell Walden brought out his new dragster which would be driven this weekend by west coast heavy hitter Scott Parks, both cars had yet been down a track before arriving at Tulsa.

(Ken Hawkins)

Qualifying brought some fantastic passes by several teams with Ken Hawkins leading the pack with a stout 7.53 at 175 mph. Scott Parks followed closely behind in the “Walden Power Equipment” dragster with a best of 7.55 at 176 mph. Willie Brainerd wheeled his brand new car to an impressive 7.59 at 173 mph to qualify third in his first race since the Bowling Green Hot Rod Reunion in 2009. Mike Millsap’s “Sachse Rod Shop” dragster laid down a 7.66 at 173 mph and points leader Richard Brady rounded out the quick five with a nice 7.70 at 167 mph. The field was tight as they paired up for eliminations with nine of eleven cars under an 8.10 qualifying time. Hawkins would lead the field into first round for the first time this season.

(Willie Brainerd)

Final Qualifying Order:

1. Ken Hawkins (Poolville, Texas) – 7.53 @ 175
2. Parks / Walden (Kilgore, Texas) – 7.55 @ 176
3. Willie Brainerd (Mounds, Oklahoma) – 7.59 @ 173
4. Mike Millsap (Sachse, Texas) – 7.66 @ 173
5. Richard Brady (Ft. Worth, Texas) – 7.70 @ 167
6. Steve Dunkin (Aledo, Texas) – 7.78 @ 176
7. Ted McCord (Claremore, Oklahoma) – 7.95 @ 165
8. Ron Muncy (Weatherford, Texas) – 8.00 @ 165
9. Bryan Briggs (Lake Charles, Louisiana) – 8.04 @ 162
10. Neal Rogers (Luling, Texas) – 8.73 @ 143
11. Howard Tribbey (Tulsa, Oklahoma) – 9.11 @ 144

(Richard Brady)

Ted McCord started eliminations and advanced with an 8.02 at 165 mph after drawing the bye run. Steve Dunkin and Neal Rogers lined up in the first pair and Dunkin’s 4.80 at 167 mph advanced over Rogers’ 8.69 at 149 mph. Willie Brainerd and Richard Brady paired up in a big match-up. Brady was off the line first by a considerable margin and clicked off a 7.88 at 167 mph by Brainerd caught him in the lights with a quicker 7.60 at 164 mph to take the win. Ken Hawkins ran low elapsed time of the round with a stout 7.52 at 175 mph to take out Bryan Briggs’ 7.99 at 164 mph.

(Bryan Briggs)

(Neal Rogers)

In the next pair, Mike Millsap went red on a nice 7.79 pass to hand the win to Ron Muncy who advanced with an 8.03 at 164 mph. Scott Parks and Howard Tribbey closed the round and Parks cruised to a stout 7.54 at 176 mph to advance after Tribbey was forced to shutoff. The first and second places cars in the points standings were on the trailer after first round which opened the door for Ken Hawkins and Steve Dunkin to make up some ground.

(Howard Tribbey)

(Ken Hawkins and Mike Millsap)

First Round Results:

(W) Ted McCord (.072 rt) 8.02 @ 165 mph vs. (L) Bye Run
(W) Steve Dunkin (.425 rt) 7.80 @ 167 mph vs. (L) Neal Rogers (.432 rt) 8.69 @ 149 mph
(W) Willie Brainerd (.299 rt) 7.60 @ 164 mph vs. (L) Richard Brady (.051 rt) 7.88 @ 167 mph
(W) Ken Hawkins (.088 rt) 7.52 @ 175 mph vs. (L) Bryan Briggs (-.044 rt) 7.99 @ 164 mph
(W) Ron Muncy (-.006 rt) 8.03 @ 164 mph vs. (L) Mike Millsap (-.050 rt) 7.79 @ 171 mph
(W) Scott Parks (.169 rt) 7.54 @ 176 mph vs. (L) Howard Tribbey (Broke)

(Steve Dunkin)

Ken Hawkins, third in points, and Steve Dunkin, fourth in points, faced off in second round as Hawkins got the jump and never looked back advancing with a 7.57 at 174 mph to Dunkin’s 7.80. Scott Parks clicked off a 7.62 at 177 mph to take out Ted McCord who went red with a 7.94 elapsed time. Ron Muncy also jumped the tree trying to get a jump on the quicker Willie Brainerd with Brainerd’s 7.59 advancing over Muncy’s 7.98. Hawkins, Parks and Brainerd advanced to the semi-final with Parks drawing the bye run into the final round.

(Ron Muncy)

Second Round Results:

(W) Ken Hawkins (.033 rt) 7.57 @ 174 mph vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (.137 rt) 7.80 @ 168 mph
(W) Scott Parks (.162 rt) 7.62 @ 177 mph vs. (L) Ted McCord (-.020 rt) 7.94 @ 167 mph
(W) Willie Brainerd (.305 rt) 7.59 @ 173 mph vs. (L) Ron Muncy (-.028 rt) 7.98 @ 164 mph

Parks came out and lit the boards with an outstanding 7.49 at 177 mph to bring the Walden Power Equipment dragster into the finals in their debut event and set the SWJFA series quarter mile elapsed time record. Willie Brainerd and Ken Hawkins paired up in a battle of heavyweights. Hawkins lost an oil line on the burnout and was forced to shutoff giving Brainerd a solo into the final with a 7.57 at 161 mph. A tough break for Hawkins who was looking to play catch-up in the points standings after the two in front of him went out early.

Semi-Final Round Results:

(W) Willie Brainerd (.-.018 rt) 7.57 @ 161 mph vs. (L) Ken Hawkins (Broke)
(W) Scott Parks (.006 rt) 7.49 @ 177 mph vs. (L) Broke

A pair of brand new, previously un-tested cars were lined up in the final round with Parks having lane choice over Brainerd. The drivers were amped up for this one as Parks jumped the tree with a -.035 reaction time unfortunately wasting a nice 7.57 at 175 mph while Brainerd was off the line an immediately headed for the wall. Brainerd wisely lifted and coasted to a 13.71 winning time to claim his first SWJFA series win in the “Black Gold” dragster out of Mounds, Oklahoma.

Final Round Results:

(W) Willie Brainerd (.033 rt) 13.71 @ 63 mph vs. (L) Scott Parks (-.035 rt) 7.57 @ 175 mph

(Scott Parks and Darrell Walden)

(Willie Brainerd Winners Circle)

“There a whole list of people I want to thank for helping me with this car. It’s a brand new Mike Brown Chassis, with an engine by Wes-Mar Motorsports. This was our first race since the middle of last year so we were excited just to be racing again, much less to take home the win. It was very special because my son Kevin and daughter Wendy were here to see me race. I also owe many thanks to my wife and crew chief Kat. Last but not least, Jon Hansen and Bob McKray, who helped us out tremendously this weekend,” said Brainerd.

The SWJFA series takes a month off, before heading south to San Antonio Raceway for the Texas Timing Association State Championships on October 23rd. Then they will close their season at Dallas Raceway on Saturday, November 6th. The SWJFA would like to thank Smiley’s Racing Products, Champion Spark Plugs and Bob McKray Performance for their support in the 2010 racing season.

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