Stouffer & Dunkin Duel In Denton
North Star Dragway - Denton, TX
Event #3 of 8
Report & Photos: Max Cackle Photography
The Texas Blown Fuel Association held their third point race of the season on Saturday, May 19th at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas where ten blown front engine dragsters and altereds came out to put on a show and battle down the eighth mile. Pleasant weather welcomed the series to North Texas and the T.B.F.A along with the Southwest Junior Fuel Association and a big line-up of other classes were ready to hit the strip.
Qualifying Highlights:
(Steve Matthews)
Steve Matthews came into Denton with the points lead fresh off his win two weeks prior at San Antonio Raceway. In the opening round of qualifying, Matthews posted a nice 4.69 at 149 mph to secure a spot in the top half of the field. Fellow Oklahoma native Ted McCord wheeled the “Senior Moment” machine owned and tuned by Mike Brown to a “perfect” 4.65 at 150 mph to take the top spot in the opening session.
(Ted McCord)
Chris Stouffer, Chris Graves and Steve Dunkin all clicked off 4.77 passes and Rick Grindstaff posted a solid 4.80 in the “Quarterflash II” entry. Eddie Taylor posted a 4.91 in the ‘Faded Memories” entry on his opening lap and Dustin Johnson put the “Fair Warning” blown altered in the fours with a 4.95 at 145 mph.
(Chris Graves)
(Wesley Darter)
T.B.F.A new comer Wesley Darter clicked off a 5.06 at 137 mph in his first event with the series in his blown front engine dragster. Wes Breiten rounded out the field after the first session with a 5.08 at 141 mph as the teams returned to the pits.
(Dustin Johnson)
In the second qualifying session, Dustin Johnson stepped up to a nice 4.73 at 146 mph to qualify in the number three spot. Steve Dunkin also posted a 4.73, good for the number four position, while Rick Grindstaff rounded out the top half of the field stepping up to a 4.75 at 147 mph.
(Rick Grindstaff)
Chris Stouffer, Chris Graves, Wesley Darter and Wes Breiten used their opening round times to secure their qualifying positons while Eddie Taylor improved to a 4.85 at 142 mph to qualify number eight as the teams now were set to draw pairings and race for keeps.
Final Qualifying Order:
1) Ted McCord (Claremore, Oklahoma) - 4.65 @ 150
2) Steve Matthews (Ardmore, Oklahoma) – 4.69 @ 149
3) Dustin Johnson (Davis, Oklahoma) – 4.7392 @ 146
4) Steve Dunkin (Aledo, Texas) - 4.7396 @ 147
5) Rick Grindstaff (Dickinson, Texas) – 4.75 @ 147
6) Chris Stouffer (Cleburne, Texas) – 4.771 @ 150
7) Chris Graves (Carrollton, Texas) – 4.772 @ 146
8) Eddie Taylor (Arlington, Texas) – 4.85 @ 142
9) Wesley Darter (Kaufman, Texas) – 5.06 @ 137
10) Wes Breiten (Wolfe City, Texas) – 5.08 @ 141
(Steve Dunkin)
Opening the first round of eliminations, Steve Dunkin lined up with Rick Grindstaff and this one was decided on the starting line as Grindstaff left before the tree came down, while Dunkin clicked off a solid 4.69 at 148 mph to advance in the “Foolish Pleasure II” entry.
(Wes Breiten)
Wes Breiten and Wesley Darter lined up next, Darter in his first T.B.F.A. elimination round up against the veteran Breiten. Breiten had the advantage off the line and his 5.05 at 136 mph was enough to take out Darter’s 5.12 at 143 mph. Darter looked good in his debut with the series and is looking forward to the next event, back at North Star Dragway, July 21st.
(Chris Stouffer)
The Wes’ were through, now it was time for a battle of Chris’. Chris Stouffer and Chris Graves lined up next in their blown slingshots. Graves was off the line first by a slim margin in the “Blown Inheritance” dragster, but drifted toward the centerline and had to lift while Stouffer posted a clean 4.75 at 133 mph to advance in the “Defiant” entry owned and tuned by Carl Meador.
As eliminations continued, Ted McCord and Steve Matthews lined up in a great race, both drivers with strong reaction times off the line and they were side by side through the traps. Matthews posted a break-out 4.61 at 150 mph to McCord’s break-out 4.63 at 150 mph, the win going to McCord for breaking out the least in a great side by side drag race.
(Eddie Taylor)
Dustin Johnson and Eddie Taylor closed the round and Johnson used a starting line advantage to take the holeshot win, Johnson’s 5.04 at 144 mph taking out Taylor’s quicker but loosing 4.98 at 144 mph. Johnson, Dunkin, Breiten and Stouffer moved on to the semi-final as the four quickest winners above the index.
First Round Results:
(W) Steve Dunkin (.074 rt) 4.69 @ 148 mph vs. (L) Rick Grindstaff (No Time – Foul)
(W) Wes Breiten (.015 rt) 5.05 @ 136 mph vs. (L) Wesley Darter (.371 rt) 5.12 @ 143 mph
(W) Chris Stouffer (.056 rt) 4.75 @ 133 mph vs. (L) Chris Graves (.042 rt) 5.70 @ 82 mph
(W) Ted McCord (.014 rt) 4.63 @ 150 mph vs. (L) Steve Matthews (.024 rt) 4.61 @ 150 mph
(W) Dustin Johnson (.104 rt) 5.04 @ 144 mph vs. (L) Eddie Taylor (.211 rt) 4.98 @ 144 mph
After some great side by side racing in the opening round, the semi-final was just as close as Chris Stouffer and Wes Breiten started the action. They were dead even off the line with .035 reaction times and were still side by side at the 330’. Stouffer pulled ahead by a half a car length at the stripe and took the win with a 4.69 at 139 mph to Breiten’s close 4.75 at 146 mph. Stouffer advanced to his second straight final after posting a runner-up finish at San Antonio.
(Steve Dunkin)
Steve Dunkin and Dustin Johnson staged up next in the last pair of the round. Johnson took over a tenth of a second advantage off the line and was ahead at half track, but Dunkin charged by in the lights and took the win by a nose. Dunkin’s 4.74 at 147 mph got the nod over Johnson’s 4.89 at 1147 mph in another close drag race. This advanced Steve Dunkin to his first Texas Blown Fuel final round to face the defending series Champion, Chris Stouffer.
Semi-Final Round Results:
(W) Chris Stouffer (.035 rt) 4.69 @ 139 mph vs. (L) Wes Breiten (.035 rt) 4.75 @ 146 mph
(W) Steve Dunkin (.183 rt) 4.74 @ 147 mph vs. (L) Dustin Johnson (.077 rt) 4.89 @ 147 mph
Two blown front engine dragsters were left standing, Dunkin and Stouffer, as the call went out to fire em’ up for the final round duel. After side by side burnouts the cars crept into the beams and Stouffer was off the line first by a bunch and lead the entire way to his first win of the season, posting a 4.67 at 139 mph over Dunkin’s 4.85 at 147 mph.
Final Round Results:
(W) Chris Stouffer (.073 rt) 4.67 @ 139 mph vs. (L) Steve Dunkin (.505 rt) 4.85 @ 147 mph
(Team "Defiant" - North Star Dragway Winners)
“We are blessed to grab our first win of the year. It was great to have several of our friends and family members there to enjoy it with us. We want to thank all of them for their support. We’d also like to thank Pete Riola at AMS Racing Engines, Boyd’s Machine, Troy Green and Spud Miller at Fuel Injection Enterprises for getting repairs done and putting us back on the track! We’ll see you at the next one!” said Carl Meador, owner and crew chief of the “Defiant” dragster.
For team “Defiant” it was the first win of the season and a step forward in defending their Championship title. With the big win, they are now just one point behind points leader Steve Matthews with Steve Dunkin following closely behind in third.
(Team "Foolish Pleasure II" - North Star Dragway Runner Up)
Steve Matthews earned his second win of the season in a delayed final round match-up from the season opener at the Texas Motorplex. Matthews and Rick Grindstaff lined up in the final from the Motorplex, ran right after the final round in Denton, and Matthews led from start to finish posting a 4.72 at 138 mph to Grindstaff’s close 4.77 at 132 mph.
(Motorplex Make Up Final - Grindstaff "Near" vs. Matthews "Far")
Ennis Make-Up Race Final Round Results:
(W) Steve Matthews (.063 rt) 4.72 @ 138 mph vs. (L) Rick Grindstaff (.132 rt) 4.77 @ 132 mph
(Steve Matthews - Texas Motorplex Winner)
(Team "Quarterflash II" - Texas Motorplex Runner Up)
This win kept Matthews in the points lead and Rick Grindstaff’s runner-up finish from the Motorplex event kept him in the top five, just behind Ted McCord. McCord claimed all three bonuses from North Star including the Good Vibrations “Quick Reaction Time” bonus, the AMS Racing Engines “Top Qualifier” bonus and the Competition Sales of Dallas “Luck of the Draw” bonus. The next T.B.F.A. event is scheduled for July 21st back at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas.
Click Here to see photos from Denton!
Good Vibrations Quick Reaction Time Bonus - Ted McCord (.014)
AMS Racing Engines Top Qualifier Bonus - Ted McCord
Competition Sales of Dallas "Luck of the Draw" - Ted McCord
