The Southwest Superchargers held its second gathering of 2009 April 28 at Penwell Knights Raceway, west of Odessa, Texas. Andy Mears "Banzai Racing" took home top prize from the oversize field of competitors.

         Time trials began for seventeen supercharged race teams under bright skies with strong breezes and moderate temps around 1:30 in the afternoon. Let the "good times" roll! Bill Norman led the Fabulous Fat Boys "Flashback" funster in an assault on the 1/4 mile, 7.18/191. WOW! In the other lane Ray Stringers small block dragster ran a career-quickest 7.3859/181.74. It was rapidly shaping up to be a special day. Next up Don David's "Corrosion Specialties" bantam altered went 7.3388/178.57 vs. Eddie Tidwell's 9.1927/104.31. Sue "Twisted Sister Racing" Stringers big block squeezed out an 8.054/168.54 against Andy Mears "Banzai" charge of 7.2984/192.31 (!) Newcomer Doug Kelly in his "Vigilante" altered displayed a respectable 7.7967/166.91 opposite Gary "Quick Thrill" Hills Max Wedge Mopar 7.2697/181.52. '08 Points Champ Julian Moody's "Pipeliner" team nursed his new power plant to a 7.4622/177.80 as the "Just for Kicks" dragster of Jacob Penner ran a 7.5741/169.94. Rookie SWSC driver Jason Kiscadon threw a belt on his first attempt. Mike "Voodoo Child" Jones 23t ran a nice 7.5181/184.96. Greg "The Gregger" Powell's funster small block made a 7.5689/175.30 vs. Jack Bartlett's "Black Viper Energy" 7.7281/170.58. Donnie Powell's first serious pass in 10 years was 8.5849/106.06. Finally Doug Meshirer's "Showtime Racing" entry failed to fire and Darrell Napier's unusual altered ran all-over for a 13.7875/48.36. 

         SWSC Eliminations kicked off as #1 Andy Mears (.010 off index) pulled out to run alternate Doug Meshirer. Mears came out on top with his 7.8176/136.45 moving to the next round. #3 Jacob Penner (.0259 off) vs. #14 Donnie Powell (.8849 off) went to Penner (9.2982/95.68) when Powell's car rolled the starting beams. Next up was #6 Jack Bartlett (.0360 off) against #11 Doug Kelly (.173 off) with Bartlett advancing via his 7.6346/164.29 as Kelly's new trans gave up at the starting line. #4 Julian Moody (.030 off) vs. #13 Sue Stringer (.454 off) came down to Moody advancing on a 7.6333/152.34 to Sues converter-eating 8.4235/162.69. #8 Mike Jones (.0819 off) and #9 Ray Stringer (.0906 off) were up next and Jones took the holeshot win to Rd 2, 7.6653/176.40 (.4952 r.t.) vs. Rays 7.6372/164.65 (.5732 r.t.). #7 Bill Norman (.0462 off) ran #10 Jason Kiscadon (.171 off). Norman advanced 7.7051/160.83 to Jason's 7.9825/163.70. #5 Greg Powell (.0311 off) met #12 Don David (.228 off) and Powell won as both drivers went under-index 7.5744/172.55 to David's worse 7.4566/167.97. #2 Gary Hill (.0129 off) ran #16 Darrell Napier and Hill won with his soft 8.1092/119.87 over Napier's wheel standing best of the day 10.1801/97.89. 

          In Rd 2 Elims #6 Jack Bartlett won over #3 Jacob Penner with a near perfect 7.6058/165.38 to 7.5511/172.81/ Next #1 Andy Mears eliminated neighbor #8 Mike Jones on a hole shot leave, 7.6554/161.93 (.4870 r.t.) to 7.6127/167.72 (.5322 r.t.). #2 Gary Hill advanced when #7 Bill Norman bulbed, 7.6178/152.91 to 7.8762/175.10. #4 Julian Moody took out #5 Greg Powell by running 7.6012/163.76 to Greg's 7.6508/171.10. But Greg Powell collected the Jerry Norman Race Cars Driver Bounty on Julian Moody by having a better reaction time than Moody .405 to .4211. And Mike Jones got his revenge on Mears by winning the Mears Mazda "Oh So Close" Award for losing by the closest margin of the event, .0025 seconds!

          The SWSC semi-final round began as #2 Gary Hill & #6 Jack Bartlett performed their burn out rituals. Hill got the win light when Bartlett fouled, 8.1158/112.19 vs. 8.3668/174.01. Then #1 Andy Mears and #4 Julian Moody squared off with Mears advancing to the final via his 7.6314/163.70 to Moody's 7.6407/173.95 (.0398 margin).

          So the SWSC final would again feature the #1 and #2 qualifiers going toe-to-toe for the accolades. Around midnight the Penwell night rumbled as both blown behemoths roared to life. Mears moved first and never looked back as he took the stripe for the win, 7.6757/169.11 to Hills under-index 7.5498/173.48.

          What a NIGHT! What an EVENT! The SWSC thanks the Staff and Crew of Penwell Knights Raceway for an excellent racing surface and great facility. We hope to see you again soon!

          Hang around as the SWSC next goes to Albuquerque National Dragway May 23-24 for a rare two-day event. We'll see you there!

63 runs down the 1/4 mile

27 runs over 170 mph

.0713 8-car spread (SWSC record!)

26 runs 7.50-7.70

18 attendees

FRiS