Powell Pummels the Pack @ Caprock
The Southwest Superchargers put on their latest show August 10 @ Caprock Motorplex, and Andrews' Texas resident Greg Powell took home the winners share in his Mustang-bodied funny car "GPR Darkness" Fourteen SWSC believers rolled out their iron in honor of former SWSC chief Jerry Norman at the event held in his honor. Jerry passed away last December suddenly, and all in attendance noted his loss. Memorial plaques were presented to his brother, Bill, still driving the iconic front engined dragster that belonged to them both, and another plaque was presented to his widow, Jowanna.
Qualifying for the eight positions in the field began with Clay Cunningham and the team (Dumas, TX) running a 5.0253/138.46. Brittny Blakely (Anthony, NM) went 4.8969/143.77 on her first try. Joe Navar (Dell City, TX) went 4.8408/143.31. Bill Norman (Odessa, TX) ran 4.9079/142.41. Andy Mears (Lubbock, TX) made a 5.0294/142.41. Jason Wise (Odessa, TX) went 4.8135/145.16. Sue Stringer (Alamogordo, NM) struggled to a 5.0343/141.07. Eddie "Munster" Tidwell (Andrews, TX) ran 5.0996/136.36. Don David (Odessa, TX) made a sharp 4.7237/144.69. Ray Stringer (Alamogordo, NM) in his fresh funny squeezed out a 5.2333/130.43. Lyle Byrum’s flopper (El Paso, TX) made a top notch 4.6996/149.01. Greg Powell's (Andrews, TX) f/c scored a nice 4.668/147.54. But Mike Jones (Lubbock, TX) hit the top rung with his 4.7046/150.50. It was going to be a tough night for our SWSC competitors!
Round 2 Qualifying went like this: C. Cunningham, a too-fast and officially ignored 4.500. J. Penner, 4.690/ 149.01, nice after missing the lights in Q-1. B. Blakely, better on a 4.694/150.50. G. Powell 4.695/147.06, closer to perfect. L. Byrum 4.699/149.01, dead on consistent. M. Jones 4.705/150.00. D. David 4.715/146.10. Do you see a pattern here? J. Navar 4.775/141.07. J. Wise 4.791/146.10. A. Mears 4.798/149.50. S. Stringer 4.997/130.06. E. Tidwell 5.068/135.95. R. Stringer 5.088/134.73. B. Norman 5.487/95.54 dropped valve.
Be advised the eighth mile index is 4.700. The competition at the laptop was going to look fierce, as we just had numerous runs within .01 of the number. Plus the close runs from Q-1! Here we go! #1 Qualifier Lyle Byrum (.00039 off index!). #2 Mike Jones (.0046). #3 Greg Powell in GPR Darkness (.005). #4 Brittny Blakely (.006). #5 Jacob Penner (.010). #6 Don David (.015). #7 Joe Navar (.075). #8 Jason Wise (.091). An entire 8-car qualified field in LESS than one tenth of a second! #9 Andy Mears, #10 Bill Norman, #11 Sue Stringer, #12 Clay Cunningham, #13 Eddie Tidwell, and #14 Ray Stringer. On with the show!
After a brief shower (on the track) and a swift drying effort by the grounds staff @ Caprock, it was time for Round 1 Competition! #3 Greg Powell vs. #6 Don David were out of the bleach box first. Don’s red-light negated his 4.717/145 and Greg took the win light with a sub-index pass of 4.681/146. Next pair was #1 Lyle Byrum and #8 Jason Wise. Lyle chopped down the tree but slowed, 4.742/139 giving way to Jason's better 4.701/149 (!). Pair 3 was #2 Mike Jones vs. #7 Joe Navar. Jones’s altered left better, but strayed off center, required a pedal job, handing the win to Joe, 4.763/137 to Mike’s 4.963/133. Finally, #4 Brittny Blakely met #5 Jacob Penner. In the closest race of the weekend in the SWSC, Brittny’s 4.717/151 LOST to Jacob’s 4.715/135 (BRAKES). Margin of victory at the stripe was just .013!
Rd 2 the Semi Finals started with #3 Greg Powell and #7 Joe Navar crossing the threshold and lining up. Joe lit the dreaded red eye first, giving up his 4.848/129 to Greg better 4.721/146. Then #5 Jacob Penner and #8 Jason Wise fired up to do battle on the Caprock surface. Both had .001 lights, but Jacobs was on the wrong side of the decimal, red light!. Jason's 4.716/139 outdistanced Jacob’s 4.732/147.
Around 11:00 the SWSC finalists pulled out of the staging lanes for the last pass of the night. #3 Greg Powell in his f/c "GPR Darkness", #8 Jason Wise in Mike Aton’s "Comfortably Numb 3". At the hit Wise's foul light lit, and Greg Powell had won the event, 4.739/141.51 to Jason's game 4.670/150.00. Congrats to GPR and Team. And another r/u for Jason Wise/Mike Aton & Team Artesia, great race! Let's do it again!
Greg Powell, winner at the Jerry Norman Memorial race! Good Job Greg!
Runner-up, Jason Wise driving for Mike Aton.. Great race guys!
WOW, what a great race. More fast passes, spectacular side-by-side racing, close qualifying! Fantastic! The SWSC is on to Abilene, Texas September 7 for our sixth race of the 2013 season. We’ll See You There!
4.70 passes 17
4.60’s 8
140 mph+ 30! (on the eighth mile!)
Spread (index to #8) .091 sec.
Good Vibrations Quick Light Award Jason Wise .001 Rd 1 (paid double for this race)
ATI Jet Quick Qualifier Jacob Penner
SWSC/Gary Smith Best Pass Jason Wise 4.701 Rd 1
Mears Mazda Winner Bonus Greg Powell
Mears Mazda R/U Bonus Jason Wise
The SWSC wishes to recognize the contributions of Don David, Andy Mears, Gary Smith and track owner Glenn Wright who helped get this special Jerry Norman Memorial Race in the books. We couldn’t have done it without your invaluable help! Many Thanks!
Floyd
