Wed, 10 Apr 2013, 21:33 PM Jones Claims Spring Nostalgia Nationals Victory

Courtesy of Chris Graves Photo copyright 2013 Max Cackle Photography

DENTON, Texas -- The Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered Association held their 2013 season opener at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas with a strong field of sixteen nitro and alcohol burning fuel altereds on hand. The long awaited first event of the nine race season brought some new looks to the pits and the return of some old faces. John Broussard and Raymond Dawson showed off their new look machines while Doyle Smith debuted his "Chemical Reaction" nitro burner with Clint Brown behind the wheel and Joe Farris' entered his first OFAA event in the "Grease Monkey" entry from Arkansas. Making his return to OFAA competition was former series event winner Donny McSwain in his vibrant "Wild One" blown alcohol altered. Kebin Kinsley rounded out the "new car news" making his OFAA debut driving the Roger Hennen owned "Nitro Junkie" entry.

The OFAA series welcomed back returning bonus program sponsors Good Vibrations Motorsports, North Texas Diesel Automotive & Performance, Wizard's Warehouse, Competition Sales of Dallas and 3rd Coast Commissioning Service for the 2013 campaign. Tom Akers of Wizard's Warehouse made the tow to North Star Dragway and was on-site with parts in stock, ready to cheer on the teams as they battled down the all concrete eighth mile in Denton, Texas.

Donny McSwain

Shortly after 5 p.m. the call went out to bring the cars to the lanes for the first qualifying session of the season. Earlier in the day, several teams participated in an optional test session which proved to be costly for some. Donny McSwain encountered severe tire shake and sent body parts flying off the back of the "Wild One" entry while Donnie Massey's "Showtime" machine was also sidelined with clutch damage from a test run on Friday night. John Broussard's day came to an early end with engine troubles resulting from their test pass Saturday afternoon leaving thirteen teams ready to make the call for qualifying.

Mark Bowman's "Blown Income"

Mark Bowman's "Blown Income" lined up with Kebin Kinsley in the "Nitro Junkie" to start off the action as Bowman clicked off a nice and clean 4.13 at 175 mph to Kinsley's 4.35 at 154 mph. Mary Reep picked up where she left off last season, living in the three second zone, with a strong 3.90 at 176 mph in the "Grim Reeper". Bobby Marriott posted a smooth 4.05 at 165 in the "Shockwave" while Jimmy Jones bested that with a 4.03 at 147 mph in the "Texas Tremor".

As the first qualifying session continued, Chris Trussell blasted to a 3.97 at 182 mph in the "Assassin" which was upped by Howard Farris' 3.92 at 201 mph in the "War Wagon" in the following pair. Aaron Leyda's 4.08 in the Dale Wilkens owned and tuned "Hemi Hunter" out of Kansas put that team solidly in the field as the session wrapped up and cars returned to the pits for final qualifying preparations.

Bobby Marriott

Terry Brian was outside the field looking in as he rolled through the water box to start the final qualifier. After two forgettable runs, Brian put down a very good 4.03 at 175 mph to get the "II N'Tense" machine into the field. DoDad Burton laid down one of his best passes to date with a solid 4.14 at 171 mph in the "Free Spirit" altered and Bobby Marriott stepped up to a thundering 3.90 at 189 mph. Clint Brown provided the most excitement of the final session when he went on a wild ride into the sand trap and catch net in the "Chemical Reaction" nitro burner. Brown was un-injured but the car did suffer some front end damage and with twelve cars still in action the field was set, led by Chris Trussell.

Final Qualifying Order: 
1. Chris Trussell (Canton, Texas) - 4.029 (3.970) @ 182
2. Jimmy Jones (Cleburne, Texas) - 4.032 @ 147
3. Terry Brian (New London, Texas) - 4.038 @ 175
4. Bobby Marriott (Pilot Point, Texas) - 4.05 @ 165
5. Howard Farris (Springtown, Texas) - 4.072 (3.927) @ 201
6. Aaron Leyda (Bartlesville, Oklahoma) - 4.08 @ 176
7. Mary Reep (Austin, Texas) - 4.092 (3.907) @ 176
8. Mark Bowman (Edmond, Oklahoma) - 4.13 @ 175
9. DoDad Burton (Tyler, Texas) - 4.14 @ 171
10. Kebin Kinsley (Arlington, Texas) - 4.35 @ 154
11. Raymond Dawson (Nevada, Texas) - 4.63 @ 112
12. Clint Brown (Honey Grove, Texas) - 5.21 @ 143
13. Joe Farris (Eureka Springs, Arkansas) - 6.32 @ 106
14. John Broussard (Lake Charles, Louisiana) - No Time
15. Donnie Massey (Little Elm, Texas) - No Time
16. Donny McSwain (Rockwall, Texas) - No Time

First Round Eliminations:
Chris Trussell's flame throwing "Assassin" nitro burner opened the first round of eliminations on a competition bye run after Kebin Kinsley was sidelined with a burnt piston. Trussell thundered off the line and posted a stout 3.90 at 188 mph to take the round win and set the pace in what would be a wildly entertaining round.

Clint Brown

A battle of heavy hitting blown alcohol machines rolled out next as Jimmy Jones and Mary Reep pulled into the beams. With the rpms screaming they were off the line hard and Jones led from start to finish with a 3.92 at 174 mph to Reep's 4.12 at 155 mph.

Howard Farris and Raymond Dawson were the next pair out but Farris quickly ran into issues unable to get his car into reverse and was forced to idle down the track. Dawson waited for the track to clear and left hard off the line in his new look "High Octane" entry but immediately reached for the sky going into a huge wheel stand before slamming back down to Earth. A wild ride, but a round win none the less for Dawson.

Kebin Kinsley

In the most entertaining pass of the round, a wild pedal fest erupted between Terry Brian and Mark Bowman's blown alcohol entries. Both cars shook and smoked early and after several pedal jobs from both drivers, Brian took the stripe with a 5.38 at 154 mph to Bowman's quicker but loosing 5.33 at 145 mph.

As eliminations continued DoDad Burton and Bobby Marriott rolled out next. Burton had a good starting line advantage but Marriott's horsepower was enough to drive around for the win, posting a 3.95 at 187 mph to Burton's 4.32 at 165 mph.

In the final pair of the round, Aaron Leyda and Joe Farris squared off, the winner having to run a career best pass below Jones' 3.92 to advance to the finals as one of the quickest two winners of the round. Although not quick enough for a ticket to the final, Leyda took the nod with a clean and strong 4.09 at 174 mph to Farris' 6.32.

Jimmy Jones's 3.92 and Chris Trussell's 3.90 held up for the quickest two winning elapsed times of round one, which earned them a trip to the last dance. A classic OFAA nitro vs. alcohol final round pairing was set as the teams returned to the pits to tune up their machines for the final race of the night.

First Round Eliminations: 
(W) Chris Trussell (.205 rt) 3.90 @ 188 mph
(L) Competition Bye Run

(W) Jimmy Jones (.057 rt) 3.92 @ 174 mph
(L) Mary Reep (.549 rt) 4.12 @ 155 mph

(W) Raymond Dawson (.324 rt) 13.32 @ 33 mph
(L) Howard Farris (Broke)

(W) Terry Brian (.066 rt) 5.38 @ 154 mph
(L) Mark Bowman (.258 rt) 5.33 @ 154 mph

(W) Bobby Marriott (.197 rt) 3.95 @ 187 mph
(L) DoDad Burton (.104 rt) 4.32 @ 163 mph

(W) Aaron Leyda (.048 rt) 4.09 @ 174 mph
(L) Joe Farris (.364 rt) 6.32 @ 106 mph

As the two top performers of the night fired their engines for the final time, a favorite was hard to pick. Jones, two time defending series Champion was up against the most consistently quick car of the night in Trussell. In fine fashion, the cars thundered off the line with Jones taking a slight advantage. Trussell's car was belching flames to the tip of the rear wing and they were side by side as they went down the track. At the stripe, Jones took the win light with a 3.87 at 185 mph to Trussell's 3.99 at 181 mph and the Kelley & Jones "Texas Tremor" team clinched the victory at the season opener.

Final Round Eliminations:
(W) Jimmy Jones (.068 rt) 3.87 @ 185 mph
(L) Chris Trussell (.089 rt) 3.99 @ 181 mph

Jimmy Jones defeated Chris Trussell

For Jones it was a win that stood out above the rest as his competitors were to thank for his success on this night. Jones discovered a broken frame rail upon unloading his car on Saturday afternoon and with the help of Allen Meyer, Terry Brian and Kebin Kinsley the car was repaired in time to make the show and eventually take the win. A true example of racers coming to the rescue of their fellow competitors in a time of need, a common occurrence in the OFAA series.

"I'd like to thank everyone who helped our team get the car repaired for the race, without them we would have missed the race completely. It's a good feeling to know you've got some many friends in the pits and when someone needs something, you've got the guy you might soon be running in the other lane there helping you get ready for the round. My crew did an outstanding job and none of this would be possible without my partner Paul Kelley. We got it done tonight, but it wasn't easy, there's a lot of competition in the OFAA and this year will surely be a challenge," said Jones.

Jimmy Jones celebrates win with crew.

The Painless Performance Outlaw Fuel Altered Association has a weekend off before rolling north to Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma for round 2 of 9 in the 2013 series tour. Jones holds a slight points lead over Trussell with plenty of points hungry competitors ready to share the spotlight. To see more photos from North Star Dragway and find out the next time you can see the OFAA series in person visit them online at www.ofaa.net.

Bonus Program Winners:
Good Vibrations "Quick Reaction Time" - Aaron Leyda (.048) Wizard's Warehouse "Finalists Bonus" - Jimmy Jones & Chris Trussell North Texas Diesel "Quickest Rd. 1 Non-Finalist" - Bobby Marriott (3.95) 3rd Coast Commissioning "Best Burnout" - Kebin Kinsley Competition Sales of Dallas "Luck of the Draw" - Chris Trussell

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