Wed, 02 Dec 2020, 20:12 PM

Nothing Stops the Chaos as Singleton Scores Second Consecutive World Championship
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Courtesy of Chris Graves
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The challenges faced across the globe due to the pandemic created challenges in motorsports unlike
anything we've ever seen, but dedication and perseverance prevailed for the racers and fans of the
Funny Car Chaos Championship Series in 2020. It was no easy feat, with multiple events relocated
and rescheduled, yet a full eight race season was completed and that came with record setting
crowds and an impressive fifty five Funny Car teams participating in the tour this season. Over
$175,000 in payouts and bonus programs was paid out this calendar year thanks to continued support
from major series sponsors Red Line Shirt Club, Mears Mazda Volvo, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Spell
Concrete & Paving Services.
The 2019 season marked the debut of the points Championship for Funny Car Chaos which was won with
authority by Ken Singleton's "High Risk" alcohol Funny Car team from Chickasha, Oklahoma. Singleton
and company spent many years in the drag boat circles before making the switch to asphalt and
competing for four seasons in the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association, posting his best points finish
of fourth in 2017 before going Funny Car racing on the Chaos tour in 2018. Singleton's screw blown
alcohol burner is the last TA/FC campaigned by Texan Jimmy Jones and the hard working team has
proven that commitment and consistency can go a long way.
With a target on his back and plenty of stiff competition to handle, Singleton came into the 2020
season ready to defend his title and got off to a strong start by winning the Rodak's Custom Coffee
'A' Field at the season opener in March at Pine Valley Raceway in Texas over Chris Schneider. Steve
Vang's "Weekend Warrior" team made its series debut at the season opener and opened eyes with an
impressive win in the AlkyDigger 'B' Field defeating Tod Barker. Literally just hours after the
event, the reality of Covid-19 set in across America and the racing world was effectively shut down
completely.

Timoszyk defeated Loftin
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From mid-March through late May, Chris Graves and wife Tera, owners and operators of Funny Car
Chaos, push through the adversity and were able to resume racing, with limited spectators, as the
series made its debut at Iowa's Eddyville Raceway Park. With twenty five cars on the property in
what was one of the first drag racing events to be hosted since the global lock down, Steve
Timoszyk's "Detroit Tiger" claimed the 'A' Field win over Chuck Loftin and John Umlauf's nitro
burning "Mass Chaos" Monza earned the 'B' Field title defeating Chris Schneider.

Haddock vs. Singleton
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A busy June was on tap as two weeks after Iowa the series made its first ever appearance at Alamo
City Motorplex in San Antonio, Texas for the first of back to back races with a stop at Penwell
Knights Raceway in Odessa, Texas set for the following weekend. Under the watchful eyes of a great
crowd in San Antonio, Ken Singleton returned to his winning ways using a 3.72 to defeat big show
racer Terry Haddock's 3.75 in the 'A' Field final round. Clay Cunningham and team "Still Crazy"
from Dumas, Texas clinched their first career Chaos event win in the 'B' Field by defeating Jeff
Cameron.
On their trip home to the Texas panhandle, Cunningham and crew went for a wild ride as the left
steer tire on their toterhome exploded sending the rig into a ditch and almost on its side.
Thankfully, the team escaped the scary scene without injury, but this devastating blow sidelined
their racing efforts for the remainder of the year. This fall the team took ownership of a new rig
and they are gearing up for a full 2021 Chaos campaign with their alcohol burning Hemi.

Steve Vang
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On to Odessa the following weekend where the brewing rivalry between points leader Ken Singleton
and tough competitor Chuck Loftin heated up in the semi-finals. Loftin's "Motivation" nitro burning
Mustang from Seguin, Texas nipped Singleton in the lights with a 3.92 to a 3.95 and moved into the
finals of the 'A' Field where he took the win over Kebin Kinsley. Steve Vang scored his second 'B'
Field win of the season in Odessa over Nick Johnson. Meanwhile, the John Troxel owned, Chris
Schneider driven "Brutus" from Holts Summit, Missouri had been steadily collecting round wins and
precious points as the series reached the halfway mark. Schneider and company had tallied two
runner up finishes to this point.

Chris Schneider
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Thankful to be racing in Texas, where Covid restrictions were more lenient, the tour pressed on for
its third annual visit to historic Amarillo Dragway in late July. The "Brutus" team continued to
prove their talents with a 'B' Field win over Dustin Bradford, who made his first career final
round appearance in the "American Dream" alcohol burning Barracuda from San Antonio, Texas. The 'A'
Field in Amarillo went to Ken Singleton who defeated Kebin Kinsley who earned his second straight
runner up finish. Points hungry Chuck Loftin took a disappointing first round loss in Amarillo as
only two points races remained and every run would prove critical for the racers battling for a
spot in the Top 5 Championship payout.

Loftin vs. Poloson
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Smokin' Mo-Kan Dragway set the stage over Labor Day weekend for the second to last race of the
season and in a field of over twenty entries, the Gary Doak owned and Nick Poloson driven "Bucket
List" fuel burner claimed their first trip to the 'A' Field winners circle defeating a red lighting
Ken Singleton. 'B' Field honors went to Matt Nissen and the Nebraska based "Runnin' Down A Dream"
Corvette who defended their win from 2019 at Mo-Kan by taking out Colorado runner Keith Jackson. In
the first round of 'A' Field competition, Singleton and Schneider squared off in the pair that
would tell the tale for the 2020 title. Despite a .001 reaction time for Schneider, his 4.31 was no
match for Singleton's 3.92 and with a semi-final loss from Loftin, Singleton had accumulated enough
points at Mo-Kan to secure his second consecutive Funny Car Chaos World Championship by simply
attending the World Finals, set for October 2nd and 3rd back at Alamo City Motorplex in San
Antonio.
With an opening in the schedule after US 131 Motorsports Park was forced to cancel Funny Car Chaos
due to strict Covid restrictions, a non-points exhibition event was added with just a three week
notice at Nebraska's Kearney Raceway Park. This event was held September 11th and 12th, the weekend
after Mo-Kan Dragway. In an exciting move, Chaos welcomed fuel altereds to join the fun and help
fill the field on such short notice and with a field of fifteen floppers and four fuel altereds the
Chaos was on. In the 'A' Field, Ken Singleton used a 3.82 at 201 to defeat North Dakota's Jim Chase
who clicked off a close 3.96 at 188 mph. 'B' Field honors went to Nebraskan Justin Herbst who
defeated Nick Johnson.

Fred Farndon Retirement
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For all those in attendance in Kearney, the moment no one will forget was the official retirement
from drag racing for long time nitro racer Fred Farndon. Farndon made a 'final pass' for the crowd
and received a standing ovation from everyone on the property as he towed back in front of the
crowd, it was quite a moment for Farndon's team and the Chaos family. We'd like to thank Fred
Farndon for his dedication to the sport of drag racing and support of Funny Car Chaos in his final
chapter as a driver after a fifty plus year career behind the wheel of nitro burning drag racing
machines.

Ken Singleton is crowned Champion
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The last race of the year, the grand finale, the conclusion of a hard fought and exciting season
was upon the Chaos racers under 80 degree sunny Texas fall skies. Twenty funny cars from six
different states converged on Alamo town and showed no mercy. The title was locked up, Singleton
was crowned the 2020 Red Line Shirt Club Funny Car Chaos World Champion, but shuffling of points
positions two through five was certainly a possibility as racers in the Top 5 felt the heat to hang
onto their spots in the year end payout. Ronny Young in the famed "Blue Max" wowed the crowd with a
career best 3.63 on Friday night but the spotlight was quickly stolen by Allan Middendorf and the
"American Outlaw" nitro burner from Illinois tuned by Jake Sanders.

Allan Middendorf's record pass.
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Middendorf was making his first appearance of the season after battling with Singleton to the final
races of 2019 for the inaugural Championship, where he suffered a wild top end accident at the now
closed North Star Dragway, ending his title run. Business and the pandemic got in the way of
Middendorf's racing efforts in 2020, but the team wanted to close the year with one more weekend of
competition and came out swinging. In the first qualifying session, Middendorf destroyed the Funny
Car Chaos elapsed time record with a 3.38 at 234 mph lap, missing the mile per hour mark held by
Terry Haddock by only half a mile per hour. After everyone on the property picked their jaws up off
the floor, it was clear these teams came to play for keeps at the World Finals.
A stiff mix of alcohol and nitro burners were living in the three second zone as eliminations got
underway and by final round time, it was Middendorf and Singleton ready for the last dance of 'A'
Field competition. The 'B' Field finalists Tod Barker and Nancy Matter were both jazzed up to end
the year with a big win and it was Matter blasting to a 3.92 at 192 mph to score her second career
Chaos win for the "Guardian" team from Lewisville, Texas. Barker's runner up finish marked his
second of the season and a career best 4.16 at 170 mph will be momentum team "Back In Black" will
ride into 2021.
The 'A' Field final, the last pair of the season, the Champ versus the new world record holder,
strap in for this one folks. But, a mechanical issue plagued Middendorf on the burnout, lifting the
blower and deploying the parachutes as the "American Outlaw" coasted to a stop and Middendorf
climbed out to watch Singleton claim win number five on the season with a 3.73 at 206 mph solo
blast. Whew, what a season, it was hard to believe it was over.
The Funny Car Chaos series would like to congratulate Ken Singleton and team "High Risk" on back to
back series Championships! The top five also included runner up Chris Schneider, third place Chuck
Loftin followed by Steve Vang and Dustin Bradford. Fifty five teams competed in 2020, a truly
remarkable number given the circumstances presented by the pandemic. The series saw record
spectator attendances, new series performance records, lots of smiles, plenty of fun and the teams
provided very competitive side by side drag racing entertainment and that's what drag racing at
Funny Car Chaos is all about.
A big thanks goes out to Red Line Shirt Club, Mears Mazda Volvo, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Spell
Concrete & Paving Services, AlkyDigger, Rodak's Custom Coffee, Littlefield Blowers, Taylor
Motorsports Products, Decades of Wheels Museum, Best of Texas BBQ Sauce, S&W Race Cars, Victory
Driveline Components, Dooley & Sons Hot Rod Shop, Ellis County Custom Carts, Meyer Enterprises,
Performax Trailers, Precision Reprographics, Entech Oil and Tony Lewis Collision & Paint for their
support of the series through a trying 2020 campaign. The 2021 Championship Tour is shaping up to
be a dandy, for more info visit www.funnycarchaos.com.


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