Fri, 1 Apr 2005, 07:55 AM 2005 Outlaw Fuel Altered Preview

Courtesy of Chris Graves

Jack Hodgson's "Southern Outlaw"

With every new year comes the excitement of a new season of drag racing. The Outlaw Fuel Altered Association is just a few weeks away from kicking off their seventh season on April 16th at Redline Raceway in Caddo Mills, TX. Over the past few seasons the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association has blossomed into one of the biggest match race organizations in the southwest. Along with this growth has come tougher competition and much bigger car counts. Last season we crowned a new champion, set new records and LaDonna Caulk became the first female driver to qualify for an event. It is simply hard to believe that this year could be better than the one before, but it looks like that is quite possible.

Many new cars and faces are popping up and the competition is getting more and more competitive as teams search for those few extra horsepower that could be the decision maker in the end of the points battle for 2005. Believe me, there will be some very strong cars that won't finish in the top 5 this season. Pre-season testing is winding down and many teams were spotted hitting up the local strip getting all the final little bugs figured out before the season opener.

The latest addition to the Craig Caulk Racing Team.

Some big headlines include Caulk Racing's addition of a second car; a 1948 Fiat bodied fuel burner. Jack Hodgson and the "Southern Outlaw" boys from Waco have themselves a brand new Hemi in their hot rod and a beautiful new look which will most likely take the cake for Best Appearing Car in 2005. The Cross Brothers of Athens, TX will make a very highly anticipated return after their spectacular fire during a match race in San Antonio last year which burned their "Crossways" nitro burner completely to the ground. Larry Reep will debut a brand new look 23 T bodied "Grim Reeper" machine as the crowd favorite 1948 Fiat body is now atop Craig Caulk's second car. Mitch King will again play spoiler and make a select number of events as time permits from his NHRA schedule and Donnie Massey's "Nitro Fish" will be back in action after a horrible accident last season in Sealy.

Some new faces from Oklahoma and Louisiana are expected to come mix it up this season while all the big dogs from last season will return and Jim Pruett will be on the hunt to defend his championship in the "Cone Shark."

During the 2004 OFA banquet, a few new safety rules were voted into effect and a safety committee was appointed to further insure a fun yet safe racing environment at all of our events. A few awards were handed out including Brad Rigler's "Toxic" took home Best Appearing Crew, Sean Belt's "Metal Mafia" team left with Best Appearing Car, and Allen Meyer tackled Sponsor of the Year honors with Meyer Enterprises.

Larry Reep's new look.

All in all this season should be yet another white-knuckle high-energy affair with a few radical twists and turns along the way. I mean can't that be expected when your racing fuel altereds? As for predictions, I am going to go ahead and say I see Brad Rigler having a career best finish in third and Larry Reep will end up second behind last year's champ Jim Pruett. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, it'll be fun! The association would like to thank Wizard's Warehouse and Meyer Enterprises for their support during the 2005 season. For more information visit us online at www.outlawfuelaltereds.com.

2005 Outlaw Fuel Altered Schedule:

April 16th               Redline Raceway         Caddo Mills, TX    1/8 mile
May 6th                  Lone Star Raceway       Sealy, TX          1/8 mile
May 7th                  Ben Bruce Raceway       Evadale, TX        1/4 mile
June 18th                Wichita Raceway Park    Wichita Falls, TX  1/8 mile
July 2nd                 Temple Academy Raceway  Temple, TX         1/8 mile
July 23rd                Pine Valley Raceway     Lufkin, TX         1/8 mile
September 3rd and 4th    Mo-Kan Dragway          Asbury, MO         1,000 foot
September 17th and 18th  Houston Raceway Park    Houston, TX        1/4 mile
October 15th             Abilene Drag Strip      Abilene, TX        1/8 mile
October 22nd             Temple Academy Raceway  Temple, TX         1/8 mile