Breiten, Godwin, Walden, Jarvis & Erwin Win SHRA Finals
by SHRA Media
The Southwest Heritage Racing Association presented by MalloryPrint.com held its sixth and final event of the season at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas. With a heavy amount of afternoon rain and temperatures dipping into the upper forties behind a cold front that blew through Saturday evening, the decision was made by NSD to postpone the event to Sunday, October 6th where sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70's were expected. That forecast came true and the SHRA Finals were concluded under blue skies and great racing conditions for the teams that were able to stay for Sunday's festivities. With two class Championships still up for grabs (Nostalgia Bracket & NE 2) the pressure was on in this final event of the season to determine inaugural SHRA class Championship winners, while the rest of the racers were looking to play spoiler and earn themselves title of SHRA Finals event winner to end the season on a high note.
HOT ROD BRACKET RESULTS:
In the no electronics Hot Rod class, Bill Cogswell had the Championship locked up heading into Denton. Cogswell was unable to attend the postponed event which was good news to the competition as Cogswell had won both previous events this season in his dominating 1971 Ford Pinto. As the eliminations entered the late rounds, Brad Thompson and Charles Powell were the first pair of cars to kick off the semi-final round. Powell left he line too soon with a -.146 reaction time as Thompson took the win light in his 1966 Pontiac Tempest with a 6.55 at 104 mph. Chris Jarvis benefitted from the competition bye run in his flamed silver 1967 Camaro posting a 6.45 at 108 mph to move into his first SHRA final round.
Thompson and Jarvis rolled through the water box and laid down big smoky burnouts, both searching for their first wins and hoping to take home the glory of winning the SHRA finals. Jarvis dialed a 6.40 and took a slight starting line advantage. Thompson dialed a 6.55 and the cars were side by side all the way through the eighth mile. At the stripe, Jarvis lit the scoreboards with a winning 6.44 at 107 mph to Thompson's break out 6.50 at 102 mph. Jarvis' crew erupted in celebration on the starting line and packed into the winners circle to celebrate his first SHRA win. Congratulations to Chris Jarvis and team on a great performance in Denton and with his win Jarvis moved up to finish second in Hot Rod points standings. Congratulations to Bill Cogswell on winning the inaugural SHRA Hot Rod class Championship!
Hot Rod Bracket Final Round Results:
(W) Chris Jarvis (.100 rt) (6.40 Dial) 6.446 @ 107 vs. (L) Brad Thompson (.122 rt) (6.55 Dial) 6.50 @ 102
NOSTALGIA BRACKET RESULTS:
The Nostalgia Bracket class provided the most heated racing in the bracket program of the SHRA Finals. Sharon Godwin and James Armstrong came into the event tied for first with another two way tie for second, followed by a three way tie for third, as numerous drivers had a chance at the Championship run. James Armstrong and the Leprechaun Racing team's chances ended early as they discovered a broken steering box in the pits before time trials, which kept them from making the call. After two time trials the remaining contenders prepared for a very important opening round of eliminations.
In an unexpected turn of events, Sharon Godwin and Jimmy Haar, both top runners in the points, were defeated in the opening round. Godwin still held the lead as elimination rounds continued but her lead was quickly dwindling as John Erwin racked up round wins in his 1969 Camaro. Erwin came into the event tied for third in points and as the ladder came into the late rounds, Erwin had a chance to claim the points lead with a win in the semi-final round against Kim Humphrey.
Humphrey dialed a 5.37 to Erwin's 5.47. This one ended on the starting line when Humphrey went -.012 red allowing John Erwin to cruise to the round win and in turn claiming the points lead from Godwin, locking in the Nostalgia Bracket Championship! Art Howard advanced to the semis in his Chevy Nova and benefitted from the competition bye run to meet Erwin in the final round.
Erwin stuck with his 5.47 dial in for the final ready to take on Howard who dialed a 6.07. The drivers were almost identical off the starting line, Erwin with a slight advantage. At the stripe, Howard went 6.08 on his 6.07 but Erwin was better with a 5.476 on his 5.47 and that doubled up his efforts as he was crowed not only class Champion but also the event winner of the SHRA Finals! Congratulations to John Erwin and company on an impressive outing at North Star Dragway!
Nostalgia Bracket Final Round Results:
(W) John Erwin (.031 rt) (5.47 Dial) 5.476 @ 126 vs. (L) Art Howard (.037 rt) (6.07 Dial) 6.08 @ 112
NOSTALGIA ELIMINATOR 3 RESULTS:
The rain delayed Sunday event took its toll on the Nostalgia Eliminator car count, but the teams who were able to stay another day provided some great racing at the SHRA Finals. In the 5.50 index Nostalgia Eliminator 3 class, Doug Morrison entered the event with a commanding lead in the points standings, but second through fifth was up for grabs as the top contenders were ready to battle for position in the top three which would earn SHRA year-end payout monies. Ron Muncy held the number two spot, but was sidelined from competing after a testing accident on Friday night where Muncy's injected altered went sky high off the starting line after his wheelie bar broke. The impact when the car came back to Earth broke many parts and bent the frame on Muncy's beautiful machine. An unfortunate result for Muncy and company who looked to finish the season with a win in NE 3.
With Muncy out, Ron Walden and Dusty Rose had a chance to climb the charts. The nostalgia eliminator teams were welcomed with incredible weather conditions and were running in better air than they had all season, which resulted in a lot of runs under the 5.50 index during time trials. This created some entertaining racing as drivers adjusted their tune-ups and strategies to run the number. After two qualifying sessions, Doug Morrison ended up claiming his first number one qualifying position of the season with a 5.66 at 96 mph.
Nostalgia Eliminator 3 Final Qualifying Order:
1) Doug Morrison (Gainesville, TX) - 5.66 @ 96
2) Bobby Reed (Dallas, TX) - 5.94 @ 110
3) Dusty Rose (Moore, OK) - 5.48 @ 124
4) Ron Walden (Kilgore, TX) - 5.43 @ 123
5) Gary Mitchell (Dallas, TX) - 5.39 @ 108
