The fifth of six Outlaw Fuel Altered Association points races was held Saturday, October 1st at North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas. The OFAA series, presented by Lone Star Forklift, welcomed eleven fuel altereds to the property. All eyes were on three particular drivers who found themselves in a heated Championship battle for the 2016 OFAA series title. Nick Poloson and team "Sundown" entered this event with just an eight point lead over Donny McSwain's "Wild One" entry. Our most recent winner, Raymond Dawson and team "High Octane" sat comfortably in third just three points behind McSwain as an eleven point gap separated the top three.

Raymond Dawson

                Every round would prove critical to these three drivers but rest assured their competition was focused on nothing but playing the spoiler and no mercy was shown. After two rounds of qualifying under the eyes of a great crowd at North Star Dragway, Ken Singleton and the "High Risk" team scored the top qualifying spot with a 4.023, with Eric Buchanan a close second with a 4.028. Raymond Dawson's 4.06 qualified third as Mark Billington and Jimmy Jones rounded out the top five heading into eliminations. In an unexpected turn of events, Championship contender Donny McSwain could only muster a 4.53 in the first session and in the second session an oil line leak forced the crew to shut him off on the starting line. The 4.53 simply wasn't enough to make the ten car field as Clint Cross and team "Crossways" slid in on the bump with a 4.44. This DNQ for McSwain all but ended his title chances.

                To make things more interesting, a gargantuan first round match up developed on the ladder as number three qualifier Dawson and number eight qualifier Poloson were set for a first round bout that would have huge implications in the Championship run for both drivers. Teams made their final adjustments before the all-important first round as the call went out to bring them to the staging lanes.

FINAL QUALIFYING ORDER:

1. Ken Singleton (Chickasha, OK) - 4.023 (3.976)

2. Eric Buchanan (Justin, TX) - 4.028 (3.971)

3. Raymond Dawson (Nevada, TX) - 4.06

4. Mark Billington (Prosper, TX) - 4.07

5. Jimmy Jones (Cleburne, TX) - 4.09

6. Donnie Massey (Little Elm, TX) - 4.10 (3.89)

7. Mary Reep (Austin, TX) - 4.12 (3.87)

8. Nick Poloson (Bulverde, TX) - 4.13

9. Mark Bowman (Oklahoma City, OK) - 4.26

10. Clint Cross (Crossroads, TX) - 4.44

11. Donny McSwain (Rockwall, TX) - 4.53