Adams-Bates (far lane) was a model of consistency during A/Fuel Dragster eliminations recording three 6.2s,
the slowest of which was a 6.234. Pictured: final round against Bobby Cottrell.

A lot of new faces showed up at Sacramento Raceway’s winner circle Sunday after the conclusion of the Nostalgia Reunion, the third stop for this year’s Heritage Racing Series. With the nitro classes idle for this event, eleven Wallys were up for grabs, but only two point leaders managed to pad their leads. There were eight first time winnners for 2016, including four who were not even in the top ten coming into this event.

It turned out to be another dominating performance in A/Fuel Dragster by the Adams-Bates team from Anderson, CA. It was also the third successive win by an injected nitro dragster this year. As he did at Wild Horse Pass in January, Bates swept all honors including #1 qualifier, low ET (6.196), and top speed (229.08) for the class. Bates now has two wins and a runner up under his belt for 2016 and has lengthened his lead to 107 points over second place Drew Austin and Bobby Cottrell.

Equally impressive this year has been Kurt Kaemerle who has now won Hot Rod twice in a row to go along with a runner up at Wild Horse Pass back in January. Ed Carey and his ’71 D/G Camaro is also on the march again, backing up his victory at the March Meet with a Wally at the Nostalgia Reunion. Jr. Fuel was won by the #1 qualifier Don Enriquez. Enriquez was supposed to race J. D. Zink in the final round, but Zink was not able to fire for his single in the semis. By rule, the class finished with no runner up, and Don had to merely stage and “take The Tree” for the win.

After missing the first two events of the year, Visalia’s Richard Phillips returned to action in fine form at the Nostalgia Reunion. Phillips started off his day with a close win over former 7.0 Pro champion and #1 qualifier, Mike Peck. Mike took a hundredth second advantage off the starting line, but Richard powered past him with a 7.032 to Peck’s 7.077. Phillips continued his 7.0 barrage twice again, the slowest of which was a 7.082. In the final round, Wild Horse Pass winner and number two in points, Richard High, gave Phillips a free pass to the winner’s circle when he went red by -.024.

Jason Barta, the reigning 2015 Nostalgia Eliminator 1 champion, rebounded from his round one ouster at the March Meet to win the class at Sacramento Raceway. Brandon Seraphine still leads in points, but Barta, not even in the top ten prior to the Nostalgia Reunion, jumped up all the way to 4^th place. In Nostalgia Eliminator 2, Dwight Garland Jr. won his first ever Wally driving his “Helter Skelter” FED. Garland Jr. was sharp on the lights all day, including a perfect .000 against Robert Parkinson in E2. A very deserving Tim Beeman won Nostalgia Eliminator 3. Beeman began eliminations by dispatching the 2015 champion Ed Staute. Then, he finished the day by defeating the #1 qualifier, Wes Morris, in the final round.

Dwight Garland Jr. grabbed his first ever Wally by winning NE 2. The path to the winner’s circle was anything but easy as
Garland Jr. had to get past #2 qualifier Mike Troxel, Wild Horse Pass winner Gary Ryan, and the always tough Jay Huckleberry.

Brandon Frye and Frye Motorsports must love Sacramento Raceway. The team has now won A/G at the Nostalgia Reunion the past two years. Brandon’s RTs were sensational in eliminations, the quickest of which was an .002 against Casey Treur in the semi-finals. Anything slower than a .013 would have meant defeat for the Taft, CA driver. Porterville, CA did OK, too, with Tim Mulviihill taking the B/G Wally. Like Frye, Mulvihill was killer on the lights, recording an .002 against Neal Westbrook in the final round. The Capps family had a great weekend with dad, Mark, winning C/G, and daughter Sabrina making it to the semi-finals of NE 1.   

The final round of B/G pitted Tim Mulvihill (near lane) against Neal Westbrook. Westbrook ran a near perfect 8.606,
but left early by -.024. Mulvihill did his part, too, with a .004 RT coupled to an 8.599 ET.

Kurt Kaemerle has lost only one round of eliminations in Hot Rod this year, and that was to Jay Waxler
in the final round at Wild Horse Pass in January. Kurt and Jay are currently #1 and #2 in points respectively. 
Kaemerle returned the favor at Sacramento Raceway, punching out Waxler in the semi final round.

Barta is Back! Jason atoned for a dismal season thus far, qualifying #2, then defeating the always stout Dale Taros in the final round.