Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor hail...
Mon, Feb 6th, 6:37pst
...would keep Kevin Minnis from delivering the COMPtacular victory mail! Kevin strategically qualified his black and yellow B/M 2009 Pontiac GXP in the lower half of the field, and drove it to the winners circle ahead of Joe Bohannon and his C/M 2003 Mercury Cougar.
As the race approached, there were reports of trailers pulling over for chains, 18 wheelers sliding down the interstate on black ice, and comm drops freezing in their containers. When you combined the freezing cold weather surrounding the event, with the blazing hot internet rumors of index shattering pre-race testing, you knew that this was going to be a great race. The venue lived up to all of the hype.
Even though this was the first SCCEC sanctioned Comp Eliminator event held at Triple O Dragway, there was not a shortage of experience at this race. Scotty Rienschield and crew utilized their years of drag racing experience to create a Comp experience that all would remember. And this race went on without a hitch.
Any Comp Eliminator fan can tell you, different parts of the country foster different types of horsepower. This race was no different. The Front Wheel Drive cars, along with the small cubic inch motors of the Modified class, were the weapons of choice for this race, as they occupied 10 of the 16 spots in the top half of the qualified field.
...would keep Kevin Minnis from delivering the COMPtacular victory mail! Kevin strategically qualified his black and yellow B/M 2009 Pontiac GXP in the lower half of the field, and drove it to the winners circle ahead of Joe Bohannon and his C/M 2003 Mercury Cougar.
As the race approached, there were reports of trailers pulling over for chains, 18 wheelers sliding down the interstate on black ice, and comm drops freezing in their containers. When you combined the freezing cold weather surrounding the event, with the blazing hot internet rumors of index shattering pre-race testing, you knew that this was going to be a great race. The venue lived up to all of the hype.
Even though this was the first SCCEC sanctioned Comp Eliminator event held at Triple O Dragway, there was not a shortage of experience at this race. Scotty Rienschield and crew utilized their years of drag racing experience to create a Comp experience that all would remember. And this race went on without a hitch.
Any Comp Eliminator fan can tell you, different parts of the country foster different types of horsepower. This race was no different. The Front Wheel Drive cars, along with the small cubic inch motors of the Modified class, were the weapons of choice for this race, as they occupied 10 of the 16 spots in the top half of the qualified field.
The Key Race
Joe "Doc Brown" Hotopp saw the indexes early on and decided on one form of horsepower: 4 cylinders of high rpm, Honda horsepower. Joe modified his F/SC 1998 Honda Civic SI hatchback into a 55 ft machine. After the dust had cleared, "Doc Brown" qualified in an impressive 6th position running 1.020 (-.094). It would seem as if Kevin Minnis and his 2009 B/M Pontiac GXP, which qualified in the #26 position running 1.070 (-.014), would have a tough time beating "Doc" in the semi's. But Kevin was able to drive away with the win.
Winning Comp Car
Kevin Minnis B/M 2009 Pontiac GXP
Runner up car
Joe Bohannon C/M 2003 Mercury Cougar
Elimination Ladders
Did you know?
- This was one of the fastest Comp qualifying fields in history? When all the dust settled, Billy Fields and Joe Bohannon were battling for the H/SC record and #1 qualifying position. Was it a head wind? Was it track conditions? Either way, Joe Bohannon ended up with the number one position running .992 (-.152) in his H/SC 2004 Pontiac Grand Am, with Billy Fields sliding in the #2 spot running .999 (-.145) running his H/SC 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt packing Lingenfelter boosted power. Wouldn't you love to see these two in a heads up round?
#1 qualifier, Joe Bohannons H/SC 2004 Pontiac Grand Am
#2 qualifier, Billy Fields H/SC 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt
- DH racecars made the trip out to the midwest for this event. His record holding AH/SM 1969 Hemi Dart qualified in the #13 position with Rex Westerfield pulling the gears
- Colin was the youngest competitor at the COMPtacular, and qualified in the #5 position. With youth on his side, is a changing of the guard coming soon?
- Randy McLeod had some qualifying troubles with his B/M GXP, but was able to make it to the 2nd round, before meeting up with Meatballs flying red Studebaker.
- Rex Westerfield was able to run an impressive .917 (-.062) in his C/SM 1999 Corvette to qualify in the #14 position, while running the Tech department with Scotty Rienschield helping out
- Its all about teamwork, both on and off the track
- Joe Bohannon had two cars in the semi finals, but was unable to come away with the win.
- The "I ain't afraid of no clean track" award went to Billy Fields and his A/SCL Pontiac GXP running .770 (-.059). His was the fastest qualified car in the field.
