Dirt
2017 March Meet A/Gas champ
Justin Crosby wheelstanding his
1946 Plymouth Coupe nicknamed
“Big booty Judy” off the line.
No less than five wheelstanders – including Ed “the
Outlaw” Jones and his iconic Jelly Belly-sponsored
stagecoach – were on the property and ready to entertain
the crowd at Famoso Raceway in between races.
61 ST ANNUAL MARCH MEET
surprisingly met rookie driver Jerry Espeseth
behind the wheel of Jason Rupert’s Rupert &
Littlefield fuel flopper. Cottrell ran a solid 5.71
at 249 mph beating a tire-spinning Espeseth,
who left first but spun the tires, ending up with
an 8.95 at only 96 mph. It was still an excellent
first outing for him with a runner-up finish at
his first event.
In Nostalgia Top Fuel, nine drivers tried to
qualify for an eight-car field. Rick White earned
the No. 1 qualifying spot with a 5.72 at 254 mph.
Reigning champ Mendy Fry surprisingly went
through some serious gremlins over the course
of the qualifying sessions, including a blower
explosion and severe tire shake, which caused
a broken mounting on the rear axle and repairs
that kept the High Speed team busy until 3 a.m.
Going into the eliminations it looked like the
High Speed team had things turned around. Fry
ran a new record of 5.51 at 265 mph to win the
first round against Jim Murphy and even broke
it again with a jaw-dropping 5.490 at 259 mph in
the semifinals beating Bret Williamson. She then
met Adam Sorokin in the Champion Speed Shop
rail in the finals. Sorokin went in to deep stage
and took off like a rocket, while the High Speed
car never made a move. Sorokin ran a 5.84 at 212
mph for his second March Meet win. Later in an
interview, a very delighted Sorokin dedicated
his win to Champion Speed Shop founder Jim
McLennan and his late father Mike Sorokin, who
won the March Meet more than 50 years ago.
It turned out that a small 50-cent throttle link-
age bolt prevented Fry’s car from leaving the line.
A disappointment for the whole High Speed team,
but after all the drama they’d gone through over
the course of the weekend, a record-setting run
and a runner-up finish surely was a positive con-
clusion to their roller-coaster weekend.
Nostalgia rear-engine Top Fuel driver Mike
Halstead became a six-time March Meet winner
beating Billy McDevitt in the final with his 5.90
e.t. at 234 mph to McDevitt’s 6.14 e.t. at 238 mph.
Dan Hix took home the trophy in the Clas-
sic Funny Car category, winning over Rodney
Flournoy with a 6.35 at 186 mph over Flournoy’s
7.85 at 169 mph. He was also in the Fuel Altered
finals, but lost to James Day in “The Tramp,” who
cut a fantastic .034 light to beat Hix’s faster 6.16
at 206 mph with a 6.22 at 228 mph on a holeshot.
Also victorious in their individual categories
were: Kin Bates running in A/Fuel, the ageless
Don Enriquez in Jr. Fuel, Steve Faller in 7.0 Pro,
Jason Barta won NE1, Terry Linblad in NE2, Ron
Anzalone in NE3, Jim Teague in A/Gas, Steve
Pullin in B/Gas, David Stage in C/Gas, Bill Nor-
ton in D/Gas, and Stacy Roberts won in the Hot
Rod category.
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I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 144
Rodney Flournoy had to exchange the engine in his
Funny Car chassis with the one from his Fuel Altered.
Unfortunately, the team’s efforts weren’t rewarded
with a trophy because he fell to a quicker Dan Hix in
the final round.