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Lyle Greenberg also triumphs at 66th March Meet By David Beitler
Leap Day and March 1-3 marked the date for the Super Bowl of nostalgia drag racing , the 66th March Meet , which annually brings racers , fans , and enthusiasts from near and far together at the famous location nicknamed “ the Patch ,” also known as Famoso Dragstrip just north of Bakersfield , California . The historic venue once more kicked off the NHRA Heritage season . Despite persistent rain showers interrupting the action on Friday and particularly Saturday , the Famoso track crew worked tirelessly to keep the action going and were eager to finish the race on Sunday , which |
they achieved superbly .
Thirteen Nostalgia Top Fuel teams battled to secure spots in the eight-car field during the two rain-affected qualifying days . Reigning champ Tyler Hilton started off strong just like he ended last season and raced straight to the No . 1 spot , posting an impressive 5.625 seconds at 257 MPH on the scoreboards , creating a 0.10-second gap between him and the rest of the field . Behind him , Pete Kaiser , racing his own car , managed a best of 5.735 at 255 MPH , and Adam Sorokin , with his 5.745 at 241 MPH pass , rounded out the top three of the eight-car field .
In Nostalgia Funny Car , Shane Westerfield in “ The Problem Child ” ran 5.613 at 258 MPH to secure the top spot in front of Geoff Monise ’ s 5.620 at 259 MPH in “ The Quarter Pounder ,” and reigning champion Bobby Cottrell ’ s 5.635 at 256
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MPH in the Bardahl Funny Car .
Out of the 10 participating Fuel Altered teams , Australian driver Mathew Leonard went on top with a 6.031 at 228 MPH in his “ Nitro Rat ” Fuel Altered . Mark Whynaught ’ s 6.186 at 202 MPH earned him the second spot in front of Lyle Greenberg , who ran a best of 6.317 at 161 MPH in his “ Cone Hunter ” Fuel Altered during qualifying to secure the third spot of the eight-car field .
Weather conditions on Sunday looked fabulous and promised sunshine throughout the whole day . After the familiar tunes of the national anthem faded out , the first two nitro engines roared to life , and Tyler Hilton took on No . 8 qualifier Tyler Hester in the first round of Nostalgia Top Fuel . Hester took an upset win over a tire-spinning Hilton , clocking a 5.908 at 194 MPH to Hilton ’ s coasting 9.208 at 82 MPH . Hester went on to beat Pete Wittenberg in the semifinals . In a thrillingly close race , Hester ran 5.725 at 261 MPH to beat Wittenberg ’ s 5.728 at 250 MPH by a razorthin margin .
On the opposite side of the ladder , Pete Kaiser ran 5.777 at 241 MPH against Shawn Bowen ’ s slower 5.802 at 226 MPH , but Bowen ’ s quicker reaction time won him the round . Bowen went on to beat Brett Williamson in the semis with a
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID BEITLER |
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28 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com |
Issue 188 |