<center>***May 1st Results*** <img src="http://www.texasprostock.com/outlawt.jpg"></center> -- Texas Pro Stock Association Message Board

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Date Posted: 05/ 5/10 11:12pm
Author:
Pit Pundit
Subject:

***May 1st Results***

It was a dark and stormy nite�no wait, that�s the opening of another classic tale, not this one. With a dismal weather forecast of 60-90% chance of rain for at least a week prior to the Outlaw Doorslammer Spring Nationals, not many folks gave it much of a chance, this reporter included. A quick call to Big Don Ellison, the promoter, early last week, revealed his forecast. Don said �the weather will be fine, tell �em to come on out�. Now the promoter/ track owner forecasting favorable weather is nothing new�. Remember last year when it was raining all around Evadale and Mr. Bruce was riding around guaranteeing it wasn�t gonna rain? Well Mr. Bruce was right and as it turned out, so was Big Don.

A full day of T&T was scheduled for Friday beginning around 2pm and several TPSA teams were there when the gate opened. With tornado warnings and severe weather just a few miles away, the test session was put on hold for a few hours. When the lanes opened, the teams were treated to an outstanding track surface and very pleasant temperatures even though the DA was 3500� or so. There was still ample time to test and if you wanted 3-4 hits, or more, you got �em. Celebrities were everywhere in the pits, TPSA sponsor Mike Brink of Brink Racecraft, Ford guru Marvin Shaw, David & Bo Nickens, and many other notables were in attendance. DH�s long time friend & crewman, Aaron Cole, drove up from Galveston to lend a hand and Larry & Rob were there to help or just keep the pit area interesting�

A large thunderstorm moved through the track somewhere around 5 am Saturday and when we looked outside, the pits had standing water in spots. The projected start time of 10:30am was out of the question, but as soon as the track was re-prepped and the pits dried, the event was back on! There would be no further weather delays and the complete event was completed just after midnite. Big Don�s forecast proved accurate, and his decision to bring in the ADRL �pros� ( Bubba Corzine Competition Director, Letha Corzine Tower & Timing, and Mike Fulfer Tech & staging lanes) responsible for conducting the ADRL races, and superstar announcer Lynn Nickerson was instrumental in keeping the lanes moving and stayin� to a tight schedule.

Thirteen teams had made the tow to the Concrete Palace, Dallas Raceway. After both rounds of qualifying (and a couple of �xtra� hits if you took advantage of �em) Larry Pearce (4.650 @ 150.03) just edged out Joe Pigford (4.651 @150.63) for the top spot with Otwell, Nickens, Crownover, and R Pigford rounding out the top half. 7-13 were Lance Abbott, Aaron Hubbard, Eddie Conrad, Donald Hughes, Rick Hanson, Junior Wilkerson (congrats to the Robinson/Wilkerson team for their 1st 4 second time slip!), and Randy Elliott. Elliott and his crew Austin, would withdraw to devote their time to tech & scale duty and a 12 car field was set. Thanks to you both for your effort and dedication!

1st Round�7:40pm

The Talley/Nickens team Camaro, with the �Budman� Buddy Nickens in the chair, rolls into the water box alongside Donald �the Boxman� Hughes. The Talley team has been making steady performance improvements this season and Hughes knew he needed to push the tree. At the hit the �Boxman� is .009 red sending Nickens� 4.70 @ 145 into round 2. Ahhh, the unpredictability of the random draw. #1 qualifier and current Champ Pearce in his gorgeous new GXP with NRC/Slick Rick power would face off with the #2 qualifier and �08 champ, Joe Pigford, aka �Boss Hog� and his record holding R-M bullet. A great race from the drop of the tree with �Pig� out first and the win lite with a 4.62 @ 151.48 to Larry�s 4.64 149.98. This was Larry�s first event with the new GXP and it is a looker! The early performance indicates the Pigpen (R-M) vs Pearce, Otwell, Cowger (NRC) rivalry is alive and well and the action will intensify as the season rolls on. 3rd pair had two of the �Hill Country Boyz� and H-E-B teammates face off as Clint Crownover and Aaron Hubbard got ready to stage. Hubbard was back in Ol� Blue fresh off the �unicycle� competition back in March. Blue looked to be fully recovered from the incident and although Crownover�s new Houston Engine & Balancing engine held a performance advantage, we always settle it on the track. Clint was out first and never looked back as he used a .019rt, 4.69 @148 to turn back Hubbard�s 4.81 @ 144. Next out was the current points leader, Roy Pigford. The Robinson/Wilkerson team�s Firebird with Steve Schmidt power was waiting in the other lane. Roy had been struggling in TT�s and qualifying but you can never count any of the �Pigpen� out. At the green, Roy held a slight rt advantage and would be back for round 2 with a 4.76 @ 146 over Junior Robinson�s 4.96 @ 139. The R/W team had recorded their first 4 second run in qualifying and the new team continues to improve at each event. Great job guys! Lance Abbott in the truck lined up with the Hanson family�s �Vette, powered by a Marvin Shaw bullet with Marc Knarik heads, driven by Rick this week. Rick showed one of the elder statesmen can still get the job done on the tree when he left first, .008 to .018 but he couldn�t hold off the truck�s big end charge and Lance & Kenneth�s Abbott Racing Head entry would move on with a 4.78 @ 144 over Rick�s 4.86 @142.The final pair of the round featured Team O�s boss, Richard Otwell vs the Winscott/Conrad team with Eddie the �Dude� at the controls. Team O had been battling tranny issues all weekend and it bit �em once more as Richard�s .200rt would not get there against the �Dude�s� .005rt 4.78 @ 144. Richard�s slip read 4.66 @ 149.88.

2nd Round�9:53pm

Crownover was up first and he had a tough draw. Joe Pigford was in the other lane and had run low et of the event in the 1st Round. So far, at this event, Clint had been driving with the acumen of a seasoned veteran, belying the fact he is still a rookie in terms of the number of laps he�s made in his short drag racing career. Burnouts complete, they stage, Clint�s out first by a ton� everyone looks to see if tree�s �green� and it is! Can �Pig� and his Reher-Morrison monster make up the difference? Good clean passes in both lanes; Win lite in the Cavalier�s lane, Crownover�s holeshot 4.71 @ 148 goes to the semi�s. Joe�s 4.59 @ 151 would be the top et and mph for the event but just didn�t turn on the win lite. Clint said the Pig's GXP was coming hard and blew past him just past the traps. Up next was the �Dude� with his Conrad Racing Engine in the frame rails vs Roy Pigford. No drama�s in staging and clean passes in both lanes. Roy would be in the semi�s with a 4.73 @ 147.34 lap. Team Winscott/ Conrad posted a close 4.78 @145. The last pair of this round pitted Abbott against Nickens. This time �Quickdraw� Abbott was out first with a .003rt but fell short at the stripe, 4.78 @ 145 to Nickens�4.67 @ 149.

Semi�s�.11:05pm

Two of the three finalists have never been to a final. Would we have an all �first time� run for the money? Talley/Nickens drew the bye, clicked it off early and they�d be there, but who would join�em? Crownover and R Pigford were closely matched this weekend but did Roy�s crew find and fix the problems that had plagued them all weekend? Burnouts completed and it looked like the gremlins had jumped into Clint�s lane! Before he could backup from the burnout, the engine died and there was a flash fire under the Cavalier! Clint�s crew, the track staff, and even members of Pigford�s team were on their way to help, but Clint got �er refired, the flame went out, he backed up, and several folks looked under the car for problems. Nothing was found, and Clint and Roy eased into the beams. Roy was uncharacteristically early and left the �red� hanging sending Clint to his first final, and to his first �Bounty Hunter�award presented by Team O Motorsports. The award is presented to the team eliminates the current points leader.

During prep for the final, the Crownover crew which included Chris Shortridge at the helm, found a seeping carb fuel line fitting, repaired it, and thought they had the problem fixed. It was business as usual over in the Talley/Nickens pit and the final promised to be a dandy.

Final�12:11am

The final round is the only round in which the teams can choose to either random draw or flip for lane. They each wanted the right lane and agreed to flip. Crownover won the toss but the �Budman� had a plan. He says �how �bout we arm wrestle for it�? With perfect comedic timing, Clint hesitated just a moment, smiled, and said �OK�. It was a hoot and everyone had a good laugh. For those that may not know, Clint will still unload an 18 wheeler load of hay by himself just for fun�.and to show he can still do it. Take a real close look at the forearms, wrists, and shoulders on this guy before you call him out�LOL!

Back to the race�. they each roll through the water, perform long smoky burnouts, back up, and prepare to stage. If Clint has a problem it isn�t showin� yet. Tree flashes, and once again, Clint has a sizeable lead, .022 to �Budman�s� .078. In the previous rounds Buddy had run as quick as a .67 but Clint�s .056 starting line advantage would make his previous .71�s a winner. But it was over at half track as Clint�s ride began to slow and the Budman would use his Nickens Bros. power to post a 4.68 @ 149 to take the Talley/Nickens team to their first winners circle. Both of these teams have been working hard to improve their programs and the Crownovers have been gaining valuable experience with each lap. It�s great to see these team�s efforts pay off. Congrats to Buddy and Clint and to all of the TPSA teams that participated. On a side note, engine builders have been mentioned so it�s important to recognize that each of the finalists chose Slick Rick cylinder heads as part of their update program over the winter.

Big Don and Dallas Raceway plan to make this an annual event. As mentioned before, from the all star ADRL race administration team of Bubba & Letha Corzine, and Mike Fulfer; the Concrete Palace�s own Sammy Lattner and his entire staff, to promoter Big Don and Tracey and the incredible facility that is Dallas Raceway� it just doesn�t get any better. The TPSA appreciates the opportunity to be part of the Outlaw Doorslammer Spring Nationals and we look forward to next year!

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Congratulations to James & Samantha, Robert and of couse "The Budman" on their first (pretty sure it won't be their last) WIN !!! They've been workin' hard and spendin' what it takes to make big strides in their performance. On a somber note my venable Grand Am has officially moved on to a new owner. Trying to convince them to go TPSA racing but no luck so far. At any rate we'll be racing Roy's new car at Evadale provided all goes well. Hope to see you all there!! -- BOSS HOG, 05/ 6/10 9:13am

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[> Congratulations to Budman, Robert, and the rest of the Nickens/Talley team. Also want to congratulate Clint on his runner up. While I'm here, great job Joe and team for running that 4.59. Unbelievable run in those conditions. Enjoy racing with all of yall. -- Ricky McConathy, 05/ 6/10 9:59pm

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Congrats to the Talleys and the Nickens bunch on your win, and to Clint for the runner up.--Winscott/Conrad -- GW, 05/ 7/10 8:11am

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