-- Mrs. TBH
I was wondering what mother nature had in store for the 1st Outlaw Top Sportsman race since it was kind of muggy & dreary most of the day. About mid-day, the clouds started breaking up and the sun started to shine. Mother nature is still a drag racing fan! There were 20 teams that showed up to start the 2006 championship points chase. Here's what went down:

#1 Richie Price - 4.711 at 150 mph
#2 Ron Curley - 4.724 at 151 mph
#3 Rickey Cate - 4.725 at 146 mph
#4 Mat Thomas - 4.7385 at 147 mph
#5 Brad Jones - 4.7385 at 146 mph
#6 Steve Gorman - 4.747 at 150 mph
#7 David Baldwin - 4.749 at 146 mph
#8 Eric Clark - 4.750 at 145 mph
#9 HT Wilson - 4.775 at 144 mph
#10 Larry Lobello - 4.808 at 150 mph
#11 Melvin Goss - 4.963 at 144 mph
#12 David Smith - 4.930 at 144 mph
#13 Marquis Ross - 4.963 at 135 mph
#14 Gaylen Smith - 5.030 at 138 mph
#15 Keith Anglin - 5.127 at 135 mph
#16 Chuck Poindexter - 5.402 at 131 mph
#17 Jetty Wright - 5.456 at 118 mph
#18 Randy Locke - 5.702 at 105 mph
#19 Alfred Whiteside - 8.511 at 69 mph
#20 Charlie Matthews - No Time (Tire came off shortly after launch)

First Round:

HT Wilson (W) 4.820 at 134 mph .430 RT
Eric Clark (RU) 4.839 at 149 mph .424 RT

Talk about a close race. It was hard to tell who won this one until the win light came on.

David Baldwin (W) 5.160 at 111 mph .370 Red Light
Larry Lobello (RU) No time - Crossed the line and finished in David's lane.

The first or worst rule applied here. David Baldwin red lighted but Larry Lobello got in his own oil and couldn't control the car. He took out the cones on his way over into David's lane where he finished the run.

Steve Gorman (W) 4.770 at 144 mph .539 RT
Melvin Goss (RU) 4.904 at 144 mph .413 RT

Coming off of a win at the IHRA nationals in San Antonio last weekend, Melvin couldn't hold off Steve Gorman which was his first round win EVER with the ex-Jim Yates car.

Brad Jones (W) 4.792 at 144 mph .410 RT
David Smith (RU) 17.56 at 30 mph .454 RT

Not much could be said here, Brad had a great run while David either blew the tires off or broke something and coasted thru!

Marquis Ross (W) 6.038 at 129 mph .748 RT
Mat Thomas (RU) 4.804 at 146 mph .388 Red Light

Mat left a little early and Marquis stumbled out of the hole and saw the win light on in his lane so he coasted thru.

Rickey Cate (W) 4.736 at 146 mph .428 RT
Gaylen Smith (RU) 6.935 at 69 mph .469 RT

Gaylen had been fighting a transmission leak during qualifying but got that fixed for the first round but about 60 out, he felt a flutter in the motor and shut it down and later found a pushrod laying on top of the valve train. Rickey was on a normal pass (good light and a great ET).

Ron Curley (W) 4.752 at 151 mph .481 RT
Keith Anglin (RU) 5.091 at 137 mph .3883 Red Light

Keith knew he was the underdog in this match-up and took a shot at the tree only to come up short with the red-light start. Ron pulled the chutes a little late and slid into the gravel at the end of the track. Everything was okay.

Richie Price (W) 21.058 at 15 mph .812 RT Competition bye
Chuck Poindexter (RU) Failed to start in the staging lanes

Well it was a good thing for Richie that Chuck failed to start in the staging lanes but that luck didn't last long. Richie broke an input shaft and was unable to make the next round. Chuck later found the battery cable freyed which caused the Luv truck not to start.

Round 2:

Brad Jones (W) 4.804 at 139 mph .491 RT
Marquis Ross (RU) 4.928 at 149 mph .553 RT

Rickey Cate (W) 4.718 at 146 mph .490 RT
Steve Gorman (RU) 4.703 at 152 mph .510 RT

Well, all I can say is that was Steve's race to lose. Rickey had an unusually late Reaction Time and Steve did not take advantage of it. Had he won, he would have received the $200 bonus money that Hans Fuestal Racing Engines is sponsoring at Red Line Raceway for winning a round with a 4.70 ET.

David Baldwin (W) 4.803 at 143 mph .535 RT Competition bye
Ron Curley (RU) Failed to start in the staging lanes

David solo'ed down the track since Ron's car failed to start.

HT Wilson (W) 27.27 at 49 mph Competition bye
Richie Price (RU) Broke input shaft in round 1 and unable to make the call.

Semi Finals:

David Baldwin (W) 4.790 at 145 mph .406 RT
Rickey Cate (RU) 4.908 at 118 mph .397 red light

Rickey shut it down when he realized that he red-lighted giving the win to David Baldwin.

Brad Jones (W) 4.743 at 147 mph .476 RT
HT Wilson (RU) 4.766 at 143 mph .500 RT

If HT would have been on his game on the tree, he could have won this race at the starting line as we've all seen many times but Brad Jones' great performance all night got him into the final round to face David Baldwin.

Finals:

Brad Jones (W) 4.747 at 147 mph .411 RT
David Baldwin (RU) 5.539 at 95 mph .398 Red Light

Congratulations to Brad Jones and Bernie Young for winning the first OTS race of the season. That neon had been on a string of great passes all night long. David ended his night just like he started eliminations.....with a red light except this time the car in the other lane stayed there. Congratulations to David and LeeAnn for runner-up!