The normal hot and humid sun was shining down on Houston Motorsports Park and after two rounds of qualifying, here's what went down:

#1 Frankie Taylor - 3.995 at 177 mph
#2 Ken Thomas - 4.018 at 181 mph
#3 Mike Bell - 4.074 at 179 mph
#4 Gaylen Smith - 4.084 at 173 mph
#5 Chris Smith - 4.106 at 178 mph
#6 Doug Riesterer - 4.115 at 179 mph
#7 Kirk Wilmer - 4.217 at 173 mph
#8 Howard Brown - 4.541 at 160 mph
#9 Greg Pizzino - 4.678 at 157 mph

First Round:

Mike Bell (W) 5.985 at 78 mph (.180 RT)
Doug Riesterer (RU) 7.137 at 68 mph (.039 RT)

Doug got off the line first but that was about as far as he went. Not sure if something broke or if Doug got way out of shape but Mike Bell got the win after he had a flash fire bang at the hit of the throttle. It wasn't pretty but it was a win. Mike told me he kicked the rods out and was unable to make next round. Sorry about your luck, Mike but thanks for coming down from Missouri to race with us this weekend.

Frankie Taylor (W) 3.912 at 187 mph (.165 RT)
Howard Brown (RU) 4.703 at 159 mph (-.233 RT)

Knowing he had to take a shot at the tree, Howard cut it a little too close and lit the red bulb but it wouldn't have mattered. Frankie laid down the best pass of the night.

Gaylen Smith (W) 4.156 at 165 mph (.152 RT)
Chris Smith (RU) 11.737 at 37 mph (-.400 RT)

Chris had trouble seeing out of the left lane and took a shot at the tree but left too soon. Gaylen laid down another nice pass.

Kirk Wilmer (W) 4.109 at 176 mph (.133 RT)
Ken Thomas (RU) 4.228 at 170 mph (.069 RT)

Ken was going for the win but a malfunction in the valve train kept him off his game and Kirk laid down a personal best pass to take the win.

Semi Finals:

Frankie Taylor (W) 4.017 at 159 mph (.170 RT)
Gaylen Smith (RU) 4.105 at 158 mph (.104 RT)

Gaylen had the light and he was going for the win but both cars met in the middle and had to lift on the big end and Frankie barely takes the win. What a fun race to watch (I personally wish the outcome had been the other way LOL).

Kirk Wilmer (W) 10.114 at 71 mph (.705 RT)
Mike Bell (RU) No show

Mike kicked the rods out in the previous round and Kirk just drove it through so he could get prepared for the final round against Frankie.

Finals:

Frankie Taylor (W) 4.076 at 163 mph (.205 RT)
Kirk Wilmer (RU) 4.295 at 163 mph (.092 RT)

Kirk tried but was unable to come up with a win as Frankie was on a mission. This was a close race due to the enormous hole shot that Kirk had on the mad man.

Congratulations to Frankie and crew for your 1st victory this year and also tot Kirk Wilmer on your runner-up finish as well.