Nostalgia Reunion
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Sacramento Raceway’s Nostalgia Reunion (formerly the WCTA/Fremont Reunion) was the place to be July 15 and 16 when it hosted Group 1 and Group 2 NHRA Heritage Series drag racers. On a perfect Northern California weekend (temperatures were only in the high 70s), the air, the track, and the vibe all combined to give the racers an ideal set of conditions for what turned out to be a thrilling and compelling drag race. With only one event left on the schedule for Group 2 racers and just two for Group 1, the Nostalgia Reunion was a pivotal race for those competitors hoping to grab a Heritage Series championship. However, many of the point leaders would find it tough going at the Nostalgia Reunion. Of the eleven Wallys up for grabs, only two of the point leaders would find their way to the winner’s circle. Moreover, none of the defending champions from last year’s event were able to defend their titles. And, with such a tense atmosphere, several of the final rounds were decided by fouls or double breakouts. |
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 Shawn Cobari’s return to the drag strip was a successful one for the San Jose drag racer. Cobari took his ’10 Stirling car all the way to the winner’s circle at the Nostalgia Reunion. |
A/Fuel This class appears to be alive and well as ten dragsters entered the Nostalgia Reunion--a total that did not include number four in points Darrell Waters. Even without Waters, there was drama galore in the A/F class. For starters, 2010 NR A/F winner, Jirka Kaplan, was unable to break into the tough 8-car field. When Jirka left early in Q2, DQing the run, he would find himself on the bubble with track record holder Kin Bates (6.17) still to run. Kin had been having problems smoking the tires, and his final qualifying run was no different. Nevertheless, he stubbornly stayed on the throttle and just squeaked in with a tire-hazing 6.947. This is not to say all the competitors had problems negotiating the track. Bill Wayne ran a superb 6.462-213.42 to lead the pack followed closely by points leader Jerry Kumre Jr. in Dennis Murphy’s mount at 6.522-206.35. Overlooked in all this commotion was San Jose’s Shawn Cobari, who quietly ducked into the #3 qualifying spot. However, Cobari would end up making plenty of noise in eliminations. Jerry Kumre Jr. came into the Nostalgia Reunion with one point lead over Wayne. As the number one and two qualifiers, there was a good chance these two racers would meet up in the finals. However, that all went out the window when Kumre Jr. went red against John Harless (Tulsa, OK.) in |
E1. Both Bill Wayne and Shawn Cobari won their first round matches with a 6.514 and 6.544, respectively. In E2, Wayne continued his 6.5 onslaught with a comfortable win over Bobby Evans. Cobari prevailed over a troubled Harless, but his 6.985 paled in comparison to Wayne’s 6.585. In the final, Wayne took the preferred right lane. For his part, Cobari dealt with the situation superbly. He jumped out to a 0.033 lead at the start, and in a tight and riveting duel, just managed to hold off a hard charging Wayne despite making a sizeable contribution to the aluminum piston gods. With his runner up finish, Bill Wayne is the new points leader in A/F dragster. |
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Cobari got the jump on Wayne (0.062-0.095) off the line and then made his best run of the event to win A/F dragster. Winner: Shawn Cobari; 6.506-189.73 |
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Jr/Fuel The Junior Fuel class may need resuscitation as only four cars competed at the Nostalgia Reunion. These slick, high tech cars have seen their class downsized and now seem headed for extinction if something is not done to revive it. Nonetheless, with the exception of Dean Carter, the cream of the class, including number two in points Bud Hammer and number three Fred Notzka, were on hand to duke it out. Hammer, the energetic septuagenarian from Oxnard, led qualifying with a perky 7.029, followed by Notzka at 7.065, and Sebastopol’s Bob Lander at 7.105. Lurking close by was the always tough Don Enriquez at 7.212. In eliminations, Hammer lost a little of his mojo, but still had enough game to win the race. In E1, he received a free pass to the final when Enriquez went red, and then beat a troubled Notzka in the final round |
 Bud Hammer duplicated his 2009 triumph at Sacramento Raceway with a Nostalgia Reunion Wally. |
 Paul “Pete” Peterson did something no one else has done in 2011--he beat Richard Phillips (far side). |
7.0 Pro It has been quite a year for Visalia’s Richard Phillips in 7.0 Pro. Undefeated at Sacramento Raceway in 2011 (he won both Funny Car Fever and Nitro Night of Fire), the points leader looked poised to win another event after he qualified #1 at 7.015. But, this is 7.0 Pro and no victory comes easily in this class. Rick High, only two points behind Phillips in the standings, made the long tow from Lake Havasu City, Az, in an effort to overtake Richard. Also in the house was Trabuco Canyon’s Paul Peterson, the ex-CIFCA ace, and no stranger to the winner’s circle. Eliminations played out with Phillips and Peterson trading blows every round in their attempt to gain the upper hand. Paul ran quicker in E1 (7.041-7.221), but Richard one-upped him in E2 (7.075-7.089), only to have Peterson return the favor in the semis (7.036-7.060). With the final looming, the performance and psychological edge seemed to favor Phillips. Peterson had to be thinking about last year’s red light against Dan Maciel in that final. But, for whatever reason, it was the steady and steely Richard Phillips, not Peterson, who fouled by a ton and tossed away a brilliant 7.023 that probably would have been enough for a win. |
Nostalgia Eliminator 1 As always with the nostalgia eliminators, the racing was tight and intense. In NE1, Dale Taros improved from his runner-up finish last year to grab the Wally this year. With the top four qualifiers all bunched together between Bruce McDowell’s perfect run and 2009 winner Tony Wimer at 7.606, the outcome should have been constantly in doubt. But, Taros was not seriously challenged all evening with competitors either fouling out or not showing up. Number one qualifier McDowell was eliminated by 2010 Nostalgia Reunion champion Kevin Sarginson, and number two qualifier Frank Miller decided to test his engine’s outer limits with a 7.442 blast against Dan Whiteman in E2. Speaking of Whiteman, he probably should have been in the final against Taros, but wasted a fine 7.609 in the semis against Don Taros with a red light. With brother Don a no-show in the final, Dale Taros made a run worthy of a champion with an edgy 7.599-160.76 pass. NE 1 Winner: Dale Taros; 7.599-160.76 (BO)
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 Danny See beat Dick Krieger, Rick Nordness, and Jay Huckleberry to win the NE2 Wally. |
Nostalgia Eliminator 2 There were similar gratuities for Danny See in NE2. In E1 and E2, both Dick Krieger and Rick Nordness fouled out. But, Danny had to show his worth in the next round when he was paired against Todd Maas. See left on Maas with a wicked 0.026 RT and his 8.653 was enough to close out Todd by 0.042 seconds. In the final, See cast his spell over his antagonists once again with his victim being the usually steady Jay Huckleberry who left before the tree was activated. Winner: Danny See; 8.574-151.33(BO) Runner Up: Jay Huckleberry; 0.000-0.000 (F) #1 Qualifier: Bud Wanbaugh; 8.600-150.27 |
| Nostalgia Eliminator 3 In NE3, the women triumphed once again. Last year, it was Karen Gillispie who hoisted the Wally and this year that honor went to Lindsey Lister. Lindsey was pitted against William Kennedy in the final, the same competitor who had faced off against Karen in 2010. And, like last year, it was Kennedy on the losing end of the deal, breaking out once again in his attempt to run down Lister. Winner: Lindsey Lister; 9.592-134.88 (BO) Runner Up: William Kennedy; 9.547-137.35 (BO) #1 Qualifier: Tim Beeman ; 9.600-131.88 |
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Gassers and Hot Rod The gasser guys must have thought the slogan of the day was “stand on the gas” because in three out of the five finals, either both racers broke out or fouled and broke out. Only Al White and Rafael Quiroga in A/G and Steve Tremper and Ken Parks in HR ran finals devoid of any sanctions. In A/G, Chris Beanes appeared to be the one to beat, but he lost a thriller to Quiroga in E2 ( 7.634-7.645) and defending champion Terry Newton went out to White in the same round. In B/G, it was Eric Bush strutting his stuff with some excellent RTs none of which was slower than a 0.025. Then, inexplicably, in the final, he got antsy and left early (-.202), wasting a fine 8.631 against John Saliani. C/G and D/G saw identical scenarios where the competitor who left first won the race. In D/G, Larry Cordone was so determined to catch Josh Conrad that he ran 10.529 despite hitting the brakes in an attempt not to break out. |
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 Al White won A/G, literally, all by himself. With the exception of a driver for the tow vehicle, he made up the team. Al even recruited the HS photographer to back him up. A/G Winner: Al White; 7.744-179.70 Runner Up: Rafael Quiroga; 7.711-173.00 #1 Qualifier: Chris Beanes; 7.612-177.21 |
 John Saliani had to go a whooping five rounds before he would claim his second NR Wally in three years.B/G Winner: John Saliani; 8.549-158.07(BO) Runner Up: Eric Bush; 8.631-156.60(F) #1 Qualifier: Eric Bush; 8.603-157.54 |
| C/G Winner: Roy Castagnetto; 9.593-132.53 (BO) Runner Up: Scott Morgan; 9.572-137.58 (BO) #1 Qualifier: Joseph Westervelt; 9.602-138.52 D/G Winner: Josh Conrad; 10.584-122.73 (BO) Runner Up: Larry Cordero; 10.529-114.79 (BO) #1 Qualifier: Jason Evans; 10.613-124.5 |
 Steve Tremper also had to go five rounds in order to win Hot Rod, including a super close .016 win over Chaysse Trimp in E3. HR Winner: Steve Tremper; 10.239-128.17 (on 10.23) Runner Up: Ken Parks; 11.722-98.05 (on 11.69) |
 Mike Leonard, far side, was the cream of the crop for the AA/Gs—here pictured against Mark Gordon. |
AA/Gas Exhibition Even though this 8-car field included “hitters” like Woods-Moore and Turlock’s Rich Roberts, this was simply “The Mike Leonard Show.” Leonard had no difficulty negotiating either lane, running consistent 6.6s, and was never seriously challenged. Worthy of mention was the appearance of Mark Gordon driving a ’67 Mustang previously campaigned by Cecil Matthews. Gordon looked very comfortable in the car and recorded a best of 6.984 in an E1 win over Ralph Willis.
Winner: Mike Leonard; 6.705-198.80 |
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5305 Excelsior Road Sacramento, CA 95827 Info (916) 363-2653 FAX (916) 368-8772 |
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Dale Taros strengthened his first place position by going two rounds further than second place