West Coast Altereds!

Lazy? No, why do you ask? Oh, could it be that it's taken me two and a half years to get coverage of the 2000 Nightfire Nationals at Firebird Raceway up on the 'net? Nahhh...I'd just misplaced the stuff.

And if you believe that, have I got a great deal for you on some used parts!

The text here is cut and pasted from what we posted on Header Flames back in August of 2000...comments from various guest personalties...We'll start off with Friday night's festivities, and Tom Shelar's recollections, as he had the laptop, I'd been scribbling in wire bound notebooks, and those were stolen last year.

T-Slick sez,

"I was on the return road at 1000ft when one of the funnycars with the altered bodies burst into flames.

I was 100 yards away and could feel the heat from the fire when it went off. The car was a fire ball from the front of the motor to about 15ft behind the car. The Fiat body was blown off and landed on the track upside down and spinning much like Del Worshem's car at SIR. The driver was on the bottle and had the fire out by about 1600ft and then he popped the chutes to come to a safe stop.

I was told that he was shooting sparks out of the pipes at * track but he didn't lift.( I doubt he saw the signs but he must of felt the car lay over) He was side by side with the car in the other lane and I am sure he was caught up in the competition and didn't want to lift. Glad he was ok and he did a great job of handleing the car. I believe it was Michael Monroe from Colorado but I am not 100% sure.

I don't know these guys by name so if I am wrong please correct me. The most impressive pass of the night was shot by Ron Fassl who cranked out a 5.97 @ 244 to take the pole. I was told that Ron has run in the 5.60's in Utah so there seems to be plenty left in that car.

#1 Fassl- 5.97@ 244
#2 Daebelliehn- 6.014@224
#3 Bennett -6.09@227
#4 Ruiz- 6.42@215
#5 Gary Read - 6.68@192
#6 Monroe - 6.795@185 on fire in the lights - I think they packed it in for the weekend
#7 Mac McCord - 6.94@192 - Mack had some exhaust valves hang but he was fixing it when I left
#8 CJ Nelson - 13.582@67 - CJ did a big wheel stand at the hit of the throttle.

These cars are fun to watch."

Notes from Sunday's finals...

The U.S. Fuel Altered National Championships blew everyone away Sunday night. The opening round saw Ron Fassl blaze to a 6.00-241.41 to stop Mack McCord who ran 6.28-221.29 before sailing off into the wheat field at the end of the Firebird quarter mile when no chutes deployed. McCord was A-OK, the car a little dusty after reportedly leaving the track at 120+ and keeping it upright for better than two football fields...an amazing feat in its own right.

Jeff Bennett then charged to a 6.29-227.38 to reach the final when Greg Daebelliehn didn't move when the tree went green, later diagnosed to be a broken cable to the throttle pedal.

Mitch King, out of Galveston, Texas.

Bad wing strut tab...never put a tension connection in shear...this thing failed big time back at the Fuel Altered Nationals in Tucson.

Good wing strut tab! Supported on BOTH sides, with a through bolt. No theaded tab to fail.

One of you engineering type will hafta straighten me out on the terminology.

Oh, this is Mitch King's altered, and wing strut.

Brand new Hoosiers, tits and all! I was a bit surprised to see a set of these on a fuel altered...thought these guys just did NASCAR stuff!

Mr. Boyd warms up the Wing, while T-Slick looks on in amazement.

Don't see many Arias motors in fuel altereds...

...like this one. Taken Friday afternoon, while it still had the shiny side up.

Mike Boyd pointedly ignores Greg Daebelliehn's new-fangled fuel altered. But it's calling to him...

Crawlin' on my belly like a reptile to get these shots for you...Gary Read stages the Sullivan/Haight Jet-Ski Fiat.

Ricky Ruiz hammers it...

The Winged Express backs up, while Firebird track photog Brian Losness is stunned by the sight, and Tim Marshall runs for a better angle.

So they DID run again in 2000! I'd forgotten that Al Morton brought his "Red Hot" Fiat back to Boise after the blower-banging 1999 excursion. And, it's C.J. Nelson at the helm.

Everybody's got their wings back!

If you noticed, both Jeff Bennett here, and Mitch King, up top a ways, ran at Tucson wingless, Bennett by choice (his wing collapsed the previous week), King by accident as his wing struts folded up during qualifying.

Daebelliehn and Bennett. Fiats sure look bad!

Part of the aftermath of Friday night's carnage.

The Texas boys carry the colors.

King leans on the loud pedal.

Towing out to staging. Some times alone...

...sometimes with a cast of thousands!

Steve Haight and his Republican guard...(private joke!)

Tom Hunnicutt, Robbie Fellows and that Darrell guy get ready to show Mike Sullivan (right), just how to properly fire up a fuel altered.

Just too doggone many Ruiz's!

In the final, Fassl left a good sized Sunday night crowd stunned. Under almost ideal (for August) conditions the Pepsi Roadster charged to the quickest, yes, QUICKEST FUEL ALTERED RUN IN DRAG RACING HISTORY AT 5.51!!! With corrected air at 5,100' above sea level and temperatures in the mid-70's the run was absolutely picture perfect. A top end charge of 261.32 (.951 60' and 3.62-208.33 half track numbers) claimed both ends of the track record and earned the Amos Satterlee tuned monster to their inaugural Fuel Altered crown.