2006 has not been kind to Troy Critchely. Three test runs with a best of 4.09/178 were followed by a 4.05/181 qualifier before the Aussie got a break when Bill Neal’s Studebaker lost fire in round one. After a 4.07/181 single, Team AMS went down to Quain Stott’s best-ever 3.93 in the second round.
Seldom-seen Buddy Farmer towed from southwest Missouri to battle the big guns with his nitro-burning, big-inch KB-powered ‘03 Z06. A major player in the no-rules Clash of the Titans series, Farmer managed a 4.28/169 in testing but DNQed with a coasting best of 4.32/144.
Fresh from Scandinavia, the ex-Hakan Nilsson nitrous ‘68 Camaro debuted as the newest entry of Pro Stock pilot Tim “the Dawg” Albright, Mark Daly, and driver Dennis Griffin. The showstopper hit a best of 4.17/174 before fouling to Terry Housley in the opener.
The Alabama-based father-and-son Hancock team appeared with both nitrous-aided late-model Corvettes but only James III’s still-primered version made the field; Dad’s Pittman-chassised “yellow
car” burned a piston in testing and was parked before qualifying ever began.
Josh Hernandez found St. Louis to be no Houston; the runner-up at the most recent ADRL bash in his Texas hometown hit 3.95/185 to qualify fourth and ran the opening round’s only sub-four, (a 3.99/185 over Tommy Mauney), and the best Reaction Time of the year, (0.005), before bowing in the second round of PX with a shaking and skating pass against John Lynam.
Two-time IHRA Top Sportsman World Champ Terry Housley was brutally consistent; T.J. Harrill’s Fulton-powered Willys ran either 4.09 or 4.10 before the team was unable to appear for the semis against Burton Auxier after burning a piston during their second-round win over John Deflorian.
Shannon Jenkins handled massive frustration like a champion. Tire-shaking test runs and qualifying passes eventually identified the problem which had plagued the ADRL’s quickest nitrous racer. Prior to the final qualifying session, Jenkins crewmembers confided that “if the car leaves the starting line without shake, make sure you take a picture of the scoreboard”. Rain destroyed any chance to make the field or post the big number.
