WCHRA Finals at Famoso

Words by Tim Rigby
Photos by Paul Schmitz/Reflections Of

The West Coast Hot Rod Association rolled into AAA Auto Club Famoso Raceway in McFarland, Calif., for the Sept. 26-27 SCE GASKETS Inc. West Coast Finals. To say the heat was on for the racers would be an understatement. With temps reaching 102 (20 degrees above normal), class championships on the line and television coverage by Inside Drag Racing for added pressure, the racers would definitely earn it on this tough weekend. The Famoso crew did an awesome job keeping on top of starting line and track conditions making sure that the lanes stayed even despite the high track temps.

The racers were up to the task and when it was all said and done, there were four WCHRA records reset, some of the quickest and fastest runs to date and a few championships that came down to the final runs of the season.

PRO

With the championship on the line between Clint Hairston and Randy Walker, every point would count and none of the racers were backing down. Despite the hot track temps, there were some quick times, crazy speeds and some serious tire shake. Unfortunately, the Hairston team was a victim of this; in round 3 the GTO suffered severe tire shake and sheared the wheel studs off the left rear causing the wheel and tire to leave the vehicle and tear up the body in the process. The Hairston Team had been holding a 26-point lead going into the final event but would need an early loss by the Walker team to hold onto the championship.

Qualifying order:
Rod Burbage  6.254/218.65
Randy Walker  6.350/220.37
Clint Hairston  6.359/231.24
Brett Williamson  6.369/227.27
Tim Henry  6.443/219.13
Bob Bunker Jr.  6.499/216.86
Alan Bessant  6.764/207.85
Rich Zehring  7.239/197.32 

Round 1  

Number 1 Qualifier Rod Burbage lined up with the GTO of Zehring. Zehring was running in PRO with 10.5 tires and in ADRL XTF trim. Burbage was on a mission to set the e.t. record, and with the temps soaring this would prove to be a tough task, Zehring left first, .028 to .093, and ran 7.028 at 206.65 but it wasn’t enough to hold off Burbage’s 6.370 at 220.04.

Next pair on the ladder was Brett Williamson in the blown 1955 Chevy known as “The Beast” against Tim Henry in his nitrous-powered Firebird in a race that could go either way. When the tree flashed it was Henry away first with a .049 RT and Williamson’s .115 Reaction Time coupled to a 6.315 at 228.65 wasn’t enough to cover Henry’s 6.349 at 223.10. Another holeshot win for the Con-Quest driver. Next pair would be the ‘68 Camaro of Allen Bessant against Randy Walker, who needed the round win to have a chance at the championship. Bessant was away too quick with a -.082 redlight and Walker made another nice run, clocking a (.090) 6.395 at 220.42. Walker advanced to the semis still six points behind Clint Hairston. The final pair on the ladder was to be the Hairston Motorsports GTO against Bob Bunker Jr., but the Hairston team couldn’t make the repairs needed to compete on Sunday.