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 | The Goodguys VRA resumed their West Coast Championship Series with the ‘Fall Classic’, September 22-23 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Following a four month break in action, anticipation was high as over 200 competitors prepared for the Fall swing. What wasn’t anticipated were the summer-like weather conditions, which reduced any thoughts of record breaking performances. Grueling desert heat and humidity took its toll on the track surface and all those that were in attendance. Negotiating the tricky track surface was a crap shoot, prompting upsets to be served like a country buffet. The following will take you on a photo highlight of the event captured by myself and Mark Hovsepian. Enjoy! -Dawn |
 | Jim Murphy, near lane, initiates the first round clash against opponent Roger Lechtenberg. What followed was an epic battle to the finish line, as both drivers went up in smoke by the 60′ mark and exchanged leads like a baton. |
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| Despite recovering first and having a clear-cut lead at 1000′, Murphy was edged out by the stronger top end charge of Lechtenberg. How strong? Lechtenberg’s 6.99 knocked out Murphy’s 7.20, coupled with a stout 244.25 mph to claim top speed of the event. WOW! |
| Kevin Riley survived a tough day at the B/Gas office, by adding another Goodguys trophy to his collection. Riley faced off against Tom Franks in the final and the results were just classic. Franks launched to a .403 light over Riley’s .415 but it would be Riley on the big-end, as he tripped the lights to the tune of an 8.739 to Franks’ ever-so-close 8.758! |  |
 | Bill ‘Grasshopper’ Genco, like so many of the competitors in attendance, proudly flew the American Flag during every burnout. Genco qualified fifth in the A/Fuel field with a 6.99 and met low qualifier Jim Paul in the opening round. Despite slamming a .499 holeshot on Paul’s unfashionably-late .719, Genco’s 7.15 was not enough to hold off Paul’s winning and low e.t. setting 6.706. |
| Tom Franks, near lane, and Delton Dysart square off during the semi final round of B/Gas. Franks advanced to final immediately following Dysart’s .385 red-light start. Franks would have been tough to beat all the same, as he coupled a .430 light with an 8.74 to Dysart’s 8.76. |  |
 | Ron Attebury qualified his personally-crafted A/Fuel entry second best in the field with a 6.77/206.07. Attebury lost an opening round encounter with Greg Uffens, when both drivers appeared to be in a staging duel and Attebury left before the ‘tree cycled down. |
| Dale Boomgaarden, near lane, and Rich Roberts engage in dueling burnouts prior to their semi final meeting of Pro Supercharged. Roberts took the starting line advantage and the round win, using a 7.52 to take out Boomgaarden’s quicker 7.47. |  |
 | Jim Carter, who qualified third in the ultra-tough Nostalgia 1 class with a 7.709, defeated the likes of Woody Duke, Larry Dixon, Sr. and Dave Sammons, respectively, on his way to a runner-up finish. |
| The Nostalgia 1 class had over 30 cars vying for a spot in the 16 car field, and Don Dicero survived the cut by qualifying his gorgeous ’23 T on the bump with a 7.814. Only eleven hundredths separated the 16 car show. |  |
 | Rick McGee and the ‘Razmataz’ team of Tedford & Hester collected their second Top Fuel B win over final round opponent Mike McLennan. McGee ran a conservative 6.531, while McLennan smoked the hides to a 7.556. |
| Jim Data muscled an 8.086 in his ’57 Pontiac, to claim the sixth spot of the A/Gas field. Data lasted until the second round when he was defeated by eventual event winner, Ed Cooper. |  |
 | Tim Gibson qualified Frank Hedge’s ‘MasterCam’ entry in the second spot of the Top Fuel ‘A’ field with a strong 6.239/237.05. Gibson experienced an unfortunate set of circumstances in the opening round against Howard Haight, when the front wing was tripping the staging beams preventing him from staging properly, thus advancing Haight to a round winning 6.16. Ironically, Haight went on to win the event. |
| Ed Cooper made an impressive leap from B to A/Gas at the ‘Fall Classic’. Cooper qualified his ultra-clean Dart in the fourth spot of the tough field with a 7.84, and downed the likes of Tom Schiffilea and Jim Data, respectively, to earn a final round meeting with Sean Renteria. Cooper won the event on the starting line, as he and Renteria ran identical 7.799s! This was an awesome drag race! |  |
 | Lee Jennings, Sr. entered the Top Fuel ‘B’ field as an alternate, replacing Kent Terry’s wounded entry. Jennings met Rich Howell in the first round and was trailered rather quickly, as a result of tire-blistering 10.98. |
| Steve Woods qualified second in the Pro Supercharged field with 7.134/194.07, good for top speed of the event. Woods won his first round meeting over Tim Burns but splintered a bunch of connecting-rods along the way, preventing the reigning champ from returning to competition for the remainder of the race. |  |
 | Gerry Steiner survived the brutal qualifying conditions well enough to claim the bump-spot of the Top Fuel ‘B’ field with a 6.911. Steiner stepped up big-time in his first round meeting with Bob Muravez, running a 6.142/230.80 to Muravez’s 6.501/219.79. Steiner came back with a 6.230 shot against Mike McLennan’s 6.446 in the second round, but his .199 foul prevented any additional activity. |
| Scott Stanger launches his ’48 Topolino to a 9.657 during the final session of Nostaliga 3 qualifying. Stanger met Dean Prochison in the first round and despite having a decisive starting line advantage (.485 to a .632), Stanger broke-out by a hundredth…Stanger 9.650 – Prochison 9.660. |  |
 | Rich Roberts qualified his gorgeous ’34 Willys in the fourth spot of Pro Supercharged with a 7.575. Roberts advanced to his third final round of the season but retained bridesmaid status, as opponent Steve Wood used a 7.14 to defeat Roberts’ 7.48. |
| Jim Moore, who is in his freshman year of Jr. Fuel competition, qualified on the bump with an 8.25. Moore met Mike Chrisman in the first round, but his ever-improving 8.24 was no match for the winning 7.60 turned in by Chrisman. |  |
 | Gary Reinero was one of six entries available during qualfying for Pro Supercharged. Reinero managed a cage-rattling and aborted 8.05 qualifying run, but was unable to return for Sunday’s eliminations. |
| Ronnie Lennon manhandled the tough Nostalgia 1 field in the Batto Trucking-backed ’47 Crosley, using killer reaction times and consistent 7.70 e.t.s to claim his first event win. Lennon disposed of final round opponent Jim Carter, using a 7.707 over Carter’s 7.741. |  |
 | Steve Wood claimed his second Pro Supercharged title of the season over opponent Rich Roberts. Wood, who qualified on the pole and ran a low e.t. 7.041 in round one, drove his ’53 Studebaker to a 7.14 over Roberts’ off-pace 7.48. |
| Delton Dysart qualified his sharp looking ’55 T-Bird in the fifth spot of the B/Gas field with an 8.823. Dysart upset low qualifier Jim Schwartz in the opening round, using a holehot induced 8.78 over Schwartz’s quicker 8.73. |  |
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