2010 March Meet NTF Coverage

[Darrell Conrad]

52nd ANNUAL MARCH MEET MAGIC, MYSTERY & MAYHEM!

On March 5-8, 2010 the Auto Club Famoso Raceway once again proudly hosted the legendary Bakersfield March Meet… and little did they know what an extraordinary event it was going to turn out to be. Considered by many as the crown jewel of Nostalgia Drag Racing, this action packed event kicked off the long awaited NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series 2010 season with a “Nitro Vengeance”!

The 52nd running of one of the most historic drag races ever initially appeared to be once again doomed by Mother Nature; it was as if her self-centered pretension was caught up in various mood swings throughout the weekend. In doing so the semi-final and final rounds were (for the first time in history) held on the following Monday! It was a test of every one’s patience for sure!

As all of us are aware of, the world in which we dwell is a very large revolving ball of rock and water; however for the Nostalgia Drag Racing community it was revolving around the “Patch” that particular weekend. Coming into the game every Nostalgia Top Fuel team was virtually on equal playing grounds as for the points standing, it was anybody’s event... an event that ended up being full of surprises and head scratching “what the heck’s”!

As the race unfolded, the first two days brought several delays due to cold damp weather, oil-downs and a handful of sacrificial ceremonies to the guardrail gods which collectively consumed the required time to qualify 14 categories of entries.

In their doubtful veracity to see who had the fastest toy in town, many of the 19 NTF entries overall efforts left them with lots of blackened husks of semi-precious metals that propagated shattered dreams. This year’s event also carved its mark in the history book as the 426 Hemi and 44 amp mags were approved for legal for use in NTF. On hand were several new cars, some new personalities and a multitude of various engine combinations which made for one of the most memorable March Meets ever!



Final Qualifying Order:
1. Jim Murphy - 6.165/210.97
2. Mark Mulde - 6.201/229.18
3. Rick White - 6.485/233.03
4. Rick Williamson - 6.619/245.30
5. Brendan Murry - 6.647/190.19
6. Mike McLennan - 6.678/204.54
7. Rick McGee - 6.724/212.26
8. Denver Schutz - 6.814/233.88
9. Shannon Stuart - 7.069/214.33
10. Brad Thompson - 7.234/131.36
11. Adam Sorokin - 7.535/237.32
12. Howard Haight - 7.715/173.31
13. James Day - 9.063/136.57
14. Lincoln Hassel - 9.457/103.99
15. Mike Chrisman - 9.850/81.32
16. Rick Rogers - 10.237/85.35
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17. Randy Dakins - 11.580/76.32
18. Dan Horan - 14.032/71.55
19. Terry Cox - DQ

The first round of NTF eliminations left many with their jaw’s locked openly in astonishment. Number sixteen qualifier Rick Rogers shattered number one qualifier Jim Murphy’s shot atwinning a fifth March Meet title… shortly thereafter Brad Thompson’s 5.98 in the High Speed Motorsports digger won the round at the hit and took out Rick McGee’s 5.92 effort.

Rick White - 5.705/255.24
Lincoln Hassel - 6.804/186.60

Mark Mulde - 6.252/228.83
Mike Chrisman - 9.624/93.30

Rick Rogers - 6.072/240.51
Jim Murphy - 6.151/214.84

Rick Williamson - 5.992/231.66
James Day - 8.143/102.96

Howard Haight - 5.954/241.87
Brendan Murry - 7.008/120.80

Adam Sorokin - 6.030/230.65
Mike McLennan - 6.257/190.43

Brad Thompson - 5.988/233.28
Rick McGee - 5.927/254.23

Denver Schutz - 5.871/244.63
Shannon Stuart - 6.233/222.11

As in round one, round two had a couple of eyebrow raisers too when Adam Sorokin and Howard Haight nailed the tree against their opponents. Though Rick White put down some very impressive numbers, Sorokin’s fast foot gave him the advantage he needed to get the win light. The battle against Howard Haight and Rick Williamson was a nail biter all the way down the 1320 as well, but when all was said and done it was Howie’s quick reaction time at the hit that kept him in the show.

Adam Sorokin - 5.858/218.87
Rick White - 5.798/254.88

Denver Schutz - 5.881/248.61
Rick Rogers - 6.115/238.22

Brad Thompson - 5.942/236.53
Mark Mulde - 6.432/177.44

Howard Haight - 5.930/249.51
Rick Williamson - 5.899/247.93

As Sunday afternoon came around the track temperature was not conducive to quality racing so the decision was made to postpone the semi final and final rounds of Nostalgia Top Fuel till the following day. The decision to do so was left up to the racers, as the Bowser’s wanted to put on the best show possible.

Eliminations commenced precisely at 10:00AM Monday morning. Unfortunately the winners in round three were inadvertently decided by default as Denver Schultz broke and Brad Thompson’s effort to squeeze every 1000th of a second out of the Christmas tree did not play out as planned.

Howard Haight - 5.974/230.47
Denver Schutz - Broke

Adam Sorokin - 5.764/241.61
Brad Thompson - 14.748/108.36

The final round was as intense as it could get… it came down to East vs. West, youth vs. seasoned, old school driver against the new school driver and lifetime dreams vs. ambitious aspiration!

As the tree went green, it appeared that Bryan Van Dyke’s beautiful new slingshot was born to make life miserable for the “Nitrodiction” as his “thrilled to tears” driver Adam Sorokin clicked the win light at 5.764. Their stellar performance all weekend is a powerful tribute to the entire team’s efforts, skills and cohesion.

From generation to generation the ways of the world and its thinking change immensely, however our blood-lines will always define who we are and impact who we become. On this incredible day in Drag Racing history Adam drove his digger like there was no tomorrow and shattered the barrier between dream-land and reality! Congratulations Mr. Sorokin, like your parents, family and fans we here at AAFD News are extremely proud of you and your life-time achievement! Take a bow my friend, you so deserve it!

They say that life would be boring if everything were perfect, therefore I must admit this to be true of the 52nd Annual Bakersfield March Meet… it was anything but perfect, however what an event it was!
- Darrell Conrad

FRIDAY PHOTOS:



















Wes Morris of Boise, Idaho was treated to a ride in John Ewald's "BankAmericar"... though he is a very experienced Jr. dragster pilot, it was his first nitro ride!

In addition, Steve Plueger, Ron Capps, Steve & Pat Leach (of RDC) and the entire Plueger Racing team took Wes under their wing as a team member in an effort to encourage the "next-gen" to get involved with Nostalgia Drag Racing.































SATURDAY PHOTOS:





























































John Force and Steve Wallace enjoying the magic!









SUNDAY PHOTOS:









































































BOB SNYDER PHOTOS: