Fun Ford Weekend - Texas Thunder - Blitz on Baytown

After making a few qualifying passes, the Drag Radial contingent took the rest of the weekend off until the final round on Sunday. Number-one qualifier (8.32) Adam Louramore and his flamed GT were joined by Pearland, Texas, resident Andrew Guptill, forming the only two contestants in Drag Radial this weekend.

Showing his first 7-second pass wasn't a fluke, Joe Robinson posted a 7.99 run in the final against a hard-charging Ronnie Wilson, who had qualified in the number-one spot with an 8.06 run. Eric Stubbs, Mike Kelley, and Crede Young were also contenders but off the pace by a few tenths. Borla Street Renegade is shaping up to be a really competitive class again.

Bill Glidden was at the top of the ProCharger Street Outlaw ranks on Saturday with a 7.05 run, while Tim Lynch posted the fastest mph at 204. Travis Franklin, Jimmy Keen, and Brand Lind were also in the hunt, but it was to be an all-black-car final until the semis, when Lynch's ride clicked itself early due to a broken cam pin. This left Glidden to make a solo pass for the victory.

'05 Fun Ford Texas Thunder Nationals Results
Mr. Gasket Pro

• (W) Mike Herring 6.505 at 215.07
• (L) Chuck Samuel (broke)

ProCharger Street Outlaw

• (W) Billy Glidden 7.253 at 162.98
• (L) Tim Lynch (broke)

BFGoodrich Drag Radial

• (W) Adam Louramore 8.336 at 164.53
• (L) Andrew Guptill 10.780 at 128.31

Borla Street Renegade

• (W) Joe Robinson 7.992 at 174.35
• (L) Ronnie Wilson 8.103 at 169.55

Edelbrock Street Bandit

• (W) Matt Jones 8.616 at 158.33
• (L) Adrian Duron 8.837 at 152.38

Blow-By Racing Street Warrior

• (W) Jeremy Martorella 9.507 at 139.03
• (L) Darrell Peterson 9.535 at 139.29

SCT Street Stang

• (W) Johnny Langton 12.807 at 91.29
• (L) Tony Whetstone 13.655 at 110.14

Steeda/Hyland Mod Motor

• (W) Vernon Purdham 11.936 at 107.18
• (L) Duwayne Cooleg 14.125 at 82.14

JDM Tough Truck

• (W) Paul Gamino 12.907 at 102.28
• (L) Don Justus 12.205 at 110.11

JBA Headers Focus Frenzy

• (W) Mark Adkins 16.837 at 79.87
• (L) George Hurt 17.097 at 79.84

Ford Racing Open Comp

• (W) Brian Warwas 10.734 at 124.65
• (L) Darryl Wischnewsky 9.096 at 147.73

With wins in Orlando and Atlanta, Mike Herring has the advantage right now over the nearest competitor, that being the Marsh Motorsports entry of Chuck Samuel, who has been working the bugs out of the team's new nitroused, big-block-powered Escort. Herring took the final round after Samuel broke a universal joint at the line. Rick Fisher and his Super Comp Probe was the third entry in the Pro class in Baytown, but he was just getting a feel for the class as his car was way off the pace. An awaiting nitrous motor could change all that, though, so we'll see.

The UPR car show was packed with beautiful cars old and new. We found several that could have been Editor's Choice, which made our job all the more difficult.

MM&FF Editor's Choice for '79 and newer models went to Samuel Joyner of The Woodlands, Texas, and his mint '90 Saleen Mustang.

James Yale of Cyprus, Texas, took home the early-model MM&FF Editor's Choice award with his black '65 Shelby Cobra. It was the use of SN-95 Cobra brakes and deep-dish Bullitt-style wheels that really caught our attention.