Photos by Mark
McLaughlin
Drag boats face off in Chandler, AZ.
M
ore than 150 teams showed up at the Wild Horse Pass MotorSports Park—formally
known as Firebird Raceway in Chandler, AZ—for the NAPA/Lucas Oil Drag Boat World Finals. Excellent weather all four days helped make it a stellar success, along with several record times and speeds.. In Pro Eliminator class, Dan Jensen drove his Without a Trace machine to the numbertwo qualifying spot. An eleven-boat field gave the #1 qualifier a bye run in the first round, and Jensen went all the way to the finals and took out the #1 boat to win the class. Meanwhile, Top Alcohol hydro owner/ driver Mike Fry, in Mean Streak II, qualified #2 and not only won the event, but took home the High Points World Championship. Vic Esposito didn’t fare so well in qualifying. Driving the Freak Show Pro Modified drag boat, he could only get to the #14 spot out of 21 entries. After taking out the current points leader, Marty Logan, in round 3, he then proceeded to take a bye run into the final where he squared off against the Desperado machine. Esposito ran a limited schedule for the 2014 season, but ended up on a high note with the World Finals win. Over 20 boats showed up for the newest class in Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series. The Quick Eliminator class is a bracket class with a 1000 foot course. Number eleven qualifier Jerry Hardwick, driving the Texas Red hydro, had to go five rounds to take the win in this very competitive class. He finished up the year as the high-points runnerup in Division 2 Quick Eliminator category.
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