Goodguys VRA 2006 Fuel and Gas Finals
AAA Auto Club Famoso Raceway

Article byJames Drew
Photos by James Drew and Tim Marshall

GoodGuys annual end of the year speed fest brought a certain fravolity, and concern for everyone involved with nostalgia racing. This would end up being the last race put on by the Good Guys vintage racing association at the fabled Famoso raceway. The lease to the track which was held by former smokers car club member Jack Williams changed hands to the Bowser family after the unfortunate passing of Williams. The Bowsers feel that the money brought in for these two prestigious events would be better suited to be used for upgrades, upkeep, and major improvements to the existing property. One of those major improvements that has already happened is the resurfacing of the racetrack. Throughout the years there has been a water seepage problem with the track that needed to be addresses. After last years debacle of several cars crashing due to this problem, the entire surface was dug up, completely repaved and ground and leveled. The new surface has proven to be incredible most notably due to the numerous record runs at the recently completed Good Guys event.

Top Fuel
Good Guys VRA had 20 Top fuel cars show up to duke it out for the sixteen available spots in the field. First round is run on Saturday night after final qualifying which brought Brett Harris, the current point leader, and class speed record holder  with a 261.24 smph blast earlier this year at Pomona. His only competition in the run for the championship is Sean Belleameur, driver of the Plaza Hotel and Casino, Sliverthin top fuel dragster. For Belleameur to take the championship from Harris, he would have to go two more rounds further than the Utah team. The young Harris would afford the Plaza team that chance by bowing out in the semis. The final round pitted Belleameur versus 2005 top fuel champion Rick White, in the Neal and White top fuel dragster, which has struggled to find that elusive combination which made them nearly unstoppable last season. Unfortunately for the Plaza team, the car went up in smoke very early in the run, handing the win to the afformentioned Rick White, ending his season on a high note and thus becoming the LAST top fuel winner at a Good Guys sanctioned event at Famoso raceway.

Funny Car
In Good Guys VRA Funny car competition, seventeen nostalgia bodied floppers showed up on the grounds to battle it out for the championship. Included on the property were NHRA regular, Del Worsham, driving his recreation of the famed Harry Schmidt owned, and Raymond Beadle driven Blue Max Mustang funny car. Also making trip to Famoso was Ron Capps, driving the Hard Times Mopar Cuda, owned by touring regular Jeff Gaynor. Unfortunately for Capps his weekend ended prematurely with a front end destroying wheelstand in the right lane during Saturdays final qualifying. Capps exited the car unscathed, but there was too much damage to the car for it to race on sunday. Worsham, on the other hand ended up number one qualifier with a 5.93, and set the speed record to boot at over 247 miles per hour. Sundays eliminations began with teh afformentioned Blue Max team losing in the first round to the Donnie Couch tuned, and Gary Turner owned Peddler Plymouth Arrrow driven by rookie phenom Kris Krabill. With their first round triumph, the Couch led team wrapped up their first Good-Guys VRA championship, and the last for Good-Guys. Unfortunately for the Couch tuned flopper a blackened crank shaft ended their day in the semis affording Dennis LaCharrite, being the fastest loser the opportunity to race Lee Jennings Jr. in the finals. Jenning's Jr. driving his family owned Code Red Plymouth Cuda cloaked flopper, tuned by legend Ray Zeller streaked away from the Back In Black Corvette at the hit, and posted his second five second run in a row, and clinching the race win!