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| 2005 Coors Light World Finals | Dec 12, 2005 |
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After a couple of incredible races at Marble Falls and San Diego, the 2005 Coors Light World Finals at Firebird Raceway were probably hyped up more than any previous race. Not only did the event live up to it's expectations, it blew them away and has been considered by many as the best race in recent memory and possibly of all time. The boat count was the highest in recent years with a whopping 216 boats registered. It started off with Thursday's Test and Tune and IHBA Rescue's arrival at 6:30 AM to a windy and chilly morning. The wind was persistent and blew pretty hard for most of the day. This brought back memories of this season's opener and last year's finals. The big difference was that it was a northeasterly wind, which comes across the island and has little effect on the water, throughout the course and the shutdown area. This is what separates Firebird from all the rest, the ability to withstand some wind and still provide good water. Test and tune went smoothly with many racers making multiple laps and taking the opportunity to adjust to the water and air conditions. There were only a few boats that came out from the pro classes, among them Doug Verstuyft working toward his license in TFH. Doug was only to make a ½ track pass, which he did in an impressive manner. This left him needing only to make a full pass on Friday, to gain his license and get in line to qualify for the field of eight. Friday, the first day of qualifying, brought an improvement in the weather. The air and water conditions were optimum and the results showed it. All the sportsman classes got in two rounds and the pro boats got in one afternoon round. Doug Verstuyft, in his new Nitro Chicken, earned his license earlier in the day with an impressive 5.06 at 241 mph. Speed Sport Special, driven by John Haas and tuned by Famous Amos Saterlee, came out with a blazing 4.82 at 252.24 mph, putting a leg on the record that went back to Wildside's 246.76, at the 2001 finals. Most of the 12 fuel boats that showed for 1st round made good showings, with several outstanding passes. Everybody ran safely except for the Super Stock and K-Boats getting pretty wild, with 3 boats flipping in the turns. This meant another late day for Rescue, having to recover the boats and help get them onto their trailers. Saturday was a repeat of Friday, with the exception of the pro boats having two rounds. Once again the circle boats provided a little more excitement than necessary, with two more boats going over. At the end of the qualifying session, all the sportsman classes had made 4 rounds and the pro boats 3 rounds. All the classes, from top to bottom showed a level of competition seldom seen. In Top Fuel Hydro, only 8 boats qualified for Sunday with the top six having ET's below 5.00 seconds. The second ever sub 5.00 second side-by-side pass was made, and a new MPH record was set, with Public Nuisance adding a leg on a potential MPH record. The bubble to make the show was 5.19, by far the quickest and fastest field in the history of drag boat racing. In Top Alcohol Hydro, the field was even tighter with only 0.18 seconds separating the number 1 and 8 qualifiers. Sunday brought a little more wind but once again from a favorable northeasterly direction (left to right). This gave some a little trouble on the holding rope but didn't cause any problems with the water conditions. Most of the sportsman classes, having run 1st round of eliminations on Saturday afternoon, began with the gambler and second chance, commencing at 7:45 AM. First round of the pro classes accompanied opening ceremonies at 10:30 AM. With the exception of the red light bug, first round picked up where qualifying left off and 7 out of the 8 qualifiers making it to the finish with impressive passes. This continued into the semi finals where the rookie and newly licensed driver, Doug Verstuyft, ripped off a 4.76 at 254 mph. This was the fastest pass ever recorded, was within 0.002 of the current ET record, and would serve as a backup for re-setting that mark. The final consisted of Rex Childress Whiskey River, who also had made his best ever ET in the semi-finals, and the amazing team of Dennis Gibson and new driver Doug Verstuyft, in the brand new Nitro Chicken. Nitro Chicken cruised to a mild 4.87 at 240+ mph to take the win over Whiskey River, who broke during the race. WOW, what else can one say? The superlatives were flying! The 2005 World Finals was topped off by two single exhibition passes: Liquid Quicker, with a beautiful, but costly, fireball immediately in front of the spectators in near dark conditions; and Scotty Lumbert's beautiful ½ track pass with all 8 candles lit, re-affirming for the thousands remaining in the bulging grandstand that they had just witnessed, what may go down in history as, the greatest drag boat race of all time. After a finale like that, it is going to be a very long winter. There is much anticipation that the level will be picked up where it has left off, next year. From IHBA Rescue, we wish everybody a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing many of you at the banquet in Las Vegas on January 28th, or at the season opener in Phoenix next spring. |
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