In all of sand drag racing, some of the most
exciting and unique vehicles are the wild Turbo 4-cylinder powered Dragsters.
We will categorize this group of vehicles as A/Fuel. These cars either run in
their own class, or in the Top Eliminator & Super Eliminator Index
categories depending on the event. There still is a lot of interest and various
different pockets across the country where this type of car is popular. For
this Best Runs compilation, all 4-cylinder runs, whether they were in Super
Eliminator, Top Eliminator, or A/Fuel to come up with the best runs in this
classification. Let’s take a look at the Top 10 Best Runs.A/Fuel – Top 10 Best Runs 2010
1. Art Cronin 2.814 – Lake Elsinore, CA – May-10
2. Art Cronin 2.843 – Dome Valley, AZ – Mar-10
3. Tim Hatfield 2.848 – Grain Valley, MO – Oct-10
4. Art Cronin 2.851 – Dome Valley, AZ – Mar-10
5. Terry Glasscock 2.855 – Grain Valley, MO – Oct-10
6. Art Cronin 2.860 – Dome Valley, AZ – Mar-10
7. Daniel King 2.871 – Lake Elsinore, CA – May-10
8. Steve Hoffman 2.887 – Dome Valley, AZ – Mar-10
9. Mike Rasmussen 2.889 – Lake Elsinore, CA – Apr-10
10. Brian Chapman 2.893 – Kingman, AZ – Nov-10
Art Cronin’s Meltdown Dragster topped the Best Runs list with a sizzling 2.814 at Lake Elsinore in May. This run is just .05 off of DL King’s World Record for the 4-cylinder Dragster category. Art & the Cronin Racing team dominated this list with 4 of the Top 6 passes, running in Super Eliminator class action. These guys put up great performances all season long. The next quickest entry was Tim Hatfield and his White Lightning Dragster. He laid down an incredible 2.848 at the very fast Thunder Valley Sand Drags track in Grain Valley, MO. Terry Glasscock was another driver that laid down a great number at Thunder Valley Sand Drags, running a 2.855 on a qualifying pass for the Top Eliminator class. Terry’s unique Turbo Pinto combination came in with the fifth Best Run of the year in this class dominated by Pauter motors. Other impressive passes include Daniel King’s great 2.871 at Lake Elsinore and Steve Hoffman’s 2.887 at Dome Valley. All of these guys dipping into the 2.8 zone shows how deep of a field there is with this combination.
2010 Race Winners
Kingman West Coast Winter Nats (Nov ’10) – Brian Chapman
There was only one event in 2010 that featured a dedicated A/Fuel class. This event was the Season Finale in Kingman, AZ. Six entries competed with the final round coming down to Best Run title holder Art Cronin & his Meltdown Dragster against Brian Chapman’s Short Fuse Dragster. Cronin would leave just a little too soon turning on the red light, handing the win to Chapman, who would run Low ET of the weekend with a 2.893. This pass was also good enough to take the #10 spot on the 2010 Top 10 Best Runs list.
The A/Fuel category definitely has potential, and it would be great to see this class contested more in the future. It is certain that this class will be run at the Dome Valley Season Opener, so look for more big things from the 4-cylinder cars in the New Year. Here is the list of the 25 Best Runs of 2010 for the A/Fuel class.
Art Cronin was the quickest of the 4-cylinder contingent running a great 2.81 at Lake Elsinore. (Lone Star Photo)
Tim Hatfield laid down the third quickest 4-cylinder ET of the season with a great 2.84 at Thunder Valley Sand Drags in Missouri. (Lone Star Photo)
Terry Glasscock & his unique Turbo Pinto-powered combination came through with the fifth Best Run of the year with a 2.85. (Lone Star Photo)
Brian Chapman was the big winner in the A/Fuel class at the Kingman Season Finale and in the process ran a great 2.89 for the 10th Best Run of the season. (NSDN Photo)
Daniel King did a superb job driving his grandfather DL's Animal Control Dragster, being ultra competitive in the Top Eliminator class as well as 7th Best Run of the year in A/F with a 2.87. (NSDN Photo)
Steve Hoffman, at Dome Valley Raceway's Season Opener, ran a 2.88 for the 8th Best Run of the year. (Lone Star Photo)
Another classic wheels up A/Fuel launch withe Mike Rasmussen (Near Lane) facing off with Brian Chapman (Far Lane). Rasmussen would run a 2.88 for the 9th Best Run of the season. (NSDN Photo)
Photos Courtesy
