And if Palmdale's reputation actually precedes itself and scared off a few competitors in the professional categories...well that's a shame, because these racers missed an ideal opportunity to kick out the jams and lay down some rubber. It was their loss.

In Top Fuel, "Wild Bill" Alexander (pictured above) pointed the competition directly towards their trailers as he once again showcased his talent as a superlative shoe in bossman "Root Beer" Hedge's sleek "Master Cam" Double-A slingshot. It seems like Alexander was born to drive a front-engined fueler, a notion understood by the track cognescente as early as the first session of qualifying when "Wild Bill" immediately seized the pole with an out-of-the-box 6.78.

When the dust and tire smoke settled after the completion of Pro Qualifying--whose sessions were jazzed up by the art patrons at Full Throttle News dangling a proverbial carrot of 300 skins to the Low Qualifier--Alexander remained #1, followed by Dan "the Irish Intimidator" Horan, Jr. at 6.82, "Digger Dan" Horan, Sr. at 6.08, and finally, Ty "Thumper" Norton was in the caboose with a 7.38. It has been more than few moons since Norton graced the drag strips with his presence, perhaps due to a combination of climbing costs as well as the fallout from a year-long ego battle stemming from Ty's rather libertarian views about burst panels and how they relate to blower explosions. Regardless, Norton was back in the saddle and high on the horse here at Palmdale, riding his bucking '68 dragster like it was a rodeo bronco loaded on locoweed.

And I would be remiss not to mention that the youngest Horan was getting back in top form as well. Junior's dance card has been pretty barren lately as well. Between chasing a gimpy tune-up (rotten clutch discs?) and the cost of nitromethane, it must have been pretty discouraging for somebody who clocked a 6.17 a couple of years back to be on the outside looking in, performance-wise. However, if his presentation at "Nitro Under the Lights" was any barometer of future tidings, it looks like things may be coming his way again.

But although Ty and Horan, Jr. were feeling their oats, Palmdale's Top Fuel Eliminator ultimately boiled down to Alexander and "Digger Dan." It is no coincidence that these two warriors have recently adopted LACR as their own private battlefield, and all the laps these two have compiled match racing here really paid off. In the semi-finals Alexander disposed off Horan, Jr in a most efficient order, reeling off Low E.T. of the Meet at 6.60 to Horan's trailing 7.05. Likewise, "Digger Dan" dumpstered Norton in a real shake-n-bake thriller, 7.04 to 7.13.

The final was all about Alexander, kemosabe. Horan, Sr. got a little grabby in the clutch set-up and overcompensated for the performance differential between Root Beer's ride and his own. Subsequently, Horan overpowered the LACR pavement within the first '60 of the race. Alexander kept the hammer down and powered through the eyes with a winning elapsed time of 6.53...And for the coup de gras, his 212 mph charge stood as Top Speed of the Meet as well. These guys are really onto something.

With a bouncing, shaking opening roller-coaster ride of 7.44 at 197 mph, his first victim was Mike Joyce, who had serious traction problems and limped down the quarter-mile. Smith's final round opponent was Larry Pettit, who had trailered Bill Genco in the opening stanza, 7.22 to 7.83. In the final, Smith's mount transformed into a rather smooth rocket ride, as he kicked in the afterburners on his aluminum Donovan and recorded a 7.05, 196 to defeat Pettit's 7.58.

The title dash in Nostalgia Eliminator (kissin' cousin to the A/Dragster deal, albeit with a 7.50 index) featured perhaps the most exciting race of the event. Mike Cross, driver of the Cristlieb & Cross "Blue Meanie" blown alcohol-dragster, and Dave Rosenberg, skipper of Bruce Dyda's beautiful ocean-blue "Surfer's Paradise" slingshot, traded licks like horn players in a bebop combo. Cross hit the first note with a clean holeshot on the downbeat. Rosenberg chimed in a beat later and began pursuit. They swapped leads through the verse, chorus and bridge, and came together on the vamp. Ultimately, it was Cross who hit the high notes in the coda as Rosenberg "laid out," as they say in the jazz world, for fear of breaking out. Cross's 7.63 muted Rosenberg's 7.55. It was truly some beautiful music.

Mike Chrisman, heir of the legendary Chrisman horsepower empire, had the Jr. Fuel title entirely to himself. Mike, who collaborates with his old man, Art (who has been drag racing in SoCal since the days before freeways), on strategy for the injected-on-methanol machines, recorded a 7.92 at 168 mph to claim his crown on a solo run.

Even though Gottlieb was taking up the rear, the tail-end of his ride created quite a spectacle as the outrageous torque of the blown gas-huffing machines forced his sedan to bow and compress, which actually appeared to change the camber of the rear slicks (!) as Howard marched down the LACR 1320. It was something to behold, let me tell 'ya.