Gates wins first wfa series race of the year

congrats to the eric gates racing team winning the first wfa series race of the year at speedworld in north phoenix,arizona. eric is sponsored by barona raceway,cylinder head service of san diego,dc funny car supply,rbs superchargers. this is only the 2nd wfa race for the team, and were very happy after winning over a tough opponent dean oberg in the final. The WFA started out its sophomore season at Speedworld’s 50th anniversary race in Phoenix , AZ. Twelve teams showed up to compete for the coveted 8 car field. New comers Mitch Bowen, Mark Forbes and Lawton Ferreia were quickly introduced to heads up, no breakout, true drag racing!



First round teams proved that the competition will be tough this year. Off season upgrades helped several teams set personal bests, with six of the 12 cars running 6’s. Chris Phelps showed everyone that his 8.71 blower could keep up with the big boys by ripping off a 6.62 at 215 mph. With the opportunity for a second pass on Saturday, to Chris’s demise, the racers voted to throw out the first round et’s.



Second round played in the favor of the more consistent cars. The quick 6 second cars of Phelps and Gates did not get down the track. When the smoke cleared, Dean Oberg was on top with a 6.71. With the help of Andrus Transportation and Car Quest, Becky Sylvester showed up with new slicks and ran a career best 6.81 to qualify her Chevy number two.



The third round of qualifying took place Sunday afternoon. Where Eric Gates made the quickest pass with a 6.75 followed by Oberg’s .76 and Maroney’s .77. That set up the final round between two California cars of Dean Oberg and Eric Gates . At the hit, Oberg was out front until his burst panel could take no more, and Gates flew by at 203 mph to take the win and the RBS Superchargers Low Et award with a 6.68. Although losing the race, the Freightliner Simple Pleasure altered of Dean Oberg cut a stellar .020 light in the final to take home the Torco Oil quick reaction time award.



Congratulations to Eric Gates and his team for their first win with the WFA! Next stop Barona Drag Strip, April 23.



Final Qualifying times:

1
Oberg
6.7133

2
Gates
6.7519

3
Maroney
6.7757

4
Sylvester
6.8117

5
Lofgreen
6.9380

6
Bowen
6.9419

7
Middlebrook
7.1582

8
Carter
7.1886

9
Winefsky
7.2608

10
Ferreia
8.3637

11
Forbes
9.1643

12
Phelps
14.3754





Points Standings:



1
7684
Oberg
146

2
7596
J. Maroney
142

3
7536
Gates
140

4
720R
Sylvester
140

5
7088
Lofgreen
139

6
7704
Bowen
136

7
7739
Middlebrook
136

8
7062
Carter
134

9
768
Winefsky
132

10
701
Forbes
130

11
713F
Ferreia
130

12
741
Phelps
120





Jim Maroney

480-720-0060 cell

jim@maroneyracing.com

www.WFAseries.com

 

Great job to Eric and everyone else.

 

Way to go Eric!!!! Who needs that Funny Car body anyways... lol..

Tim Charlet

 

Thanks guys! We are having fun running with the WFA series.

Eric Gates