Plueger / Austin / Bateman Racing section

May 17, 2009

(SpeedZone Magazine has a Spokane race page all year long for all the major events for the 2009 season)

Well the team is 3-0 so far this year and it does not like there wil be any let up

(Rich Carlson photos from Spokane)

Spokane's season opener saw Bucky be the top dog in qualifying with a track record 5.92/236mph in qualifying.

Final qualifying

1. 617 Bucky Austin Fife, WA ’79 Arrow 5.926 234.57 * Track Record ET2. 611 Garrett Bateman Tacoma, WA ’73 Mustang 5.943 230.963. 6006 Mark Sanders Maple Valley, WA ’70 Nova 6.294 227.734. 7130 Todd Lesenko Cave Creek, AZ ’73 Camaro 6.636 186.105. 600 Tom Stevenson Stony Plain, AB ’71 Mustang 9.634 87.35

In eliminations Garrett was the one standing at the top as he took out Bucky in the final with a quicker track record 5.88

Win: Garrett Bateman, Tacoma, Wash., 5.889* sec. 230.44 mph * Track ET Record

R/U: Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., 6.030 sec., 230.17 mph

April, 2009

(Mark King Photos)

...........after a dominating March Meet where Bucky absolutely dominated the field, the next two events 'Funny Car Fever" at Sacramento and the season opener at Spokane Raceway, Garrett Bateman took over the winning reigns and was equally as dominant at Sacramento as Bucky was at Bakersfield, having a tenth on the field, and defeating Chris Krabill in the final with a 5.81 a track record. Bucky could not get a handle on the tricky Sacramento surface as he overpowered it on every run. He only had one lap in the good lane (the right and overpowered the track). Garrett on the other hand ran quick enough to get in the top half of the field and had lane choice for round one. That made all the difference as he got the right lane, and as they say, it was all over.

Here is final qualifying

Fuel Funny Car
1. Mendy Fry...........McCain's Bomb Squad...........6.003..235.60
2. Kris Krabill........Gary Turner's Pedaler.........6.008..242.78
3. John Powers.........Powers's Steel................6.213..224.07
4. Mike Savage.........Candies and Hughes............6.325..215.37
5. Garrett Bateman.....Plueger and Gyger.............6.784..149.01
6. Leah Pruett-Leduc...Holy Toledo...................7.230..147.06
7. Mark Sanders........Mr. Explosive.................7.282..216.64
8. Josh Crawford.....................................7.660..110.70
9. Michael Halstead....Nitro Charger.................7.674..203.24
10. Steve Nichols.......Mill Road Boys...............7.995..106.80
11. Bucky Austin........Northwest Hitter.............8.230..109.23
12. Sean Dale...........Revellution..................9.464..133.95
13. Jim Adolph......................................10.113...78.75
14. Dennis LaCharite....Back in Black...............10.118...81.60

Elims.

Bucky went red in round one but Bateman went low for the round and continued his winning ways for the rest of the day going low every round and getting his first ever win.

Round 1
W: Fry...................0.104....5.963..239.92
L: LaCharite.............0.175...6..290...22.63
-
W: Savage................0.157....6.603..182.05
L: Austin................-.026....7.145..143.61-Foul
-
W: Bateman...............0.140....5.877..237.58...MOV: 0.322
L: Nichols...............0.093....6.246..227.04
-
W: Krabill...............0.156....6.005..242.28
L: Adolph.......................no show
-
W: Sanders...............0.156....6.047..237.40...MOV: 1.962
L: Crawford..............0.119....8.046..122.94
-
W: Powers................0.144....6.271..230.09...MOV: 3.829
L: Dale..................0.163...10.081...83.80
-
W: Pruett-Leduc..........0.988.........took light
L: Halstead.....................no show
-
Round 2
W: Fry...................0.130....5.949..241.95
L: Bye..........................
-
W: Bateman...............0.222....5.816..239.61...MOV: 0.358
L: Savage................0.188....6.208..223.54
-
W: Krabill...............0.093....5.946..243.44...MOV: 0.577
L: Sanders...............0.162....6.454..215.05
-
W: Powers................0.143....6.035..231.46...MOV: 15.745
L: Pruett-Leduc..........0.233...21.690...42.35
-
Round 3
W: Bateman...............0.123....5.831..240.23...MOV: 3.754
L: Fry...................0.291....9.417...87.39
-
W: Krabill...............0.085....5.969..243.20...MOV: 2.932
L: Powers................0.101....8.885...92.63
-
Final
W: Bateman...............0.127....9.276...92.82
L: Krabill......................no show

March 2009

Paul Grant Photos

What a weekend!!!

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.

Courtesy of Bill Groak

It was deja vu all over again. Seriously, it could have been 1966, 1972 or even 2008 as perfect weather, packed stands and incredible drag racing competition all added up to another wildly successful March Meet at Auto Club Famoso Raceway near Bakersfield, Calif. And speaking of 2008, the 2009 winner were certainly familiar: Bucky Austin once again claimed the Nostalgia Funny Car category and the Harris family continuing its winning ways as Brett Harris took the Nostalgia Top Fuel title. Both racers also got a good jump on the competition as the March Meet is also the season opener for the NHRA's eight-race Hot Rod Heritage Series.
Austin, who won the Hot Rod Heritage Series Nostalgia Funny Car championship last year, beat Garrett Bateman, Tacoma, Wash., in the Funny Car final with a record-breaking time of 5.72 seconds at a blistering 246.77 mph. Garrett finished with a 5.85 time at 245.36 mph. Both Austin and Bateman ran on cars owned by Steve Plueger.

Fife, Wash. may be home for Austin, but he now owns Bakersfield. He's on the roll of lifetime here, winning four times in the two years at the legendary Auto Club Famoso, including two March Meets and two California Hot Rod Reunions. And he's set a new record in each race, including Sunday's with the lowest elapsed time (ET) in Nostalgia Funny history (5.72).

"We've accomplished a lot here in Bakersfield," Austin said after the race, "but it takes a good car, a great crew and a little luck. Everything has to go right.My hat's off to Steve (Plueger) and the whole team."

Funny Car eliminations summary

Round 1:

Lee Paul Jennings Jr, Hilmar CA, '69 Camaro, Left lane, (0.033) 5.992 221.34 def. Ed Dougan, Brea CA, '74 Camaro, (0.112) 5.933
238.60

Mark Sanders, Maple Valley WA, '70 Nova, Right lane, (0.243) 5.887 243.70 def. Terry Capp, Edmonton AB, '77 Firebird, (0.547) 5.858
247.72

Bucky Austin, Fife WA, '79 Arrow, Left lane, (0.174) 5.754 246.23 def. Dennis Taylor, Anahiem CA, '72 Charger, (0.200) 7.565 115.41

Garrett Bateman, Tacoma WA, '72 Mustang, Left lane, (0.150) 5.820 237.02 def. Chris Krabill, Orange CA, '78 Arrow, (0.124) 5.870
246.91

Round 2:

G Bateman, Left lane, (0.161) 5.862 240.96 def. M Sanders, (0.140) 6.047 238.22

B Austin, Left lane, (0.157) 5.789 242.06 def. L Jennings Jr, (0.078) 5.876 244.56

Round 3:

B Austin, Left lane, (0.162) 5.723 246.77 def. G Bateman, (0.155) 5.853 245.36

Low ET: Bucky Austin 5.723 seconds
Top Speed: Terry Capp 248.13 MPH

Qualifying Order

1 617 Bucky Austin, Fife WA, '79 Arrow 5.778 245.96 245.96
2 611 Garrett Bateman, Tacoma WA, '72 Mustang 5.804 242.45 244.43
3 627 Terry Capp, Edmonton AB, '77 Firebird 5.866 248.13 248.13
4 720 Lee Paul Jennings Jr, Hilmar CA, '69 Camaro 5.875 224.21 224.21
5 739 Ed Dougan, Brea CA, '74 Camaro 5.897 240.77 240.77
6 6006 Mark Sanders, Maple Valley WA, '70 Nova 5.917 243.50 243.50
7 732 Chris Krabill, Orange CA, '78 Arrow 5.924 243.77 243.77
8 714 Dennis Taylor, Anahiem CA, '72 Charger 5.962 224.83 224.83

------------ Not Qualified ------------

9 8 Mike Halstead, Fontana CA, '69 Daytona 6.014 240.06 240.06
10 7140 Jack Wright, Oakhurst CA, '70 Challanger 6.034 229.94 229.94
11 797 Stephen Romanazzi, Visalia CA, '77 Firebird 6.042 227.90 227.90
12 781 Mendy Fry, Aliso Viejo CA, '73 Duster 6.106 229.00 229.00
13 520 Dennis La Charite, Rolling Hills Estates CA, ' 6.108 238.15 238.15
14 724 Dale Pulde, Sylmar CA, '77 Trans Am 6.145 232.37 232.37
15 748 Bob Godfrey, Moreno Valley CA, '69 Camaro 6.159 235.60 235.60
16 7925 Craig Michael, Las Vegas NV, '72 Satellite 6.181 223.21 223.21
17 601 Tom Padilla, Arlington WA, '72 Plymouth 6.216 235.72 235.72
18 736 Dan Horan Jr, Sylmar CA, '66 Mustang 6.249 204.63 204.63
19 7773 Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Cherry Valley CA, '65 Jeeps 6.303 224.21 224.21
20 756 Nate Bugg, Orange CA, '71 Barracuda 6.312 224.83 224.83
21 708 Mike Adams, Scottsdale AZ, '79 Corvette 6.330 215.20 215.20
22 709 James Day, Ehrenberg AZ, '77 Arrow 6.436 215.15 215.15
23 7130 Todd Lesenko, Cave Creek AZ, '73 Camaro 6.474 222.22 222.22
24 750 Kirk Kuhns, Yorba Linda CA, '69 Camaro 6.536 186.64 198.45
25 168 Steve Nichols, Newark DE, '70 Camaro 6.588 222.71 222.71
26 400 Mike Savage, Tucson AZ, '70 Barracuda 6.663 203.43 203.43
27 7800 John Powers, Phoenix AZ, '77 Camaro 6.748 163.99 163.99
28 735 Jeff Utterback, Santa Monica CA, '71 Vega 6.875 148.07 148.07
29 730 Jeff Bennett, Las Vegas NV, '69 Camaro 7.212 152.25 152.25

February 2009

The big racing news is Bucky has a new team mate in Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car racing. Garrett Bateman will drive the Plueger/Gyger Mustang this season. The oorigianl plan was for Garrett to drive the new A/Fuel dragster but the time to assemble the new car was was prohibitive, and when the Plueger's Mustang became available the decision was made to run as a two car team. Garrett got licensed at Vegas during pre season testing, and the team tested the end of February prior to the 51st March Meet.

January and February 2009 archives

2008 results

January and February 2009 archives

2008 results