2006 was the 13th year the March Meet has been run under the Goodguys VRA banner and it proved to be unlucky indeed. There are some things in life you just have to write off as a really bad deal that was nobody's fault. The 47th March Meet proved to be one of those things. Drag racers can do a lot but running in the rain is not one of them. Over two miserable weekends the Goodguys, racers and fans could only hope that the rain would stop and the race begin.

Although the Top Fuel cars did get one qualifying run and squeezed in first round of eliminations, the sun that finally came out on Sunday only served to draw water up from under the racing surface making it to dangerous to race on. It was the first time in history that the event had to be not only postponed for a week but canceled altogether. It was a no win situation for all involved.

As it turned out, Mother Nature may have played into Nitro Thunder's hand as the 13th Goodguys March Meet was not lucky for them either.

Photos and full story below.

Week two, Thursday afternoon. 120 gallons of nitro sit next in the Harris pit at Lake Famoso.

The crew unloaded the car Friday morning between rain showers.

Friday never cleared up and most of the teams just spent the day tinkering on their cars and in some cases, firing the engine to check things out.

VRA Tech Inspector Ziggie dropped by to chat with Jack.

Harris goes over the newest M&H tire with their rep.

Among all the cool things the Goodguys had planned for the weekend was the unveiling of the March Meet Champions board. Fortunately they were able to pull this one off and had 9 of the drivers pose for photos on Friday.

L to R: Art Chrisman (1959), Don Garlits (1965, 1971, 1979, 1986 & 1987), Gary Beck (1984 & 1985), Butch Blair (1988), Pete Kaiser (1995), Bill Dunlap (1994 & 1997), Jim Murphy (1998, 1999, 2003 & 2004), Jack Harris (2001 & 2002), Howard Haight (2005).

Goodguys PR Director John Drummond interviewed Jack along with all the other past winner. It was a nice gesture on the Goodguys part to recognize those who have made this race special for the last 47 years.

Saturday morning didn't look any better than Friday. The weather report was for showers on and off all day. So, it was another waiting game.

At about 2 p.m. the teams were told that they were, barring anymore rain, going to try to get a one-shot qualifying session in around 3 p.m. So, the first order of business was to warm the engine up.

At 3:51 on a cold afternoon the first pair of Top Fuel cars finally got a shot at the track. Harris chose to go in the last pair gambling that the track would get better with more rubber on it. As they prepared to start the engine it was nearly 4 p.m. The track did have more rubber but it was still cold and had a very narrow racing groove.

Brett Harris starts his burnout in the right lane while Brad Thompson did his in the left.

Steve Tyrell guides Harris back from the burnout to make sure he stays in his "tracks".

At the green both cars left together and left hard.

Both cars were together until just after the 330' mark when Harris got out of the groove and the car wanted to go left. It was time to drive!

You can't get much closer to the centerline than this.

After reeling it in, Harris started to go back onto the throttle.

He had lost a lot of ground but set out after Thompson and a qualifying time slip.

After a pedal job Harris recovered to card a 6.233 at 218.23. Good enough to qualify # 5.

Sunday was just that - the first day in two weeks that predicted NO rain. The Goodguys crew had cars on the track by 8:00 a.m. trying desperately to salvage the event and give all the racers at least one shot at the show. Everyone was planning for a very long day and nighttime finals. In spite of the sun shine and comfortable temps, the massive amounts of rain would prove to be the winner yet another day.

With first round scheduled for 10:00 a.m. the team were at the track early doing last minuted checks and maintenance.

Grand Marshall, the legendary Don Garlits with Goodguys PR Director John Drummond and CEO Gary Meadors during the pre race ceremonies.

10:02 a.m. Much nicer conditions this morning. About 58 degrees and lots of sunshine. Track temperature in the high 70s. A perfect day for a drag race - almost. Fire the first pair.

First round matched Brett Harris and Adam Sorokin.

After returning from his burnout, Harris saw a fuel leak at the back of the injector hat. The crew desperately tried to tighten the line that had come loose on the burnout.

The Nitro Thunder team makes few mistakes but not checking the fuel lines that had been on the injector hat for several years was an oversight they will never make again. The fitting was inaccessible and the leak could not be stopped. They were given the signal to shut off, giving Sorokin the single.

The dejected Utah Posse could only stand and watch the RB Entertainment car take the green.

 

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This first round loss would would start the team in a hole for the 2006 points chase. With only three more races the team that wins the Top Fuel Championship will have to have a good showing all season and that doesn't mean first round losses. However, after the Top Fuel session ran they were followed by the A/Gas cars and incredibly 3 of the first 4 cars crashed causing a lot of time in clean up and putting the already tight schedule back even further.

What did this mean to Harris and team? Upon close inspection it was found that the track was "seeping". The massive amount of rain over the last two weeks was too much for the ground to hold and as the sun warmed the asphalt the heat drew the water up through the cracks in the asphalt which would then form small puddles on top of the VHT (above and below at the 330' mark).

When it was obvious to all that there was too much seepage to control and not nearly enough time left for any kind of program the Goodguys bit the bullet and canceled the race at 1:30 p.m. End of deal. As of this writing no decision has been handed down by Goodguys other than the whole thing was figuratively and literally a washout. No points, no money. A meeting is scheduled in April between Goodguys and AAFD Inc. to get the final word. In the mean time Brett Harris is breathing easier knowing the fuel leak didn't put him behind the 8-ball at the first race.

 

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Official Goodguys Press Release

Bakersfield, CA – Wet track conditions caused by “weepers” (pockets of water seeping through tiny cracks in the asphalt) forced Goodguys/VRA officials to cancel all racing at the 47th March Meet. Water from weeks of rain continued to seep through the racing surface today even though the weather conditions were perfect for racing.

The day started off with some sportsman eliminations and continued with round one of top fuel. Conditions were fine with Visalia’s Brad Thompson running Low ET of the meet at 5.862. After a couple more hours of racing water started seeping up through the racing surface in several areas causing the cancellation of the event.

Goodguys officials deemed the race canceled at 1:30pm. There will be no rerun.

The 47th March Meet got off to an inauspicious start when it was postponed a week due to rain. The rerun this weekend was not much better with most of the first two days washed out due to passing rain showers.

“It’s as frustrating as it gets,” said Goodguys President Gary Meadors. “The racers and the officials both agreed that the conditions were not suitable for further competition.”

The next Goodguys West Coast Championship Series event, the 9th Pomona Nitro Nationals, is scheduled for May 5-7 at Pomona Raceway.