Words by Darr Hawthorne – Photos by Bob Snyder and Darr Hawthorne

The International Hot Rod Association’s 2015 Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series season opened Friday afternoon at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Arizona.

After two rounds of qualifying for the annual Good Vibrations Motorsports Southwestern Nationals presented by Budweiser, Ohio’s Mike McIntire Jr. debuted his new orange “McAttack” ’70 Camaro (above) leading a stout field of nitro funny cars in the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car class, Ray Stringer, from New Mexico, is the CIFCA Funny Car eliminator leader, Oklahoma’s Cary Goforth set low elapsed time of qualifying in U.S. Bounty Hunters Mountain Motor Pro Stock, in the spectacular Nitro Harley class, Jay Turner is the quick one, and Kat Moller’s covered the Tucson quarter mile in 5.840 seconds at 277.26, setting the pace in Jet Cars.

Both of Friday’s sessions were free of any oil-downs and with a corrected altitude of more than 5,000 feet the performances of all classes were exceptional.

Qualifying results after two rounds at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, AZ.

Tim Boychuk
AMSOIL Nitro Funny Cars, presented by Aeromotive 8-Car Field

1. Mike McIntire Jr. (Mentor, Ohio) Camaro 5.823 seconds at 251.16 mph.
2. Tim Boychuk (above) (Scottsdale, Ariz.) Firebird 5.863 seconds at 231.12 mph.
3. Jason Rupert (Yorba Linda, Calif.) Camaro 5.895 seconds at 239.95 mph.
4. Kris Krabill (Kent, Wash.) Firebird 6.126 seconds at 237.17 mph.
5. Roger Garten (Fallbrook, Calif.) Mustang 6.170 seconds at 229.90 mph.
6. Mark Sanders (Maple Valley, Wash.) 6.213 seconds at 180.89 mph.
7. Bob Godfrey (Moreno Valley, Calif.) Plymouth Barracuda 6.240 seconds at 228.31 mph.
8. Will Martin (Chino, Calif.) ’79 Dodge Omni 6.344 sec./190.78 mph.
9. Dennis Swearingen (Carson, Calif.) Omni 6.465 sec./231.87 mph.
10. Mike Halstead (Fontana, Calif.) Barracuda 6.946 sec./156.61 mph.

U.S. Bounty Hunters Mountain Motor Pro Stock – Eight-Car Field

1. Cary Goforth (Holdenville, Okla.) Camaro 6.385 sec./218.48 mph.
2. J.R. Carr (Pasco, Wash.) Camaro 6.387 sec./218.09 mph.
3. Brad Waddle (Salina, Kans.) Mustang 6.406 sec./216.31 mph.
4. Scott Hintz (Odessa, Tex.) Mustang 6.415 sec./217.11 mph.
5. Kevin Bealko (Bridgeport, W.V.) Chevrolet 6.429 sec./217.70 mph.
6. John Deflorian Jr. (Arnold, Mo.) Camaro 6.434 sec./217.14 mph.
7. John Montecalvo (Center Moriches, N.Y.) Camaro 6.476 sec./215.93 mph.
8. John Konigshofer (Otterville, Ontario, Canada) Ford .790 sec./121.33 mph.
9. Dean Goforth (Holdenville, Okla.) Camaro 14.641 sec./52.50 mph

Nitro Harley-Davidson

1. Jay Turner (above) (Julian, N.C.) 6.578 sec./201.15 mph.
2. Ron Gledhill (Cochise, Ariz.) 6.598 sec./202.48 mph.
3. Lyle Newton (Naniamo, B.C., Canada) 6.763 sec./188.94 mph.
4. Brian Jernigan (Cypress, Texas) 6.854 sec./186.41 mph.
5. Mark Conner (Robertsville, Mo.) 7.059 sec./181.47 mph.
6. Tracy Kile (Asheville, N.C.) 10.111 sec./83.67 mph.
7. Rickey House (Humble, Tex.) 10.397 sec./88.32 mph.
8. Randal Andras (Amelia, La.) 13.483 sec./57.71 mph.

CIFCA Funny Cars

1. Ray Stringer (above) (Alamogordo, New Mex.) Corvette 7.580 sec./173.99 mph.
2. Lyle Brum (El Paso, Tex.) Daytona 7.599 sec./169.38 mph.
3. Andy Mears (Lubbock, Tex.) 1957 Bel Air 7.633 sec./171.58 mph.
4. Becky Sylvester (St. George, Utah) Oldsmobile Achieva 7.735 sec./172.85 mph.

The Good Vibrations Motorsports Southwestern Nationals presented by Budweiser concludes Saturday with the third round of qualifying, followed by eliminations. Gates will open at 9 a.m. The Nitro Jam – featuring AMSOIL Nitro Funny Cars, CIFCA Funny Cars, U.S. Bounty Hunters Mountain Motor Pro Stocks, Nitro Harley-Davidsons and Jet Cars — will start at 1 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for kids.

Southwestern International Raceway (www.raceswir) is located at 12000 S. Houghton Rd. in Tucson.