(Photos by Ken Hughes • Words by Darr Hawthorne) • Tucson Dragway’s inaugural Fuel Altered Chaos delivered pretty much what its organizers hoped for: a stand-alone, headline event built entirely around the many Fuel Altereds in the West and Southwest, proving there’s still a serious audience for these racecars.
Held at Tucson Dragway, track owner Jim Hughes together with Chris Graves brought Fuel Altereds back to a venue that has had a strong altered, funny car and nitro scene over the decades.
What was originally planned as a 16-car show expanded into a 24-car main event after pre-entries passed 30 racecars from across the country.
Organizers used the CHAOS “run whatcha’ brung” format: any engine combination, any body style, any wheelbase, all in eighth-mile competition, and with A, B & C Elimination Fields, so many more teams could race all weekend. ANRA was combined to fill the remaining fields.
In the Fuel Altered A-field Final it was ’26 March Meet Champion Brandon Seraphine (far lane) on a hole-shot, winning over a quicker Jimmy Kelso with a 3.861 ET to Seraphine’s 3.885 in his “Spare Change” Bantam Altered. Kelso drove Jim Broome’s “Speed Sport” roadster.
In the Fuel Altered B-field Final Rich Nasby, in his root beer colored Altered (near lane) met Arizona’s Sheldon Lofgren. Nasby’s 3.999 ET at 179.24 MPH defeated Lofgren’s 4.341 ET, for the win.
There was also a serious reminder of the danger involved when Kyle Hough suffered injuries in a freak crash, driving the “Sheepherder” AA/FA during qualifying. After Hough’s final lengthy and extensive surgery this past weekend, to repair the damage to his legs, he’s got at least six months of follow-up and physical therapy ahead.
Chaos Events like this lean into exactly what made Fuel Altereds famous in the first place: short wheelbases, nitro, superchargers, noise, personality, and match-race style showmanship.
For nostalgia drag racing fans, Fuel Altered Chaos looks less like a one-off and more like an attempt to rebuild a regional institution around a class that once packed the few remaining Southwestern tracks.
CHECK OUT OUR FUEL ALTERED CHAOS PHOTO GALLERY BELOW!
