Bradenton 2007
Let the bench-racing begin! In Bradenton, BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial saw the first eight-oh passes in class history, both coming from turbo cars that saw extensive testing over the winter break. In qualifying, John “Iceman” Kolivas and Chris Tuten traded shots, with Kolivas coming out ahead with a class-leading 8.043 at 174.48. Tuten’s 8.051 showed he had just as much on tap, while Chad Doyle brought up third spot with an 8.223, showing an apparent disparity for the once-mighty blower cars. With 14 cars in the show, things got very interesting right away on Sunday. Kolivas came out of the blocks with a .014 light and dispatched Mauro Vitale with an 8.113. Second round saw the Iceman take his top-qualifier bye, and Kolivas used the opportunity to see just how far he could push the tree with a -.005 mulligan redlight and a twelve out the back end. The semifinals were another unexpected bye thanks to breakage from Chad Doyle, giving Kolivas a free pass into the all-turbo final round. His rival, Chris Tuten, started off his Sunday with an oh-nine pass against Matthew Butrim, followed by an easy 8.762 win over the broken Bob Kurgan. The semi-finals paired Tuten against the faster-than-a-Modular-should-be Joey Bridge; though Bridge was off-pace with a 9.229, Tuten had all the stops pulled out and ran 8.020 at nearly 178 mph, setting the new high-water mark for Drag Radial performance. When Kolivas and Tuten finally met in the final round, the Iceman was a bit slower than usual off the line, only carding a .035 light, but proved his Frigidare-white Cobra had an 02 in it as well, running 8.024 at 175.57 to Tuten’s slowing 8.252 and taking top honors.

Joliet 2007
A mid-season rule change aimed to level the playing field between blown and turbocharged entries in BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial, but defending champ John Kolivas wasn’t having any of it. Rather than put the mandated 100 pounds on his car to go with the existing 88mm turbo, with just two weeks to prepare he switched to an 85, got the car down to the minimum allowable weight, and proceeded to take the top qualifying spot with an 8.099 at 173.14 mph. Though Kolivas was the quickest man on Drag Radials in Joliet, he wasn’t the fastest – fellow turbo racer Kevin Fiscus ran through the traps at an unprecedented 177-flat on his way to meet Johnny K in the finals. Kolivas, always murder at the tree, pegged a .073 reaction, but Fiscus wasn’t giving up much with a .115 of his own. Down-track, though, Kolivas pulled farther ahead, running 8.107 to Fiscus’ 8.477 and once again proving that if there’s a way to stay fast, he’ll find it.

Atco 2007
Defending BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial champ John Kolivas just can’t leave well enough alone – after switching to an 85mm turbo in just two weeks before Route 66, he immediately turned around (literally) and switched again to a forward-facing 85 in time for Atco. In any case, Kolivas had it worked out well enough to once again earn the number one spot in qualifying with an 8.096 at 176.35 mph, a full tenth ahead of Chris Tuten, his closest rival on Saturday. The rivalry would carry right over to Sunday’s eliminations, where Kolivas and Tuten both fought their way through to the finals. Intent on not letting Kolivas having anything for free, Tuten threw a holeshot on the normally-unbeatable-at-the-tree Iceman, .044 to .078, but didn’t have enough in the car to stay ahead, a faltering 8.638 at just 139.23 giving the win to Kolivas, who ran the pass out to an 8.224 at 174.21.

Columbus 2007
While the focus this year in BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial has been on the battle between John Kolivas and Chris Tuten, Kevin Fiscus has been steadily improving his combination and consistently trapping faster than anyone else in the class. In Columbus, Fiscus was able to translate some of that top end into an ET advantage, claiming his first top qualifier award with an 8.296 at 173.65 mph. Kolivas followed at 8.307, with Tony Akins, Chris Tuten, and Joey Bridge rounding out the top five in the 13-car class. On Sunday, the stars had finally aligned for Fiscus, who climbed through three rounds of competition to the finals, where he’d face his biggest threat, John Kolivas. Normally unbeatable on the tree, the Iceman actually lost the leave to Fiscus, .063 to .049, and a picture-perfect 8.347-second pass against Kolivas’ 8.608 carried Fiscus all the way to the winner’s circle for his first Drag Radial victory.

Bowling Green 2007
This year, BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial has been all about the turbos, but in Bowling Green the blower guys got in one last good lick, courtesy of none other than the Flyin’ Hawaiian, Bob Kurgan. In qualifying, former blower guy Tony Akins, now sporting an 88mm turbo, led with an 8.122, but Kurgan was right there to show what a well-tuned centrifugal could do with an 8.165. John Kolivas and Chris Tuten, normally battling each other for the top slot, instead fell into third and fourth in the eight-twenties, with the balance of the 11-car field stretching into the high eights and beyond. On Sunday, Kolivas got his mojo working and immediately dipped into the teens, taking out Matt Bell, Kevin “King of Trap Speed” Fiscus, and arch-rival Tuten on the way to the finals. There, he’d run up against Kurgan, who was making the first blower car appearance in the finals this season after getting past Pete Johnson, Joey Bridge, and taking a competition single in the semis. Kurgan would have to settle for second-best in the end, though – Kolivas was away first and never looked back, as Kurgan came up on the tires, stumbled a bit, then came back on hard, but too late. Kolivas had capped his title defense with an 8.084 at 176.14 to Kurgan’s 8.679 at 168.53.