Kool April Drags - Race 1 of 5

Kool April Drags presented by Technical Steel Construction Inc

The California Independent Funny Car Association (CIFCA) held their first race of the 2024 season at Redding Motorsports Park, the oldest operating dragstrip in the country. Fourteen CIFCA teams came out to compete for a spot in the eight-car qualifying field based on a 5.90 / 1000ft index.

Qualifying started off strong with Jim Maher, securing the System 1 number one qualifier spot with a 5.929. James Maher & Tony Trimp qualified number two and three respectively, both qualifying with a 5.941. James edged out Tony with a little more mph. Chris Bates, driving for Ken & Denise Wynn, qualified fourth with a 6.010 and Mike Troxel’s 6.238 took the fifth spot. Mark Tarabochia’s from Plains OR, pedal the car to 6.418 and the number six spot as Pete Ortiz Jr. slipped into the number seven spot with a 6.426. Shaun Bryan rounded out the top eight with a 6.591. Rick Alvarado left before the tree was activated in Q2 and Marcus Lawson, Thomas Arthur made their CIFCA debut but unfortunately just missed getting into the 8-car show. Marcus & Rick did follow the circuit out after round one eliminations to put on a show for the fans.

Qualifying Order

1. Jim Maher 5.929 153.88 mph 

2. James Maher 5.941 152.80 mph 

3. Tony Trimp  5.941 152.33 mph 

4.Chris Bates 6.010 150.23 mph 

5. Mike Troxel  6.238 147.23 mph 

6. Mark Tarabocia 6.418 131.28 mph 

7. Pete Ortiz Jr. 6.426 178.42 mph 

8. Shaun Bryan  6. 591 141.94 mph 

9. Marcus Lawson 6.630 138.83 mph

10. Rick Alvarado 6.936 129.45 mph 

11. Tommy Arthur 7.837 123.80 mph 

12. Madi Hanser (Licensing)13. Joseph Ortiz (Licensing)

14. Jesse Gutierrez (Licensing)

The first round of eliminations kicked off in front of a packed house, as the fans were lined up three people deep all the way down the dragstrip. The defending CIFCA champion, James Maher’s, paired off with Tarabochia’s in his 1970 Cuda funny car. Maher was out of the gate first with .076 light but spun the tires and had to get in and out of the throttle quickly. Tarabochia had a rather abnormal .239 light but had enough horsepower to get to the finish line first with a 6.149. Maher was right there with a 6.320 but the margin of victory was .008 as the Bad Medicine team advanced into the semifinals! Jim Maher’s 6.071 was enough to edge out Troxel’s 6.085 & Bate’s 6.509 got around Shaun Bryan’s 13.407 with ease. Trimp, in the Rough-N-Ready Mustang, lined up against Pete Ortiz Jr, in the Outcast. Trimp was off the line first with an 032 reaction time as Ortiz was right behind with an .081. At the finish line Trimp got there first with a 5.966 as Ortiz was quicker with a 5.941 but couldn’t make up the difference from the starting line. Trimp took home the CP Carillo Best Package on that run as well as the Enderle Best Reaction time award.

    In the semi-final round Jim Maher faced Tony Trimp. They were almost dead even off the line with a slight advantage favoring Trimp and at the finish line Trimp got there first but was a little to quick with a 5.871 on the 5.90 index. On the flip side of the ladder Mark Tarabochia’s took out Chris Bates as Bates went into tire shake at the hit.  

    The final round is where Jim Maher, in the Good Vibrations 1985 Ford Tempo, faced off with Mark Tarabochia’s 1970 Cuda known as Bad Medicine. Maher was off the line first an .063 reaction time to Tarabochia .108 but Maher was smoking the tires before the 60ft cone as Mark trucked on down clocking a 6.071 and turning on the win the light! The Bad Medicine team claimed their first CIFCA win & the bonus money from Good Vibrations Motorsports.

Thanks to Redding Motorsports Park for having the California Independent Funny Car Association at Kool April Drags. Special thanks to Technical Steel Construction inc for sponsoring the event. Special thanks to all the cifca sponsors for supporting us. To stay up-to-date with the CIFCA circuit follow us on Facebook & Instagram or check us out at www.cifca.com