Ever seen those bumper stickers, tee shirts, and wall signs that proclaim “Never Give Up”? Well apparently Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Kris Hool did somewhere along his route from Wyoming to Joliet, Illinois last week.
Hool, a seasoned veteran of the alky flopper ranks running out of the NHRA’s Central region, pulled off an epic come-from-behind victory during eliminations at the JEGS Route 66 Nationals on Sunday that’s been a social media hit all week long. Hool, who hung on at one of the season’s most hotly-contested events for Top Alcohol Funny Car competitors to qualify 15th, advanced through round one and was paired with former nitro Funny Car pilot Phil Burkart in Jay Blake’s machine in round two.
TAFC Hool vs. Burkart? on to hear one the the craziest Top Alcohol Funny Car runs at the JEGS Performance #Route66Nats announced by the Brian Lohnes ?!
Posted by NHRA on Tuesday, June 5, 2018
In that quarterfinal match, Kool’s flopper rattled the tires and jumped out of the groove, forcing him to list … the race seemingly over at that point. As Burkart is powering away to a sure victory, the supercharger suddenly bangs, deploying the parachutes and leaving the Follow A Dream machine — and Burkart — powerless. Hool, realizing his opponent is in trouble, steps back on the loud pedal and runs him down with little more than fifty feet to spare.
While side-by-side racing is great, it’s hard to argue that anything can top a pendulum-swinging drag race like this one where those standing on the starting line and watching in the stands are run through a ringer of emotions in a matter of seconds.