As I was putting together my profiles of the five (closer to 4.5 with Brian Thiel’s absence since Friday) independent Funny Car drivers at this event when one such pilot, Bob Bode, endured a massive explosion during the final qualifying session that led me to chasing down the Chicagoan for details. Bode can now say that he’s experienced something few drag racers have: 79 vertical G’s.

Bode was sailing along on a pass that may have gotten him into the show when either a pushrod or adjuster screw failed in his drivetrain and caused an exhaust valve to hang open. The flame from the still-burning nitromethane in the exhaust was able to travel back into the intake manifold and light the air/fuel mixture, causing a supercharger explosion that blew the carbon fiber body to pieces in an instant from the concussion.

“I was going along on a good, fun ride, then, all of a sudden: daylight,” Bode recalled. “The bouncing the car did scared me more than the percussion. I was hoping the body stayed in one piece and landed softly back on the track, but that obviously didn’t happen.”

Crew chief Walt Pryzbyl, who runs the car along with tuner Richard Hogan, noted that the car achieved 79 vertical G’s after the explosion according to the readings of their Ford Blue Box. Bode was able to safely bring the bouncing roller to a stop.

“Our car is finally running consistent, and we’re still going to try to run Charlotte,” said Bode. “Tim Wilkerson has a couple bodies for sale, so we’ll try and figure something out. It might all depend on how much damage was actually done to the motor to see what we can afford at this point.”

Despite not qualifying, Bode found a way to get some t.v. time. An ugly end to Bode’s weekend didn’t reflect the efforts of nontouring Funny Car drivers as a whole. Jim Head and Grant Downing both made the field. Head’s inclusion on race day should come as no surprise. The veteran driver, who has won this event in both fuel classes, qualified No. 12 with his spiffy, Banshie Studios-painted entry.

Downing’s effort marks only the third successful qualifying effort of his career (all this season) and his first such effort with more than 16 entries present. The run that got him in the show was the first that he made to the 1,000-foot mark this season after going through a slew of blower belt problems. Downing had to drive the wheels of his Silver Fern Racing entry to keep it off the centerline after dropping a cylinder, but the New Zealand transplant managed to keep it lit for a 4.23 at 283 mph.

The Silver Fern theme is a tradition among Kiwi athletes who put an image of the New Zealand national flower on their backs when they compete outside of their country. Though Downing and wife Lynne, a registered nurse, compete on their own dollar, they received help at this event from Classic City Auto in Auburn, Ind., and former Del Worsham backers Walery’s Pizza (Dave Walery) and Wible Realty (Bruce Scranage).

Downing’s Worsham connection comes from his longstanding employment as the exclusive chassis builder for Worsham and, now, the Alan Johnson/Al-Anabi Racing Funny Car team. Chuck Worsham is calling the shots on Downing’s car, and longtime friend Ashley McKean leads the all-volunteer team. The humorous individuals have such slogans such as the pictured poster taped onto one of the trailer cabinets. Downing is very well-liked among his peers, which includes first-round opponent Robert Hight, who often trades parts to Downing in exchange for fabrication work. Just don’t ask Grant if his accent is Australian.

Justin Schriefer (pictured) didn’t have as good a weekend as Head and Downing. However, the hardworking driver is happy to be able to make laps in the big show with Dale Creasy Sr.’s Creasy Family Racing Funny Car. Schriefer, who also races a ’70 Challenger in the Top Sportsman class at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago, is the classic story of a longtime crewmember who worked all the way up from wiping tires to the driver’s seat.

Schriefer, who works in the excavating profession in Chicago, went to Creasy’s house in 1990 to purchase a Hemi engine and ended up going to a race with his team and getting hooked on nitro racing. Schriefer began doing grunt work and has done the clutch and the bottom-end at different points.

“Dale mentioned something to me about driving a few years ago, and I jumped at the chance to make some licensing runs in Las Vegas in 2006,” said Schriefer. “John and Ashley Force signed my first licensing run, and J.R. Todd and Eric Medlen signed off my second run. I have pictures of everyone who signed my license, including one of Eric when he signed it on the hood of his car.”

Schriefer, Creasy, and co. have been learning the ins and outs of their Ty Baumgartner-built Funny Car that they debuted this season. Although the final result wasn’t what they were looking for, they were able to pinpoint an ignition problem that had been plaguing them for two events. Schriefer is a diehard racer through and through who puts some of his personal money into the racing operation. With his grit and enthusiasm, look for him to keep improving and possibly upsetting touring Pros on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Brian Thiel is the last remaining part-timer to be mentioned in this blog. A disagreement between he and car owner Paul Smith led to Thiel walking away from the operation on Saturday morning and severing his working relationship with Smith and his team. I won’t go into detail, only because I have not heard Thiel’s side of the story.

Thiel is a wildly successful rice farmer whose home track is Infineon Raceway. He was a college football player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in his earlier days. His plans for next year include running the entire 24-race circuit with a nitro Funny Car that he will own while keeping his Top Alcohol Funny Car for his wife to learn to drive.

I'll give my tired eyes a hiatus from the computer screen before I post the daily recap in movie quotes, which has become something of a semi-sensation among my 10s and 10s of readers.