Cox, Pirrone, And Cerchio Take Wins At Funny Car Chaos at MIR

The Funny Car Chaos eastern swing made its second annual stop at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek the weekend of August 24-25

The creator and president of the series, Chris Graves, keeps the rules simple. Just Funny Cars. Anything you have under the hood, blown, nitrous, injection is all welcome. 

After qualifying is completed, the fields are set with the quick cars in the “A’ field. The rest of the fields are decided using their earlier qualifying shots in the “B” and “C” fields.

Qualifying #1 in the “A” field was returning 2023 winner DJ Cox from Whiteford MD in his blown ’19 Camaro. Come Saturday night, the Maryland driver took the trophy back home after defeating the Camaro of Melinda King in the finals in one of the closest races in the “A” field.

King was off the line first, but Cox, in the DXI Construction Chevy reeled the Virginia driver in by half track taking the win with a 3.685 to a losing 3.765 of King.

“It was great to get the win in our home state of Maryland,” Cox said after his win. “The fans at MIR always great. The team did an amazing job, they raced mistake free and were delivering fast turnaround times between rounds.”  

“Thank you to Chris Graves and Funny Car Chaos for the hospitality and thank you to Royce Miller and the MIR staff for putting on a great race.”

Pirrone, near lane, is off and running in the finals of the “B” show

Winning the “B” portion of the event was Pennsylvania driver Joey Pirrone. Pirrone who has been taking over the controls on the family-owned Super Camaro, set a personal best in the finals against Joe Morrison in the “Hell Bound” Dodge SRT running a 3.977 to Morrison’s 4.282.

Pirrone said after his win, “We’re overjoyed to say the least. Last year we lost in the semi finals to a great friend Chris Massarella and to come back this year and win the “B” field was overwhelming.”

Joe celebrates his MIR win with his girlfriend Bryanna along with his mom and dad

“We took on a great competitor & even better friend/teammate Joe Morrison. The 3.90s we’ve been after all season, just didn’t know when & where. We really needed a good track & air.”

“MIR had all of that so a huge thank you to them for great prep & track management. Thank you to my dad for a great tune up & fast hot rod. Mom, my girlfriend Bryanna and Brian Stairs for helping us crew this weekend. The crew back home for getting us prepared for MIR. Big Al Liebmann, Jim Gloyd, Perry Wyatt, and Penngrade Oil along with Hebe Hemi Parts.”

Rocky Pirrone, Joe’s dad had this to add to the team’s win. “Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner! What a awesome weekend! The Pirrone Race team was honored to take part in the MIR Funny Car Chaos event this past weekend! We struggled a little in qualifying hurting some parts that required a decent size thrash.

“That all turned around during eliminations with us scoring three solid victories to land us in the winner’s circle! Special thanks to Donna Ellershaw Pirrone, Bryanna Hodgson and Brian Stairs for their hard work along with a host of others for help supplying the needed parts to fix the Super Camaro. My son Joe Pirrone did an awesome job not only behind the wheel but also turning wrenches to put the Perry Wyatt tribute Super Camaro in victory lane! Thanks to Chris Graves and the entire MIR staff for putting on this AWESOME event!”

Point Pleasant NJ racer John Cerchio took his crowd pleasing “War Path” Buick to the “C” title beating long time series racer Jordan Ballew in the finals. Ballew got his “Ballew Thunder ’69 Camaro off the line OK but experienced some handing problems half track tagging the wall in the loss. Cerchio recorded a 4.452 in the win as Ballew slowed to a 5 second pass.

“I left before he did, and I didn’t see what was going on in the other lane,” Cerchio said after the win. “When we were in the staging lanes getting belted in Jordan told me he wanted to pull off the top end first and if I was out front to let him by. I never saw him. In a funny car if you don’t see the other car out of the corner of your eye you are probably in front. If you can see the other car, chances are you are dead even or losing. And I never saw him. I At the top end I figured out what happened.”

Cerchio adds, “I want to thank the guys who were with me in Maryland. Mike Hall, Warren Bader, and Christian Huebner. I couldn’t do it without them helping out.”

In addition to the Chaos, Earth Shaking Entertainment and Hoopes Fire Equipment had two fields of Extreme Blown Altereds and Front Engine Blown Dragsters vying for an MIR title at the Hoopes’ Bunny and Bear Invitational.

After an afternoon session that featured a burnout contest the was called “Burnouts for Bunny and Bear” for the longtime racers who called MIR home, the fields were set.

In the finals of the “A” class it was the blown dragster of Charlie “Badboy”  Benson up against the aptly named “Complete Chaos” blown ’38 Fiat of Kurt Duckworth. Benson, who earlier won the burnout contest with a bodacious 300 foot burnout in his Chevy powered dragster, was second off the line with a 0.186 light to Duckworth’s 0.107.

At the stripe it was Duckworth taking the win for the second consecutive year with a 4.067 to the losing 4.149 of Benson.

“We headed to MIR Friday morning with the goal of winning for the second year in a row,” Duckworth said.  “Friday night was our first 3 second pass of the season. We overpowered the track and shook the tires causing the fuel pump fittings to come loose and lean the engine out.”

“Saturday morning changed a few rod bearings and removed blower overdrive for two back-to-back 3.94 runs. First round we had a bye run so we chose not to run the car. In the semi finals I short shifted the car against Mike Geroni and pedaled to a win.”

“Going into the final we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy one had to short shift and pedal again for the win. It was a great achievement to win back to back at the Burn out for Bunny event.”

“I would like to thank my crew chief Scott Carpenter for all he does and My Daughter Aubrey for keeping me straight on and off the track. Thanks to all my family for supporting me and Jagger Naves for organizing the event.”

Runner up Charlie Benson said after the race,” I won the burnout contest with a 300 plus foot smoke show and qualified #2 in the “A” field after fixing an electrical gremlin till 1am Friday night. We ran a career best of 4.14 at 172 in the 1/8 mile. We ended up losing in finals by only a few feet.”

“Thanks to Quality Machine Shop for all the power and thanks to our crew Tim, Mark, and Karin. Without good friends it would not have been possible.”

In the “B” field it was another blown Fiat taking the win as Ray Urban from Chester VA in his “Never Satisfied” car took the win over the ’32 Austin “Rump Shaker” of Mark Prince from Leland NC. Urban was second off the line but had the horses to chase down Prince for the win taking the stripe with a 4.702 to the losing 4.945 of Prince.

Jagger Naves, president of Earth Shaking Entertainment, said “This was the third year of this amazing event, and featured 14 Hotrods, including Blown Altereds and Front Engine Dragsters! The show was incredible with monster side by side burnouts with Charlie Benson taking home the $500 burnouts contest money!  Extremely close racing and put on a hell of a SHOW for the fans in attendance.

Jagger Naves, far right, celebrates with “A” winner Kurt Duckworth in the MIR Winner’s Circle

“This event is close to the heart of so many Drag Racers across the country, as Bunny Burkett was an icon in motorsports and Drag Racing, alongside of her long-time crew and family, Bear Pritchett. This show is to keep both in our memories and celebrate their lives as they lived it. An 1/8th and 1/4 mile at a time. This Event could NOT happen without the support of our presenting sponsor, Hoopes Fire Prevention Inc., and the many other sponsors that helped put together the payout for this event.

Between me and my wife, Laura Naves, we could not thank these sponsors enough, as well as the incredible staff of MIR, including their fire rescue first responders who took care of a devastating two car crash during the Hoopes’ Burnouts for Bunny and Bear, and of course the FANS.”

Irina and Larry Aldrich and Gates with their jet dragster

For Jet Dragster driver David Gates. It was a homecoming for the racer who calls MIR his home. Gates brought the “Thunderbolt” jet out to thrill the crowd between rounds and Gates could not have been happier.

“This weekend, a dream became a reality for me when I got the opportunity to show my friends, family, and local racers what I love. Larry Aldrich and I came into this weekend with the hopes of resetting our personal best records and we were able to accomplish that as well.

“My passion for these Jet Dragsters started at Maryland international Raceway and I couldn’t think of a better place to reset my personal record then in front of my family and hometown crowd.

“I am beyond thankful to Larry and Irina Aldrich, Jagger Naves, Royce Miller, Chris Higgins, Harvey Makenzie, Pj Hatcher and Katherine Hatcher Gatton’s barbershop, Hollywood premiere detailing and the entire Maryland international Raceway staff for everything they did this weekend.”

Series promoter and president Chris Graves said, “Our return visit to the East Coast and Royce Miller’s Maryland International Raceway was a lot of fun! Despite a few wild rides, where thankfully the drivers walked away, the rest of the weekend was filled with good ol’ ground pounding outlaw funny car action and competitive racing. I’d like to thank the MIR staff for a job well done and all the racers and fans for their support of CHAOS weekend in Maryland”