'Chaos' unfolds at annual funny car event in Mechanicsvile

Among the numerous participants in the three classifications of the annual Funny Car Chaos at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville on Saturday night, the tandem that earned the berth in the A Final are regulars on the National Hot Rod Association drag racing scene.

Defending Funny Car Chaos A division champion D.J. Cox and rival Melinda King are both accustomed to competing in the NHRA drag racing events during the year, but they both made a brief stopover in Budds Creek last weekend with a chance to earn a victory. Arriving on opposite sides of the brackets, Cox and King would eventually meet in the A final near 10 p.m. on Saturday night.

When Cox, in the left lane and King lined up for the final, onlookers sensed that the first car to successfully fire off the Christmas tree light would be the first one at the finish. In actuality, King had the better reaction time but as the two cars roared down the quarter mile straightaway to a virtual blanket finish it was Cox who got the light for winning in 3.68 seconds, traveling at 209.82 miles per hour. King (3.76/202.33) had delivered her best performance of the weekend but settled for second.

“The car was great all weekend, but the driver was a little slow in the final,” said Cox, who had won the event one year earlier in the same DXI Construction car. “Melinda is really good. We race most of the year in NHRA events and she’s really good. I love racing here. Maryland is close to home for me.”

One race earlier in the B Final, Joe Pirrone in the “Super Camaro” dazzled onlookers by edging Joe Morrison in “Hell Bound” in a stellar performance. Pirrone (3.97/184.85) had actually arrived in the final as the lower seed as Morrison had twice recorded lower elapsed times in preliminary rounds. But Pirrone was virtually flawless in the final and departed with the winner’s share.

Then one race earlier in a genuinely chaotic C final, John Cerchio guided the “War Path” car (4.45/158) to victory in the left lane while rival Jordan Ballou lost control of his vehicle midway down the right lane, slammed hard into the retaining wall then got the vehicle straightened away and escaped serious harm. Ballou had won his semifinal round in a walkover, but Sergio was too much for him in the final.

“We had a few issues with the car all weekend,” said Cerchio, a Point Pleasant, New Jersey resident who credited crew chief Patty Stiso with making the key adjustments for the final. “The breaks kept locking up in the early rounds. We got that issue resolved before the semifinals and the last two rounds were perfect.”