It was the first trip to Maple Grove Raceway for Kirk Wolf and Dubbin Motorsports. Taking on a large contingent of world-class alcohol dragsters was going to require one of the teams’ best qualifying and racing performances of the season. Unfortunately the performance’s in both qualifying and eliminations were far below the teams capabilities and hopes.
“It was a tough way to end what started out as a good weekend,” explained Dean Dubbin, owner of Dubbin Motorsports. “We showed strong pace out of the box in Q1, but we weren’t able to convert that run into faster runs as the weekend went along. We essentially lost Q2 and Q3 – with an auto-shutoff malfunction in Q2, and pulling the tire loose early in Q3. We just didn’t get the data we needed to get down into the low 5.20’s – and that’s where we needed to be to compete for the win at Maple Grove.”
Qualifying in the number 12 position arranged a first-round match-up with Angelle Sampey driving the Michalek Brothers car. Sampey would get the win as Wolf would leave the starting line too early, turning on the red-light in his lane.
The red-light was of little consequence, as Sampey ran 5.29 at 272 mph to cover Wolf’s 5.33 at 271 mph. (An air leak on Wolf’s car affected systems on the car which may have substantially slowed the car from its peak performance.)
Wolf remained upbeat about the weekend, “Unfortunately, my red-light ended our weekend early. We were behind a little in performance and Angelle had been very good through qualifying. I knew I had to steal a little at the light and just pushed too hard and turned on the red-light.”
“This is a great car with great people around it,” continued Wolf. “I hate it for the guys, as I think they all deserve better results that we know this car can deliver. I’m not giving up on getting back on track and getting a ‘Wally’ this season. We have races coming up that are very good tracks for us and I’m very confident that we are going to have a break-out weekend coming up soon.”
Dubbin added, “It was our first time at Maple Grove with the car, and I have fallen in love with this track. We will be back!”
By The Numbers:
Qualifying:
Q1: 5.339 at 273.72 mph – #7 – straight down the groove – a clean run.
Q2: 6.692 at 103.11 mph – #10 – Auto Shut-Off Malfunction.
Q3: 8.095 at 103.68 mph – #12 – lost traction at the step & clicks it off
Eliminations:
R1:
Angelle Sampey (Win) .044, 5.295 at 272.94 mph
Kirk Wolf (Foul) -.137, 5.337 at 271.19 mph
Next Up:
Kirk Wolf and the Dubbin Motorsports A/Fuel team will enjoy a short break before returning to the track at Ennis, TX – October 9th-13th – during the world-famous “Stamped of Speed.” The Stamped includes ten days of music and drag racing action, concluding with the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals at the famed Texas Motorplex.
This story was originally published on September 18, 2024. 
