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IHRA ACDelco Nationals, Petersburg, Va.
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The
latest results from the third stop on the 2004 IHRA Hooters Drag
Racing Series
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By Bobby Bennett |
| Our photo gallery is at VMP Photo Gallery. SUNDAY - Millican becomes winningest professional driver in IHRA history; Castellana, Thomas and Gahm also score victories at VMP
(5-30-2004) – Three-time IHRA Hooters Top Fuel champion Clay Millican added yet another accolade to his already crowded racing resume. During the Top Fuel final round at the IHRA ACDelco Nationals, Millican scored his 33rd national event victory by defeating Bruce Litton in the final round of the IHRA ACDelco Nationals presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Joining the celebration with Millican were professional winners Mike Castellana (Pro Modified), Mark Thomas (Funny Car) and Brian Gahm (Sunoco Pro Stock). Millican surpassed the mark previously held at 32 by former Sunoco Pro Stock and Super Modified World Champion Rickie Smith. Millican won from the pole position and scored convincing wins over Grant Flowers and Josh Starcher before using a 4.647, 315.56 to get around Litton. Litton suffered an engine explosion at mid-track and coasted to a 6.029, 150.10. Millican overcame qualifying blues that forced him into the final session as the seventh seeded entry and in danger of getting bumped out. “I have some great guys who work on this car and make it so easy for me to do my job,” said Millican. “We struggled during qualifying, but once we figured out the track and this Werner dragster, we felt good about putting it in the winner’s circle. “Bruce is always a tough competitor and we take every round with him very seriously.”
A rule change was levied prior to the event limiting the blower overdrive on all supercharged Pro Modified entries, but that didn’t affect a determined Mike Castellana from claiming his fourth career Pro Modified national event. Castellana, who scored a victory in last week’s NHRA event in Chicago, performed a masterful job of driving in order to win from the 15th spot. This weekend’s event marked the first time that two nitrous-injected entries had reached the final round in IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series event. Castellana defeated fellow nitrous racer Steve Vick to claim the crown. “We have become very much aware that the quickest car doesn’t always win,” Castellana added. “The most consistent one does. That was our goal today, we wanted to have the most consistent car and I knew that I had to be on my game on the starting line. “It always comes back to my crew and they certainly give me more of a racecar than I need to win a national event. That’s why I am more on my starting line game. This was a positive boost for our team. We had some tough times early in the season and I’m starting to get the feeling that those days are behind us.” Castellana’s latest victory came at the expense of Harold Martin, Quain Stott and Zach Barklage. Vick took out Steve Cossis, low qualifier Von Smith and singled when Steve Salvadore couldn’t fire.
Thomas, a five-time Funny Car World Champion from Louisville, Ohio, continued his mastery of the defending World Champion Rob Atchison in the final round. The Ethanol Performs!-sponsored driver was far from the calamity that pushed him into qualifying on the final attempt as used a holeshot and a 5.896, 239.87 to fend off Atchison’s 5.878, 239.78. The competition was intense on the top-end once the cars had come to a stop when words were exchanged by the combatants. Thomas downplayed the incident. “Rob’s a champion and he hates to lose,” explained Thomas. “I’ve been in his shoes before. I’ve learned that no matter how mad I am to just smile. I’m smiling now. He’s a great guy and he doesn’t want to lose. He doesn’t want to see us pull away in the points.” Thomas defeated Bunny Burkett, Jeff Burnett and soloed when Neal Parker was a no-show in the semis. He put a .04 holeshot on Atchison in the finals and won by a 5.896, 239.87 to 5.878, 239.78.
Gahm, of Lucasville, Ohio, was not to be denied on raceday as he
stopped Pete Berner in the final round of Sunoco Pro Stock. The
defending World Champion used his quick starting line reflexes to
get the best of the quicker qualified Berner, who hails from Crete,
Ill. “We needed a Ford win,” explained Gahm. “My guys worked so hard to put us here today. When things got tough, we hammered down and got the job done. There’s no such thing as an easy win in this class and we proved it today.” Starting from the fifth spot on the starting grid, Gahm thundered past a stout line of competition that included Jason Collins, Elijah Morton and low qualifier John Nobile. For his part, Berner enjoyed a great day of competition by knocking off former IHRA World Champion Mike Bell, Rick Jones and Robert Patrick. The next stop on the IHRA Hooters Drag Racing tour is in two weeks at the Grand Bend Motorplex for the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals in Grand Bend, Ont. SPORTSMAN FINALS
Final round-by-round results from the Fourth annual ACDelco Nationals presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch at Virginia Motorsports Park, the third of 12 events in the 2004 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series - TOP FUEL: ROUND ONE -- Josh Starcher, 4.812, 302.01 def. Doug Foley, 5.898, 153.54; Bruce Litton, 6.477, 133.50 def. Bobby Lagana Jr, broke; Chris Karamesines, 4.806, 302.55 def. Danny Dunn, 7.964, 87.13; Clay Millican, 4.590, 316.52 def. Grant Flowers, 13.907, 76.88; SEMIFINALS -- Litton, 6.523, 127.93 def. Karamesines,
broke; Millican, 4.633, 314.02 def. FINAL -- Millican, 4.647, 315.56 def. Litton, 6.029, 150.10.
ROUND ONE -- Steve Vick, Chevy Camaro, 6.425, 223.43 def. Steve Cossis, Willys, 6.749, 201.34; Al Billes, Chevy Corvette, 6.255, 227.96 def. Billy Harper, Dodge Viper, foul; Von Smith, Ford Mustang, 6.211, 231.40 def. Mitch Stott, Corvette, 6.276, 227.34; Jim Halsey, Corvette, 6.246, 226.01 def. Pat Moore, Chevy Bel Air, 6.299, 223.58; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 6.257, 216.48 def. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, broke; Steve Salvadore, Bel Air, 6.337, 225.11 def. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 9.478, 92.28; Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.252, 227.34 def. Mike Janis, Corvette, 6.295, 228.07; Zach Barklage, Grand Am, 6.249, 231.40 def. Ed Hoover, Corvette, 6.300, 228.58; QUARTERFINALS -- Salvadore, 6.330, 227.19 def. Billes, 6.307, 227.00; Castellana, 6.233, 225.33 def. Q. Stott, 6.262, 228.27; Vick, 6.478, 221.45 def. Smith, 8.048, 199.82; Barklage, 6.259, 231.87 def. Halsey, 6.262, 226.39; SEMIFINALS -- Vick, 12.154, 105.27 def. Salvadore, broke;
Castellana, 6.639, 221.78 def. FINAL -- Castellana, 6.287, 223.14 def. Vick, 8.154, 122.08.
ROUND ONE -- Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.804, 240.94 def. Philip Hooper, Chevy Camaro, 6.233, 230.84; Dan Roman, Firebird, 5.926, 238.38 def. John Sullivan, Pontiac Firehawk, 6.035, 228.11; Jeff Burnett, Firebird, 5.926, 231.12 def. Chris Sipple, Camaro, 6.279, 199.05; Ronnie Midyette, Camaro, 5.967, 239.14 def. Larry Dobbs, Chevy Corvette, broke; Chris Foster, Dodge Avenger, 5.913, 236.34 def. Melinda Green-King, Avenger, 5.916, 239.27; Mark Thomas, Avenger, 5.909, 234.13 def. Bunny Burkett, Avenger, 5.908, 238.22; Neal Parker, Camaro, 5.842, 233.76 def. Terry Munroe, Firebird, 5.916, 239.65; Terry McMillen, Avenger, 5.882, 237.84 def. Dave Ray, Ford Mustang, 5.939, 237.55; QUARTERFINALS -- Atchison, 5.824, 241.15 def. McMillen, broke; Thomas, 5.915, 233.88 def. Burnett, 5.862, 237.50; Parker, 5.917, 237.92 def. Roman, 6.377, 179.61; Midyette, 5.927, 240.12 def. Foster, 5.961, 233.28; SEMIFINALS -- Atchison, 5.875, 238.47 def. Midyette, 5.923, 239.19; Thomas, 18.290, 53.59 def. Parker, broke; FINAL -- Thomas, 5.896, 239.87 def. Atchison, 5.878, 239.78.
ROUND ONE -- Ron Miller, Chevy Cavalier, 6.537, 212.86 def. Tony Gillig, Ford Mustang, 6.550, 213.27; Robert Patrick, Mustang, 6.549, 212.49 def. Carl Baker, Mercury Cougar, 8.479, 116.28; Rick Jones, Dodge Stratus, 6.512, 213.47 def. Mike Del Nagro, Cavalier, 6.562, 212.43; Brian Gahm, Mustang, 6.526, 213.50 def. Jason Collins, Mustang, 6.677, 209.20; Elijah Morton, Mustang, 6.544, 213.06 def. Steve Spiess, Cavalier, 6.526, 213.98; Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.522, 213.87 def. Mike Bell, Ford ZX2, 6.535, 212.46; Frank Gugliotta, Ford Escort, 6.502, 214.14 def. John Montecalvo, Cavalier, 6.507, 215.48; John Nobile, Escort, 6.473, 215.03 def. Chuck DeMory, Escort, 7.491, 132.56; QUARTERFINALS -- Gahm, 6.502, 214.14 def. Morton, 6.835, 178.71; Berner, 6.521, 213.16 def. Jones, foul; Patrick, 6.591, 212.76 def. Gugliotta, 6.668, 213.70; Nobile, 6.489, 214.93 def. Miller, 6.550, 212.33; SEMIFINALS -- Berner, 6.548, 212.23 def. Patrick, 6.602,
211.86; Gahm, 6.526, 212.96 def. FINAL -- Gahm, 6.565, 212.29 def. Berner, 6.552, 212.09.
SUNDAY NOTES - Funny Spat? Storm looms in the horizon, The blower versus bottle battle and the trevails of Dunn...
Words Exchanged - If Funny Car has been void of some serious rivalries in the past, that may soon be changing. Following the completion of their final round encounter, Mark Thomas and Rob Atchison had what some say was a heated exchange in the shutdown area. Thomas smiled when asked about the incident. “Rob and those guys are great,” added Thomas. “One of their guys came over and told me that they had a combine and were ready to pick some corn. I let them know that there weren’t any Canadian corn-pickers big enough to do that. Rob was unhappy because he got beat and no one likes to get beat. Everyone used to say that I couldn’t cut a light and now I am cutting good ones. They think I’m guessing on the tree, but I’m ready to race.” Atchison smiles when he recalls what he said to Thomas at the finish line. “I told him that his lucky ass was going to run out soon,” explained Atchison. “He guessed a .028 light and eventually, he’s going to guess a red-light. He didn’t race a single person in eliminations and got his ass whipped every round. Pretty much the numbers speak for themselves. I know he got me on the tree and won…but he’s a lucky ass. “The people at home reading on the Internet are going to eventually see it. One day it’s going to hit them and they are going to say...’hey, he’s a lucky ass.” Two out of three? - The Super Stock final was
re-run twice when the numbers just didn't jibe up with the winner.
According to IHRA Director of Race Operations Skooter Peaco, there
was no way to tell who reached the finish line first between Ronnie
Hudlow and Monty Bogan, Jr. The scored Hudlow as the winner. The
rerun gave it to Hudlow a second time. Threatening Skies - IHRA officials had been leary all day of the threat of rain as mostly cloudy conditions were prevelant. On the radar screen is a large mass looming to the East of Virginia Motorsports Park. It is traveling east to northeast and if it hits, racing could be done until Tuesday. Following the semis, the turnaround time was limited to less than an hour. Once all the professional finals were completed and the exhibition vehicles made their runs, sportsman racing resumed only to be delayed by rain at 5:30 PM. One hour later, the event was completed. Nobody likes to play - At least that's how Bruce Litton is starting to see things. At least half of his round wins in 2004, have come on single runs when he competition couldn't show. On Sunday, the Lucas Oil-sponsored Litton had a pair of bye-runs into the final round. It all worked out for Litton as he broke an input shaft in the first round and smoked the tires in the semis.
The Battles Continue - Three of the four matches in the Pro Modified semi-finals pitted the nitrous versus the blown fraternity. Two out of three were taken by nitrous runners. In the end, it all amounted to an all-nitrous final round. Oh Chute - Just one event after losing a final round to Clay Millican at Rockingham, Danny Dunn got bit by a similar bug in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations. Dunn shook the tires just enough to activate the parachute at half-track costing himself a round win opposite of Chris Karamesines. Got 6.50s? – That was the key ingredient for a first round victory in Sunoco Pro Stock competition. Seven of the eight first round winners were all in the 6.50 range. The one non-6.50? Blame it on John Nobile for breaking the streak. He laid down the quickest lap of the round with a 6.437, 215.03. Maybe Nobile had a bit of incentive. All he had to do was win the first round to assume the lead in the Sunoco Pro Stock division. Bowtie Blues – John Montecalvo could do no wrong in the first two events of the 2004 season. The third time was certainly not the charm for the Citgo-sponsored driver. After winning the pre-season test event at VMP in March as well as the IHRA’s programs in San Antonio and Rockingham, Montecalvo struggled to make the 16-car field by ending up 15th. His frustration was compounded by a holeshot loss to Frank Gugliotta in the first round of eliminations. Quain wins one – After a season already filled by frustrations, Pro Modified racer Quain Stott broke through the frustrations enough to win his first round of eliminations in 2004. Stott recorded a holeshot win over Mike Janis in the first round. Quipped Stott, “I had told my p.r. guy to not send out anything unless we had done something. I guess we have something now.” The first match-up – The first head-to-head battle between a nitrous-injected Pro Modified and one of their supercharged counterparts left some mixed emotions. Billy Harper wasted the quickest nitrous run of the weekend, a 6.21, 214.83, by fouling opposite of Al Billes, who recorded a 6.255, 227.96. In keeping the political score, eight nitrous and eight blower cars comprised the 16-car field. After the first round, five blown cars remained and three nitrous. There were only two head-to-head matches of the bottles versus the blowers. The blowers were undefeated.
SATURDAY - Millican No. 1 Qualifier at ACDelco Nationals; Nobile Sets Sunoco Pro Stock World Speed Record
(5-29-2004) – Three-time defending Top Fuel World Champion Clay Millican qualified No. 1 Saturday during the 4th Annual ACDelco Nationals presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch at Virginia Motorsports Park. Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., used a track record elapsed time of 4.627-seconds in the final round of qualifying to top the class. Other No. 1 qualifiers include Von Smith, Conroe, Texas, (Pro Modified); Rob Atchison, London, Ontario, Canada, (Funny Car); and John Nobile, Melville, N.Y. (Sunoco Race Fuels Pro Stock). Millican has positioned himself for his 33rd Top Fuel career win. Danny Dunn is qualified second, followed by Bruce Litton and 19-year-old Josh Starcher. Von Smith maintained his No. 1 Pro Modified qualifying position and set both ends of the track record running a 6.179, 230.80. He’s followed by Harold Martin, Jim Halsey and Steve Salvadore. Defending Pro Modified world champion Mitch Stott is qualified No. 16 with a 6.329 ET.
Canadian Rob Atchison set the track Funny Car ET record with a 5.762-second pass to hold onto the No. 1 qualifying position. Atchison is the defending world champion and has yet to win an event this season. Dan Roman qualified second, Jeff Burnett third and Ronnie Midyette, of Virginia Beach, Va., fourth. Points leader and five-time world champion Mark Thomas qualified sixth. Thomas and Atchison are on opposite ends of the elimination ladder, making it a possibility that the two may meet in the final. In Sunoco Pro Stock, Nobile ran the quarter-mile in 6.492-seconds to take the No. 1 spot and set the track ET record. His speed of 215.37 was good enough to set the IHRA world record, formerly held by Jason Collins. Frank Gugliotta qualified second, followed by Pete Berner and Elijah Morton. Fredricksburg, Virginia’s Robert Patrick is qualified tenth. Adelbertus Kelkboom and Andre’ Loonstra, both from Oranjestad, Aruba, failed to qualify but made an excellent debut, recording ETs of 6.829 and 6.887 respectively. Eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m. for the ACDelco Nationals presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch at Virginia Motorsports Park. Final round is scheduled for 5 p.m. First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the Fourth annual ACDelco Nationals presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch at Virginia Motorsports Park, the third of 12 events in the 2004 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.
SATURDAY NOTES - The Arubans pick up the pace, super-quick Sunoco Pro Stock session and Carty wins Moser Axle Mania
The Arubans have arrived – Never will the Aruban Pro Stock teams be accused of being the Jamaican bobsled team. In their U.S. Sunoco Pro Stock debut, Adelbertus Kelkboom and Andre Loonstra made quite an impression on their U.S. competition. Kelkboom was incredible in his final attempt, and even though his 6.633, 208.78 wasn’t enough to put him in the 16-car field, it did serve to make his the quickest-ever pass by an Aruban Pro Stock racer. The most impressive part of the whole deal is that this team is one of two for the Arubans. Without robbing their native country of two of the best cars in the homeland, they procured a completely different operation to allow them to compete in the United States. Nothing like the Last Ditch – Defending Hooters IHRA Top Fuel World Champion Clay Millican made the most of his three qualifying attempts. Headed into his final shot, Millican’s stock had dropped to seventh in the eight-car field. The Werner-sponsored driver didn’t hang around the bottom of the pecking order for long as he leapt to the top of the field with a 4.627, 312.86. First things first – One just had to have the feeling that Saturday’s first qualifying session in Sunoco Pro Stock was going to be a quick one when the first pair of cars established the top qualifying position and a new national event track speed record in one fell swoop. Frank Gugliotta was the driver responsible for the aforementioned worthy accomplishment as he blasted out a 6.570 lap at 213 mph. His performances would fall before the session’s end as John Nobile established a new speed record at 214.59 and Pete Berner later recorded a 6.555 to take the top spot. When the track temperature dropped nearly 20 degrees between sessions, Gugliotta’s 6.570 would have barely qualified him in the field. Nobile came back to take the top spot with a 6.492, 215.03.
Up on the tires – The anger quote of the weekend goes to a frustrated Paul Trussell, owner of the Trussell Motorsports team and '63 Corvette driven by Ed Hoover. Uttered Trussell following a pass in which his supercharged car failed to make it to the finish line under power, “Who in the hell is this Skeeter Peaco and why is he dicking with our rules?” Uh…the name is Skooter. Trussell calmed down plenty as Hoover got into the field in the No. 11 spot with a 6.287. That’s gotta stink – Western Canadian Pro Modified racer Rick DiStefano entered this weekend’s event ranked second in the IHRA Pro Modified points, but just couldn’t seem to get the handle on the new Pro Modified rules change. He failed to make the cut after posting consistent strong finishes in the first two events. Points leader Glen Kerunsky, also a supercharged runner from Canada, didn’t make the trip to Virginia Motorsports Park. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Again – Running way ahead of schedule on Saturday, track officials decided to take a break in order to remain close to the planned program. However, upon resuming competition, a timing snafu sacrificed the first three pairs of Quick Rod cars and led to a significant delay. Soon after the timing system began to work correctly, a sportsman driver inadvertently had his car in reverse on the starting line. He quickly corrected the situation, only to oil the track with transmission fluid from start to finish. The professional session slated for 2 PM began an hour late. However, at the end of the day, Top Fuel concluded at 9:39, ahead of the planned 10 PM completion.
Please Don’t Hurt ‘Em Hammer – Outlaw Pro Modified racer Hugh Scott has developed a few nicknames to supplement his tough image and fierce competitive nature. Known mainly as the “Alabama Hammer” close to his Red Bay, Alabama home, Scott’s last IHRA appearance came in 1996 and he was then referred to as “Scotty Cannon’s Hit Man.” Scott’s last IHRA appearance was during the 1996 IHRA U.S. Open Nationals where he was employed as a “blocker” to help Cannon secure the championship. Over the course of the last few months, Scott has been doing some test driving for fellow Pro Modified racer Mike Ashley. When Ashley decided to bring both of his Pro Modified cars to VMP, he brought Scott in to drive the second one. On racing his first IHRA event in nearly eight years, Scott responded, “I just love racing period and in this case, I have a firesuit and I’m more than willing to travel to drive a Pro Modified.” That’s a lot of dough – One of the interesting affairs during Saturday was the continuation of a special program presented by Moser Engineering which rewards the winner of the 32-car special program with $22,500. Four representatives from each of the seven Pro/Am eliminators and an eighth group of wild-card entries are racing for the $52,000 Moser "Axle Mania" payoff this weekend. Each eliminator began racing twice on Friday, cutting each group of four drivers down to one. The final will be contested during the "Night of Fire," to determine who gets the first-place money. It's a 32-car bracket race, contested over a 1/8-mile distance, dial-your-own. In the end, it was Super Stock racer Gil Carty, Jr., stopping Steve
Furr in the final round. Out of Shape
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| Bruce Litton paced the Top Fuel field on the first day qualifying at VMP. |
(5-28-2004) – Bruce Litton enjoyed laying down the low elapsed time so much in 2002 that he decided to get a jump on it for 2004 by leading first day Top Fuel qualifying at the IHRA ACDelco Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Litton was joined at the top of his class by other professional low qualifiers such as Von Smith (Pro Modified), Rob Atchison (Funny Car) and Elijah Morton (Sunoco Pro Stock).
Litton, the Lucas Oil-sponsored driver, produced a 4.827, 297.61 to claim the provisional pole position. His run edged out Chris Karamesines (4.947, 261.57) and Grant Flowers (4.968, 293.79).
John Sipple finished on the bubble with a 5.004, 264.69.
Smith, a former Funny Car champion from Oak Ridge, Tenn., was the quickest of the Pro Modified entries with a 6.263, 228.07. ACDelco-sponsored Harold Martin was second with a 6.274, 225.56 while Shannon Jenkins was third with a 6.291, 223.62.
Mike Lockwood was on the Pro Modified bump spot with a 6.450, 220.98.
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| Elijah Morton was the quickest of the Sunoco Pro Stock cars on Friday. |
Atchison, of London, Ontario, rebounded from an illness at Rockingham to post the best time on Friday at Virginia with a 5.858, 240.04. Neal Parker (5.955, 237.05) and Jeff Burnett (5.963, 224.58) finished second and third respectively.
Morton gave Blue Oval fans plenty to cheer about as he put a Ford atop the qualifying list with a 6.572, 211.06. His run edged out points leader John Montecalvo’s 6.585, 212.86 and Pete Berner’s 6.605, 211.56.
Qualifying continues on Saturday with two sessions. The first is
scheduled for 2 PM.
Results Friday after qualifying for the Fourth annual ACDelco Nationals presented by the Richmond Times-Dispatch at Virginia Motorsports Park, third of 12 events in them 2004 Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Bruce Litton, 4.827 seconds, 297.61 mph; 2. Chris Karamesines, 4.947, 261.57; 3. Grant Flowers, 4.968, 293.79; 4. Danny Dunn, 4.969, 226.28; 5. Josh Starcher, 4.979, 284.15; 6. Clay Millican, 4.986, 272.83; 7. Todd Paton, 4.995, 273.88; 8. John Sipple, 5.004, 264.29.
Pro Modified -- 1. Von Smith, Ford Mustang, 6.263, 228.07; 2. Harold Martin, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.274, 225.56; 3. Shannon Jenkins, Chevy Camaro, 6.291, 223.62; 4. Zach Barklage, Grand Am, 6.304, 229.20; 5. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 6.320, 222.03; 6. Steve Cossis, Willys, 6.333, 221.27; 7. Keith Baker, Chevy Corvette, 6.353, 220.33; 8. Mike Janis, Corvette, 6.361, 226.20; 9. Mitch Stott, Corvette, 6.386, 224.21; 10. Pat Moore, Chevy Bel Air, 6.390, 221.52; 11. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.399, 223.39; 12. Eddie Ware, Willys, 6.420, 214.14; 13. Steve Vick, Camaro, 6.426, 218.76; 14. Jim Halsey, Corvette, 6.434, 217.91; 15. Roy Wasko, Camaro, 6.448, 216.31; 16. Mike Lockwood, Corvette, 6.450, 220.98.
Funny Car -- 1. Rob Atchison, Pontiac Firebird, 5.858, 240.04; 2. Neal Parker, Chevy Camaro, 5.955, 237.05; 3. Jeff Burnett, Firebird, 5.963, 224.58; 4. Ronnie Midyette, Camaro, 5.969, 238.01; 5. Bunny Burkett, Dodge Avenger, 5.995, 236.38; 6. Terry McMillen, Avenger, 6.025, 236.63; 7. Chris Foster, Avenger, 6.028, 232.71; 8. Melinda Green-King, Avenger, 6.068, 232.47; 9. John Sullivan, Pontiac Firehawk, 6.077, 225.60; 10. Larry Dobbs, Chevy Corvette, 6.081, 235.35; 11. Terry Munroe, Firebird, 6.105, 225.82; 12. Philip Hooper, Camaro, 6.408, 224.43; 13. Chris Sipple, Camaro, 6.984, 139.85; 14. Mark Thomas, Avenger, 9.743, 87.59; 15. Dave Ray, Ford Mustang, 12.709, 67.22.
Pro Stock -- 1. Elijah Morton, Ford Mustang, 6.572, 211.06; 2. John Montecalvo, Chevy Cavalier, 6.585, 212.86; 3. Pete Berner, Mustang, 6.605, 211.56; 4. Tony Gillig, Mustang, 6.630, 210.73; 5. Steve Spiess, Cavalier, 6.634, 211.86; 6. Charlie Peppers, Mustang, 6.641, 209.85; 7. Rick Jones, Dodge Stratus, 6.642, 209.20; 8. Dwayne Rice, Cavalier, 6.644, 209.20; 9. Richard Penland, Mustang, 6.646, 209.43; 10. Mike Del Nagro, Cavalier, 6.648, 209.36; 11. Jason Collins, Mustang, 6.653, 208.68; 12. John Nobile, Ford Escort, 6.659, 211.33; 13. Carl Baker, Mercury Cougar, 6.676, 209.07; 14. Larry O'Brien, Stratus, 6.679, 206.70; 15. Robert Patrick, Mustang, 6.688, 208.75; 16. Mike Bell, Ford ZX2, 6.695, 207.91.
FRIDAY NOTES – A real international flavor, Pro Modified grumblefest and Bartunek is back…
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| The IHRA had a true International Hot Rod Association appeal for Sunoco Pro Stock racers Adelbertus Kelkboom and Andre Lonstra. |
Banana Boat Rules! – The IHRA had a true International Hot Rod Association appeal for Sunoco Pro Stock racers Adelbertus Kelkboom and Andre Lonstra. The native Arubans from Oranjestad, are having the time of their lives racing in the United States.
Kelkboom, who is driving a Don Ness-built Cavalier, admits the competition is much stiffer in the States. He reported that the major difference between racing here and back home is the way the weather affects the racing surface. At VMP, the team has had to deal with adjusted altitude, heat and humidity. Back home in Aruba, the most consistent thing is the weather and racing conditions.
As he puts it, “We don’t have to keep a diary or anything. It’s always sunny, 85-degrees and just a slight breeze. The weather never changes.”
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At a normal Aruba drag race, usually six Pro Stockers show up. The rules are similar, except the cars run 2,350 pounds with engines in the 650-inch range.
“It’s a good show and we usually get a lot of support. We have fun at home and we’re certainly having fun here, too.”
Their trip this weekend is being sponsored by Digicel and www.bananabusaruba.com. You can also find out more about Aruba by visiting their website at www.aruba.com.
20% anyone? – Preparation means everything
in drag racing, but some supercharged racers were crying foul about
the latest round of rule changes that limited their blower overdrive
to 20%. Several of the teams didn’t get their pulleys until
this week and discovered the belts didn’t work with the new
pulleys. It’s not a matter of procrastinating for the teams.
According to Steve Salvadore, one of the affected racers, he ordered
his pulleys two hours after the rule change and they didn’t
arrive until hours before his departure for VMP.
Added Paul Athey, who returned to the supercharged combination in 2004 after running nitrous in 2003, “Our testing is this weekend while the nitrous racers get to run a proven combination. Heck, when they made that rule change for the rearends, at least they gave them three races to conform. I wish they would have given us that luxury.”
Salvadore chimed in and pointed out, “I took my problem to them and they told me ‘too bad, you know the answer.'”
The difference between the quickest supercharged car and nitrous was .011. Ten nitrous cars were in the field after the first session.
Bartunek returns – Just one race after crashing his Pontiac Grand Am in Rockingham, NC., Sunoco Pro Stock racer John Bartunek was back in competition at VMP. While he admits the first runs after his mishap were the toughest to make, he feels pretty comfortable behind the wheel of an ex-Steve Spiess Grand-Am. The first run in IHRA Hooters competition netted a 17th ranking. Bartunek’s crash reportedly was caused when his parachute got tangled up in the wheelie bars and caused the car to flip. He apparently learned his lesson as the recently-purchased car had a net on the wheelie bars to prevent a repeat performance. Next year Bartunek will field a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt.
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| Mike Ashley gave true meaning to shaking one's tail off in the first session of qualifying. |
Eleanor debuts – Pro Modified racer Mike Ashley decided to make the trek to VMP with his Unique Performance-sponsored 1967 Shelby GT500E tribute to the musclecar used in the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds.” The first outing was a ground-pounding affair – literally. Ashley encountered tire shake so violent that it actually vibrated one of the tail-lights out of the car.
No good deed goes unpunished – Mitch Stott admits he was trying to charm the media with a burnout during Thursday’s media day, but the end result will likely cost him more than he could win this weekend. Stott’s Radiac-sponsored Corvette kicked six rods out of the block, causing an estimated $15,000 worth of damage. Already upset at the overdrive reduction levied following Rockingham, Stott immediately concluded the damage was a direct result of the rule change.
That’s exactly why it didn’t sit well with him when he reportedly had an official ride by his pits and make the comment “that must have hurt.”
Stott admitted that he raised his voice a time or two criticizing the rule change and uttered a few choice words.
He unloaded on us as well, adding, “The IHRA Pro Modified rules work just like our current welfare system in the USA. It rewards those that don’t work.”
Stott’s assessment is that the nitrous cars are not taking advantage of the rules afforded them and that he shouldn’t be made to pay for that.
That was enough to get older sibling Quain up on the tires, but not at the rule change. He was upset that Mitch got two shots at the track during media day.
Overheard – Another disgruntled supercharged
racer offered this suggestion, “Do you think they’ll
do something to slow the nitrous cars down so that the slow 25%
over cars can catch up to them?”
Accepting the World Ford Challenge – Sunoco Pro Stock racer Pete Berner found a productive way to pass the time between IHRA events. Just two weeks ago, Berner entered his super quick Ford Mustang in the 35K Mobile 1 Ford Challenge in St. Louis. The move worked well for him as he reached the final round and finished runner-up to the turbo car of Chuck Samuel. The one thing that impressed Berner the most is that his car ran well in the heat of the day.
Berner admitted the toughest round of the day came in the semi-finals when he stopped fellow Sunoco Pro Stock racer Tony Gillig. Gillig is the son of Berner’s crewchief Bob Gillig.
When bad luck is good luck – Bob Lagana, Jr., had some good news and some bad news on Friday. The bad news is that the team discovered breakage in the rearend gear and couldn’t make the first session. The good news is that they didn’t run it. Lagana admitted that the damage that could have been incurred from running in that condition would have been so fatal that it could have cost him five races. The new part is being shipped in tomorrow and they are expected to make both Saturday sessions.
Reach for the sky – Here’s a new twist for all GM Performance Parts Top Stock competitors. IHRA officials reportedly are very desirous of keeping the class once said to be history after 2004. In today’s private meeting, the suggestion was made that the drivers pay closer attention to the fan appeal aspect through long burnouts and high wheelstands. Reportedly, the IHRA is going to reward the highest wheelstand with a special prize. There’s a chance the class may be salvaged for 2005 and beyond. A final decision should come forward at Norwalk.
Talented help is always good – That’s
exactly how Sunoco Pro Stock racer Rick Jones sees it. Working on
a temporary-to-possibly-permanent basis is one of the more well-known
tuners formerly from the NHRA side of the fence. Dave Butner, who
turned wrenches for Mark Pawuk in the 1990s, is giving things a
trial run this weekend. According to crewchief Rickie Jones, he’s
another talented helping hand helping to fill the holes.
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