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DAY COVERAGE O'Reilly Spring Nationals Same Day Coverage:
Top Alcohol Dragster Winner: Duane Shields
“I am shocked – this is pretty awesome.
We just worked on staying consistent, and that’s what we did yesterday
and today. The conditions today were worse, but the team was able to hop
it up just a little bit. The cloud cover helped us keep things running
smooth, and it just went right down Broadway.
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| Top Alcohol Funny Car -- David Ray, Dodge Avenger, 5.675, 254.66 def. Bob Newberry, Chevy Monte Carlo, 7.220, 132.06. |
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“We knew coming into today, that we were
going to follow this dream and get it done” said a grateful Ray.
“All I wanted to do was to go out and get a win for my team,”
he said.
Ray out-ran veteran-racer Bob Newberry in the finals with a respectable
5.675 second/254.66 miles per hour run. Newberry smoked the tires early
and had to settle for the runner-up position.
Competition Eliminator Winner: Glen Treadwell
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| Competition Eliminator -- Glen Treadwell, Dragster, 8.319, 157.80 def. Scott Cashio, Chevy Cavalier, 8.932, 148.69. |
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“We definitely like coming to this track,” said Treadwell.
“We have had a lot of success here.”
“We gave up a lot of ET going into eliminations, but, we were able
to play smart and come out with a win,” he said.
Treadwell ran a 8.319 second/157.80 miles per hour to take the win over
Thomas Cashio, who ran 8.932 seconds at 148.69 miles per hour in the final.
Super Comp Winner: Ray Connolly
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| Super Comp -- Ray Connolly, Dragster, 8.905, 177.81 def. Mike Fuqua, Dragster, 8.882, 168.96. |
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“It was a good day,” Ray Connolly said about his victory in
Super Comp.
Father of 22-year-old Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly, Ray is no stranger
to drag racing. Both he and his son have been racing for years, in everything
from bracket racing and Super Gas to Super Comp and Pro Stock.
Connolly ran a near-perfect 8.905 seconds against the 8.90 index as his
competitor Mike Fuqua broke out with a 8.882 second run. Connolly’s
reaction time was an amazing .002 seconds.
Super Street Winner: Chris Le Blanc
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| Super Street -- Chris LeBlanc, Chevy Corvette, 10.897, 133.37 def. Rick Huffman, Chevy Camaro, 10.922, 135.06. |
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“I just came out here to have some fun and get some practice in the car, and things really turned out well,” Le Blanc said.
In front of his hometown crowd, Le Blanc won the Wally when Rick Huffman
redlit in the finals.
“This is my first victory ever, in any kind of drag racing. I have
only been racing since August of last year, but it’s been in the
family for a long time. My dad raced for like a hundred years or something
like that.”
“It was a rough day,” he said. “I couldn’t hit
the dial very good today. We had lots of trouble, but I just kept beating
people down on the finish line.
“I had some great reaction times early in the day, and I had a couple
of races that I could easily have been in the truck, but everything just
seemed to work out,” he said.
Stock Eliminator Winner: Mark Faul
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| Stock Eliminator -- Mark Faul, Chevy Chevelle, 10.983, 118.78 def. Jeff Hefler, Pontiac Formula, 10.873, 112.43. |
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"I was on the right side of the ladder, and
I was driving ok, and things just turned out for the best. This is my
first win in Stock – and I’m really very happy. Things went
great today,” he said.
Winning isn’t new to Faul, he had won five times in Super Stock
before moving to Stock Eliminator.
Qualified No. 62 out of 64, Faul scored a hole-shot victory over Jeff
Hefler, 10.983 to 10.873 in the final round. Faul cut a near-perfect .006
second light to take the win.
Super Gas Winner: Shawn Langdon
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| Super Gas -- Shawn Langdon, Chevy Corvette, 9.930, 144.81 def. Jason Lynch, 9.892, 161.98. |
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“This is actually my first race in this car,” said Langdon
as he was proudly holding his shiny Wally.
“Coming into today, I didn’t think I had a chance at winning,”
he said. “Actually, I did my part, and I thought I had a good shot.
I was driving in Super Comp too, and made it into the fifth-round. I kept
my game and just didn’t mess around.”
Langdon ran a 9.930 second pass against the 9.90 index as runner-up Jason
broke-out with a 9.892.
SUNDAY NOTES
He Even Named His First-Born Son After
The Track - Tate Branch has had such great success at Houston
Raceway Park, he named his son Houston. Branch has won every divisional
event he’s attended at Houston Raceway Park, but that elusive first
national event win didn’t come this weekend. Branch couldn’t
take the win-light against Shawn Jones, who ran 5.721/246.71 to take the
win over Branch’s 5.749/252.80 pass.
The Kid Versus The Master - Randy Meyer beat Gainesville winner
Aaron Olivarez with a hole-shot to stay in the game another round. Meyer
cut an amazing .018 light against Olivarez’s .052, and held on to
cross the line first with a margin of victory of less than 9 feet (.0238
seconds.)
He Must Have Figured It Out - Duane Shields blew past
the No. 2 qualifier Arthur Gallant with a 5.385 second, 266.74 mile per
hour pass. After Shields had commented Saturday that he had had only one
full run down the track with this car, he recorded two consistent 5.38
second laps to put him in the semi-finals.
There Must Be Some Mistake - They say it’s just
a timing clock error, but on the official score sheet, Aaron Olivarez
is credited with a top-speed of 355.16 miles per hour. Olivarez said,
“I wish! They think it’s the red paint on the bottom of our
car that’s affecting the beams – but, they aren’t sure
what happened.”
Torco Fuel Leaves Them Shaking In Their Tracks - Jeff
Wilson, driver of the Torco Fuels Dragster took jumped the next round,
leaving Gene Snow at the line with a bad case of tire-shake. Wilson recorded
a 5.501 second/260.06 run, but will give up lane choice against Randy
Meyer in the semi’s
Hometown Jitters - The excitement of having family
and friends in the stands may have been too much for Bo Nickens. In front
of his hometown fans, Nickens went red by .026 to give challenger Scott
Cashio a free-pass to the semi final round.
SATURDAY NOTES
It
Just Isn't The Same - Duane Shields isn’t happy with the
way his A/Fuel dragster is running with 98 percent nitro.
“I think I’ve only made one compete pass down the track in
this car,” said Shields. “If I had my blown car, I’d
probably be running it right now.”
Shields must have figured something out – he got past Richard Bourke
in the first round of eliminations with a 5.381- second, 266.58 mile per
hour pass.
Man On A Mission - “I just don’t want any
bad luck – I want good luck, because we’re going to need it
this weekend. I don’t want to say anything to jinx this,”
said Tate Branch as he was preparing for his first elimination round.
Branch, who was paired with Big Lake, Minnesota driver Gage Chaffee, won
the round with a 5.775 second, 251.86 mile per hour pass. Chaffee was
disqualified for crossing the center-line.
In his final round of qualifying, Branch had gained the No. 2 position
– but at great expense. “We were on a really good run, but
it nosed over when I put it into high gear. We actually broke a rod, and
we don’t know why,” Branch said.
Missing in Action - Officially pre-entered for the race
, veteran driver Frank Manzo is noticeably absent in this weekend’s
event. Manzo was pulled from competition in Gainesville because of medical
issues and has not been released for competition by doctors.
According to announcer Bob Frey, Manzo said “No race is that important
that I'll get back in the car before the doctors tell me it's OK."
Missed
It By That Much - As the Division Four Competition Eliminator
winner just three weeks ago, number eight qualifier, Rodger Brogdon, was
hoping to repeat his success here at Houston Raceway Park. “We’re
running a little heavy right now,” Brogdon said before his last
round of qualifying, “so we’re going to take a little weight
out of it to speed it up.” His efforts were in vain, however, as
he was upset in round one by No. 24 qualifier Paul Pittman, who won by
a margin of victory of .0447 seconds – approximately 11 feet.
Strategic Racing - After a runner-up showing in Gainesville,
Bo Nickens was hoping to ease into Sunday to perform in front of family
and friends. “I’m just really happy to be here in front of
our home town fans, hopefully we’ll put on a good show for them,”
Nickens said.
Strategically qualified at No. 16, Nickens made it past Gary Wise in the
first round of eliminations, trying to work his way up the from the bottom
of the ladder. Nickens is paired against Paul Pittman on Sunday.
Architecture
or Drag Racing? - University of Houston senior Jeffrey Miller
studies architecture during the week. On the weekends, the 24-year-old
races his B/Super Modified Automatic ’99 Pontiac Grand Am. Going
in to his last qualifying session, Miller had yet to make the field, but
was confident he could make the show.
His confidence paid off – Miller heads into Sunday qualified No.
18 after upsetting No. 2 qualifier Michael Johnson.
“Maybe someday I’ll race Pro Stock,” Miller said.
High School Junior Makes Good At Home - “My friends think
I’m crazy,” said 17-year-old high school junior Adam White.
In front of his home-town crowd, White drove his A/ND Dragster to the
No. 30 qualifying position. He is slated against Shane Heckel in Sunday’s
elimination rounds.
White, who has only been driving for almost a year, said, “This
is my first year in this car. I drove a bracket car and then steeped up
to this.”
No, Really Officer - Police officer Jason Buckner was
hoping to repeat his win from three weeks ago at the Division Four Lucas
Oil points race, but the D4 Jegs Allstar points leader wound up taking
an early trip home. In his second round of eliminations, Buckner ran 10.952
against the 10.90 index, just .009 seconds more than Dwight Downing’s
10.943.
Buckner’s “day job” is a police officer with the Montgomery
County Sheriff’s Department.
FRIDAY NOTES - A Moment of Silence for Fallen Friends
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(4-8-2005) - That Texas Air -
Top Alcohol dragster rookie Aaron Olivarez is sitting in good
position going into Saturday's qualifying session. Currently number three,
Aaron is hoping to repeat his performance in Gainesville where he won
his first National Event.
"The runs were really smooth, but it bogged down a little in the
second run. The ambient temperature seems to affect the a-fuel cars a
lot more at the 98 percent versus the way they ran at 100%," Olivarez
said.
May they rest in peace - Qualifying for Alcohol Dragster began today with a moment of silence in memory of the fallen Shelly Howard and her son, Brian. Veteran announcer Bob Frey ended the silence with the prayer, "May they both rest in peace."
Howard had been slated to be in the first pair of qualifying dragsters
- her lane was deafeningly silent.
FRIDAY, April 8, 2005
Pit and Spectator Gates Open 7:00 AM
Final Registration and Tech Inspection (all categories) 7:30 AM - 12:00
PM
Sportsman Qualifying 8:00 AM
TAD/TAFC Qualifying Session 11:00 AM
Comp Eliminator Qualifying Session 1:30 PM
TAD/TAFC Qualifying Session 2:00 PM
Comp Eliminator Qualifying Session 5:30 PM
Secure Track 8:30 PM
SATURDAY, April 9, 2005
Pit and Spectator Gates Open 7:00 AM
Sportsman Eliminations 8:00 AM
Comp Eliminator - Round 1 10:00 AM
TAD/TAFC Qualifying Session 10:30 AM
Comp Eliminator - Round 2 2:00 PM
TAD/TAFC - Round 1 5:00 PM
Secure Track 6:30 PM
SUNDAY, April 10, 2005
Pit and Spectator Gates Open 8:00 AM
Sportsman Eliminations 9:00 AM 
© Competitionplus 2005
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