ADRL racensur.com Sunshine
Drags presented by hotrodsbyburke
Valdosta, GA.
By Brian Lohnes; Photos by
Roger Richards, Brian Wood
Click here to view a photo gallery from Valdosta
SATURDAY FINAL - Clanton Completes Valdosta Sweep; Parker Edges Jenkins on Holeshot
(8-20-2005) - If every FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing
League event were held at South Georgia Motorsports Park, Bil Clanton
would more than likely have clinched the Pro Extreme championship by now.
As it is, Clanton will have to settle for sweeping the two ADRL events
at SGMP and the satisfaction of knowing that he's got points leader John
Lynam squarely in his sights with two events remaining on the 2005 calendar.
Clanton, racing out of Rome, Ga., made it two ADRL wins in two tries in
his home state by outrunning Lynam, 4.05 to 4.10, for the Pro Extreme
title Saturday evening at the ADRL RACENSUR.com Sunshine Drags presented
by hotrodsbyburke. Combined with his win in May at the same track and
a semifinal finish in the Belle Rose, La., event, Clanton has enough points
to head into the two fall events trailing Lynam by 109 points, or the
rough equivalent of one round-win.
In the Pro Nitrous category, Dan Parker scored his first
ADRL win in dramatic fashion, upsetting No. 1 qualifier and points leader
Shannon Jenkins with a 4.17 to 4.15 holeshot in their final-round clash
Saturday. Jenkins, who finished with low e.t. of every round, was attempting
to win his third consecutive Pro Nitrous event.
Both Lynam and Jenkins came up one round-win short of winning two ADRL
events on the same day. Earlier Saturday, the remaining eliminations rounds
of July's rain-delayed Torco Gear Summer Drags were run during Sunshine
Drags qualifying, with Lynam beating Mike Neal for the Pro Extreme title
and Jenkins outrunning Keith Baker for the Pro Nitrous honors. Lynam's
Summer Drags final-round run – a crowd-pleasing 3.995 - turned out
to be the pass of weekend.
Both Sunshine Drags winners came out of the No. 3 qualifying position.
Clanton beat both of the racing Neals - Michael and Mike - to reach the
Pro Extreme final, while Parker got by Rex Kelley and Johnny Pilcher.
In the Pro Nitrous final, Parker used a great .025 light to keep Jenkins
at bay, eventually winning by .03-second.
After completing two events Saturday, the six-event 2005 ADRL season jumped
from one-third to two-thirds complete. With events remaining in Jackson,
S.C., and Kennedale, Texas, Lynam and Clanton are both at least 400 points
clear of the rest of the Pro Extreme field, and Jenkins is in firm control
on the Pro Nitrous side. He leads second-place Pilcher by nearly 400 points.
ADRL RACENSUR.com Sunshine Drags eliminations:
PRO EXTREME
Quarterfinals
John Lynam 4.021, 184.77
Toney Russell 4.117, 177.88
Jason Scruggs 4.020, 186.15
Todd Bauknecht 4.210, 175.48
Mike Neal 4.051, 180.31
Herman Sheppard 4.088, 177.58
Bil Clanton 4.105, 172.61
Michael Neal 4.157, 176.72
Semifinals
John Lynam 4.005, 183.89
Jason Scruggs 4.235, 179.28
Bil Clanton 4.042, 176.72
Mike Neal Red-light
Final
Bil Clanton 4.055, 175.98
John Lynam 4.105, 180.79
PRO NITROUS
Quarterfinals
Shannon Jenkins 4.109, 182.85
Jerry Bridgeforth 4.645, 125.16
Keith Baker 4.184, 176.47
James Hancock Red-light
Johnny Pilcher 4.161, 175.84
Doug Patton 4.235, 167.86
Dan Parker 4.165, 175.78
Rex Kelley Red-light
Semifinals
Shannon Jenkins 4.089, 182.90
Keith Baker 4.400, 140.80
Dan Parker 4.140, 177.42
Johnny Pilcher 4.154, 175.75
Final
Dan Parker 4.175, 175.94
Shannon Jenkins 4.152, 179.42
ADRL points standings (through 4 of 6 events)
PRO EXTREME
1. John Lynam 1,229
2. Bil Clanton 1,120
3. Mike Neal 721
4. Michael Neal 713
5. Todd Bauknecht 310
6. Troy Critchley 307
7. Joshua Hernandez 302
8. Eddie Ware 208
9. Jason Scruggs 205
10. Herman Sheppard 204
11. Thomas Patterson 203
12. Todd Tutterow 106
13. Perry Herring 104
Jerry Hicks 104
15. Bennie McDonald 103
16. Ron Stokes 102
17. Tony Russell 101
Bubba Stanton 101
Shannon Jenkins 101
PRO NITROUS
1. Shannon Jenkins 1,425
2. Johnny Pilcher 1,028
3. Keith Baker 813
4. James Hancock 615
5. Dan Parker 406
6. Rickie Smith 308
7. Rex Kelley 210
8. Justin Bankston 208
9. J.T. Thompson 205
Charles Carpenter 205
Kenny Rucker 205
12. Terry Housley 104
13. Stan Allen 103
Pat Doherty 103
15. Doug Patton 102
Harold Galtney 102
17. Jerry Bridgeforth 101
Ron Smith 101
Hernandez Claims AMS Victory in Valdosta
(8-20-2005) - Tommy Lipar Racing and Josh Hernandez proved in the heat of the South Georgia summer they had the hot rod to beat. Racing under the almost unbearable conditions of the Racensur Sunshine Drags in Valdosta, Hernandez and crewchief Howard Moon looked as cool as a Fall afternoon. In the final round, Hernandez defeated Mike Ashley for his third victory of 2005.
“This is the mountain you have to climb to get a win. Today we reached the pinnacle,” said an exhausted but happy Hernandez
Hernandez opened his march to the finals opposite of a resurgent Doug Palmer. The run was a tight affair as Hernandez staged first and Palmer took his time getting the car into the beams. Palmer staged it shallow and left first, but Hernandez and the Dr. Moon’s Rage 1957 Chevrolet were more than ready. He wheeled down to a 6.29, 222 mph pass driving around Palmer’s hole shot for the win.
The battle heated up in round 2 with Hernandez the Texan, and Kirk Khuns
the veteran Californian lined up next to one another. Hernandez left the
line first and never looked back, powering away from Khuns with a solid
6.22, 228 mph pass.
As the night wore on and conditions continued to improve, the team was
able to wring more power out of their blown hemi.
“This one is for my team 100%. This has been a total team effort from top to bottom. To get us through these conditions and be so consistent is amazing. I have the best guys in the business,” said Josh.
Hernandez faced a familiar foe as he next faced the Willys of Thomas Patterson. The Willys held the high speed of the meet at 230 mph going into the round, but that held no intimidation factor as Hernandez scored a 6.24, 229 mph romp.
“This was a marathon event," Hernandez added. "We made a lot of passes today and that takes its toll on everyone, but again, my team worked through it. I can’t say enough for all of the Tommy Lipar racing crew.”
The final round was a rematch of the money round in Columbus, Ohio less
than two weeks ago. Hernandez had the starting line advantage with a great
.020 reaction time and never looked back. He led Ashley all the way down
the dragstrip and stopped the clock with a 6.20 at 228 mph. It was the
best pass for the team all weekend when the team needed it the most.
“I am speechless, what can I say?" Hernandez said. "This
was really good to get this win the way we did, after we ended in the
day badly in Columbus. I really have to thank my crew for putting up with
me. These guys are the best!”
With the win, Hernandez pulled to within 1,000 points of Ashley in the
AMS/TLR Cup points standings with three events remaining on the 2005 schedule.
With the Cup series essentially awarding 100 points per round-win, though,
Hernandez and the TLR team will need to make up roughly 10 rounds of deficit
in Indianapolis, Dallas, and Las Vegas (bonus points are also available
for any driver to set Pro Mod Challenge e.t. or speed records, but none
of those three tracks is likely to be host to that level of performance).
Whatever the outcome of the points battle, no Pro Mod team is hotter right
now than the TLR group. Hernandez has raced in three straight finals,
has compiled an 11-1 record over his last 12 rounds, has qualified no
lower than third in the last six AMS/TLR events, and continues to lead
the FLOWMASTER Pro Mod CLASH bonus event points standings. Following the
Chicago event in June, the TLR team was an uninspiring sixth in the AMS/TLR
Cup standings; since that time,
Hernandez has won at least one round at every event and has jumped up
four spots in the standings.
Eliminations results (winner on top)
First round
Troy Critchley 6.307, 225.22
Terry Leggett 6.576, 219.86
Jay Payne 6.424, 228.81
Mike Bell NTR
Mike Ashley 6.291, 227.92
Joey Martin 11.481, 75.12
Troy Coughlin 6.291, 228.31
Eddie Ware 6.393, 218.34
Thomas Patterson 6.270, 225.60
Bryan Seward 6.335, 226.73
Chip King 6.267, 229.24
Frankie Taylor 6.971, 171.95
Joshua Hernandez 6.296, 222.36
Doug Palmer 6.467, 222.51
Kirk Kuhns 6.302, 226.58
Glen Kerunsky 6.499, 223.39
Quarterfinals
Jay Payne 6.277, 229.86
Troy Critchley 6.323, 224.66
Mike Ashley 6.286, 225.33
Troy Coughlin 6.276, 227.69
Thomas Patterson 6.288, 229.31
Chip King 6.264, 229.24
Joshua Hernandez 6.226, 228.61
Kirk Kuhns Red-light
Semifinals
Mike Ashley 6.238, 229.78
Jay Payne 6.245, 230.45
Joshua Hernandez 6.246, 222.91
Thomas Patterson 6.275, 229.39
Final
Joshua Hernandez 6.202, 228.92
Mike Ashley 6.228, 229.31
AMS/TLR Cup points standings (through 11 of 14 events)
1. Mike Ashley 3,917
2. Joshua Hernandez 2,941
3. Jay Payne 2,722
4. Troy Critchley 2,403
5. Thomas Patterson 2,201
6. Zach Barklage 2,051
7. Troy Coughlin 1,989
8. Frankie Taylor 1,764
9. Kirk Kuhns 1,669
10. Glen Kerunsky 1,479
MORE SATURDAY NOTES - Doc Departs, the Taj-ma-Toter Home, Boy Genius and Roy Strikes Again
(8-20-2005)
- What the Hill? - Roy Hill, who reportedly had sold his entire
racing operation, arrived at the ADRL Sunshine Drags in Valdosta in full
force and full of energy.
Hill admitted to health issues and the passing of his brother from a heart attack had him so down in the dumps that he had entertained a complete sell out. However, while working with the potential buyers, a deal was struck to invest in the Hill racing operation as opposed to a buy-out. Hill was excited about the potential shape of the new venture.
In only the way that Roy Hill can introduce something new, he had “IT’S COMING” emblazoned on the quarterpanels of his controversial 1966/05 Mustang driven by Mike Bell. Asked exactly what that meant, Hill said that “We aren’t sure what it will be when it gets here, but it is gonna be great.”
Admitting that the details and exact racing operations have not been finalized, Hill said it would be different and could even include a foray into Top Fuel. It all depends on the future course of Pro Modified within the NHRA. In any case, part of the deal is an associate sponsorship provided by Ray Price Harley Davidson of Raleigh, N.C. Evidence of the association was a brand new Harley V-Rod proudly on display in the Hill/Bell pit throughout the weekend.
The
Doctor is: OUT - The most shocking report coming from the ADRL
Sunshine Drags in Valdosta was the immediate retirement from drag racing
of Doc Perkins, a veteran outlaw Pro Mod campaigner and team owner.
“It is a done deal,” reported a crewmember. “It is over and done and signed. Doc sold everything but his golf cart and tools. The car and the rig have been sold and even his motor home is for sale. Doc said he was just tired and was time to relax.”
Previous Pro Mod owner/racer David Elsberry from Georgia is the reported new owner.
There was no word as to what would happen to the crew and Perry Herring
who has piloted the ‘63 Vette for a long time.
ADRL 101 – Those of you who are unfamiliar with the different ADRL Classes here’s a quick run down of what we’re talking about when we say, “Pro Extreme”, “Pro Nitrous” and “AMS/TLR Pro Mod”
Pro Extreme Rules – Here are the rules… make sure the thing is safe and it has doors. Other than that have fun and don’t play in traffic. These cars run the 1/8 mile right around the 4.00 second mark depending on conditions.
o 8-car qualified field for supercharged or turbocharged Outlaw Pro Mods
o Must have permanent ADRL number to compete
o Must pass safety and chassis inspection
o Must have working doors from inside and out
o Must have working suspension
o Minimum wheelbase 100"
o Maximum wheelbase 125"
*Pro Nitrous cars may compete
**No performance restricting rules such as engine size, minimum weight,
blower overdrive or type, turbo size or type etc.
Pro Nitrous Rules – Here are the rules…no blowers. That’s about it. Run as a motor as you can, with as much nitrous as you can. These cars run the 1/8 mile right around the 4.00 second mark depending on conditions.
o 8-car qualified field for nitrous injected Outlaw Pro Mods
o Must have permanent ADRL number to compete
o Must pass safety and chassis inspection
o Must have working doors from inside and out
o Must have working suspension
o Minimum wheelbase 100"
o Maximum wheelbase 125"
*Superchargers and turbochargers are strictly prohibited.
**No performance restricting rules such as engine size, minimum weight,
number of nitrous bottles or systems etc.
AMS/TLR Rules – These are the cars that normally compete at NHRA
AMS/TLR events and in the ADRL races under the same sponsors. These cars
are more restricted in their rules than the other classes and have limitations
on blower overdrive (29%), weight minimums (vary by body style/year chosen),
and many other factors that affect the performance of the vehicle. These
cars run the quarter-mile in the six-teens depending on conditions.
Pimp
my ride – Remember the days when the highest-level professional
teams had fancy crewcab dually trucks towing their cars around? Neither
do we. Mike Ashley is rolling in high style these days. A new partnership
between Team Gotham Racing and Roger McComb’s RV Super Center and
race car trailer sales has yielded a brand new Optima toter-home and stacker
trailer. Basically this thing is an edition of “Cribs” on
wheels. The vehicle has marble floors, Italian leather couches and captain’s
chairs, plasma televisions, full bath accoutrements and the list goes
on.
According McComb, “I have a really special relationship with Optima and I met Mike Ashley in Gainesville this year. I went back and started to work on a program that would help Mike, myself and Optima and we have done that.”
Ashley is going to receive a new Optima every six months to showcase the different floor plans and available features of these premium units.
Look for an upcoming feature on Ashley and McCombs’ relationship and his Optima luxury home on wheels.
Cool kid – There are plenty of kids that travel with their racing parents, but few are as articulate, knowledgeable and down right cool as Bryan Seward’s son Preston.
The elder Seward said, “He’s our team manager and he is one heck of kid.”
We can back that up as we spent several minutes speaking with Preston about the fineries of running a Pro Mod, Pro Stock and his dad’s history in drag racing.
He has been spotted tooling around the pits and harassing fellow class drivers between qualifying and eliminations. There are not many kids who at his age have taken such an active role in the family racing business. Mark our words, this kid has a future in the sport of drag racing.
Smoke free zone – One last note on the Seward crew is a special promise that Bryan made to his crew. He said that if they qualified the car at any of the races this season that he would quit smoking.
Well, they did and the crew was quickly removing any smoking paraphernalia from the pit area after their personally historic first-ever qualifying position. Unfortunately, they did not make it past the first round after Thomas Patterson defeated them.
I think some nicotine gum may be in order.
I ain’t gonna eat that – Unique food items seem to be en vogue these days at race tracks across the country. Some places serve Bader Burgers, some of them will give you a pound of ice cream for a dollars but South Georgia Motorsports Park takes the cake.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you “Butt Rub Fries”.
Honestly, we have no idea what that even means and we are in absolutely
no rush to try it. The rumor cycling the pressroom is that the junior
staff member on duty is going to be the guinea pig.
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - The final 16 are set; Critchley tops AMS/TLR field on Valdosta
(8-20-2005) – Troy Critchley has earned the number
one qualifying position in the AMS/TLR Pro Mod Challenge after the final
round of qualifying. A blistering 6.201, 226 mph lap was good enough for
the pole. Thomas Patterson was able to pick up the second spot with a
6.208 effort at 230 mph.
This marks the first time that Critchley has grabbed the top qualifying spot and it also makes this the first time that Dave Wood of AMS (Critchley’s sponsor) will have a number one qualifier trophy for the trophy case.
“I don’t get over excited about qualifying, don’t get me wrong this is great but it’s not our end goal to be the number one qualifier, we want to win the race,” Critchley said. “I know that I have beaten the number one qualifier in the past, so we need to get our game faces on. When you are racing heads up anything can happen. I am very proud of my team and very happy for Dave Wood of AMS, he’s a really patient guy and this was a good accomplishment for us. We want to make up some rounds because we are really close to Josh Hernandez for second place.”
The three rounds of qualifying were all under very different weather conditions and the best elapsed times were all set during last night’s session. A couple of drivers were able to pick up spots today. Chip King rocketed from the 26th position all the way into the seventh spot with a 6.28 second lap at 228 mph. He was the only driver to bump his way back into the field in the 90 plus degree heat of today’s session.
Josh Hernandez was able to qualify ahead of Mike Ashley, helping him build on his Flowmaster Pro Mod Clash points lead, which is at a tenuous 8 points. Ashley and Hernandez are one and two respectively in the AMS/TLR season points and find themselves on opposite sides of the elimination ladder.
A total of 26 Pro Mods were trying to qualify for this race and by all accounts they made up one of the most stout fields in the history of the class. With names like Castellana, Muenks, and the Barklage brothers are on the DNQ list, it shows just how tough the conditions and the competition have been thus far in Valdosta.
AMS/TLR Pro Mod Challenge eliminations are scheduled to have their first
round of eliminations later this afternoon. That will cut the field to
eight and even them up with the Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme competitors
for the remainder of the evening.
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SATURDAY NOTES - Big Stuff Coming in the Spring? The Bling, The Thing and a Helping Hand
(8-20-2005) - Sources Have Said - Over the past few seasons, the crew at eRaceFuels CompetitionPlus.com have promoted a major test session at Virginia Motorsports Park during the second weekend of March. The word flating around is the program will reportedly settle into a southern home with South Georgia Motorsports Park.
King’s new bling nearly ready – Chip King, the undisputed Mopar king of Pro Modified, is anxiously waiting his new ride. Vanishing Point Race Cars is in the finishing stages of a brand new Plymouth Super Bird Pro Mod for King.
According to King, “The car is supposed to be finished Tuesday or Wednesday at the chassis shop. We’ll get it back to our place and begin to assemble it. We have not decided on paint yet, but I don’t think the Patriot theme will work on that car.”
As for the debut, there is a very good chance that it will debut at Indy at the NHRA US Nationals.
“As long as we are able to test it and get it to be reasonably competitive, we will be at Indy with it,” King said.
We don’t know much, but we do know that this thing is going to be a fan favorite instantly.
Look ma, no HANS -- Troy Coughlin is on the cutting edge of Pro Mod technology and now he’s on the cutting edge of safety as well. Coughlin is using an advanced and relatively new safety device called an R3. The device was developed by Trevor Ashland and is beginning to get a toehold in drag racing. This is essentially a HANS style device that is integrated into his drivers’ seat.
“I have a lot more movement with this than with a HANS. I used to wear the HANS when I was running Pro Stock and sometimes it would shift or move and become very uncomfortable,” Coughlin said. “This is really the best device out there in my opinion.”
Coughlin got into his car and demonstrated how the device is used. It integrates very well with the seat belt system and actually uses Velcro to mount the unit onto the seat, so in the event that a quick escape from the vehicle is necessary, Coughlin can hit his belts and exit the vehicle very quickly. Look for a feature on this device in the future.
Seward’s new drive – Brian Seward, the former NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock racer is making his competitive debut in Pro Mod this weekend. Seward has purchased Roy Hill’s mustang and is making tracks this weekend.
Seward and crew are racing with a great purpose.
“We really want to raise awareness about Downs Syndrome,” Seward said. “A year and a half ago my wife and I had a downs syndrome child and there was not a lot of resources for us to turn to when we had our son. We want to help support parents of kids with downs and the kids themselves. People need to know that these are great kids with not one bad bone in their body. Many people have internal disabilities but these kids have theirs on the outside.”
The Sewards have contacted the Downs Syndrome Society and hope to raise fund for them through shirt sales and other programs. Currently, they are qualified in the 15 spot with a 6.475, 220 mph.
Wooton’s mean Chevy – Don Wooton has the most unique Chevolet on the grounds. Running Pro Extreme, his 1 of 1 1951 Chevrolet has authentic 51 Chevy headlights, parking lights (as some old timer told us, they weren’t called turn signals back them) and a flame job to boot. Wooton built the body and then Jerry Bickel reverse engineered the chassis to fit the unique shape of the car. It is very cool and very different, especially in the sea of 1963 Corvettes that we have on the grounds here this weekend.
Hertz don’t it? – The Hertz Rent-a-racer Mustang GT 350 campaigned by Jerry Bridgeforth of Garden City GA, runs Pro Nitrous and has been turning heads since it rolled in the other day. Sporting the black and gold that the 1960’s Hertz rental GT 350’s were sprayed with, the car is a standout. It also follows the, “put a Ford in your Ford” movement with its Charlie Peppers build mega-inch Ford shotgun style hemi on nitrous.
The age-old question that everyone asks is what were they thinking about renting those cars? If we are still fondly remembering them now, it must not have been such a bad promotion after all.
The name’s Payne, officer Payne – At the conclusion of yesterday evenings qualifying session Jay Payne and his crew were trying to load the 2005 Stratus into the transporter for the night. Due to a heavy traffic flow on the main road of the pits, things were moving slowly. That’s when Payne swung into action, confidently directing the stymied traffic. A wise crack was made that he should become a traffic cop to which he replied, “Hey, you gotta do something about this right?”
Who knew he was so multi talented he’s a Pro Mod driver, Funny
Car racer, defender of the public interest and all around nice guy.
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FRIDAY - Trio of Texans at Top of Large Field
(8-19-2005) - Three Texans ended
up at the top of the order after the first day of AMS Staff Leasing Pro
Mod Challenge presented by TLR qualifying at the ADRL RACENSUR.com Sunshine
Drags, leading a large group of challengers in the biggest AMS/TLR event
of the season to date.
Troy Critchley - from Wylie, Texas, by way of Australia - finished as
the leader after two rounds of qualifying, running a 6.201 in his AMS
Staff Leasing-sponsored '41 Willys. He enters Saturday's third and final
qualifying session with a narrow edge over Spring, Texas' Thomas Patterson
(6.208) and a three-hundredths advantage over No. 3 Joshua Hernandez of
Conroe (6.232).
The Sunshine Drags' field of 26 drivers is the biggest of the 2005 season
and the biggest the Pro Mod Challenge has seen in nearly a year (29 cars
made at least one run at last season's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals).
Trailing the Texas trio in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots were teammates Mike
Ashley (6.251) and Troy Coughlin (6.265), who between them have won six
of the 10 Pro Mod Challenge events this season.
The eventual members of the qualified field will also receive valuable
points in the FLOWMASTER Pro Mod CLASH competition, which is nearing its
conclusion. Including the Sunshine Drags, just three events remain for
drivers to earn points for the CLASH, an eight-car bonus event for the
Pro Mod Challenge's most consistent qualifiers.
ADRL RACENSUR.com Sunshine Drags qualifying
(after 2 of 3 rounds)
1. Troy Critchley 6.201, 226.77
2. Thomas Patterson 6.208, 230.25
3. Joshua Hernandez 6.232, 226.32
4. Mike Ashley 6.251, 228.27
5. Troy Coughlin 6.265, 228.11
6. Glen Kerunsky 6.268, 227.65
7. Jay Payne 6.284, 229.74
8. Mike Bell 6.289, 225.67
9. Frankie Taylor 6.312, 223.99
10. Eddie Ware 6.333, 221.49
11. Joey Martin 6.344, 219.65
12. Kirk Kuhns 6.400, 220.22
13. Terry Leggett 6.400, 213.64
14. Doug Palmer 6.447, 219.69
15. Bryan Seward 6.475, 220.94
16. Cody Barklage 6.575, 216.65
(not qualified)
17. Steve Engel 6.626, 222.51
18. Ron Muenks 6.707, 201.01
19. John Gullett 7.052, 200.50
20. Jules Reichers 7.961, 112.26
21. Mike Castellana 8.316, 116.02
22. Harold Laird 8.517, 109.89
23. Annette Summers 8.595, 123.56
24. Brian Daniels 9.517, 121.30
25. Mike Moran 10.848, 81.60
26. Chip King 14.684, 57.91
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Friday - It’s hot, it’s crowded and it’s quick
It’s
all about the tires - Annette and Vern Summer have been fighting
their twin turbo Corvette for a couple of years now and recently they
have had a break through. Annette said, “We think we have finally
found a tire for it. We are running a top fuel tire on the back of the
car now to try and get the power to the ground.” They have been
unable to break into the field after two rounds of qualifying.
Get this man some undies – An unnamed member of Steve Engle’s crew disclosed that his clothes have not arrived in Valdosta as of yet. “Someone told me to go down to the laundry mat and wash my clothes, I asked them if they had been dropped on their head,” said the crew member. He went shopping at Wal-Mart to gear up.
It’s not like this at home – You couldn’t fry an egg on the sidewalk here in Valdosta, you could ignite it. It is in the 90’s and the humidity is about that high as well. The night time session saw temps and humidity drop and the elapsed times fall off the face of the Earth as well. If you aren’t in the 20’s you aren’t in the top 8.
It’s
factory stock…I swear – Ron Meunks is unqualified
after two sessions with a 6.70 at 207 mph. Meunks' black and grey 1959
Corvette is painted in a factory option paint scheme. This was verified
by a village elder in the timing tower.
My heads is
broke – Zack Barklage missed qualifying today because of
a damaged set of heads on top of his blown Hemi. A good break for him
is that Jay Payne and Jedi Master Brad Anderson are just a couple of pit
spots down. An unidentified crew member said this:“We wounded it
at a match race earlier in the week. We have a set of Brad 6 heads coming
tomorrow.” Not bad, eh?
The Brad and Roy show – Brad Anderson and Roy Hill were spotted walking into Roy’s trailer together. One could only wish to be a fly on the wall to hear that conversation!
PREVIEW - SGMP Set for Busy Weekend of Pro Mod Racing
(8-18-2005) - South Georgia Motorsports Park will be the epicenter of the Pro Mod world this weekend, where two days of racing at the inaugural ADRL racensur.com Sunshine Drags presented by hotrodsbyburke will determine winners of three events:
* First, there's the Sunshine Drags itself, the fourth of the six
ADRL events scheduled for 2005. Both qualifying and eliminations in the
Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous categories will be contested on Saturday.
* Second, the incomplete rounds from last month's rain-delayed Torco
Gear Summer Drags in Belle Rose, La. - originally scheduled as the third
event of 2005 - will be run in Valdosta. A total of 10 drivers are still
in contention for the two Belle Rose titles, including the four Pro Nitrous
semifinalists and six Pro Extreme entrants competing
in either their first or second rounds.
* Finally, the Sunshine Drags will also double as an event on the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge presented by TLR tour, the 11th of the 14 on the 2005 calendar. More than 25 drivers are pre-entered in the AMS/TLR competition, which gets under way with two qualifying sessions Friday evening (5 p.m. and 7 p.m.).
The Sunshine Drags concludes Saturday with a busy day of racing. The Pro Mod Challenge cars will get a final qualifying shot in the afternoon, while the ADRL's Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous entries have qualifying attempts scheduled for noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. Eliminations in all classes are scheduled for 6 p.m.
This weekend's event is the ADRL's second stop in Valdosta in 2005. In late May, the ADRL DRAGPALOOZA event ended with Bil Clanton (Pro Extreme) and Shannon Jenkins (Pro Nitrous) winning the individual titles, and a team of Outlaw Pro Mod drivers (the FLOWMASTER All-Stars) pounding a team of AMS/TLR All-Stars, 31-8, in Sunday's three- round, 33-pass team competition.
FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing League points standings
(Through 2 of 6 events)
Pro Extreme
1. John Lynam 513
2. Bil Clanton 508
3. Michael Neal 405
4. Troy Critchley 307
5. Joshua Hernandez 302
6. Eddie Ware 208
7. Mike Neal 207
8. Todd Bauknecht 206
9. Thomas Patterson 203
10. Todd Tutterow 106
Pro Nitrous
1. Shannon Jenkins 712
2. Johnny Pilcher 613
3. Rickie Smith 308
4. Keith Baker 306
5. James Hancock 305
6. Charles Carpenter 205
Kenny Rucker 205
8. Justin Bankston 107
9. Terry Housley 104
10. Pat Doherty 103
AMS/TLR Cup points standings
(through 10 of 14 events)
1. Mike Ashley 3,504
2. Joshua Hernandez 2,427
3. Jay Payne 2,413
4. Troy Critchley 2,187
5. Zach Barklage 2,051
6. Thomas Patterson 1,886
7. Troy Coughlin 1,777
8. Frankie Taylor 1,657
9. Kirk Kuhns 1,463
10. Glen Kerunsky 1,368
FLOWMASTER Pro Mod CLASH points standings
(through 11 of 14 events)
1. Joshua Hernandez 127
2. Mike Ashley 119
3. Jay Payne 114
4. Troy Critchley 99
5. Chip King 90
6. Thomas Patterson 88
7. Troy Coughlin 77
8. Glen Kerunsky 68
9. Shelly Payne 64
10. Frankie Taylor 63
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