2009 ADRL DALLAS - EVENT NOTEBOOK

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2009 ADRL DALLAS - EVENT NOTEBOOK

Written by Mark Keiser; Photos by Roger Richards Friday, 23 October 2009 22:31


		EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK RUN-BY-RUN RESULTS LIVE AUDIO LIVE TIMING			THURSDAY GALLERY FRIDAY GALLERY SATURDAY GALLERY

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - A RECORD-SETTING DAY FROM THE GET-GO

RACING IS DONE FOR THE DAY – ADRL Officials made the decision to cancel the balance of Friday’s competition at 10:49 PM, CST. Racing will resume tomorrow at 10 AM. The Battle for the Belts competition will continue after Saturday’s qualifying session.

HAMSTRA CRASHES - Pro Extreme racer Jason Hamstra was involved in a finish line accident during the semi-final round of the ADRL Battle for the Belts competition at the Len-Mar World Finals.

Hamstra's supercharged Camaro was racing in the right lane of the Texas Motorplex when his car drifted right, out of the groove, and abruptly shot across the track impacting the retaining wall head-on. The car came to a stop in the shutdown area and missed opponent Joshua Hernandez when he crossed over into the left lane.

He was alert and talking with medical personnel according to race officials. As a precautionary measure, he will be transported via helicopter to a local hospital.

"He was extracted from the car and it appears at this point he is just bruised up," said Ian Tocher, ADRL VP of Publications. "As a precaution, they are going to take him out via helicopter -- to which hospital, we don't know at this moment. We will confirm that shortly."

ADRL officials pulled the plug on Friday evening's qualifying but will run the Battle for the Belts competition to completion.

CompetitionPlus.com will have official updates once they become available.

Racing is suspended currently while track officials inspect the retaining wall and perform accident clean-up.

HALSEY HAMMERS THEM AGAIN - Pro Nitrous Speedtech Battle for the Belts top seed Jim Halsey bettered his earlier mark with another drag racing best as he lowered the record to a 3.846 elapsed time. His 195.39 backed up the previous speed record.

MAKING A STATEMENT – It takes a lot more than the quickest pass in nitrous doorslammer history to get Jim Halsey excited.

Halsey, of Street, Md., was all business on Friday afternoon following his 3.859-second pass at 195.48 miles per hour during the first qualifying session at the ADRL Len-Mar World Finals.

There were two reasons for the non-emotional response. First, he still has a championship to focus on with the upcoming Battle for the Belts competition and secondly, he’d been there done that.

“It really didn’t feel much different that a 3.87 or a 3.88,” said Halsey of the run which will count towards the first run of the 2010 season. “But, it felt good to run that fast.”

Halsey, during a recent test session at Cecil County Dragway [Md.], ran a 3.850 elapsed time.

“[The] run really didn’t come as a surprise to me, but I was surprised others didn’t run as quick,” Halsey said. “We left a little on the table with that run.”

HEAVY HEARTS - The Awesome Al-Anabi Pro Modified team put four teams into Friday’s ADRL Battle for the Belts competition but only three will compete this weekend.

Shannon Jenkins, crew chief and tuner for the organization, and driver of the fourth car, didn’t travel this weekend, electing to remain home after the death of his father, Gaylon, who passed away from unexpected complications following routine surgery.

Mike Castellana, Jenkins’ longtime teammate, believes that while Jenkins is noted for his tuning prowess, he deserves recognition for his planning and organizing of a team that could operated so efficiently in his absence.

“Shannon put together a good team here,” said Castellana, who has raced together with Jenkins for nearly a decade. “If you look at any of the major stick and ball sports, if the coach isn’t there one day, the team doesn’t go down the tubes. What he built here is a good team with a solid foundation. A good crew chief always has a back-up plan.”

Castellana pointed out that Jenkins insisted the team race this weekend. That’s easier said than done pointed out Castellana.

“We would really like to be there with him at the funeral and the wake,” Castellana said. “His wishes were for us were to race, and bring home the championship. We’re following his wishes and the team feels terrible for him.”

Jenkins’ spot will be filled by first alternate Pat Stoken, who will assume the No. 8 seed. Per ADRL alternate insertion procedures, other teams will move up a spot in the ladder placing Castellana in the second spot formerly occupied by Jenkins.

CHARLES WAS IN CHARGE – Charles Carpenter loves racing at the Texas Motorplex and with good reason. Twenty-three years ago the famed facility provided the Pro Modified pioneer with one of his fondest drag racing memories.

The Texas Motorplex was where Carpenter, who hails from Charlotte, NC, earned the title as the King of the ’55 Chevy. Carpenter beat west coast racer Dave Riolo in a head-to-head competition sanctioned by Super Stock and Drag Illustrated to determined the best 1955 Chevy driver.

“We raced Riolo that day and all of the big time shoebox racers of that time,” said Carpenter, who is qualified sixth in the Pro Nitrous division at the ADRL World Finals. “We brought a brand new Tommy Mauney-built 1955 Chevy out here that was so new … the primer was still wet. I hadn’t even let the clutch out on the car one time when we brought it out here.”

Carpenter made one test hit and by the second run drove his way to a personal best elapsed time.

The rivalry was one that had been cultivated by the leading drag racing media outlets at the time, SS&DI and Hot Rod’s Drag Racing.

Carpenter was considered as the “World’s Fastest 1955 Chevy” until Riolo stepped up to challenge his throne and in a media-fueled frenzy, the two drivers battled to the wire for the honor of becoming the first to take the lumbering body style into the seven second zone.

Carpenter was the first to crack the seven-second barrier running a 7.99 during an IHRA Top Sportsman points race in Richmond, Va. Three hours later, in Fremont, Ca, Riolo ran his first seven second run and wrestled away the title with a 7.97.

“We ran our 7.99 with a car that was built to run 10-seconds,” Carpenter admitted. “That car got pretty scary towards the end. Here we were, running the car two seconds quicker than it was supposed to. It was supposed to have a small block and we ended up with a 540-inch big block.

“I’d say the car we are running today would have been more than a dream car back then.”

SMITH TAKES A SPILL - There’s not much that seven-time doorslammer world champion Rickie Smith can’t do with a race car. But, when it comes rickie_smith to a pit bike, the veteran racer knows his limits.

Smith, racing Pro Nitrous at this weekend’s ADRL World Finals in Ennis, Tex., was en route to the drivers meeting when the combination of the front brakes, turning a curve and gravel on the asphalt of the Texas Motorplex pits, didn’t work out.

Smith went down hard, and by his own admission didn’t get back on his feet in a hurry.

“I wasn’t running fast but the minute I hit the brakes, it threw the bike down on the ground,” said Smith, while tuning his engine between qualifying sessions. “It threw my leg under and I couldn’t get my hand down to break my fall. It happened so fast that my head just slammed down on the pavement.”

An off-duty nurse ran to the dazed Smith’s rescue.

“I sat there for a while because it almost knocked me out,” Smith continued. “She said I laid there for a while, but I can’t remember. I was lucky that I had a pretty wide pair of sunglasses on to absorb some of the impact. My head looks like it may need a couple of stitches, but I ain’t got time for that right now.”

Smith said he declined medical assistance, although he feels the aftereffects of the spill.

“I just looked in the mirror, put a band-aid on it and went on about my business,” Smith explained. “I didn’t realize how sore I had gotten after the accident until I tried to climb into the car. I know that I’ll really be feeling it tomorrow.

NOW THAT’S A SESSION – The first qualifying session for the 2010 season left many wondering if that was when it would be finished. Extreme Pro Stock qualifying began at 12:15 PM, and Pro Extreme wrapped up just shy of 6 PM.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING, REPRODUCING? – Forty-six Pro Extreme cars made the call during the first qualifying session. A total of 49 cars have turned in tech cards. That’s down from last year’s 54.

NOT YOUR STANDARD BRACKET – If you’re the No. 1 seed, the ADRL’s Speedtech Battle for the Belts eliminations bracket is your best friend. However, if you’re the number seven or eight seeds, you have a long day ahead if you want to be the world champion.

New for this year, though, is an initial bye run granted to each points leader, which also requires the seventh- and eighth-place Belts qualifiers in each class to race each other first, with the winner taking on the number-two contender in the Belts quarter-finals. Meanwhile, number three will take on number six and four will race five, just as in a traditional eight-car eliminations ladder.

“That first-round bye is big; ever since (the ADRL) announced that’s what they were doing, we focused on being number one,” defending back-to-back Pro Extreme champ Jason Scruggs stated. “It gives you an extra free shot at the track, which is a pretty big deal, but you still have to capitalize on it. You’re still going for lane choice (in the semis), so you want to make sure and make a good pass.”

ADRL Executive Vice President of Competition Bert Corzine explained that World Finals V qualifying for all classes will begin at noon on Friday and all Belts contenders will make that first qualifying run without facing elimination. Speedtech Battle for the Belts racing will commence at the beginning of second-round qualifying with the numbers seven and eight starters from all five classes opening the session.

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