ADRL DALLAS - EVENT NOTEBOOK | Competition Plus

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - NEXT YEAR'S FIRST RACE WILL BE RUN NEXT YEAR

In what has become an all too frequent occurrence in 2010 because of inclement weather, the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) was forced to postpone the Crowd LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VI on Saturday at Texas Motorplex.

A steady and sometimes driving rain in Ennis caused the postponement, wiping away the scheduled Vince Neil concert as well. It marks the fourth race that has been postponed during the 2010 season.

“Our goal in 2010 was to finish the season without an injury to a single driver and we did that, but unfortunately we were affected by rain at 9 of our 10 events,” ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling said.

“From a time perspective, there was not any possibility to dry the surface and race. It’s heart-breaking for me and Mother Nature has not been too kind to us this year.”

Instead of the first points race for 2011 being completed at Texas Motorplex on Saturday, the race will now be completed on a double-race weekend on March 25-26 as part of Universal Technical Institute Dragpalooza VII presented by Safety-Kleen at Houston Raceway Park.

The track prep crew cleared the track five times on Saturday, but just when it looked like there would be racing, the rain would start up each time. The last time was a driving rain, which forced Nowling to make the unfortunate announcement. Amazingly, not one car made a single pass on Saturday and not one even fired or made it to the staging lanes.

“I want to apologize to everyone who came to watch,” Nowling said. “It’s just an unfortunate situation.”

The postponed race comes a day after the ADRL crowned world champions in each of its six classes at the Speedtech “Battle For The Belts.”

The 2011 ADRL Tour will start on March 25-26 at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

Nowling also confirmed that the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VII would take place from Texas Motorplex on Oct. 21-22, 2011.

“The good news is we will be back twice (to Texas) in 2011,” Nowling said.

The full 10-event ADRL schedule for the 2011 season will also be released in the coming weeks.

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - IT'S CHAMPIONSHIP DAY AT THE ADRL

QUICK HITS - RACE DAY REPORTING IN RAPID FASHION

PRELIMINARY ROUND

STOTT ADVANCES – Quain Stott ended two-time series champion Jason Scruggs’ hopes for a third title during the preliminary round for the Pro Extreme’s Battle collapsed for the Belts competition.

Scruggs was only .003 quicker out of the gate and as it turns out this was his only lead in the race. Stott quickly reeled him in and led to the stripe with a 3.794 elapsed time at 199.67 miles per hour.

Scruggs concluded his 2010 season with a 3.921 second pass.

ALTERNATIVE ENDING – Doug Reisterer made the most of his opportunity during the preliminary race in the Pro Nitrous Battle for the Belts.

Reisterer entered the event as an alternate for Charles Carpenter, who is back at home tending to a family emergency.

In as the No. 8 seed, Reisterer beat Steve Vick with a 3.930, 188.60. Vick appeared to hurt his engine with a losing 4.053.

THE IRONHORSE – Dan Millen continues to run through the Extreme 10.5 division like a runaway freight train. The driver of the turbocharged, Al-Anabi Mustang whose late start in the season, enabled him only the eighth-seed in the Battle for the Belts competition.

Doak fouled early and it was just as well considering Millen thundered to a 3.846, 199.49

ELIMINATED – Just one season after the Dingman Racing team won the ADRL Extreme Pro Stock championship, they were eliminated during preliminary ADRL Battle for the Belts competition. Matt Hartford drove his way to the championship and turned over the reins of the Chevrolet Cobalt to Jeff Dobbins.

Dobbins entered as the seventh seeded entry. However, in the first round, he lost to Elijah Morton.

PHOPHIT TO THE SECOND ROUND - Charlie Prophit earned his way into the second round of the Battle for the Belts and from the No. 7 seed, ran a 4.198, 169.98 to beat alternate James Helton, who ran a 4.320. 162.61.

FIRST ROUND

INTO THE SEMIS – The championships in each division are now narrowed to at least four competitors, and in at least one class – three.

Those remaining in Pro Extreme include Josh Hernandez, KH Al-Thani, Quain Stott and Frankie Taylor.

The semi-finalists in the Pro Nitrous division include Rickie Smith, Burton Auxier, Jim Halsey and Stan Allen.

Gary White, Todd Moyer, Dan Millen and Chuck Ulsch comprise the balance of the Extreme 10.5 division.

The Extreme Pro Stock division semi-finalists include Cary Goforth, Pete Berner, John Montecalvo and Brian Gahm.

Only three bikes remain in Pro Extreme Motorcycle. Those racers include Ashley Owens, Kim Morrell and Travis Davis.

STRANGE MAN, REALLY STRANGE – Two of the first round battles in the opening round of the Battle for the Belts competition left even the most seasoned of race fans and racers scratching their heads.

The first of the odd occurrences happened when just 330 feet into the Extreme Pro Stock match between Pete Berner and Bob Bertsch when the timing system inexplicably failed to show a winner or elapsed time on the scoreboards. Race officials reviewed the video tape and declared Berner the winner as he crossed the finish line with a car and a half lead.

As strange as the run was, it paled in comparison to the first round match between Terry Schweigert and Charlie Prophit. As both bikes brought up the rpms, both left before the tree was activated. They were disqualified providing Kim Morrell with a free ride into the finals.

WASN’T ENOUGH – Billy Glidden did what he needed in the first round on the starting line with a .002 reaction and a personal best against the overwhelming Dan Millen but it was far short of what it took to score a round victory. Millen’s turbocharged Mustang thundered by for the victory by resetting the national record 3.848 elapsed time. Glidden, for his part, ran a 3.974, 183.52.

SHATTERED CHAMPIONSHIP DREAMS – After the first round of Battle for the Belts competition, none of the defending champions reached the second round.

Todd Tutterow experienced an apparent transmission breakage in the first round against Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani to ensure the Pro Extreme class would crown a new champion. When Jason Scruggs fell in the preliminary round, he ensured the eliminator would crown a first-time champion.

Spiro Pappas also saw his Extreme Ten-Five championship defense hopes dashed on the starting line as last season’s Belts runner-up Chuck Ulsch strapped a .008 reaction time and .080 starting line advantage on last season’s champion.

The remaining three ADRL champions Khalid Al-Balooshi [Pro Nitrous], Scott Gray [Extreme Pro Stock] and Matt Hartford [Extreme Pro Stock] failed to qualify.

SEMI-FINALS

ENTOURAGE – A crowd of nearly 40 crew members and friends of both Sheikh KH Al-Thani and Josh Hernandez congregated on the starting line as the Pro Extreme heavyweights rolled to the starting line for their semi-final Battle for the Belts match.

Al Thani nearly pulled off an incredible starting line performance but jumped the gun with a -.008 foul.

Hernandez drove his way to the final round with a 3.721 elapsed time at 202.48 miles per hour.

OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM – Frankie Taylor was in a zone his competitors could only dream of entering. Unlike the high profile pair of Al-Thani and Hernandez, the semi-final battle of Taylor and Quain Stott didn’t attract nearly the same amount of onlookers.

It should have.

Taylor blasted out the low elapsed time of the event with a 3.649 second pass at 208.59 miles per hour.

CLASH OF THE TITANS – In a battle of two of the more seasoned nitrous racers on the property, Shannon Jenkins beat Jim Halsey in a battle decided by .001 of a second.

However, this .001 wasn’t decided at the finish line. It was the starting line.

Halsey rolled the beams with a -.001 foul putting Jenkins into the final round to challenge for his first career ADRL Pro Nitrous championship. If he wins, Jenkins will have captured titles in all three major Pro Modified series.

PLAYING WITH FIRE - The flames were dancing out of the turbocharged header pipes and in the end, it was the car which survived a fire that won big in the Extreme 10.5 semis.

As the crowd looked on, Todd Moyer ran a 3.990 in his Cobalt to beat the 6-cylinder Scion on a holeshot. Last Sunday, Moyer suffered a devastating fire which sent the crew into thrash mode just to make the car race ready.

White lost despite a quicker 3.957, 187.73.

THE MILLEN MAN MARCH – Dan Millen’s Mustang continued its domination of the Extreme 10.5 contingent by running within .01 of his newly established record from the previous round.

Millen’s 3.855 gave him lane choice in the final round over Moyer.

TRIO OF TWO-WHEELERS – The performance juggernaut of Ashley Owens will meet Kim Morrell in the finals to determine the Pro Extreme Motorcycle champion.

The top-seeded Owens ran a 4.021, 175.23 to beat Travis Davis.

Morrell, the No. 1 qualifier towards 2011’s first event of the season, soloed to the final round.

BERNER VERSUS MONTECALVO – In a match pitting the final two mountain motor Pro Stock world champions, Pete Berner and John Montecalvo will line up in the Extreme Pro Stock final round of the Battle for the Belts.

Berner took out the top seeded Cary Goforth in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the ladder, Montecalvo eliminated the final remaining Ford in Brian Gahm.

FINALS

A DREAM COME TRUE - Pro Extreme racer Frankie Taylor admitted his final round run was for everyone who has chased a dream and never gave up. The cash-strapped racer raced on championship day with performances which appeared to suggest a limitless budget. Taylor raced like a domineering giant all day long and in the finals, he continued the trend against Josh Hernandex.

Hernandez was quicker out of the gate but it was Taylor the first to the stripe with a 3.621 elapsed time at 209.98 miles per hour, his quickest run of the weekend and both low elapsed time and top speed of the meet.

AL-ANABI, ALL THE TIME - Burton Auxier admitted he looked over at Shannon Jenkins in the Pro Nitrous finals and experienced a flashback. It was nearly ten years ago when a struggling Auxier took Jenkins up on an offer to borrow a set of carburetors and later a complete engine.

Auxier, the 2009 NHRA Get Screened America Pro Modified champion, was able to drive around his friend and teammate to score his second consecutive championship, not to mention on a different series. He ran a winning 3.895, 193.13 as Jenkins pulled a massive wheelstand and eventually lifted.

Had Jenkins have won, he would have been the first Pro Modified racer to win three titles in the three major series.

IT'S NOT THE START THAT COUNTS - Dan Millen got off to a slow start this season. In fact, the former NMRA/NMCA regular earned the final available spot in Extreme 10.5 Battle for the Belts competition. He looked like anything but a No. 8 seed on championship day.

Millen scored low elapsed time of every elimination round, including a new class record.

Millen tied his earlier record with a 3.84, 201.16 to win his first championship at the expense of Gary White.

NOTHING LEFT - When Ashley Owens left the starting line, his Pro Extreme Motorcycle left an apparent puddle of oil on the starting line. His opponent Kim Morrell left oil at the finish line. It was that kind of final round for the ultra-quick riders.

The final round was an example of two racers who left nothing on the table in battling for a championship.

Morrell was declared the champion with a 4.494 at only 132.40 miles per hour. Owens didn't make it that far losing with a 7.514.

THAT KIND OF A RACE - John Montecalvo wanted to win a championship so bad last season he remained with IHRA series knowing they had no plans to continue his class. Therefore, he would never get a chance to defend his title.

The ADRL's Extreme Pro Stock class provided the new start he needed with the same old results.

Both Montecalvo and fellow finalist Pete Berner ran identical 4.071 elapsed times but it was a .036 starting line advantage that made all of the difference.

SHHHHHH--AAAA--KKKKKK---III----NNNN - Friday's first session had its share of aborted runs due to tire shake.

AROUND THE CLOCK – ADRL racer Todd Moyer might have some explaining to do to his neighbors once he returns home to Pasadena, Texas on Sunday.

Moyer cranked his Extreme 10.5 Cobalt for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, just three days after he nearly burned the car to the ground during a testing session last Sunday in Tulsa, Ok.

The noise drew the ire of the immediate community but for Moyer and his tireless crew, the sound of the turbo engine could have equaled an angelic symphony.

“We fired it up at 2 AM, put it in the trailer by 3,” said crewman Chase Driskell. “We didn’t sleep all night. I guess you could say we were very neighbor unfriendly. We might have an eviction notice once we get home.”

Driskell speaks in jest but for he and the Moyer team, who put in many hours of work just to make it to this weekend’s ADRL LenMar Motorsports World Finals at the Texas Motorplex.

“We basically did a firewall forward rebuild,” said Driskell.

“We burned the car up at 5:30 in the afternoon; put it in the trailer at six and finally pulled into the shop about 2 a.m. We had the engine out by 4 a.m. We had it to our engine builder within two hours.”

The team got their engine back on Wednesday afternoon. There were no idle moments as they waited on the engine.

A team from Carbon Fiber Technologies arrived at the shop on Monday to take delivery of the charred front end. Measurements were taken and days later, they basically rebuilt the front-end. A lot of the core had to be cut out and several layers of Kevlar added. The process took 36 hours to complete.

“If it wasn’t for them, you can’t get a front end like that anymore,” “This version is lighter than it was before,” explained Driskell.

Moyer showed no ill-effects of the mishap scoring the third quickest run in Extreme 10.5 qualifying on Friday.

PUTTING POSITIVE FACE ON SETBACK - Tommy D'Aprile, a Pro Extreme driver from Port Charlotte, Fla, admits the Mel Bush Motorsports team for which he daprile drives has experienced more than a fair share of misfortune this season.

The latest calamity transpired en route to the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, when a fire broke out inside of the hauler and charred its entire contents including the race car.

“Alan Pittman was doing us a favor because our normal driver was unable to make it and usually he stops every two hours to check,” D’Aprile explained. “He stopped at a truck stop and everything appeared normal – he opened up the door and was immediately met by a rush of smoke.”

Fire department officials concluded based on the evidence that a battery came loose on the golf cart and shorted out, sparking a fire. The lack of oxygen within the trailer prevented the fire from engulfing the entire unit.

“The outside looks perfect but the inside is completely charred,” D’Aprile explained. “It was pretty sealed up and that’s what made it essentially a hotbox instead of a fireplace. It was like a big microwave.”

Earlier in the season, D’Aprile, while making a shakedown run for Mel Eaves, stuffed the car into the South Georgia Motorsports Park retaining wall and the end result was a fiery aftermath. Another unfortunate byproduct was a severe arm injury, although the initial prognosis was believed to be just a bruise.

Weeks later D’Aprile visited a specialist who suggested an MRI which revealed a tricep tendon separation. He returned to driving in September wearing a hulking brace.

It would be easy to surmise after the latest setback that D’Aprile wonders what will happen next. What he knows for sure, a higher power is at work here.

“Yeah, greatness,” D’Aprile said with a smile. “I’m a firm believer that God has great things for me every day. They’re not really setbacks, they are trails. I think it is how we respond to these trails that makes us who we are. I am upbeat about all of this. We have insurance luckily, so we will be back fine.”

In a show of sportsmanship reaching well beyond the traditional realm, fellow racer Cody Barklage and his crew volunteered to drive 10 hours from their Land of the Ozarks, Mo., base to deliver their car for use. The ADRL begins their 2011 points accumulation this weekend.

“We have already earned a victory before making a run down the track,” said D’Aprile. “They offered the car out of the goodness of their hearts. That’s unbelievable sportsmanship. That’s something you don’t normally see.

“I’m a firm believer that’s God’s favor working in people’s lives. God’s perfect all the time but we are not and when people do these amazing things we see it as unbelievable. They drove the car all this way and worked all night, some of them 36 hours straight. Trust me when I say a victory for us would definitely be a victory for them.”

PRIORITIES - One of Charles Carpenter’s greatest attributes as a driver is the ability to put his life’s priorities in order. Following that principle this weekend's challenge is a no-brainer.

The Pro Modified pioneer, known best for his exploits behind the wheel of a 1955 Chevy, has forfeited his position within the ADRL’s Battle for the Belts competition in order to remain at home with his wife of 30 years, Terry, who suffered a stroke on October 3.

One of the drugs used to treat the stroke produced an adverse side effect, causing hemorrhaging in the brain. She has been unconscious since that time and is currently in intensive care.

“We’re facing the toughest thing we ever have in our lives,” Carpenter said. “You just don’t know what tomorrow promises at this point.
“We’re just waiting and hoping. It’s been a really tough and trying time for us. She is definitely the backbone of my life. My son gave her the title of being a life helper and that’s what she is.”

During this complex time, the Carpenter family has used the website www.caringbridge.org to keep family and friends updated regarding her condition. The site has also enabled family and friends to communicate encouragement through its guestbook.

“It makes you feel good to see those messages and those really help,” Carpenter said. “All I can ask for is hope and prayers. That’s the only thing that can save her right now.

“I’ve gotten a lot of nice calls and warm wishes from a lot of drivers and I really appreciate that very much.”

Carpenter was seeded sixth headed into today’s championship-determining Belts competition.

“This is far more important than any race in my life,” Carpenter said of his decision to stay home.

The staff of Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com sends our best wishes and prayers for a quick recovery to the Carpenter Family, who are longtime friends and “family” to our staff. Michael Carpenter, Charles and Terry’s son, is the talented graphics designer for this publication.

To send words of encouragement to the Carpenter family, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/TerryCarpenter

hamstra RETURN TO DALLAS - ADRL Pro Extreme racer Jason Hamstra has no apprehension about racing this weekend.

It was a year ago on Friday during the Battle for the Belts competition at the Texas Motorplex located outside of Dallas, at the conclusion of a 3.78-second pass at 203.46 mph over the eighth-mile course, Hamstra’s supercharged 1968 Camaro made a sudden left turn from the right lane passing in front of the ‘57 Chevy driven by Hernandez. He struck the left wall nearly head on and slid to a stop in the shutdown area.

Following the wreck, Hamstra was alert and talking with medical personnel but as a precautionary measure, was transported via helicopter to Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

Seven months later he nearly repeated the scene when a parts failure sent his 1969 Camaro into the wall at Virginia Motorsports Park. Once again, he was unhurt. However the Camaro is back in the garage.

The 2009 ADRL Rookie of the Year is back again with a Plymouth Duster from Andy McCoy Race Cars. He’ll quickly attest this breed of volatile race car can sometimes have a mind of its own.

“These cars can get in a bad mood really quick,” said Hamstra.”They are real finicky. These cars can get sideways really quick.”

As much as it may appear Hamstra is a crash test dummy, the reality remains that he’s a very talented drag racer. He’s reached two career ADRL Pro Extreme final rounds, winning both times.

Headed into this weekend’s ADRL LenMar Motorsports World Finals, he’s not fazed about racing at a facility which could have inevitably been the place where he lost his life.

“It’s not bad, I try to treat these tracks just like another race track,” said Hamstra. “These accidents can happen anywhere and you just try to block that out of your mind.”

Besides, for Hamstra, he’s got enough on his mind in racing with a car which might as well be foreign to him. Hamstra in his short professional racing career has never raced a Mopar, much less a hulking Plymouth Duster.

“It took a little while to get used to it, but once you get used to them, they’re all the same,” explained Hamstra. “It’s a little different looking out of it. It drives good, about the same as all of them. Seems to have a little more downforce. Feels more planted.”

And for Hamstra, being firmly planted on the ground is a good thing.