2011 NHRA RT. 66 NATIONALS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY - NEFF, WORSHAM, ANDERSON AND TONGLET WIN O'REILLY AUTO PARTS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS
Mike Neff raced to his fourth Funny Car victory of the season Sunday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.
Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
With the win, Neff gave Ford its milestone 200th NHRA Funny Car victory as he powered his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a performance of 4.246 seconds at 293.22 mph to defeat Jeff Arend, who posted a 5.168 at 186.54 in his DHL Funny Car.
“The heat is what was hard for everyone out there today,” Neff said. “It was a challenge. With the conditions it was one of those races where you have to get your car down the racetrack if you want to win. It’s a tribute to our Ford Mustang body. It’s a great car and we have great preparation by the team because the car is so consistent right now.”
Top qualifier Neff defeated Justin Schriefer, Bob Tasca and Jack Beckman in the first three rounds with a string of consistent 4.20-second performances.
“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” said Neff, who increased his series lead to 172 points over second-place Beckman. “We’ve been going to a lot of finals, and that’s like training. You get in a groove and now, everybody is feeling good.”
Worsham raced to his fifth victory of the season in Top Fuel, powering his Al-Anabi Racing dragster past David Grubnic in the final round. A three-time Funny Car winner here, Worsham joined Gary Scelzi as the only drivers to win in both nitro categories at Route 66 Raceway when he posted a 3.978 at 299.40 to hold off Grubnic’s Kalitta Motorsports machine, which trailed with a 4.055 at 294.50.
“What a day we had here,” said Worsham of his 30th career victory. “It started off not so good. We went down the track only one time out of four in qualifying, but when you have a guy like Alan Johnson (team manager) in your corner, you’re never out of it. It showed the depth of our team. To win for the fifth time this year is like a dream come true. When the whole [switch from Funny Car to Top Fuel] was announced I had mixed emotions. It was (team owner) Sheikh Khalid’s call and now he looks like a genius. I just feel very lucky to be in this spot. I never expected that we’d be able to do so much so soon this year.”
Anderson earned his second victory of the season and 67th of his career, denying Erica Enders her first win in her fourth career final round. Anderson took his first Route 66 Raceway victory with a holeshot victory as he drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.670 at 207.18 to cross the finish line in front of Enders, who had a quicker, but losing, 6.659 at 206.89 in her ZaZa Energy Chevy Cobalt.
“When the track temperature is 135 there is not a lot of traction and it becomes a crew chief’s race," Anderson said. "The driver has to find a way to make it happen too. I don’t know how it worked out, but it did. This was the last track I hadn’t won at and now I have, so that’s cool at least until we go to someplace new.”
Anderson beat Steve Spiess, Rodger Brogdon and Shane Gray to advance to the final round from the No. 1 qualifying position.
“My boys saved me all day and then I got lucky and did something as a driver,” said Anderson, who moved into second place in the series standings, 54 points behind leader Jason Line. “At least for one weekend I held the girl [Enders] off. I was scared to death racing her in the final. Don’t get me wrong; it is going to happen this year. She is the real deal and she’s going to win many races. I just didn’t go in the record books as being the first one to lose a final to her.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Tonglet rebounded from a DNQ at the last event to claim his second victory of the season and pick up his second consecutive win at this event. He pulled away from Chip Ellis in the final with a 7.047 at 188.46 on his Nitro Fish Suzuki. Ellis, whose last final round was in 2008 at Englishtown, N.J., finished in 7.153 at 185.49 on his Kuryakyn/Lartigue Racing Buell.
“We are back to our old motor from the end of last year,” said Tonglet, the defending Full Throttle Series world champ. “We had a bad race in Englishtown and blew up all of our motors so we had to get Vance and Hines to fix them all. We were just hoping to qualify after Norwalk. We were confident here after qualifying number three. For the final it stepped up and almost made a perfect run.”
Tonglet, who raced past Angie Smith, David Hope and Matt Smith in earlier rounds, said he had a lot of support from the Route 66 Raceway spectators.
“It means a lot to win here again,” said Tonglet, who earned his first career victory here one year ago. “Chicago is awesome. The fans are coming by the trailer now more often and they all know we are the world champs. To win here two years in a row is awesome.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Eddie Krawiec lost in the second round and now leads Karen Stoffer by six points. Tonglet moved into a tie for fourth with three-time world champ Andrew Hines.
While the warm summertime conditions provided a bit of a challenge for crew chiefs and drivers to make the correct tune-up decisions for their hot rods, the climate proved to be a great atmosphere for the thousands of Chicagoland fans who flocked to the track over the race weekend. New Route 66 Raceway track president Scott Paddock enjoyed his first NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series experience.
"We couldn't be more excited about the four days of racing we saw this weekend at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals,” Paddock said. “Today's gorgeous weather was the perfect backdrop for Greg Anderson's first-ever win at Route 66 Raceway, as well as the other outstanding winners: Del Worsham, Mike Neff and LE Tonglet. A big thank you to the city of Joliet and to our fans for their tremendous support along with the NHRA, who continues to be a terrific partner to work with. We look forward to bringing back all the excitement of the NHRA Nationals in 2012."
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues July 22-24 at Bandimere Speedway near Denver with the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.
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SATURDAY - ANDERSON, MASSEY, NEFF AND ARANA EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT O'REILLY AUTO PARTS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS
Defending Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson claimed his first No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, ending a drought of 43 races without a top spot that dates back to the 2009 season.
Spencer Massey (Top Fuel), Mike Neff (Funny Car) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also will lead their categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Anderson took his fifth No. 1 at Route 66 Raceway and the 74th of his career with his Friday run of 6.586 seconds at 209.14 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP.
“It’s great to be a No. 1 qualifier again after a 43-race drought,” Anderson said. “I can’t explain why it happened, but I know that we have a real good car now, and we’re very pleased with that. In the past, we’ve usually turned our program around by switching cars. But when you do that, you never really solve the problem. This time we decided to stick with it and get this thing sorted out, and I’m glad that we did. It’s more personally gratifying this way.”
Anderson will face Ronnie Humphrey in the first round of eliminations as he tries to claim his first win at the Chicago track, the only one on the circuit where the four-time champ has not visited Winner's Circle.
“I don’t know why I have never won at this track,” Anderson said. “It’s a beautiful facility, and I always enjoy coming here. It’s always something crazy that has happened that has kept us from winning here in the past. I don’t think that we’ve pressed too hard or anything like that. I can tell you that my teammate Jason Line certainly likes this track [with his three wins here]. Getting the No. 1 qualifying position is a good way to start off. Maybe this weekend we can finally make it all happen here.”
In Top Fuel, FRAM/Prestone dragster driver Massey claimed his second No. 1 of the season and third of his career with his performance of 3.819 at 319.29 from Friday. He will meet local favorite TJ Zizzo of nearby Linconshire in the opening round and try to push his amazing streak of consecutive runs without smoking the tires to 41, and if possible, 44 by the end of the day.
“I’m very happy that we qualified No. 1,” Massey said. “Extending our streak of runs without smoking the tires to 40 is cool, but qualifying No. 1 is better. I’ve got this great opportunity to drive again, and I’m loving it. I want to be like the “Greek” [Chris Karamesines], and be driving until I’m in my 80s. Things couldn’t be better for us right now. (Crew chiefs) Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler have got our car running like a machine now. That’s what Tony Schumacher told me wins races – you have to be like a machine. When you smoke the tires, you are beating yourself. You have to depend on the car in the other lane to smoke its tires or run slower than you, and that’s not the way to win races.”
Neff, who is leading the Funny Car series point standings while serving as both driver and crew chief for his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, took his fifth top qualifying position of his career and first since 2009 as no one bettered his Friday run of 4.110 seconds at 298.01 mph.
“We anticipated that the conditions would be cooler than they were last night, but it never unfolded that way,” Neff said. “I think that’s why you saw several cars go up in smoke during their runs. When it came time for us to run as the last pair, we knew we had nothing to gain by going after it, so we backed it down some to make sure that we could get down the track."
Neff, a three-time winner this season, will race Justin Schriefer in the first round. He says the hot and steamy track conditions expected Sunday will favor a veteran driver.
“I think that a driver like John Force, who has a lot of runs under his belt, has the advantage over a driver like me, who hasn’t been in many pedaling duels," Neff said. "So as a tuner, I will do what I can to play it safe and try to make sure that we don’t smoke the tires during eliminations.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Arana Jr. earned his second consecutive No. 1 of the season by riding his Lucas Oil Buell to a 6.950 at 191.65. The rookie rider will face veteran GT Tonglet in the opening round.
“I’m just having a good time,” Arana Jr. said. “That new motor we have is killer and I’m just having fun with it. If the conditions got better this afternoon, I knew I’d improve as well. This is two No. 1 qualifiers and now we have a great shot at getting that Wally tomorrow. I need to take it one round at a time. I messed up in Ohio (Norwalk) because I got too confident and thought about the final round before I even got there. I need to think about the first-round first.”
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SATURDAY SPORTSMAN - COMPETITION WINDS DOWN HEADED INTO SUNDAY
Sportsman qualifying is now complete at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals outside of Chicago.
Drag racing icon Frank Manzo remained atop the Top Alcohol Funny Car on the strength of his 5.539, 261 mph pass on Friday. Ray Drew, of Hales Corner, WI, held onto the second position with a 5.614. Current points leader Tony Bartone made a jump in the final qualifying session, moving from No. 6 to third with his best pass of the weekend, a 5.648 elapsed time at 259 mph.
Texan Chase Copeland’s 5.331 second pass was tops in Top Alcohol Dragster Fellow Texan Michael Manners was second quickest with a 5.349 elapsed time at 270 mph. Jim Whitely, John Finke and Matthew Cummings also improved upon their past qualifying runs solidifying their positions in this sixteen car field. Randy Meyer of Spring Hill, Kansas, took the number sixteen spot making the bump for this sixteen a 5.590 elapsed time.
Competition Eliminator eliminations continued on Saturday with the biggest story coming from Frank Aragona Jr.’s elimination. Aragona’s competitor, Travis Gusso, was 0.003 on the starting line giving him a .027 advantage which was enough to give him the hole shot victory at the finish line stripe.
Arnie Martel took our Brian Browell with a 7.638, -0.512 under the D/AA 8.15 index. No. 1 qualifier Mike DePalma beat a red-lighting Charlie Greco.
In Super Stock, nine cars remain in competition. Dan Zrust, driving his SS/AH ’68 Barracuda, eliminated Joe Santangelo in a dual dead-on match. Zrust took the win light by seven-thousandths of a second. Gary Stinnett won in a first-or-worst race against Don Duke who fouled out first. Dan Fletcher also remains in the final nine drivers after a 0.008 start forth round, running 9.461 on a 9.41 dial for the round win against Drew Skillman.
Nine drivers also remain left to race in Stock. Among those remaining in competition, Dan Fletcher took a heads up victory in the F/SA class with a 0.125 light and an 11.281 elapsed time, -0.569 under to eliminate Daryl Bureski. Fletcher is still hunting for his first-ever double at a national event. Coming off a win and runner up in the JEGS All-Star race in Stock and Super Stock, Slate Cummings defeated a red-lighting Steve Szupka. Cummings was 0.014 on the starting line and 10.544 on a 10.56 dial in to move into forth round. - Lauren Jones
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FRIDAY - MASSEY, NEFF, ANDERSON AND ARANA JR. LEAD QUALIFYING AT O’REILLY AUTO PARTS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS
Spencer Massey raced to the qualifying lead in Top Fuel Friday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
Mike Neff (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.
Massey powered his FRAM/Prestone dragster to a performance of 3.819 seconds at 319.29 mph and continued his impressive early season streak of consecutive runs down the dragstrip without losing traction or suffering a mechanical failure to 38. The streak started during qualifying at the Atlanta event in May.
“I have to think about before each run because it’s so many runs in a row,” Massey said. “This track has always been killer and there’s been great numbers put down here so I figured this thing could run an 82 or 83 and if it stuck it was going to make it. It surprised me with an 81, but I’ll take an 81 and a No. 1 anytime.”
If the run holds during Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, which also includes another night session, it would be the second of the season for Massey and the third of his career.
“Todd and Phil (crew chiefs) they don’t really know how to back it down that much,” Massey said. “Not only does it go down the racetrack, but they are killer numbers. That’s unbelievable. For any kind of nitro car that’s been this many runs in a row, that’s impressive and they aren’t just running down the track with conservative numbers, but they are really getting after it. It is just a testament to Todd and Phil and this Don Schumacher Racing team.”
Series leader Neff posted a 4.110 at 298.01 in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to top the Funny Car lineup.
“The conditions did come around a lot for that second session and the track cooled of about 20 degrees,” said Neff, who hasn’t qualified No. 1 since 2009 Brainerd. “That is pretty much where we thought we would run. The asphalt is still pretty new out there. We spun the tires real hard when we hit the asphalt. We were being a little more conservative here tonight knowing that tomorrow night we will have much better conditions than we had tonight. I just wanted to get down the track and make sure we were qualified for tomorrow. Tomorrow night we will have a better chance to run quicker with better conditions.”
Anderson, who hasn’t qualified No. 1 since 2009 Sonoma, led Pro Stock with a 6.586 at 208.97 in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP.
“It’s not official yet, but it feels good for a night anyway,” Anderson said. “If we can get lucky and hold on tomorrow, it will be the first time (we’ve claimed a No. 1 qualifying position) in over a year. That’s a little odd for me I guess. This class is tough and it is a knock-down, drag-out brawl every weekend. There’s tough cars and tough drivers and you never know who’s going to run low and win an event, so it’s just a great class right now and it’s fun to be a part of.”
Rookie rider Arana Jr. paced the Pro Stock Motorcycle category with a 6.950 at 188.86 on his Lucas Oil Buell as he is seeking his second straight No. 1 qualifying effort.
"I'm finally getting some seat time, getting comfortable on the bike," Arana Jr. said. "It's all coming together. We have a new motor, Gracie, named after my mother. That's all we've done. We've stayed consistent, and it's paid off."
Saturday’s two qualifying sessions will be at 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations start at 11 a.m.
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FRIDAY SPORTSMAN - MANZO, COPELAND LEAD JOLIET SPORTSMAN QUALIFIERS
Frank Manzo and Chase Copeland lead qualifying in the two quickest sportsman divisions after two sessions at the 14th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals outside of Chicago.Manzo, the 2010 NHRA Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Funny Car series champion, was the quickest of of his class with a 5.539,261 mph. The ’04 Firebird of Ray Drew sits nearest Manzo as his first round 5.614 elapsed time at 275 mph remains enough to hold onto the number two qualifying position. Current point leader Tony Bartone is fourth. There are 22 Top Alcohol Funny Cars in attendance this weekend.
Copeland, of Gainesville, Tex., took away the number one qualifying position in Top Alcohol Dragster from Duane Shields with a 5.331 elapsed time pass at 274 mph during the second qualifying session. Shields also improved but fell to the fourth qualifying position with a 5.369 elapsed time at 267 mph. Chris Demke laid down a 5.351 elapsed time to move from the 18th to second. Bill Riechert also made a big move with a 5.365 elapsed time to slip into the third position.
Sixteen cars remain in the Competition Eliminator category after first round of eliminations. The highlights included Mike DePalma, in his G/EA Ford, beat a red-lighting Steve Szupka to advance. Last year’s number five finisher in the world, Brian Browell, held on for a close victory against number two qualifier Clint Neff. Neff in his K/A ’23-T Ford was 0.001 on the starting line but found himself .0040 behind at the finish line as Browell was 0.025 on the tree and 7.221 on the top end, -0.569 under the 7.79 D/D index. Bruno Massel, Frank Aragona Jr. and Arnie Martel are also included in the sixteen left to race on Saturday.
Super Stock’s round one eliminations provided some close finish line victories. Twenty-four year old Brina Splingaire of Riverside, Illinois cut a perfect 0.000 reaction time in her GT/DA ’00 Firebird to take out the SS/MA ’84 Cutlass of Zack Running by two-thousandths of a second. GT/HA driver Gary Stinnett and SS/AM driver Michael Lyons also found themselves in a battle decided by two-thousandths at the finish line. Lyons was better on the starting line leaving with a 0.001 reaction time but gave it back at the finish line as Stinnett had the better package with a 0.038 reaction time and a 10.312 elapsed time on a 10.30 dial.
Jeff Strickland of Red Bay, Alabama sent the 2010 Super Stock No. 4 points finisher Tony Mandella packing. Strickland, the number sixty-four qualifier, had a 0.001 reaction time and ran dead on his dial to create an unbeatable .006 package in his SS/JA ’95 Camaro. Both drivers in the Joe Santangelo and Phil Unruh match-up went dead on their dials with zeros. However the GT/FA ’87 Camaro of Santangelo was quicker off the starting line by two-hundredths giving him the win into round two. A. Lincoln Morehead and Brad Zaskowski found themselves lined up to race first round for a heavy match-up between two of the best in the world. Zaskowski was better on the starting line with a 0.005 start but took too much at the finish line going under his 10.36 dial by one-thousandth of a second handing the win to Morehead.
First Round of Stock was also packed with excitement with more close finishes and heads-up action. Double duty racer Jeff Strickland also won in Stock by beating a breaking-out Tim Mosbek. Mosbeck was 0.001 in his F/SA ’72 Demon but too quick at the finish line running an 11.236 elapsed time on his 11.28 dial.
Other Stock first round highlights included the A/S cars of Bob Gipson and Randy Shepard paired up for a heads-up race. Shepard, qualified number twenty-five, held on after leaving late off the starting line to go a 10.269 elapsed time, -0.681 under the 10.95 index, to take out Gipson. Larry Hill of Hickory, Kentucky took a .002 margin of victory leaving quicker on the starting line and running just close enough to his dial to take out the number three qualifier Charlie Fitzsimmons. Leonard Mattingly in his A/SA Firebird cut a perfect 0.000 reaction time against Dan Fletcher. However, Fletcher left close behind with a 0.019 reaction time and ran closer to his dial to take the victory away from Mattingly by just .004 of a second. - Lauren Jones
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THURSDAY SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING - NEFF, ENGELS AND SKILLMAN LEAD JOLIET QUALIFYING
Sportsman qualifying opened the 14th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA National Event in Joliet Ill., on Thursday with a score of impressive
performances.With two rounds of Competition Eliminator complete, Clint Neff of Arvada, Co., was able to improve upon his first session qualifying time keeping his ’23 T-Ford in the number one position running. Neff ran a 7.837 elapsed time, -0.623 under the 8.46 K/A index. Two pairs later, Mike DePalma of Glendale, Arizona gave Neff a run for the money as he also ran -0.623 under his I/SM index in his ’89 Trans Am.
Frank Aragona Jr. made a significant jump in the qualifying order after the second session bettering his first session run with a 8.115 elapsed time on the F/ED 8.72 index, -0.602 under moving him from the twenty-fifth position to the number three position just behind Neff and DePalma.
Competition eliminator has another qualifying session scheduled for Friday afternoon.
After three completed qualifying sessions of Super Stock, the SS/BX ’57 Corvette of Doug Engels claimed the number one position. Engels, of Watertown, South Dakota, went -1.100 under the 10.55 index posting a 9.450 elapsed time.
Indiana natives Ray Skillman and Irvan Johns hold the number two and three positions in Super Stock. Skillman also ran over one second under his respective SS/BA index in his ’10 Mustang. Johns came close with a -0.975 performance under the GT/CA index.
Two top finishers in the world last year in the Super Stock category currently reside in the bottom half of this sixty-nine car field. Lincoln Morehead, last year’s number two finisher, is 69th while Brad Zaskowski, last year’s number three finisher finds himself thirty-seventh.
With three qualifying rounds of Stock in the books, the AA/SA ’10 Mustang driven by Drew Skillman holds the number one position running a 9.448 elapsed time, -1.152 under the 10.60 index. Charlie Fitzsimmons and Bo Butner find themselves number two and number three both also running over one second under their respective indexes.
Irvin Johns, who currently sits in the number three position in Super Stock, holds the number five position in Stock as he drives double-duty this weekend at Joliet. The A/SA ’10 Challenger of John’s claimed the number five position after running 10.040 elapsed time on the 11.00 index, -0.960 under.
Sportsman qualifying resumes Friday at 8 AM, CST.
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THURSDAY SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING - DIVISIONS 3, 4 & 5 LEAD THURSDAY JEGS ALL-STARS QUALIFIERS
The majority of the fields are set for the 27th Annual JEGS All-Star Race which will be completed as part of the 14th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA 
Nationals.
Mike Griggs, representing the Southeast Division [Division 2], claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot in the Super Street JEGS All-Stars category after running a 10.903 on the 10.90 index. Nik Downing of the Pacific Division 7 also ran dead-on the index with a four landing him the number two qualifying position. Last year’s Super Street JEGS All-Star champion Steve Dominigues of the West Central Division 5 will attempt to take out the Northeast Division 1 qualifier Frank Duplissis Jr. first round as Division 5 looks to take out Division 1 early after a tiebreaker finish last year in the team championship batter last year. The qualifying order is set as follows: Mike Griggs (Division 2), Nik Downing (Division 7), Donnie Durenberger (Division 5), Steve Domingues (2010 Champion), Charlie Owens (Division 4), Scotty Rienschield (Division 3), Wayne Linder Jr. (Division 6) and Frank Duplissis Jr. (Division 1).
Recent national event champion Tommy Phillips will represent the South Central Division [Division 4] in Super Gas as the number one qualifier. Reining world champion David Tatum will compete for Division 2 starting from the number two position. Like the Super Street category, there will also be a first round match-up between Division 1 and Division 5 in Super Gas. In this first round match-up, last year’s Super Gas All-Star champion Jason Kenny will block for Division 1 attempting to take out the Division 5 representative Michael Miller. Jason’s father Alan Kenny will also be racing in this class representing the same division that Jason is blocking for. The qualifying order is set as follows: Tommy Phillips (Division 4), David Tatum (Division 2), Rusty Cook (Division 3), Michael Miller (Division 5), Val Torres (Division 7), Chris Cannon (Division 6), Alan Kenny (Division 1) and Jason Kenny (2010 Champion).
2010 World Champion Gary Stinnett will be the number one qualifier in the Super Comp JEGS All-Star category. Stinnett, from Emporia KS, drove his Undercover Dragster to the number one spot running dead on the 8.90 index with a zero. Jason Kenny and Michael Miller will meet once again in the first round, with reversed roles. This time Miller, the 2010 Super Comp JEGS All-Star Champion, will be blocking for his Division as Kenny represents division one. Number one qualifier in Super Gas, Tommy Phillips, will also be competing for Division 4 in Super Comp as the number five qualifier. The qualifying order is set as follows: Gary Stinnett (Division 5), Aaron Kinard (Division 7), Michael Dalrymple (Division 6), Michael Miller (2010 Champion), Tommy Phillips (Division 4), Michael Shelton (Division 3), Sherman Adcock (Division 2) and Jason Kenny (Division 1).
The D/SA ’70 Camaro of Tyler Wudarczyk of Division 5 holds the number one qualifying position for the Stock JEGS All-Star category. Wudarczyk ran a 10.832 elapsed time on the 11.55 index, -0.718 under in his effort to qualify number one. Close behind is Division 1 representative Steve Szupka in his J/SA ’85 Camaro as he also ran seven tenths under his index to claim the number two position. Slate Cummings, of Division 4, will also be driving double-duty in the JEGS All-Star race as he is currently qualified number five in Stock and number six in Super Stock. The qualifying order so far is as follows: Tyler Wudarczyk (Division 5), Steve Szupka (Division 1), Tommy Mattingly (Division 3), Merril Schrimscher (Division 2), Slate Cummings (Division 4), Joe Sorensen (Division 6), Mark Faul (2010 Champion) and Chad Loge (Division 7).
Tony Mandella of Cacamonga, California holds the number one position in the Super Stock JEGS All-Star category. Mandella, representing Division 7, ran an untouchable -0.723 under the GT/DA index with a 9.777 elapsed time on the 10.50 index. The nearest qualifying competitor of Michael Mans, claimed the number two position running -0.622 under the SS/CS index. The qualifying order so far is as follows: Tony Mandella (Division 7), Michael Mans (Division 5), Brad Zaskowski (Division 3), Troy Olsonawski (Division 6), Jeff Strickland (Division 2), Slate Cummings (Division 4), Joe Santangelo (2010 Champion) and Lincoln Morehead (Division 1).
With two rounds complete, Mike DePalma of Division 7 holds the number one qualifying position in the Competition Eliminator JEGS All-Star category. DePalma, from Glendale, Arizona, achieved the top spot after running a 9.017 elapsed time, -0.623 under the 9.64 I/SM index. Frank Aragona Jr. followed closely behind in the number two position as he also ran over six tenths under his F/ED index. The qualifying order so far is as follows: Mike DePalma (Division 7), Frank Aragona Jr. (Division 1), Rob Harrison (Davison 6), Bruno Massel (2010 Champion), Arnie Martel (Division 2), Matt Harris (Division 5), Joey Tanksley (Division 4) and Brian Browell (Division 3).
After one round of Top Dragster qualifying finished James Monroe, 2010 Division 3 Champion holds the number one position running a 6.783 elapsed time over 195 mph. 2010 Division 2 Champion and 2010 Top Dragster JEGS All-Star Champion Ray Miller currently holds the number two position with a 6.807 elapsed time at nearly 200 mph. Miller is joined in representing Division 2 by fellow young-gun Lauren Freer who finds herself in the number six position after a 7.301 elapsed time pass. The qualifying order is currently as follows, James Monroe (Division 3), Ray Miller (2010 Champion), Art Hoover (Division 7), Jimmy Arabie (Division 4), Scott Luken (Division 1), Lauren Freer (Division 2) and Brian Phillips (Division 6).
Last but not least, after one round of qualifying in Top Sportsman, last year’s JEGS All-Star Champion Keith Raftery from Division 4 holds the number one qualifying spot after running a stellar 6.670 elapsed time at 207mph in his ’07 GTO. Three-thousandths behind is Division 2 representative Ronnie Davis who ran a 6.673 elapsed time at 206 mph in his ’63 Corvette. Division 1 representative Ryan Ondrejko is currently third with the rest of the order including Joe Roubicek (Division 7), Jeffery Cummins (Division 4) and Rick Wilson (Division 5). - Lauren Jones
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