EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS			FRIDAY GALLERY SATURDAY GALLERY SUNDAY GALLERY

 SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - GOFORTH, TAYLOR AND RAHAIM SCORE X-DRL WINS

Cary Goforth, the two-time defending ADRL Extreme Pro Stock world champion, made it to a final round for the first time in 2013 and scored his first win of the year July 28, in the X-Treme Drag Racing League’s “Mayhem at the Creek” event at Maryland International Raceway (MIR). Joining Goforth as a first-time X-DRL pro class winner was Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor in Pro Extreme, with Bob Rahaim earning his second X-DRL Pro Nitrous event title.

Goforth, crew chief Brian “Lump” Self and their Holdenville, OK-based team had struggled all season long in both ADRL and X-DRL competition and it looked like their troubles might continue in Maryland after qualifying fourth in just a six-car field with a 4.100-seconds pass at 176.77 mph, while his father and team owner, Dean, placed fifth at 4.129 and 174.91 mph. John DeFlorian was the number-one starter with a 4.049 at 178.05 over the MIR eighth mile.

Goforth claimed he was so discouraged Saturday afternoon (July 27) after both his 2010 Pontiac GXP and his father’s 2013 Camaro failed to get down the track, that he actually told his dad he was ready to quit and go fishing instead. He might even have been able to stay at the track for it as heavy rains drenched Budds Creek, MD, just before Saturday night’s scheduled eliminations and postponed racing for all classes to Sunday.

Goforth got the job done in round one of racing with a holeshot win over Matt Bertsch, then stepped up with his best run of the weekend at 4.094 at 175.46 to easily outdistance his dad in the semis, while DeFlorian lost lane choice with an off-the-gas 4.175 at 155.72 bye run after defeating Lester Cooper in the opening round.

In the final, DeFlorian left with a .016 holeshot, but almost immediately went into severe tire shake with his 2012 Camaro, as Goforth laid down a 4.134 at 174.28-mph winning pass in the right lane, though he admitted to straying from the norm when he left the starting line.

“If I had made an identical run from the semis it should’ve run an .09, but me being an idiot looking out the window for that Black Diamond car, I shifted about 300 RPMs too early and knocked the clutch out of it. I had no idea he shook until my brother, Chris, told me on the radio, but luckily we escaped with the win,” Goforth said.

“So it really was the crew that won this one, one-hundred percent. I don’t want to take any of the credit today. The driver did his very best to screw it up and it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to screw up and still go home with the win. But I’m not even going to feel bad about it today because, by golly I’ve had a bad time of it this year.”

Taylor put his Stupid Fast Racing 2005 Corvette on the Pro Extreme pole at MIR with a 3.604-seconds pass at 208.81 mph that also set a new X-DRL elapsed time record in Friday-night’s third qualifying session.

“We really wanted to go a .59 and last night (Saturday) if we had got to run then, I think it could’ve happened,” Taylor said. “But a .60 with a 4, that’s not too bad and we’re not taking anything away from it, but we do wish we could’ve run that .59 for the fans.”

Regardless, that paired him up with eighth-place starter Danny Lowry and his twin-turboed ’09 Mustang for round one of eliminations. Taylor’s car broke on the line, though, before the two could stage. After quick repairs were made while Lowry waited, both drivers finally launched, but both went into tire shake and only Taylor recovered with a 4.317 at 144.58 mph, while Lowry coasted through an eight-second lap.

Taylor made a better showing with a 3.641 at 205.57 in the semis, but still needed his .036 holeshot to get past the quicker and faster 3.629 at 208.01 by Todd Martin in his ’68 Mustang. On the other side of the ladder, number-three qualifier Terry Leggett beat Todd Tutterow and Taylor’s Florida-based teammate, Tim Tindle, to also reach the PX final with his screw-blown ’09 Mustang.

Once there, Leggett left first by .049, but his 3.693 at 207.11 fell short of holding off Taylor’s 3.613 at 207.59-mph charge.

 “Today we had some problems, but we got lucky and some great people helped us. We broke a throttle bracket before the first round and Danny Lowry, he waited on me so we could tape it up and at least put on a show. And then we actually got the win, so that was lucky. Then Terry Leggett and his group actually came down and welded it up for us,” the Dickenson, TX-based winner said. “Every pass but that first one today it was really hauling butt and I’ve also got to thank my brother, Paul, for tuning it. He did a great job.”

North Carolina’s Danny Perry took the number-one qualifying position in Pro Nitrous with a solid 3.847-seconds performance at 197.25 mph in his ’69 Camaro. He then made it all the way to the final with an even quicker and faster 3.832 at 197.83-mph pass in beating Ed Burnley before going 3.848 at again 197.25 mph in the semis against Tommy Franklin.

Meanwhile, number-two qualifier Rahaim from Grosse Pointe, MI, had a fortunate free pass in round one after Chuck Mohn couldn’t stay over on Sunday due to family obligations, since Rahaim’s ’69 Camaro shook hard and got sideways before tripping the eighth mile beams in 4.908 seconds at just 103.88 mph. He regained his form for round two, though, as Rahaim ran low ET for the event with a 3.798 at 198.06 to get past an also-stout 3.814 at 196.07 by Jim Laurita.

Perry continued his bracket-like consistency with a 3.838 pass at 197.05 in the final round, but Rahaim led stripe to stripe, leaving with a .023 advantage off the start and going 3.824 at 196.39 to earn his second X-DRL event title.

“We were lucky that first round, but they were all good runs today; my guys and girls did a phenomenal job and I want to thank them all from the bottom of my heart for all their hard work and dedication,” Rahaim said after winning in his first appearance at MIR.

“I knew he (Perry) was close; I mean, I could sense he was there, but I never saw him the whole way down,” Rahaim added about the final. “Danny and his guys, they really stepped it up and had a good weekend, too. That car runs well; they can be very competitive out here. It was fun racing them.”

Also leaving Maryland with X-DRL “Mayhem at the Creek” trophies were Kevin Rivenbark (Pro Mod), Jim Bell (Pro Turbo), Glen Teets III (Top Sportsman), Clint Mills (Top Dragster), Mo Hall (Outlaw 10.5), Charlie Cooper (SuperCar Showdown), and Morgan Torres (Jr. Dragster).
 
 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - MOTHER NATURE WINS TOP ELIMINATOR

A valiant effort against Mother Nature left the X-DRL on the losing end Saturday as Mayhem at the Creek at Maryland International Raceway was postponed due to rain.

Interim race director Royce Miller said the decision was made early to stick to the original schedule instead of moving up to beat the weather.

“Our fans at MIR have made it known that Saturday nights are for racing and MIR and the X-DRL were poised to deliver a great show.  We were in the difficult situation of meeting the fans expectations by keeping the original elimination schedule or adjusting the Saturday schedule in the event of weather, and disappoint loyal race fans. The last thing we wanted to do was to have fans arrive to only see the end of the show.  We felt it was important to honor the fans and deliver an evening program if at all possible,” said Royce Miller, track owner and operator at Maryland International Raceway.

“Royce and his staff exceeded our expectations in the race promotion and on-track support.  He delivered great crowds all weekend creating one of the best racing environments I have had the opportunity to experience.  It was a huge disappointment when the weather moved in early and ended eliminations on Saturday,” said Jeff Mitchell, president and owner of the X-DRL.

Racing is scheduled to resume Sunday morning at 9:00 am with gates opening at 8:00 am for spectators. All Saturday tickets will be honored for full admission on Sunday. Race fans unable to attend the event on Sunday with tickets purchased before 4:00 pm will receive a 50% credit applicable to a future event at Maryland International Raceway. Tickets purchased after 4:00 pm will receive full face value at a future event at Maryland International Raceway.

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - DESPITE THE DISMAL CAR COUNTS, PERFORMANCES STRONG AT THE CREEK

Less-than-impressive spectator turnouts and dwindling car counts continued to plague the X-Treme Drag Racing League (X-DRL) in its inaugural season as the all-eighth-mile series visited Maryland International Raceway (MIR) for its “Mayhem at the Creek” event.

After three rounds of qualifying for nine official X-DRL classes, just 66 cars had made passes on the MIR eighth mile, leaving at least one polesitter discouraged and concerned for the future.

“I am disappointed. I was obviously hoping we’d have more cars here—I really didn’t think we’d have even fewer cars than what we’ve had—and I was really hoping and praying we’d have a nice, big crowd for (MIR owner) Royce Miller,” said John DeFlorian after pacing the Extreme Pro Stock field of six entries with an impressive 4.049 at 178.05 mph in his Black Diamond Motorsports 2012 Camaro.

“Royce is a good guy, a great track operator and really, a great ambassador for our sport, especially the mountain-motor Pro Stock guys, so just for that fact I was hoping there would be more Pro Stock guys here. I don’t really know what to tell him, I just hate that this happened. I mean, there’s nothing we can do, we’re here with four-fourths of what we’ve got,” added DeFlorian, who was followed on the qualifying sheet by teammate Kevin Bealko at 4.081 at 176.88 in his Clean Coal-backed 2011 GXP.

“You know, I’ve got to be honest; we’ve done this pretty much all year long and I hate to say this, but it’s getting to be normal. And that’s bad! But it’s the truth. I don’t know what has to be done to turn this thing around, but I really do hope it can be figured out soon.”

In other top classes, Frankie Taylor and his 2005 Corvette led the way over seven other Pro Extreme entries with a 3.604 at 208.81, while Brandon Pesz slotted into second with his ’58 Vette at 3.609 and 208.78, with both bumping Terry Leggett’s ’09 Mustang down to third at 3.610 at 206.26 mph.

 Danny Perry with his ’69 Camaro was the somewhat unexpected Pro Nitrous leader after his 3.847 at 197.25 in the third session vaulted past the 3.866 at 193.21 by previous leader Jim Laurita and 3.883 at 194.24 by defending ADRL PN champ Bob Rahaim. The Pro Nitrous class also featured eight entries.

Also leading after three qualifying sessions with one more round to go before eliminations begin Saturday afternoon were 18-year-old T.J. Tindle in Pro Mod with a career-best 3.909 at 188.73, Mo Hall in the first appearance for Outlaw 10.5 at an X-DRL event with 4.162 at 180.45, and Jim Bell all the way from Western Canada with a 4.155 at 184.45 as the lone entry in Pro Turbo. Sportsman leaders included Wayne Woodard (Top Sportsman), Chris Powers (Top Dragster) and Logan Hubbell (Jr. Dragster).  

UNFINISHED BUSINESS - Brandon Pesz admitted he felt the “most uneasy” of his career entering the rain-postponed Pro Extreme final from the X-DRL event at St. Louis when he lined up against Tim Tindle July 26, at Maryland International Raceway (MIR).

He needn’t have worried, as his 3.609 at 208.78 mph easily outdistanced the 3.866 at 198.52 by Tindle and his ’68 Mustang over the MIR eighth mile near Budds Creek, MD.

After losing traction in each of his first two qualifying attempts for the X-DRL’s Mayhem at the Creek event, Pesz said he went back to what he felt was a safe set up to comfortably go down the track.

“Usually when you go into a final you’ve been racing all weekend and you pretty much know where you are and what you’ve got,” said the veteran racer from The Woodlands, TX. “But this was different. You’re racing the first day for the final and you haven’t got down the track yet and you make changes again, so really this was like making your first run of the event and it’s in the final round.”

After qualifying number one in June at Gateway Motorsports Park with a 3.628 at 208.91, Pesz opened with a bye run in eliminations and made it to the final by defeating Duane Rister and Quain Stott, while number-three qualifier Tindle (3.703/204.35) beat Aaron Wells, Mike Recchia and Todd Tutterow. Unfortunately, with only the Kryptonite Kustoms ’58 Corvette of Pesz and Tindle’s ’67 Mustang left in the lanes, the skies over Gateway opened up and the final was delayed for completion in Maryland.

Tindle got away first with a .017 holeshot, but Pesz had already seized the lead by the 60-foot marker and never looked back. His incrementals for the winning pass were .896 to 60 feet, 2.415 to half-track (330 feet) and 3.609 at the stripe.

“I caught him out of the corner of my eye when he first left, but then he disappeared and I knew as long as nothing went wrong he couldn’t run me down,” Pesz said. “And then it was a good, fast pass.

“The track was good, the air was pretty good, and I feel like I could’ve run a .57 or a .58 with the way things were, but the thing is when you’re also in a final you can’t be stupid, so I was actually going for a .61 or a .62 and it ran a little better than I expected. But that’s okay.”

Pesz’ winning pass also placed him second behind the 3.604 at 208.81 by Frankie Taylor, with one round of qualifying remaining on Saturday before eliminations begin for the X-DRL Mayhem at the Creek. He said he’s looking forward to going after his first double-win weekend as a driver after turning the trick several years ago as crew chief for Thomas Patterson in NHRA Pro Mod competition.

“It was not a smooth day at all, but any time you come away with a trophy it’s a good night,” Pesz concluded. “We’ll see if we can do it again tomorrow.”