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Aug 1-3, 2008 Sunday Eliminations MARTIN, Mich. --
"We were broke and thinking about quitting," Kelley said. "Now we did something silly and won some money so we pretty much can't quit. We have to keep on going. I'm glad I was able to win this and glad to be a part of IHRA. When the president of the sanctioning body comes over and shakes your hand to congratulate you.that makes you feel pretty special." Kelley qualified #5 and knocked off #1 qualifier Cory Lee in the first round. He then defeated John Lawson, who was driving the car Dale Creasy Jr. drove to the world championship last year, in the semifinals to move into the final-round match-up with Lee. Lee (Wynnewood, Pa.) hazed his tires in the final round while Kelley made a clean pass right down the groove. He posted a 5.544 at 263.20 to grab the Ironman. Spencer Massey (Fort Worth, Tex.) won the first two national events of the 2008 IHRA Nitro Jam season. He built an early lead in the Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel points chase, only to see defending world champion Bruce Litton wrestle it away after the President's Cup Nationals in Budds Creek, Md. After knocking off Terry McMillen in the final at US 131 Motorsports Park Massey took the points lead back. He will pull out of the facility with a 41-point advantage. "This is a dream come true, it's just unbelievable," Massey said. "With three races left we're 41 points in the lead, so I guess we kind of control our own destiny. It's because of this whole Mitch King racing team, they are the best." Massey took over the points lead in the semifinals when he was able to slip past Litton. He then knocked off McMillen, who shook his tires at mid-track. Massey clocked a 4.741 at 312.57 to take the win light. "I always say I just have to take things one race at a time, one round at a time," he said. "We can't get ahead of ourselves. We just have to keep our focus and not worry about the points, they will take care of themselves."
Though Castellana had the quicker car all day Halsey was able to get his Yellowbullet.com '68 Camaro into the winner's circle at US 131 Motorsports Park. Castellana had the advantage at the tree, .026 to .057, but he did not have enough power left to hold Halsey off on the track. Halsey clocked a 6.088 at 235.64 mph to better Castellana's 6.124/229.12. "Some of the blower guys were asking me if they were going to put a weight penalty on us," Halsey said with a chuckle. "But if it's our time it's our time. They've had a run at it for awhile now so we'll enjoy it while we can." Halsey defeated current points leader Kenny Lang in the first round, Steve Salvadore in the quarterfinals and Jason Hamstra in the semifinals to advance to the final round. "Mike Castellana and that entire team work very hard and they're good at what they do," he said. "I think they had a motor that was a little less than perfect because they hurt it a little bit in the semifinals. And he cut a good light on me. He was way out in front of me.I saw a lot of that maroon car for a long time."
Cannister coasted to the finish line after Noakes lit the red-light by -.162 of a second. "It's incredible because we've been trying to figure the car out because there's something wrong with it," Cannister said. "It's been a bug-fogger all weekend and we're thrilled we were able to get this win." While Cannister has been dominating the rounds of eliminations this season, recently her qualifying efforts have been less than stellar. She wants to turn that around. She qualified in the bottom half of the field in Martin, ending up #5 on the ladder, before turning up the heat in eliminations. "That's happened at the last couple of races, we've struggled in qualifying," she said. "We had some kind of gremlin and ended up changing engines for today. For some reason this engine liked the track a little better. I don't know how to explain it." Dobbins (far lane) vs Berner Berner out-performed Dobbins in the final, clocking a 6.383 to Dobbins' 6.387, but his -.021 red-light start rendered his performance advantage useless. "I saw it when I went by the tree, I knew he red-lighted, but we wanted to make another good run," Dobbins said. "That made it eight good runs this weekend so we were pretty happy with how the weekend turned out." Dobbins historically has not done well at US 131 Motorsports Park, so he was pleased he was able to get that monkey off his back. "We had never done really well here," he said. "We had done well at the other Michigan track (Milan Dragway) but this was our first final round here. In fact this was our first semifinal here, so we're happy with how things turned out this weekend." MARTIN, Mich. -- Sunday's final results from the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park. The race is the seventh of 10 in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series: Top Fuel -- Spencer Massey, 4.741 seconds, 312.57 mph def. Terry McMillen, 11.957 seconds, 82.72 mph. Nitro Funny Car -- Andy Kelley, Chevy Camaro, 5.544, 263.20 def. Paul Lee, Camaro, 6.556, 144.43. Pro Modified -- Jim Halsey, Chevy Camaro, 6.088, 235.64 def. Mike Castellana, Pontiac Firebird, 6.124, 229.12. Alcohol Funny Car -- Laurie Cannister, Chevy Camaro, 9.899, 86.66 def. Paul Noakes, Dodge Avenger, foul. Pro Stock -- Jeff Dobbins, Ford Escort, 6.387, 220.26 def. Pete Berner, Pontiac GXP, foul. Top Sportsman -- Randy Primozic, Chevy Cavalier, 6.948, 199.67 def. Ralph Crocker, Cavalier, 6.963, 185.74. Top Dragster -- Steve Furr, Dragster, 6.838, 183.99 def. Jeff Brown, Dragster, 6.829, 191.32. Super Stock -- Michael Lyons, Ford Probe, 9.678, 113.75 def. Bobby Rashid, Pontiac Firebird, 10.114, 108.82. Stock -- Nick Folk, Chevy Camaro, 10.517, 113.32 def. Steve Foley, Chevy Nova, 10.974, 115.54. Quick Rod -- Luke Bogacki, Dragster, 8.914, 157.59 def. Chuck Harris, Dragster, 8.919, 155.47. Super Rod -- Brian Folk, Chevy Camaro, 9.966, 141.31 def. Jimmy Lewis, Chevy Corvette, 9.896, 154.28. Hot Rod -- John Furr, Chevy Nova, 10.892, 134.08 def. Tim Shuck, Chevy Camaro, 10.892, 124.83. ET Bracket -- Al Huston, Chevy Nova, 9.970, 131.83 def. Phil Wrobleski, Ford Thunderbird, 10.123, 130.82. Top ET -- Al Huston, Chevy Nova, 9.979, 134.47 def. Billy Farrell, Dragster, 7.605, 174.91. Mod ET -- Phil Wrobleski, Ford Thunderbird, 10.164, 129.94 def. Butch Foster, Chevy S-10, 9.990, 131.91. Junior Dragster -- Vince Mistrata, Motivation, 7.955, 77.80 def. Nick Mistrata, Half Scale, 8.073, 80.40. Final qualifying
Cory Lee Martin, Mich. (Aug. 2, 2008) – Cory Lee knew his team was in trouble. Following the Saturday afternoon qualifying session they were on the bottom of the qualifying sheet and had major problems to work through in the pits.
“We were lost,” Lee said. “We had some problems with our computer and also had some problems with some engine parts. We had a lot of work to do.”
The team was able to come through under pressure. They thrashed away to get ready for the evening qualifying session, then went out and moved to the #1 qualifying position. Lee’s 5.053 at 292.90 mph put him on the pole and set up a first-round match-up with Andy Kelley Sunday.
Terry Haddock (ouch)
“It was a pretty good run,” Lee said of his Saturday evening pass. “It had to be. We went from being the worst car out here to being the best. We figured some things out and should be ready for eliminations Sunday.”
Mike Strasberg
Mike Strasburg (Linden, Utah) moved to the top of the Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel qualifying list with an impressive 4.659 pass at 326.32 mph during Saturday evening qualifying. Sitting fourth in the points standings heading into the Northern Nationals, Strasburg will have to face points leader Bruce Litton, who qualified fifth, in the first round of eliminations Sunday.
Terry McMillen
Terry McMillen, the winner in Grand Bend two weeks ago, ended up second in qualifying with a 4.659/316.01 shot. He will face Tim Boychuk in the first round Sunday.
Mike Castellana
Mike Castellana (Westbury, N.Y.) red-lit his chance at a $50,000 payday in the final of the Torco Pro Modified Shootout, held in conjunction with Pro Modified qualifying, but his track-record 6.009 at 238.05 mph put him on top of the field heading into Sunday’s eliminations. Jim Halsey (Street, Md.) posted a 6.045 at 233.76 mph to claim the #2 spot, marking the first time this season a pair of nitrous-powered Pro Modifieds ended up 1-2 on the qualifying sheet.
Castellana’s 6.009 pass was the quickest nitrous-assisted Pro Modified pass in IHRA history.
Ed Hoover, who qualified #4, won the $50,000 first prize by knocking off Castellana in the final qualifying session.
“This was a great deal,” Hoover said. “I’ve never been involved in a race with this much money at stake. I’m really happy I was able to get the job done.”
Hoover’s 6.073/233.96 pass gave him the Shootout title and secured him the largest single-day Pro Modified payday in drag racing.
Dale Brand
Dale Brand (Sully, Iowa) set a track record in the Alcohol Funny Car class, using a 5.729 pass at 245.05 mph to claim #1 qualifying honors. Brand will pit his ’01 Camaro against current points leader Laurie Cannister (Johnstown, Ohio) in the first round Sunday.
Rob Atchison (London, Ont.), Thomas Carter (Victoria, Tex.) and Paul Noakes (London, Ont.) rounded out the top half of the Alcohol Funny Car qualifying field.
Pete Berner
Pete Berner (Crete, Ill.) captured his second #1 qualifying position of the season, using a track-record 6.365 at 218.69 mph to move to the top of the qualifying sheet. Berner is very comfortable at US 131 Motorsports Park.
“This is our home track and we test here all the time,” he said. “It’s a beautiful facility and the track is always in awesome shape. It was a nice run tonight. I knew, right when I let the clutch out, that it was going to be a nice run.”
Berner entered the Northern Nationals fourth in the championship points standings. He will get the chance to make up some ground on points leader Frank Gugliotta Sunday because the two will square off in the first round of eliminations. Coincidentally it was Gugliotta who previously held the track record at US 131 Motorsports Park with a 6.386. Ed Hooover wins the Pro Mod Shootout
Hoover Claims Torco Pro Modified Shootout Title, defeats Mike Castellana to claim biggest single-day payday in Pro Modified racing
Martin, Mich. (Aug. 2, 2008) – As Ed Hoover sat in the staging lanes, waiting for IHRA’s track staff to clean up an extensive oil-down, he tried not to think about what was at stake. He was set to square off with Mike Castellana in the final round of the $100,000 Torco Pro Modified Shootout, and the track clean-up caused him to sit there in the driver’s seat of his ’68 Camaro and try to think about anything but the fact that the winner of the race would pocket $50,000.
Hoover’s mind was at ease because he knew, regardless of how much the track and weather conditions changes from the time he left his pit area to when he would actually head down the track, he had the right guy making the calls on his car.
“It was tough sitting there, but those things happen,” he said. “Al Billes calls all the shots on this car and he made all the right calls today.”
When the wait was over Hoover claimed the $50,000 first prize before the race even began. Castellana, one of the steadiest drivers in the Pro Modified ranks, lit the red-light by a razor-thin -.002 of a second. Though he won the Shootout at the starting line, Hoover had no idea he had earned the top prize until fellow competitor Jim Halsey talked to him at the end of the track.
“I didn’t see his red-light. I knew I had to be on my game and I didn’t know what kind of light I had,” Hoover said. “But for $50,000 I’ll take it. This was a great win for Trussell Motorsports and my entire crew. I got out of the car kicking myself in the head, then Jim Halsey came over and told me he red-lit. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t lying before I got too happy. I couldn’t believe it.”
Hoover had to drive through the strongest field of Pro Modified racers assembled this season to claim the championship. In the first round he defeated Halsey, then knocked off defending World Champion Scott Cannon Jr. in the semifinals. Castellana topped Kenny Lang (a two-time winner on the circuit this season) and Chip King to advance to the run for the money.
Hoover could not believe how the final round unfolded.
“This is great. I’ve never been in as big a money race as this one and Mike usually doesn’t make mistakes like that,” he said. “He’s a great driver and I respect him for everything he’s done. But it was our turn. You have to have a little bit of luck on your side.”
Castellana pocketed the $20,000 runner-up prize.
The Torco Pro Mod Shootout championship continued a recent hot streak for Hoover. He advanced to the final round in Budds Creek a month ago before winning the Mopar Canadian Nationals at Grand Bend Motorplex in late July. Though it took a little while for Hoover to get on track this season he had a simple explanation…new car blues.
“We turned a corner in this car, we have it working good and that’s what you get when you have good equipment,” Hoover said. “This G-Force car has been very good to us. Our car last year was great but it took a race or two to get a handle on this one. But it has a window in it now. It could be wrong and still go down the track fast. That’s what you have to have because the track changes, the sun comes out, people oil the track and it changes. You have to have a car that can take all the elements. We feel like we have that.” First round pairings'
MARTIN, Mich. -- First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park, the seventh of 10 events in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.
Top Fuel -- 1. Mike Strasburg, 4.612 seconds, 326.32 mph vs. 5. Bruce Litton, 4.704, 307.02; 2. Terry McMillen, 4.659, 316.01 vs. 6. Tim Boychuk, 4.754, 294.24; 3. Spencer Massey, 4.683, 313.88 vs. 7. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.860, 307.02; 4. T.J. Zizzo, 4.691, 298.60 vs. 8. Kevin Jones, 4.863, 295.08.
Nitro Funny Car -- 1. Cory Lee, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.053, 292.90 vs. 5. Andy Kelley, Chevy Camaro, 5.166, 296.18; 2. Paul Lee, Camaro, 5.064, 286.07 vs. 6. Todd Simpson, Camaro, 5.168, 252.95; 3. John Lawson, Chevy Impala, 5.131, 259.91 vs. 7. Steven Macklyn, Monte Carlo, 5.192, 279.50; 4. Terry Haddock, Dodge Stratus, 5.132, 295.27 vs. 8. Jeff Diehl, Monte Carlo, 5.221, 252.24.
Pro Modified -- 1. Mike Castellana, Pontiac Firebird, 6.009, 238.05 vs. 9. Carl Spiering, Chevy Corvette, 6.123, 232.11; 2. Jim Halsey, Chevy Camaro, 6.045, 233.76 vs. 10. Kenny Lang, Corvette, 6.124, 234.90; 3. Mike Janis, Firebird, 6.065, 236.55 vs. 11. Pat Stoken, Camaro, 6.129, 224.88; 4. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 6.073, 234.17 vs. 12. Tim O'Hare, Camaro, 6.133, 231.12; 5. Scott Cannon, Firebird, 6.091, 232.47 vs. 13. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 6.140, 231.40; 6. Mike Stawicki, Camaro, 6.095, 231.79 vs. 14. Steve Salvadore, Camaro, 6.162, 233.76; 7. Tommy D'Aprile, Chevy Bel Air, 6.117, 234.25 vs. 15. Thomas Patterson, Dodge Charger, 6.166, 229.12; 8. Rickie Smith, Corvette, 6.118, 232.59 vs. 16. Jason Hamstra, Camaro, 6.168, 227.00.
Alcohol Funny Car -- 1. Dale Brand, Chevy Camaro, 5.729, 245.05 vs. 5. Laurie Cannister, Camaro, 5.856, 240.72; 2. Rob Atchison, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.794, 245.32 vs. 6. Larry Dobbs, Chevy Corvette, 5.872, 246.89; 3. Thomas Carter, Monte Carlo, 5.801, 245.00 vs. 7. Terry Munroe, Monte Carlo, 5.887, 238.55; 4. Paul Noakes, Dodge Avenger, 5.851, 238.30 vs. 8. Mark Thomas, Monte Carlo, 5.945, 239.57.
Pro Stock -- 1. Pete Berner, Pontiac GXP, 6.365, 218.76 vs. 9. Frank Gugliotta, Ford Mustang, 6.399, 219.15; 2. Jeff Dobbins, Ford Escort, 6.376, 220.33 vs. 10. Dean Goforth, Chevy Cobalt, 6.405, 219.08; 3. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.378, 219.36 vs. 11. Cary Goforth, Cobalt, 6.416, 217.74; 4. John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 6.384, 219.01 vs. 12. Jason Collins, Cobalt, 6.420, 216.90; 5. Rob Mansfield, Pontiac GTO, 6.392, 218.58 vs. 13. Brian Gahm, Mustang, 6.427, 218.97; 6. Elijah Morton, Mustang, 6.396, 218.23 vs. 14. Michael Bruno, GTO, 6.427, 217.91; 7. Robert Patrick, Mustang, 6.397, 218.09 vs. 15. John Konigshofer, Mustang, 6.440, 217.00; 8. Bob Bertsch, Mustang, 6.398, 218.80 vs. 16. Richard Freeman, Cobalt, 6.457, 219.76. |
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