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April 6, 2003 NHRA.com (photos courtesy Drag Race Central and BME photography.com) Final round winners at Moroso Park, Florida PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Photography.com Matt Scranton continued his dominant performance on the NHRA Sport Compact circuit as he raced to his 11th consecutive victory Sunday at the inaugural BFGoodrich Tires NHRA Sport Compact Nationals at Moroso Motorsports Park, the second of 10 events in the $2.1 million NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series. Matt Scranton remained undefeated in NHRA competition when
his drove past Manny Cruz in the John Brown scored his first NHRA victory when he defeated
Nelson Hoyos in the Pro FWD final clocking a run of Cesar Febus used a starting line advantage in his Nissan 300ZX
to outdistance Jimmy O'Connor and earn his Marty Ladwig Ken Scheepers The next NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series event is the third annual Nitto Extreme Performance NHRA Sport Compact Nationals, May 3-4 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. Thanks to Brian Epps and Drag Race Central
Saturday April 5, 2003 PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (by Photography.com)
George Ioannou Heads-up qualifying continues at 10 a.m. on Sunday with final eliminations for the BFGoodrich NHRA Sport Compact Nationals beginning at 1 p.m. April 5, 2003 Mission Raceway Job Rite Street Legal The Job Rite Street Legal events are two for two as the second event got off between surrounding rain all day Friday, and through the late evening Friday, and early Saturday Morning. 130+ cars got to make about 6 laps each before the moisture hit the track, and they decided to call in for the night. Take note all you Friday night racers; There is a schedule change in August. The double header Fri.-Sat. street legal event has been cancelled for the August 22-23 weekend due to the added Lucas Oil event for Mission Raceway.
April 5, 2003. PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Inaugural BFGoodrich NHRA Sport Compact Nationals, the second of 10 events in the $2.1 million NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series. Heads-up, no breakout competition leading to 2003 NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series championships in five different categories (Pro RWD, Pro FWD, Modified, Hot Rod and All Motor). Two heads-up sportsman (Sport RWD and Sport FWD) classes. Two dial-in E.T. bracket classes: ET1 - 14.00 or slower, ET2 - 13.99-12.00 also will compete during the weekend. WHERE: Moroso Motorsports Park, From the South: Take I-95 North (exit 79B) or the Florida Turnpike (exit 109) to PGA Blvd. Go West to SR 710 and turn right, go 8.2 miles to track. From the North: Take I-95 South (exit 87B) or the Florida Turnpike (exit 116) to Indiantown Rd./SR 706. Go West to SR 710 and turn left, go three miles to track. WHEN: Saturday through Sunday, April 5-6, 2003. PURSE: Cash and contingency awards of more than $196,000. SCHEDULE: SUNDAY, April 6 - Gates open at 9 a.m.
March29,2003 Mission Raceway Park
March 17, 2003 Courtesy NHRA Marketing (photos courtesy drag race central.com)
LAS VEGAS -- Due to persistent rain showers, NHRA officials were forced to reschedule the GM Performance NHRA Sport Compact Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway until July 25-26. The NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series event will be contested during two nights of extreme racing action. Gates will open at 4 p.m. both days. Tech registration and qualifying remain open for all competitors. Qualifying rounds will be held Friday, July 25th, at 7 and 10 p.m. NHRA Stylefest will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 26th, followed by final eliminations, at 8 p.m. Race team and media credentials and spectator tickets purchased for Sunday's racing will be honored at the rescheduled event. Those individuals should retain their tickets, credentials and wristbands for re-entry. Spectators who purchased weekend tickets are eligible for a refund of half of the ticket's original value by mailing a request along with their ticket or wristband to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 7000 Las Vegas Blvd. North, Las Vegas, NV, 89115 by July 1st. Any questions regarding ticket refunds should be directed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway at (702) 632-8213. March 16th, 2003: LAS VEGAS -- Rain began the day late and rain, combined with a session of oildowns, ended the day early as the NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series kicked off its third season at the GM Performance NHRA Sport Compact Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The inaugural event in Las Vegas is the first of 10 races in the $1.67 million NHRA sport compact circuit. With more rain entering the air and temperatures dropping, NHRA officials called it a day with just one of the three planned sessions in the books. A second and final qualifying session will be held Sunday morning before heading into eliminations.
Stephan Papadakis, in his RWD debut, has the AEM/DriverFX Civic in the fourth spot, followed by reigning series champ Grant Downing and the Venom Tundra, former Pro V-8 competitor John Mihovetz, Abel Ibarra, and Bullish team owner Ara Arslanian in a second Solara. Just two drivers made passes in the new Pro FWD class with Ed Bergenholtz making a surprise appearance in his old '89 CRX to take the first spot. The Bergenholtz brothers, who will campaign a Mazda 6 in the Pro FWD later this year and put Dr. Charles Madrid into their vaunted former Modified class CRX, were not expected to run until May but took advantage of the light turnout for some early momentum. Nelson Hoyos and the Bothwell Motorsports Cavalier is the other Pro FWD driver to make a pass Friday. Jimmy O'Connor, winner of the season-ending Mazda NHRA Sport Compact World Finals in Pomona, pushed the Venom Performance '93 Supra to an 8.194 at 164.75 mph to grab the No. 1 spot in the Modified class.
Joe Morgan’s Ford wagon (photo left) is in the No. 2 spot with Rene Franco’s '73 RX-3 holding down the No. 3 spot. (photo courtesy Drag Race Central)
Bruce Mortensen, the reigning champion in the Turbo Magazine Hot Rod class, picked right up where he left off last year, pushing the Venom Civic to the No. 1 qualifying spot. Following Mortensen on the charts are the surprising duo of Andrew Tran and Leevon Eisele. Myles Bautista and his '99 Civic are qualified fourth while Mike Crawford and the Mopar '03 SRT grabbed the No. 6 spot. Mike Laskey and Joe Housley round out the top eight. Kenny Tran’s new-look Quaker State Civic sits ninth, one spot ahead of 2001 class champ JoJo Callos. Eric Del Rosario, Mark Villaruz, Dominic Conti, and Andrew “the Bear” Bermea fill out the field. Ken Scheepers, a perennial runner-up last season, has the All Motor qualifying lead and the class ’ only 10-second pass with his '85 RX 7 clocking a 10.798. Finals runner-up Leslie Durst is second in her CRX while Scott Kelly’s '69 VW Fastback sits third. Reigning class champ Jesus Padilla’s two-rotor '85 RX-7 is fourth. Chris Shama has the No. 5 spot while Scott Mohler’s new-look Mopar Neon is sixth and followed by Chris Whitfield and Mike Escamilla. Nineteen cars made run trying to crack the 16-car field. Recent Battle winner Jeremy Lookofsky currently holds the field’s final spot. Courtesy of NHRA communications: March 14th, 2003 The first compact national event of the year kicks off this weekend at LVMS: Here is what to expect: As the NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series kicks-off its third season, the hot topic is the new Pro RWD and Pro FWD categories. The Pro RWD class looks to be one of the toughest categories with the likes of veterans Abel Ibarra, Craig Paisley and Ara Arslanian, who made the first sanctioned six-second sport compact pass in 2002, along with sport compact racing star Stephan Papadakis, who moves up from the Modified category. The Pro FWD class also will feature some fresh faces in a new category as the first lady of sport compact racing Lisa Kubo joins Team Saturn and Shaun Carlson prepares to debut his Mopar-backed Dodge Neon. Nelson Hoyos hopes his experience will lead his Pro FWD Chevrolet to his first NHRA victory. The Modified category is wide-open as both 2003 champion Matt Hartford and Papadakis move to Pro RWD. Carlos Gonzalez, who won the 2001 Modified title, hopes to regain what he lost last season and hold off the likes of Jimmy O'Connor, who scored his first NHRA victory at the season finale in Pomona, Calif. In the Turbo Magazine Hot Rod class, a consistent mid-8-second machine is a prerequisite if one expects to win in the all-FWD class. Bruce Mortensen, who dominated the second half of 2002 with five victories, looks to continue his dominant performance, while Marty Ladwig and Lance HoLung hope to score their first NHRA victories. In All Motor, all eyes are set upon Jesus Padilla who controlled the category with seven victories last season. FAST FACTS: The 2003 season-opener in Las Vegas will see the debut of two new heads-up, professional classes, Pro RWD and Pro FWD...The Las Vegas event also will feature the debut of the three-car Mopar team (Shaun Carlson - Pro FWD, Mike Crawford - Hot Rod and Scott Mohler - All Motor) and the three-car Saturn team (Lisa Kubo - Pro FWD, Michelle Morlet - Hot Rod and Nick Novak - All Motor)...Matt Scranton looks to win his 11th consecutive NHRA event at Las Vegas in his V-6-powered Toyota Celica in the Pro RWD category...Both factory-backed GM drivers, Nelson Hoyos - Pro FWD and Marty Ladwig - Hot Rod, look to earn their first NHRA victories at the GM Performance NHRA Sport Compact Nationals...2002 Turbo Magazine Racer of the Year Stephan Papadakis will move from Modified to Pro RWD, also 2002 Modified champion Matt Hartford will now drive his Summit Cavalier in the Pro RWD class...Eight slots remain open in the Summit 200 mph Club, only Matt Scranton and Grant Downing have joined the exclusive club QUOTABLE: Stephan Papadakis, driver of the Pro RWD AEM Civic, who has earned three NHRA victories in the Modified category the past two seasons - "Expectations are high for this team," said Papadakis. "With AEM doing the development on the NSX powerplant, I know we will have the power to win. The Las Vegas Race is the first race of year in a new category, so we're trying to find a baseline for the year since it's a new car and new powerplant." Marty Ladwig, driver of the Bothwell Motorsports Pontiac Sunfire, is looking forward to competing at the 2003 season kick-off sponsored by his sponsor, GM - "I'm looking forward to our first race in Las Vegas," said Ladwig. "The team has been doing a lot of testing and developing the Ecotec engine and also the transmission, and testing has gone great thus far. We've made some big improvements, so we're really looking to the first race of the year. There also will be extra incentive since GM is sponsoring the event. There would be no better place to get my first win." Nelson Hoyos, driver of the Bothwell Motorsports Pro FWD Cavalier, on his 2003 expectations and the new Pro FWD category - "We're gonna rock and roll this year," said Hoyos, who scored five runner-up finishes in Modified in 2002. "We have really high expectations for the season. We've been working on a lot of new projects. We have a new Cavalier on the way early in the season and the new car should improve us dramatically. I'm looking forward to the new Pro FWD category. It think this was a fantastic move on NHRA's part. It will allow a level playing field for the FWD cars. FWD racing is how sport compact drag racing gained its popularity. It will allow the Hot Rod drivers the opportunity to step up into the new FWD category." Matt Scranton, who captured event titles at all 10 NHRA events in 2002, hopes to continue his good fortunes this season - "We had a phenomenal season last year and we're hoping to keep the momentum going in 2003," said Scranton, who became the first sport compact driver to surpass the 200 mph barrier last May. "The level of competition is going to be raised significantly from last year. We've got a bad hot rod from Rick Jones and a powerful engine thanks to TRD. We have a very competitive car and we know what kind of horsepower we need to run with the top of the pack and we feel confident we're going to be a top three car this season." ABOUT THE TRACK: |
The Source for everything in the Summit Compact Series is: |
final round of the Pro RWD category. Scranton powered his Turbonetics
Toyota Celica to a performance of 7.147 seconds at 193.79 mph to cross
the finish line ahead of Cruz's Mercury Cougar. "Every run this
transmission has give us problems and my crew busted their butts,
I couldn't do it without them," said Scranton, the first sport
compact driver to surpass the 200-mph barrier last May. "We've
got a little gremlin in there, but I still think we have enough horsepower
to do real well. We're really excited."
8.610, 169.01 in his 2003 Honda Civic to hold off Hoyos, who is still
looking to capture his first NHRA victory. "We're very excited,
this is the last thing we expected knowing the caliber of the cars
our here," said Brown, who made his NHRA debut this weekend.
"I'm very happy to have accomplished this, it's definitely something
I was hoping for."
first
NHRA victory. Febus, who qualified in the No. 1 position in Modified
for third time in his NHRA career, sped to a pass of 8.015, 147.66
to record the victory. "It feels better than we thought,"
said Febus. "We were hoping to win last year, but had a lot of
problems. We're happy with the win and we hope to win more."
raced to the quickest pass of his career to capture the victory over
Mike Crawford in the first all-domestic Hot Rod final in NHRA history.
Ladwig drove his Bothwell Motorsports Pontiac Sunfire to a pass of
8.666, 168.19 to earn his first NHRA event title. "My crew was
tricking me all day long, the car was running 8.80s and 8.90s and
I was telling them we need more power to run with (Mike) Crawford,"
said Ladwig. "I guess they were saving it for the final round
and I ran 8.66 at 168. It's incredible."
also claimed his first NHRA victory in the All Motor class when he
powered his Mazda RX7 to a run of 10.341, 129.42 to knock off Scott
Mohler, who fouled at the start. "It feels awesome to get my
first NHRA win, I'm so excited," said Scheepers. "I couldn't
have done this alone, it's pure, pure teamwork. The monkey is finally
off my back, now the quest if for the nines."
(right) made sport compact racing history by becoming just
the third member of the exclusive Summit Sport Compact 200 mph Club
Saturday at Moroso Motorsports Park. Ioannou powered his Street Glow
Toyota to a run of 6.924 seconds at 201.61 mph to lead the Pro
RWD category. Nelson Hoyos, Cesar Febus, Mike Crawford
and Ken Scheepers also led their respective categories at the
inaugural BFGoodrich Tires NHRA Sport Compact Nationals, the second
of 10 races in the $2.1 million NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing
Series. Ioannou earned a $1,000 bonus from Summit Racing when he recorded
his 201.61-mph pass during the first qualifying session. He joins
Matt Scranton and Grant Downing as the only members
of the elite club. Hoyos, from Wellington, Fla., impressed the locals
when he powered his Bothwell Motorsports Chevrolet Cavalier to 
the
top spot of the Pro FWD class with a run of 8.630, 173.04.
Nelson Hoyos (right), who recorded four runner-up finishes
in 2002, hopes to earn his first NHRA victory at his home facility
in South Florida this weekend. In the Modified category, Puerto
Rico's Febus drove his Nissan to the No. 1 qualifying position during
Saturday's second session when he clocked a pass of 8.009, 172.74
to lead the eight-car field. 
Mike
Crawford (left) drove his Team Mopar Dodge Neon to the
quickest Hot Rod run in NHRA history when he recorded a pass
of 8.575, 163.33 during Saturday's evening session. Crawford will
earn 20 bonus points from NHRA if he can run within one percent of
his 8.575-second pass and set the Hot Rod category elapsed time record
on Sunday. The All Motor class saw Texan Ken Scheepers capture
the No. 1 qualifying position when he powered his Mazda to the top
of the list with a run of 10.348, 128.04. Scheepers, who finished
third in the All Motor points last season, also is looking to earn
his first NHRA victory on Sunday.
Job
Rite Street Legal Drags kicked off Friday March 28 under cooold conditions.
But that did not stop 125+ cars from playing at the track. As well,
500 or more spectators took in the first of 20 or so street legal
races this year at MRP.Come on out, it will be alot of fun! (photos
by Dean Murdoch)
(photo
left: Bob Reiger's new experiment)
NHRA
National Record holder George Ioannou (photo left) leads the
Pro RWD class, clocking a 7.17 at 188 mph in the Street Glow/Bullish
Motor Racing Toyota Solara. Adam Sawuwatari’s entry is No. 2
at 7.78, followed by 2002’s No. 3 driver, Manny Cruz, at 8.35.