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July 10-11, 2010 July 16, 2010 AHRA Sportsnationals
Brad Janishewski (VP of the AHRA) wows the fans Saturday and Sunday. Sunday final qualifying and final time trials (Saturday qualifying is below)
Outlaw Doorslammers took advantage of the cooler Sunday temperatures and a number of them improved their qualifying positions from Saturday.
Darryl Stone and his brother Kerry failed to improve and at most events at the 'Plex they are battling for the #1 spot Kerry With the turbo charged Camaro is usually the #1 guy but he struggled with traction in the hot temperatures. Rick McLeod improved Sunday morning and nailed down the #3 spot with a best of a 7.565. Phil Davis improved a couple hundredths but not enough to displace McLeod.
Final qualifying 1. Darryl Stone 7.013/197.93
In eliminations, Darryl Stone got the bye run but he tried to run in the sixes. He fell just short with a 7.04 @ 203. A very good run, but the starting line proved to be a little light on traction. Dallas Wagner defeated a broke Mike Ackerman. Ackerman was out for the first time in his very nice 68 Cuda, but he had transmission issues in the final qualifier. Rick McLeod Sr. got a single as Kerry Stone could not make it for round one either. McLeod Jr. got the final freebie in round one as Tyson Wells broke in the final qualifier as well. Phil Davis took on Dave Heans, and this one was a win for Hean, as Davis went red by one hun.
Round two saw Wagner take out the #1 qualifier D. Stone as Stone lost traction at 100 feet. Rick McLeod Sr. got a single based on the odd car ladder. Rick Jr. defeated Dave Hean by a slim .005 margin. Less than 20 feet at the finish line.
Semi Final action........Rick Jr. got the semi final bye, but he ran it hard out the back door to get a good number for the final. Another solid 7.6 et. Dallas Wagner took out Rick Sr. by less than a hundredth, another real close race.
The final saw Jr. take on the Wagner Pick-up. Another real close race with the stripe margin just a few feet. Rick Jr. get his biggest win since running his new Cuda.
The Blown Alky series was lacking a couple cars but those six that were there ran great.
The other featured local class is a blown alcohol class that pits Doorcars, altereds, Funny Cars and Dragsters against each other. The only rule, they need a blower.
Seven race cars were out for qualifying but Marty Zazula broke in his first qualifier and he could not make eliminations. There were four Dragsters, one Doorslammer and one Altered that made full qualifying runs. Jim Attwell lead qualifying Saturday with back to back 6.4 runs. His best was a 6.43/213. Brent Murray went a best of 6.48 Saturday and Neil Lachelt was right there, with a 6.57. The field then dropped down to three 7 second cars. John Evans in the 7.5 zone, Gary Hough went 7.70's on Saturday and Steven Addison in the only Doorcar (an ex Pro Mod) went 7.80's on Saturday.
Sunday the cooler air gave the teams a good opportunity to improve their ets. Brent Murray was first out and he went to the top with a 6.418. Attwell was up next and he ran beside Gary Hough. Hough had an early oil drip issue, but got it corrected. Attwell was very consistent on Saturday, but right after the burnout, a fluid leak was spotted and he was shut down. Hough got in his lap and improved to a 7.655. Neil Lachelt improved to a 6.56/215mph. Steve Addison in the blown Hemi Chevy Pro Mod improved to a 7.677. Final qualifying 1. Brent Murray 6.418/213
Marty Zazula (Broke) Round one. Brent Murray defeated Steve Addison with another mid 6 second pass. Addison got too anxious and left before the tree was activated. Jim Attwell could not fix his leak from qualifying which ended up to be a head gasket, and possible torched head. Hough got the single and went 7.50. Neil Lachelt took on John Evans and Evans also had a starting line issue, he went up on the convertor, and released the brake before the tree was activated.
In the semis, Murray got the bye and just took the tree, resting the car for the final. Hough raced Lachelt and this race went to Lachelt who went 6.80.
Final round saw the #1 and #3 qualifiers face each other. Strong burnouts by both cars and close rts as well. Murray left second with a .062 rt, and was real close to Lachelt (.075 rt) all the way down track. At 1000 feet they were separated by only a 1/4 car length. At the stripe the win light came on Lachelt's lane with a 6.660 on a 6.63 dial. Murray went 6.503 on a 6.45 dial in. The margin of victory was less than 1/100th. A great final round.
Sportsman winners:
Pro: Mark Kingball 8.50/143.22 def Holly Clarke 11.707/115.26
THe first six photos are from run #1 on Sunday. Cody started to shake the tires 30 feet of the starting line and at 60 feet the car started to bounce. By the 90 foot mark the whole car came off the ground. By 300 feet, the chute rattled loose, and was fully deployed by 400 feet.
Round #2 Sunday was no better. The car with the heat did not have enough of a tune up to get up on the tire. It shook and started to bounce again. Al four frames below show the rear tires off the ground. A tough initiation for the second race behind the wheel. It made for exciting runs for sure though.
Over impressions of the event: Brad Janishewski did all he could to make this a great event. With all the negative aspects of the AHRA in 2010, damage control was in the forefront. The Canadian VP went the extra mile to make sure the event ran smoothly. Unfortunately the car count as well as spectator count was down from what everyone involved was hoping for. The event was fun, the racing was great and the feature classes put on a pretty good show. The overall picture for the future is tough though, as the spectator were not there.
A number of reasons in my opinion. #1. the fact the NW Nationals in Seattle was on the same weekend affected the car count by probably 50%. The money at Ashcroft was good, but commitments by many teams to run or crew with other competitors kept the count low. Alberta teams did not show simply because of the bad press the AHRA has in Calgary. The weather was real hot, and being there is little or no shade at the 'Plex likely weighted on a few teams as well as spectators.
Is there a future? I hope so, but I am not real optimistic the Reunion Tour event will take place.
Jrs.
Saturday results. With the hot weather and the largest NHRA event in the NW taking place this weekend, the car counts were not quite what everyone was hoping for, but all who are participating had a great day. Time trials proved to be a battle of who could get a consistent tune-up with 95 degree heat and a really hot racing surface. Track personal lead by Steve Manning and Joe Sye did a great job despite the hot conditions.
The Jr. gamblers race has close to 20 jrs. taking part and the final round matched up two local competitors. Girl power showed its colors as Tiffany "mouse" Hannah won the event over Dusty "brat fink" Copeland.
In the Bracket Gamblers race, Eagle regular Al Quigley defeated 2009 Pro Champion Chris Stone. Quigley had a great .014 package with a great .007 rt. Stone was right behind him with a .008. Stone took the stripe but he went under his dial by .005 handing the win to Quigley. Those two will be tough to beat on Sunday as both compete in different brackets.
In Outlaw Doorslammers, Kerry Stone is the #1 qualifier will a solid 7.01/198. He is just ahead of brother Daryl Stone who went 7.14 in his turbo charged Camaro.
The Blown Alcohol class is a real battle at the top with Jim Atwell taking the #1 spot with a great 6.43/214 blast. Vancouver Island competitor Brent Murray is right behind him with a 6.48/209 shot. Just back of the two 6.40 drivers is Kelowna's Neil Lachelt with a 6.57.
One more qualifying run Sunday Morning and then into eliminations. Preview This weekend the AHRA debuts in Canada for the 1st Annual Sportnationals at Ashcroft's Eagle Motorplex. Situated in the Southern Interior of British Columbia less than an hour South of Kamloops BC. The Eagle Motorplex has been around since the late 80's and has hosted many large events in the past. Since its inception it has been an NHRA race track. But over the last few years the commitment by the NHRA to help support the smaller tracks has been waning, and when the AHRA decided to reestablish itself as a drag racing sanctioning body, the Eagle Motorplex decided to make the switch as the programs they were offering suited the direction the Desert facility was moving towards. The AHRA made a commitment to host three event in 2010, including a reunion tour, an event the like the Eagle Motorplex has ever seen. They would also host two Sports Nationals one before the Reunion tour and one after. The first Sportsnationals gets underway Saturday with time trials for an electronics and non electronics buck dollar race to be held Sunday. The classes set to run are Super Pro (electronics), Pro Bracket, Sportsman bracket Bike/sled, and Jr Dragsters. There are four different features for the fans as well and they include two of the Eagle Motorplex's feature classes: Outlaw Doorslammers and a Blown Alcohol series matching up Dragsters, Altereds, Pro Mod style doorcars and funny cars. Then the AHRA has brought in a two car Alcohol Funny Car exhibition with the "Burnout King Darrell Webb and Rookie Funny Car driver Cody Anstead and to end each day, the Rollin Thunder Jet Funny Car. Saturdays racing starts off with time trials for all the classes and then once the first couple rounds of time trials are complete then they will run two gambler's races. One for the Jrs. and one for the bracket cars.
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