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Jim Waldo captured the pole
after the 2nd session in
Top Stock with a 10.38/128 mph with his B/S '69 Mustang.
Photo copyright 2000 Auto
Imagery, Inc. |
NORWALK, Ohio - It won't be long now before
qualifying will be in the books for the first ever running of Top
Stock Eliminator, the creation of Stock competitor Mike Keener and
tech man Terry Bell. The turnout is not quite as high as
expected due to breakage, points races, and other obstacles, but
the quality of the cars that did make it out for this historic
event are some of the best in the country, bar none.
I spoke first with Joe Aluise, whom many point to
as the car to beat. While Joe sloughs off any comments about
the possibility of him running away with this race, he is
confident in his ride. "I don't have my good
motor in there", explained Aluise, quite
matter-of-factly. I quickly got the impression that Joe is
not the type to let loose many (if any) of his secrets, and I
wouldn't lay bets on or against him even based on his qualifying
runs. Race day will tell the tale, when drivers pull out all
the stops to be the first to the finish line... with no breakouts
involved in the class!
Most Top Stock participants, when asked for
predictions on qualifying numbers and who was going to be the
fastest, could only smile and shake their heads. Former
Winston Champion and many time NHRA Division 7 Champion Chuck
Rayburn points to RJ Sledge and his 427 Fairlane as a good
possibility. When asked about his own stout B/SA 440
Challenger, Rayburn could only relay the fact that he had broken a
crankshaft recently, and the replacement in the car is an unknown
quantity. "We'll see", said Rayburn with that wry
smile of his.
Jim Waldo surprised the field in the first
qualifying session of the regular Stock eliminator, ripping off a
powerful 126.99 mph pass. "We had the car set up
soft. There's more in it." That fact was
evidenced with a strong qualifying shot, placing him right near
the top of the stack after the first Top Stock session, and
hanging right with Mike Keener and Bobby Brannon in Stock
qualifying. "I'm about this high off the ground!
That was great. That was my first time on a Pro Tree."
Thursday
Order for Qualifying 1
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Order after
one round of qualifying in Top Stock
at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by
Ethanol Performs!:
Psn Driver Vehicle ET Speed
1. Joe Aluise Jr. '63 Belvedere 10.414 0.00
2. Jim Waldo '69 Mustang 10.419 0.00
3. Mark Yamarino '68 Camaro 10.475 0.00
4. Bobby Brannon '69 Camaro 10.507 0.00
5. Paul Mercure '68 Camaro 10.514 0.00
6. John Shaul '64 Fury 10.532 0.00
7. Matthew Morgan '69 Mustang 10.535 0.00
8. Kevin Helms '69 Camaro 10.545 0.00
9. Chuck Rayburn '71 Challenger 10.599 0.00
10. Al Corda '99 Firebird 10.615 0.00
11. Fred Thibeault '69 Camaro 10.636 0.00
12. Steven Hall '68 Mustang 10.640 0.00
13. Jason McCormack '70 Challenger 10.644 0.00
14. John Dourlet '64 Savoy 10.725 0.00
15. John Cavataio '94 Camaro 10.820 0.00
16. Rusty Hall '68 Mustang 11.400 0.00
17. George Cottell '69 Camaro 20.681 0.00
18. R.J. Sledge '67 Fairlane DQ
19. Sid Bonnecarrere '69 Super Bee DQ
Thursday
Order for Qualifying 2
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Final order
after 2 rounds of qualifying in Top
Stock at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented
by Ethanol
Performs!:
Psn Driver Vehicle ET Speed
1. Jim Waldo '69 Mustang 10.381 128.47
2. Joe Aluise Jr. '63 Belvedere 10.401 126.73
3. Brett McFarland '68 Camaro 10.431 126.96
4. Mark Yamarino '68 Camaro 10.452 127.17
5. Mike Keener '69 Camaro 10.476 125.39
6. John Shaul '64 Fury 10.483 126.47
7. Paul Mercure '68 Camaro 10.501 125.58
8. Kevin Helms '69 Camaro 10.503 125.80
9. Bobby Brannon '69 Camaro 10.507 124.02
10. Matthew Morgan '69 Mustang 10.535 124.35
11. Chuck Rayburn '71 Challenger 10.599 123.85
12. Al Corda '99 Firebird 10.615 123.51
13. Jason McCormack '70 Challenger 10.621 126.14
14. John Dourlet '64 Savoy 10.626 125.93
15. Fred Thibeault '69 Camaro 10.636 123.22
16. Steven Hall '68 Mustang 10.640 123.18
17. Rusty Hall '68 Mustang 10.702 122.22
18. John Cavataio '94 Camaro 10.766 123.26
19. George Cottell '69 Camaro 10.899 121.94
20. R.J. Sledge '67 Fairlane 10.964 119.06
21. Sid Bonnecarrere '69 Super Bee 11.378 99.03
Friday
Order for Qualifying 3
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Final order
after 3 rounds of qualifying in Top
Stock at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented
by Ethanol
Performs!:
Psn Driver Vehicle ET Speed
1. Jim Waldo '69 Mustang 10.381 128.47
2. Joe Aluise Jr. '63 Belvedere 10.401 126.73
3. Brett McFarland '68 Camaro 10.431 126.96
4. Mark Yamarino '68 Camaro 10.452 127.17
5. Al Corda '99 Firebird 10.460 126.76
6. Mike Keener '69 Camaro 10.476 125.39
7. Kevin Helms '69 Camaro 10.483 126.55
8. John Shaul '64 Fury 10.483 126.47
9. Paul Mercure '68 Camaro 10.501 125.58
10. Bobby Brannon '69 Camaro 10.505 124.02
11. Matthew Morgan '69 Mustang 10.535 124.35
12. Chuck Rayburn '71 Challenger 10.554 124.79
13. Steven Hall '68 Mustang 10.556 123.43
14. Fred Thibeault '69 Camaro 10.597 123.22
15. Jason McCormack '70 Challenger 10.621 126.14
16. John Dourlet '64 Savoy 10.626 125.93
17. Rusty Hall '68 Mustang 10.664 122.22
18. John Cavataio '94 Camaro 10.766 123.26
19. George Cottell '69 Camaro 10.884 121.94
20. R.J. Sledge '67 Fairlane 10.957 119.52
21. Sid Bonnecarrere '69 Super Bee 11.139 118.92
Friday
Results for Elimination Rnd 1
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top
Stock at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol
Performs!:
W/L Driver RT ET Speed
(W) Mark Yamarino ('68 Camaro) 0.564 10.713 126.66
(L) George Cottell ('69 Camaro) 0.750 10.870 123.78
2:25 PM The inaugural outing for the Top Stock category has drawn a lot of
interest among the media, so the starting line is a bit crowded. Yamarino gets
the honor of the first win light in the category.
(W) Matthew Morgan ('69 Mustang) 0.561 10.505 124.89
(L) Chuck Rayburn ('71 Challenger) 0.678 10.476 124.86
Good drag race, Morgan with the better reaction time and the holeshot win by
a margin of victory = 0.088 seconds (approximately 16 feet).
(W) Kevin Helms ('69 Camaro) 0.539 10.510 126.27
(L) John Dourlet ('64 Savoy) 0.607 10.732 126.15
Helms goes wire to wire to win by a margin of victory = 0.290 seconds
(approximately 54 feet).
(W) Al Corda ('99 Firebird) 0.561 10.461 123.44
(L) John Cavataio ('94 Camaro) 0.546 10.615 125.90
Corda gets the come-from-behind win by a margin of victory = 0.139 seconds
(approximately 26 feet).
(W) Joe Aluise Jr. ('63 Belvedere) 0.565 10.407 126.68
(L) Sid Bonnecarrere ('69 Super Bee) 0.552 10.956 120.47
Aluise runs low ET of the round for an easy win.
(W) Brett McFarland ('68 Camaro) 0.512 10.501 128.84
(L) R.J. Sledge ('67 Fairlane) 0.581 10.936 120.06
McFarland with a great light and a very good run, another big winner.
(W) Steven Hall ('68 Mustang) 0.554 10.412 125.19
(L) Bobby Brannon ('69 Camaro) 0.525 10.506 124.55
Good drag race, the margin of victory = 0.065 seconds (approximately 12
feet).
(W) Paul Mercure ('68 Camaro) 0.566 10.546 124.82
(L) Fred Thibeault ('69 Camaro) 0.586 10.606 123.00
A close one, the margin of victory = 0.080 seconds (approximately 14
feet).
(W) John Shaul ('64 Fury) 0.580 10.492 126.23
(L) Jason McCormack ('70 Challenger) 0.567 10.732 125.35
Shaul outruns McCormack by a wide margin.
(W) Rusty Hall ('68 Mustang) 0.535 10.665 122.17
(L) Mike Keener ('69 Camaro) 0.649 10.578 124.67
Hall puts the gate job on Keener and then holds on for a holeshot victory by
a margin of victory = 0.027 seconds (approximately 5 feet).
(W) Jim Waldo ('69 Mustang) 0.568 10.872 127.56
was unopposed
Waldo gets the first-round bye and was lucky he had it, his car spinning
the tires hard, and had to peddle the car to recover.
Joe Aluise, Jr.'s Max Wedge
Plymouth held Low E.T. of the first round with a 10.40.
-Bud LaFever photo |
Norwalk, OH - IHRA.COM took the time to track down some
of the hot competitors that survived the brutal first round of
eliminations in Top Stock. No. 1 qualifier Jim Waldo was
quietly pleased to be in the show, but knew that his first round
bye run was his saving grace, as the car blew the tires off,
forcing him to peddle the car, killing precious E.T. His son
Eric Waldo spoke for the team. "We're not here to run
the regular Stock Eliminator race. We're just here trying to
get him to win Top Stock. We're going to set it up to
hopefully bog just a bit and take off so it doesn't spin the
tires. If we can make it to dark, we can put all the power
to it."
Another Mustang driver and a pre-race favorite, Matt Morgan may
be showing the prognosticators to be true. He has certainly
put forth every effort to keep up with and surpass his competitors
if possible. "We're putting a new ignition box on it
now. We've probably worked more than any other team here
this week. We swapped tires, changed the rear-end gear from
a 4.56 to a 4.71, put another converter in the car, and borrowed a
transmission from Super Stock racer Gene McBean." explained
Morgan. "For the first round, we just advanced the cam
2 degrees." That one change seems lost in the shuffle
after the tremendous thrashing the team had done up to this
point. To make matters worse for the competition, Morgan's
.561 to .678 holeshot win over Chuck Rayburn was said to be his
worst reaction time so far.
The forerunner for the Mopar fans, Joe Aluise, Jr., ran Low E.T.
in the first frame, but even with that, he said "The car went
up, and spun the tire with the front end in the air. It came
down hard, unloaded the tires, and spun again. Waldo's the
guy to beat, and Hall stepped up a lot. That's the great
thing. It's good close racing." Despite dealing
with tire spin in the first round, Aluise said they would step the
car up for round two.
While Team Checkmate leader Mike Keener fell in the first
round, they are guaranteed a presence in the late rounds, as the
ladder falls with teammates Mark Yamarino and Paul Mercure facing
one another in round two.
Friday
Results for Elimination Rnd 2
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 2 eliminations in Top
Stock at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol
Performs!:
W/L Driver RT ET Speed
(W) Al Corda ('99 Firebird) 0.539 10.475 123.91
(L) John Shaul ('64 Fury) 0.581 10.506 126.40
5:16 PM Things should tighten up a bit this round. A classic muscle car
(64 Fury) versus a late-model (99 Firebird). Margin of victory = 0.073 seconds
(approximately 14 feet) for the Firebird.
(W) Rusty Hall ('68 Mustang) 0.569 10.589 123.42
(L) Kevin Helms ('69 Camaro) 0.569 10.744 125.66
Margin of victory = 0.155 seconds (approximately 29 feet).
(W) Steven Hall ('68 Mustang) 0.553 10.434 125.25
(L) Brett McFarland ('68 Camaro) 0.559 10.727 127.69
Margin of victory = 0.299 seconds (approximately 56 feet).
(W) Mark Yamarino ('68 Camaro) 0.527 10.642 126.01
(L) Paul Mercure ('68 Camaro) 0.559 10.618 125.63
Great drag race, Yamarino with the holeshot win by a margin of victory =
0.008 seconds (approximately 18 inches).
(W) Matthew Morgan ('69 Mustang) 0.547 10.527 124.75
(L) Jim Waldo ('69 Mustang) 0.556 10.613 128.62
Morgan upsets Waldo as he set the car up to bog slightly to kill the tire
spin... The plan worked too well as Waldo labored out of the
hole. Margin of victory = 0.095 seconds (approximately 18
feet).
(W) Joe Aluise Jr. ('63 Belvedere) 0.573 10.379 126.65
was unopposed
Aluise gives the crowd a huge wheelstand, with the crowd looking at each
other with a knowing smile. Their thoughts are correct, as
he runs quick ET of the weekend on the bye run.
Friday
Results for Elimination Rnd 3
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 3 eliminations in Top
Stock at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol
Performs!:
W/L Driver RT ET Speed
(W) Al Corda ('99 Firebird) 0.562 10.425 124.91
(L) Joe Aluise Jr. ('63 Belvedere) 0.551 10.465 127.38
7:16 PM Semifinals time for the new eliminator. '99 Firebird versus '63
Belvedere. Margin of victory = 0.029 seconds (approximately 5 feet).
(W) Mark Yamarino ('68 Camaro) 0.538 10.535 126.15
(L) Steven Hall ('68 Mustang) 0.580 26.945 29.92
Yamarino gets an easy win and a bye to the finals when Hall breaks the
spool on the
launch, coasting to a stop just past the finish line.
(W) Matthew Morgan ('69 Mustang) 0.564 10.508 124.69
(L) Rusty Hall ('68 Mustang) 0.559 10.554 123.86
The winner here faces Corda in the semifinals. Hall had problems with the
burnout, the left rear tire biting and turning the car sideways. Good drag race!
Margin of victory = 0.041 seconds (approximately 7 feet).
Friday
Results for Elimination Rnd 4
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of semi-final, round 4 eliminations in
Top Stock at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol
Performs!:
W/L Driver RT ET Speed
(W) Al Corda ('99 Firebird) 0.526 10.418 120.56
(L) Matthew Morgan ('69 Mustang) 0.535 10.490 124.98
8:02 PM Semifinals. '69 Mustang versus '99 Firebird. Good drag race, the
margin of victory = 0.081 seconds (approximately 15 feet).
(W) Mark Yamarino ('68 Camaro) 0.498 10.438 127.10
was unopposed
Yamarino takes the bye run and runs within a couple hundredths of Corda, so
it looks like the final round will be decided at the tree.
Friday
Results for Final Round
NORWALK, Ohio - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of final, round 5 eliminations in
Top Stock at the 23rd annual Mopar Parts World Nationals presented by Ethanol
Performs!:
W/L Driver RT ET Speed
(W) Al Corda ('99 Firebird) 0.549 10.420 120.72
(L) Mark Yamarino ('68 Camaro) 0.592 10.593 126.72
 9:36 PM A modern muscle car versus nostalgia iron - a '99 Firebird against
a '68 Camaro. It was all over at the start, Corda with a big holeshot and then
running away to win by a margin of victory = 0.216 seconds (approximately 40
feet). Congratulations to the Elk Mound, Wisconsin driver for winning the
first-ever Top Stock shootout.
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