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Saturday
Results for Qualifying 1
DINWIDDIE, Va. - SUMMIT FastNews - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Mopar Pro
Modified at the CompetitionPlus.com IHRA Spring Open presented by Lizzard Racing
listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following
run:
Left Lane: Mike Ashley Runs 9.240/67.67, Now #2
Right Lane: Hector Estrada Runs 8.950/100.20, Now #1
11:35 AM The first pair of Pro Mods features the "Gotham City" Lizzard
Racing pro Mod against Estrada's good-looking '37 Chevy Coupe. Both cars chattered
the tires on the launch and skated around, both drivers pulling the plug to stay in
their own lane.
Left Lane: Marc Hemling Runs 6.505/214.52, Now #1
Right Lane: John Bartunek Runs 25.904/26.44, Now #4
Hemling got his good-looking '63 split-window Corvette smoothly down the left
lane for a solid run. Bartunek's '63 split-window suffered a nitrous explosion
about 100 feet into the run, the car coasting slowly down the track.
Left Lane: Steve Cossis Runs 25.566/26.38, Now #6
Right Lane: Carl Moyer Runs 6.460/214.89, Now #1
'53 Corvette versus '57 Bel Air. Cossis' Corvette chattered the tires and
turned hard right on the launch, so he shut it down. Moyer made a nice, smooth
pass to move to the top of the heap, right down the groove.
Left Lane: Alan Pittman Runs 6.564/214.86, Now #3
Right Lane: Shannon Jenkins Runs 18.809/47.57, Now #6
This promised to be a good matchup, Pittman strong to half track yesterday
and Jenkins quickest in the Darlington warmups. But both had problems on the
launch, "Iceman" shaking so hard that he shut it down and Pittman shaking hard
enough that he backpedaled to regain control. Once again Pittman's car hooked up
hard after the "pedal job" and made an impressive run after a horrible start, this
time clocked at 4.350 seconds and 175.59 mph at half track.
Left Lane: Mike Lockwood Runs 6.572/202.58, Now #4
Right Lane: Mike Castellana Runs 13.983/60.83, Now #7
Lockwood's '66 Corvette moved to the right on the launch and made most of the
run skirting the centerline, trailing dust and smoke. Castellana shook hard on
the launch and shut it down. Following the run came the call - oil in the left
lane, Lockwood's car leaving some oil in its wake.
Left Lane: Paul Athey Runs 6.483/169.93, Now #2
Right Lane: Wayne Torkelson Runs 8.167/193.18, Now #6
Athey is behind the wheel of Johnny Rocca's Mercury this year, the car now
sporting '51 Mercury taillights. He made a strong, though crooked run, explaining
yesterday that the Pro Mod cars, with rack-and-pinion steering, were more sensitive
to steering wheel movement while he was used to making major steering inputs in the
Funny Car last year. Athey shut off around 1,100 feet on what looked like a sure
"thirty," clocked at 1.033 seconds for 60 feet and 4.118 seconds, 177.37 mph at
half track. Torkelson left with a good 60-foot time, 1.059, but then the car shook
and he backpedaled, out of the throttle for over a second before resuming the run,
finishing with a higher speed than Athey.
Left Lane: Troy Critchley Runs 6.490/210.47, Now #3
Right Lane: Ronnie Hood Runs 7.786/109.99, Now #7
Critchley made his first pass down the Virginia Motorsports Park dragstrip in
his new Majesty Homes ride a good one, the car right down the groove. His
intermediate times were 1.008 at 60 feet and 4.182-170.86 at half track, as good as
we've seen from anyone this weekend. Hood's '63 Corvette, also on its first run
down the VMP dragstrip, wasn't far back at half track after a 1.054 60-foot time,
but was already slowing at that point, clocked at 4.274-150.28 for 660 feet.
Left Lane: Scott Ray Runs 10.543/74.56, Now #15
Scott Ray moved to Pro Mod from the Pro Outlaw category and is running a
unique combination, injected nitrous (instead of carbureted) in a brand-new race
car, still in gray primer. He made a launch check and found he had too little
clutch in it, the car leaving softly and the RPMs going up and down.
Left Lane: Marc Hayes Runs 6.864/206.20, Now #7
Hayes' is also new to Pro Mod, running an orange Vanishing Point Race Cars
Monte Carlo. He made a full pass, the launch a bit soft at 1.084 for 60 feet and
the car off the mark all the way down the track.
After the first round of
qualifying, the top two qualifiers for the "Chicago-Style Eliminations" are Carl
Moyer and Paul Athey.
Saturday
Results for Qualifying 2
DINWIDDIE, Va. - SUMMIT FastNews - Notes from final, round 2 qualifying in Mopar
Pro Modified at the CompetitionPlus.com IHRA Spring Open presented by Lizzard
Racing listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in
order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to
run:
Left Lane: Wayne Torkelson Runs 6.598/207.69, Now #7
Best prior run: 8.167/193.18, Was #9
3:00 PM Torkelson was scheduled to run against Marc Hayes, but Hayes needed
a little more time to get ready, so Torkelson ran on a single. The run was
straight and clean, just a little down on power compared to the front-runners.
Left Lane: Ronnie Hood Runs 10.809/66.49, Now #9
Best prior run: 7.786/109.99, Was #9
Right Lane: Troy Critchley Runs 6.496/210.87, Now #3
Best prior run: 6.490/210.47, Was #3
Hood's "Bam's Toy" Corvette turned left on the launch and he shut it down.
Critchley's run was "less than straight" and he failed to improve over his first
pass.
Left Lane: Mike Castellana Runs 10.240/91.84, Now #12
Best prior run: 13.983/60.83, Was #13
Right Lane: Paul Athey Runs 6.490/214.31, Now #2
Best prior run: 6.483/169.93, Was #2
Castellana's car skated to the left, out of the groove and near the wall, so
he shut it off. Athey's second run was almost a duplicate of his first, except
this time he crossed the finish line under power.
Left Lane: Shannon Jenkins Runs 9.429/109.47, Now #12
Best prior run: 18.809/47.57, Was #14
Right Lane: Mike Lockwood No Time, Now #6
Best prior run: 6.572/202.58, Was #6
Lockwood was unable to repair the engine damage from his first run today and
could not answer the call for this final round. Jenkins' "new car blues"
continued on this pass, the car making a hard left turn on the launch, forcing him
to shut it off.
Left Lane: Carl Moyer Runs 6.424/216.03, Now #2
Best prior run: 6.460/214.89, Was #1
Right Lane: Alan Pittman Runs 6.278/220.69, Now #1
Best prior run: 6.564/214.86, Was #5
Pittman finally got his '41 Willys hooked up cleanly on the launch, with a
1.008 60-foot time, and was once again very quick and fast at half track, 4.088 at
179.90 mph. This time he was able to carry the momentum all the way to the fiinish
line to take over the top spot and bump everyone else down a notch - including
former polesitter Moyer. Moyer made a good pass, but his 1.035 60-foot time and
4.173 at 175.16 mph at half track were not at all close to keeping up with
Pittman.
Left Lane: Hector Estrada Runs 6.666/201.16, Now #8
Best prior run: 8.950/100.20, Was #10
Right Lane: Marc Hemling Runs 13.310/74.74, Now #5
Best prior run: 6.505/214.52, Was #5
Estrada continues to post extremely quick 60-foot times, this time a 0.995,
but was unable to get the power to the pavement on the other end and will be a
spectator for the final round. Hemling shook very hard on the launch and called it
quits.
Left Lane: John Bartunek Runs 13.762/59.78, Now #16
Best prior run: 25.904/26.44, Was #16
Right Lane: Steve Cossis Runs 6.342/217.98, Now #2
Best prior run: 25.566/26.38, Was #15
bartunek's problems continued this round, the car shaking hard. Meanwhile,
Cossis finally got his car to launch straight down the track and that was the key
to a pretty run, a 1.020 60-foot time and a spot in the final round, bumping
Moyer.
Right Lane: Mike Ashley Runs 8.604/112.91, Now #12
Best prior run: 9.240/67.67, Was #12
Ashley's car stuttered on the launch and he gave it up before half
track.
Right Lane: Scott Ray Runs 6.796/203.98, Now #10
Best prior run: 10.543/74.56, Was #15
Ray's injected nitrous car is still very soft on the launch, but he legged it
out for a complete pass anyway.
Right Lane: Marc Hayes Runs 7.012/209.26, Now #12
No Prior Run
Hayes made an ugly launch, showing us both sides of his car, closing out
qualifying.
The Pro Mod final will feature Alan Pittman against Steve
Cossis, Pittman with lane choice. Moyer is the first alternate should either of
those two be unable to answer the call.
Saturday
Results for Final Round
DINWIDDIE, Va. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of final, round 1 eliminations in
Mopar Pro Modified at the CompetitionPlus.com IHRA Spring Open presented by Lizzard
Racing:
W/L Driver RT ET Speed
(W) Alan Pittman (Westbrook M'Sports '41 Willys)0.509 6.252 220.87
(L) Steve Cossis (competitionplus.com '53 Chevy 2.152 18.236 52.67
Prior to the run, Pittman predicted he would "rotate the Earth." That
statement usually precedes either a great run or a horrible run, nothing in
between. This time Pittman backed up his words with a very strong run against a
surprisingly defenseless opponent. When the light turned green, Pittman left while
Cossis just sat there. And sat there. By the time Cossis slowly left the line,
Pittman was well on his way to a great run, launching with a 1.008 60-foot time and
carrying the front wheels almost to half track, where he was clocked at 4.063
seconds, 180.21 mph.
Saturday
Results for Qualifying 3
DINWIDDIE, Va. - SUMMIT FastNews - Notes from final, round 3 qualifying in Mopar
Pro Modified at the CompetitionPlus.com IHRA Spring Open presented by Lizzard
Racing listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in
order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to
run:
Left Lane: Carl Moyer Runs 6.357/216.93, Now #3
Best prior run: 6.424/216.03, Was #3
Right Lane: Paul Athey Runs 6.538/215.00, Now #4
Best prior run: 6.483/169.93, Was #4
This third round of "qualifying runs" is for bragging rights, the final round
pairing set after the first two rounds today.
Moyer made a nice run to get
into the thirties - but it would not have gotten him into the finals. With a 1.023
60-foot time, he showed that his '57 Bel Air will be in the hunt this year.
Left Lane: Hector Estrada Runs 8.411/87.87, Now #9
Best prior run: 6.666/201.16, Was #9
Right Lane: Troy Critchley Runs 6.486/211.63, Now #5
Best prior run: 6.490/210.47, Was #5
This was a very colorful pairing, Estrada's '37 Chevy painted yellow, purple,
and orange, and the Majesty Group '41 Chevy painted yellow and purple. Estrada
again went under one second for the first 60 feet, once again falling off the pace
on the top end - this time with a broken blower belt. Critchley made a nice pass,
fairly straight, with a 1.037 60-foot time and a 4.189 at 171.88 at half
track.
Left Lane: Marc Hayes Runs 7.410/125.68, Now #13
Best prior run: 7.012/209.26, Was #12
Right Lane: Ronnie Hood Runs 6.332/220.22, Now #2
Best prior run: 7.786/109.99, Was #13
Hayes finally got the new Monte Carlo sorted out and it looks like he will
also be in the hunt, coming on strong on the top end after a leisurely 1.076
60-foot time. Hood left hard, a 1.050 60-foot time, and made a great run, one that
would have put him in the finals if he'd run it a round sooner.
Right Lane: Marc Hemling Runs 6.479/231.40, Now #5
Best prior run: 6.505/214.52, Was #7
Hemling made his best pass of the weekend despite a "moment" at half track,
the car trying to get out of the groove and Hemling keeping a firm rein on it.
Right Lane: Mike Ashley No Time, Now #14
Best prior run: 8.604/112.91, Was #14
Ashley's engine sounded like he was making popcorn on the launch and he shut
it off.
Right Lane: Scott Ray No Time, Now #11
Best prior run: 6.796/203.98, Was #11
Ray got the car solidly off the starting line with a 1.018 60-foot time and
cleanly to 330 feet in 2.902 seconds, but then the car got out of the groove and he
shut it down.
Right Lane: John Bartunek No Time, Now #17
Best prior run: 13.762/59.78, Was #17
Bartunek was the final Pro Mod of the day and had immediate problems with his
engine, coasting through after a 1.028-second 60-foot time.
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