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Upsets abound at Dallas Pro-Am, second day to finish on Saturday

Sunday, 14 July 2013

Racers got to enjoy at least one day of racing at beautiful Dallas Raceway over the weekend before the rains came with a number of upsets highlighting the day’s activities.

Day 1 of the two-day Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL event was concluded over the weekend, while the rained out Day 2 will be run this Saturday, July 20 at Dallas Raceway. Parking will take place on Friday with a test and tune from 5-10 p.m. followed by the final Division 4 Summit Pro-Am event of the season taking place Saturday afternoon.

The one race that was completed was filled with championship-altering upsets as all seven major Pro-Am classes were won by drivers not in a podium position in the points entering the race. Saturday’s winners were Lance Abbott (Top Sportsman), J.R. Baxter (Top Dragster), Pete Peery (Super Stock), Sharon Bogues (Stock), Dale Scates (Quick Rod), Jeff Lopez (Super Rod) and Mike Frederick (Hot Rod). Junior Dragster winners were D.J. Hartley (Master), Kenneth Hillin (Advanced) and Trace Casey (Beginner).

Dale Scates

   Dale Scates

Saturday’s biggest gainer in the division was Center, Texas native Dale Scates. Scates entered the Dallas event fourth in points in Quick Rod and found himself back in the hunt for a coveted top three in the division with a win over Matt Levatino.

Scates went six rounds driving an ’88 Monte Carlo in the typically dragster-dominated Quick Rod class ending with a red-light win over Levatino. Levatino lit the red bulb by six thousandths of a second. Ahead of him not a single driver in the top three advanced past the second round giving Scates a huge bump in the standings.

The top three drivers in each division earn a spot in the year-end Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions at Memphis International Raceway.

Another driver making major gains in the standings over the weekend was Bowie, Texas’ Pete Peery. Peery went four rounds in Super Stock on Saturday ending with a big win over championship point leader Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. driving his GT/AA ’05 Sunfire. Peery had a .020 light and won on a double-breakout by just a few thousandths at the line. Peery ran a 9.374, 138.14 on a 9.38 dial to Hidalgo’s 9.881 on a 9.89.

Pete Peery

   Pete Peery

In Top Sportsman divisional part-timer Lance Abbott drove his ’97 Chevrolet S-10 pickup to a win over Scooter Hampton who broke out, while J.R. Baxter claimed the win in IHRA’s quickest sportsman class. The Waxahachie, Texas native went six rounds in Top Dragster ending in a tremendous drag race against Lewis Cleveland who broke out by one thousandth at the line, offsetting a tremendous .007 reaction time. Baxter ran just five thousandths off his dial with a 6.895, 193.02 on a 6.89.

In other sportsman action Sharon Bogues drove her ’85 Camaro to a win over heavy hitter Jacob Pitt in Stock, Jeff Lopez claimed the Super Rod crown over James Carter and Mike Frederick claimed the Ironman over Hank Stephens.

In Junior Dragster Trace Casey continued his dominance of the Beginner division with a win over Graeme Rufenacht, while Kenneth Hillin won Advanced over Keaton Mahwee and D.J. Hartley claimed the Masters title with a win over Tyler Poindexter.

Lance Abbott

   Lance Abbott

Renegades racers will conclude their season this Saturday, July 20 with the rain-shortened second Dallas Pro-Am.

The following are the final results from the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL, Renegades Division 4 event at Dallas Raceway:

DAY 1

TOP SPORTSMAN - Lance Abbott, Crane, Texas, '97 S-10, 7.760, 163.37 def. Scooter Hampton, Odessa, Texas, '06 GTO, 7.526, 179.73.

TOP DRAGSTER - J.R. Baxter, Waxahachie, Texas, dragster, 6.895, 193.02 def. Lewis Cleveland, Odessa, Texas, dragster, 7.539, 166.81.

SUPER STOCK - Pete Peery, Bowie, Texas, '05 Sunfire, GT/AA, 9.374, 138.14 def. Jimmy Hidalgo Jr., Donaldsonville, La., '02 Firebird, SS/HA, 9.881, 134.24.

STOCK ELIMINATOR - Sharon Bogues, Bethany, La., '85 Camaro, J/SA, 12.002, 110.00 def. Jacob Pitt, Mansfield, Texas, '69 Barracuda, B/SA, 10.570, 115.85.

QUICK ROD - Dale Scates, Center, Texas, '88 Monte Carlo, 8.956, 117.15 def. Matt Levatino, LaPlace, La., dragster, foul.

SUPER ROD - Jeff Lopez, Bedford, Texas, '63 Corvette, 9.901, 157.67 def. James Carter, Forney, Texas, '63 Corvette, 9.918, 152.00.

HOT ROD - Mike Frederick, Beaumont, Texas, '63 Corvette, 10.957, 131.37 def. Hank Stephens, Palestine, Texas, '68 Camaro, 10.896, 129.98.

JUNIOR DRAGSTER MASTER - D.J. Hartley, Mineola, Texas, dragster, 7.922, 82.49 def. Tyler Poindexter, Millington, Tenn., dragster, foul.

JUNIOR DRAGSTER ADVANCED - Kenneth Hillin, San Antonio, Texas, dragster, 9.060, 68.68 def. Keaton Mahwee, Frisco, Texas, dragster, 8.978, 71.07.

JUNIOR DRAGSTER BEGINNER - Trace Casey, Van Vleck, Texas, dragster, 12.549, 46.62 def. Graeme Rufenacht, Round Rock, Texas, dragster, 11.868, 53.44.

Last modified on Monday, 15 July 2013