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NHRA (CLERMONT) - NHRA XPLOD SPORT COMPACT SERIES SETS RECORDS AT ORP

The inaugural Indy NHRA Sport Compact Nationals presented by BP, thrilled the fans in attendance at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis with jaw dropping qualifying in all Pro Classes.

The top qualifiers for the event are, Marty Ladwig (Pro FWD), Kenny Tran (Hot Rod), Lesile Armendariz (Honda Tuning Magazine All Motor) Brent Rau (Modified) and Brad Personett (Pro RWD).

Ladwig and his team set a new national elapsed time record on the way to his top qualifying spot in the final session when he laid down a pass of 7.261 seconds at 199.82. He backed it up the run previous with a pass of 7.382 seconds. This is the second No.1 qualifying position in 2007 for Ladwig helps tighten an all ready heated points battle.

“In our class the competition has really stepped up and everybody is running really close. It used to be a couple of seconds from number one to bottom qualifier, now it is pretty tight,” stated Ladwig following his final pass. “For us the point’s race is really tight and I’m only five points behind in second place and every point in qualifying really counts”

Tran held onto the top qualifying position from first round on when he dipped into the seven second range for the first time in his five year career. He ran a 7.951 second pass at 182.58 seconds for his second No.1 qualifying position of the season.

“We’ve had this car for over a year now and to get it down into the seven’s here at Indy is pretty good for us,” said Tran. “I was expecting to run low 8’s but I didn’t think we were going to break into the seven’s and it’s been a long time for us to get the car dialed down into the seven’s.”

Armendariz nabbed her second top qualifier position of the season following her last top starting position at the Moroso Motorsports Park at the start of the season. She ran a 9.448 second pass at 142.64 mph in her 2006 Scion tC.

“The Royal Purple, AEM car did really good. We’ve been having some problems off and on all year but hopefully we have got it figured out,” said Armendariz following qualifying. “Hopefully we get some points, and catch up. I’d like to still go for the championship. I’m stoked out because Vance and Hines is out here, ERL is out here and it is an honor to be out here at Indy.”

In the Modified class Rau only got his 99 Eclipse down the track once during the three rounds of qualifying but that was still good enough to place him top of the pack. He posted a pass of 7.186 seconds at 192.08 mph.

“We had some mechanical issued and we tried to run the third run but the fuel pumps wouldn’t turn on,” stated Rau. “I’ve been to five NHRA races this year and have qualified No. 1 all five times. There have been six races but I had to miss one for personal matters and I’m pretty proud of my qualifying. I would have liked to gotten another lap today but that is how it is.”

Personett took his Titan Motorsports 2007 Scion tC to the top spot during the first round of qualifying with a blistering pass of 6.726 seconds at 206.39 mph. This is the fifth time for him to go into Sunday atop the leader board.

“Not bad since we’ve had a tough couple of weeks and been kicked in the face with small problems and crashing a car at one event,” he said. “We had a different set up and had it on easy and cruised but we are confident going into tomorrow. We will just try to go from A to B and go from there.”

Opening ceremonies for final eliminations will begin at 1:00 p. m. at the start line with racing beginning at 1:30 P. M.

***

CLERMONT, Ind. -- Results Saturday after qualifying for the Inaugural NHRA Sport Compact Nationals presented by BP at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, Seventh of 11 events in the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Drag Racing Series.

PRO RWD

1) Brad Personett, Elkhart, Ind., '08 Scion, 6.726 seconds, 206.39 mph

2) Boris Rojas, Orlando, Fla., dragster, 9.644, 104.46

3) Manny Cruz, Bronx, N.Y., '02 Cougar, (no time)

PRO FWD

1) Marty Ladwig, San Antonio, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 7.261 seconds, 199.82 mph

2) Gary Gardella, Howell, N.J., '07 Cobalt, 7.288, 201.46

3) Jason Hunt, Crofton, Md., '07 Cobalt, 7.389, 202.64

4) Christian Rado, Reading, Pa., '07 tC, 7.464, 194.55

5) Ed Bergenholtz, Tustin, Calif., '07 Mazda, 7.887, 151.22

6) Bryan Jimenez, Houston, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 7.938, 179.49

MODIFIED

1) Brent Rau, St Francis, Minn., '99 Eclipse, 7.186 seconds, 192.08 mph

2) Paul Efantis, Ijamsville, Md., '03 Solara, 7.362, 187.99

3) Steve Topletz, Dallas, Texas, '05 Celica, 7.439, 181.69

4) Dee Karagiannis, Glenwood, Md., '07 Mazda, 7.540, 172.94

5) Ken Scheepers, Flower Mound, Texas, '05 RX8, 7.820, 168.72

6) Tom Shambaugh, Chandler, Ariz., '04 Cavalier, 8.598, 175.71

HOT ROD

1) Kenny Tran, Garland, Texas, '06 tC, 7.961 seconds, 182.58 mph

2) Stephanie Eggum, Elgin, Ill., '00 Civic, 7.997, 183.39

3) James Farrer, Matawan, N.J., '06 Cobalt, 8.491, 167.49

ALL MOTOR

1) Leslie Durst-Armendariz, Long Beach, Calif., '06 tC, 9.448 seconds, 142.64 mph

2) Jeremy Lookofsky, Simi Valley, Calif., '06 Civic SI, 9.522, 138.29

3) Norris Prayoonoto, Springfield, Va., '04 Insight, 9.549, 142.45

4) Saul Salceda, Gardena, Calif., '00 Integra, 9.712, 129.87

5) Scott Kelley, Anaheim, Calif., '07 Corolla, 9.800, 136.58

6) Julie Stepan, Valencia, Calif., '06 Cobalt, 10.384, 129.01

7) Doug Parks, Fullerton, Calif., '07 3, 10.732, 105.05

8) Luke Wilson, Danville, Ind., '94 Insight, 16.071, 51.95

SPORT RWD

1) Jason Greenawalt, Hunker, Pa., '93 Nissan, 9.379 seconds, 148.30 mph

2) Ari Yallon, Garland, Texas, '93 RX7, 12.670, 86.14

SPORT FWD

1) Felix Medina, Ridgefield, PK, '92 Civic, 9.641 seconds, 156.73 mph

2) Kevin Van Natten, Belford, N.J., '04 SRT-4, 9.688, 146.67

3) Cortney Green, Taylorsville, Utah, '95 Civic, 9.698, 154.74

4) Jasen Penman, West Jordan, Utah, '93 Honda, 9.790, 159.02

5) Kyle Herrera, Kaysville, Utah, '99 Civic, 9.831, 154.97

6) Tony Palo, Roulett, Texas, '00 Acura, 9.859, 154.49

7) Joe Simpson, Mechanicsville, Md., '95 Civic, 9.919, 142.97

8) Jason Lopes, Liverpool, N.Y., '05 tC, 10.441, 145.36

9) Theodore Aagen, Newport Beach, Calif., '99 Civic, 10.836, 123.91

10) Leo Troy, Dubuque, Iowa, '90 Civic, 11.396, 140.84

STREET STOCK

1) Loan Nguyen, Burke, Va., '99 Civic, 12.194 seconds, 114.21 mph

QUICK 16

1) Ryan Smith, Somers, Conn., '92 Civic, 10.584 seconds, 138.09 mph

2) Karl Martin, Riverton, Utah, '93 RX7, 11.207, 126.32

3) Erica Nocita, Monrovia, Calif., '05 Cobalt, 11.220, 121.19

4) Marty Salerno, Carol Stream, Ill., '63 Ghia, 11.517, 117.55

5) Brian Afflerbach, Zionsville, Pa., '95 Acura, 11.904, 116.01

6) Joe Demaree, Whitestown, Ind., '93 Civic, 12.057, 120.36