NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Results for Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ
NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - NHRA NORTHEAST DIVISION CECIL COUNTY DRAGWAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2003 Jersey Boys DeAngelis and Manzo get delayed Englishtown wins RISING SUN, Md. - In the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event originally scheduled to conclude August 10 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., Top Alcohol Dragster driver Dave DeAngelis and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Frank Manzo both won in their respective fields. In Top Alcohol Dragster, De Angelis of Middlesex, N.J., defeated Fran Monaghan Jr., of Meadowbrook, Pa., with a time of 5.615 seconds at 250.23 mph, to earn his first ever Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series win. "When I realized I was out on him, I thought I'd red-lighted," said DeAngelis. "I didn't even know I'd won until my crew and family started to congratulate me. I still can't believe it," added a smiling DeAngelis. On his road to the final, De Angelis eliminated No. 1 qualifier Rich McPhillips before then receiving a bye in the semifinals after current Northeast Division points leader Doug Foley, broke. Monaghan, who already has appeared in two finals this year, defeated defending National Champion Arthur Gallant in Round 1 and Atco Raceway winner Mike Kosky in the semifinals. The final in Top Alcohol Funny Car featured two familiar faces on the NHRA Northeast Division tour, reining national champ Frank Manzo of Morganville, N.J., and Schenectady, N.Y., racer Bob Newberry. Manzo, the defending race champion, opened eliminations by defeating class newcomer, Dan Pomponio of Berlin, N.J., before then taking out former North Central Division runner, Todd Veney of Indianapolis, Ind., in the semifinals. In his opening round contest, Newberry defeated Holbrook, Mass., racer Fred Tigges. In the semifinals, Newberry took out Whiteford, Md., racer Darrell Cox. After breaking some parts in the opening round of qualifying for the Cecil County Lucas Oil event, Newberry was unable to return for the final, giving the automatic win to Manzo, who thundered to a 5.651 second pass at 255.58 mph on his single run. "It's unfortunate that Bob was not able to return for the final. I would have liked to have given the fans a good race to watch, but we're still very happy to have won. It was important for us to get this win in order to stay in the points chase," said Manzo. In Competition Eliminator, Sal Biondo captured his second win of the year in the class, when he defeated Tom Ciccarone Jr. Ciccarone, who made is debut in Competition Eliminator at Englishtown, won this event last year in Super Comp. In the final, Biondo, of Maspeth, N.Y., defeated Ciccarone of West Chester, Pa., with a time of 8.472 seconds at 147.01 mph. This win helps Biondo in his bid for the NHRA Northeast Division Championship. Prior to today's win Biondo was trailing former division champ Frank Aragona, Jr., for the points lead. In Super Stock, Angelo Ditocco of Mahopac, N.Y., claimed his first win of the year over fellow New Yorker, Billy Leber Jr., of Tonawanda. In the final, Ditocco ran 10.067 at 122.34 to defeat Leber who ran 9.220 seconds at 140.69 mph. In Stock Eliminator, Marty Bernard of Brewerton, N.Y., spoiled Sal Biondo's chances of winning two Stock titles in a row when he defeated the Maspeth, N.Y., racer in the final. Biondo, who also won today in Competition Eliminator over Tom Ciccarone Jr., ran 11.872 seconds at 111.22, to Bernard's winning pass of 12.329 seconds at 105.23 mph. In Super Comp, Scott Albrecht of Sewaren, N.J., became the fifth different winner in the class this year when he defeated U.S. 13 Dragway winner John Martin of Columbus, N.J., in the class final. In Super Gas, defending division champ Tom Stalba Jr., won his first NHRA Northeast Division event of the year over Englishtown national event winner Jim Smulligan of Coopersburg, Pa. In the final Stalba, of Williamstown, N.J., ran 9.910 seconds at 151.22 mph to Smulligan's 9.859 second pass at 148.72 mph, to take the win. Taking the win in Super Street was Robbie Welsh of Mechanicsville, Md. In the final Welsh defeated defending NHRA Northeast Division Super Street champ Michael Sawyer of Acton, Mass. The next NHRA Northeast Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event will take this weekend at Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun, Md. For more information on the event please contact Cecil County Dragway at (410) 287-6280 or on the web at www.CecilCountyDragway.com. The following are the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, concluded Saturday, August 23, 2003 at Cecil County Dragway, Rising Sun, Md.,: TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER Round 1 2) Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa., 5.495, 257.33 def. 7) Steven Cantrell, Wilmington, Del., 5.737, 248.20 8) David De Angelis, Middlesex, N.J., 5.628, 253.66 def. 1) Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville, Pa., 5.605, 251.44 6) Fran Monaghan Jr., Meadowbrook, Pa., 5.575, 251.39 def. 3) Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 6.032, 179.83 4) Douglas Foley, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., 5.700, 240.64 def. 5) Richard Bourke, Old Tappan, N.J., 5.706, 245.99 Semifinals De Angelis, broke def. Foley, broke Monaghan Jr., 5.541, 252.28 def. Kosky, 5.547, 256.89 Final De Angelis, 5.615, 250.23 def. Monaghan Jr., 6.181, 255.00. TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR Round 1 4) Todd Veney, Indianapolis, Ind., Dodge Avenger, 5.787, 251.58 def. 5) Eric Lourie, Terryville, Conn., Chevy Camaro, 5.886, 242.84 9) Darrel Cox, Whiteford, Md., Pontiac Firebird, 6.088, 225.63 def. 3) Paul Gill, Brockton, Mass., Avenger, 6.535, 185.59 2) Bob Newberry, Schenectady, N.Y., Camaro, 5.753, 249.63 def. 7) Fred Tigges, Holbrook, Mass., Camaro, 5.908, 247.25 1) Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J., Firebird, 5.687, 256.89 def. 8) Dan Pomponio, Berlin, N.J., Camaro, 6.267, 227.69 Semifinals Newberry, 5.709, 251.44 def. Cox, foul Manzo, 5.681, 257.48 def. Veney, 5.817, 250.74 Final Manzo, 5.651, 255.58 def. Newberry, broke. COMPETITION ELIMINATOR Sal Biondo, Maspeth, N.Y., '93 Beretta, D/EA, 8.472, 147.01 def. Tommy Ciccarone Jr., West Chester, Pa., '03 Cavalier, D/SMA, 8.802, 153.67. SUPER STOCK Angelo Ditocco, Mahopac, N.Y., '02 Firebird, GT/FA, 10.067, 122.34 def. Bill Leber Jr., Tonawanda, N.Y., '03 S-10, SS/TB, 9.220, 140.69. STOCK ELIMINATOR Marty Bernard, Brewerton, N.Y., '66 Biscayne, O/SA, 12.329, 105.23 def. Sal Biondo, Maspeth, N.Y., '78 Firebird, J/SA, 11.872, 111.22. SUPER COMP Scott Albrecht, Sewaren, N.J., Dragster, 9.853, 108.92 def. John Martin, Columbus, N.J., Dragster, 15.667, 75.21. SUPER GAS Thomas Stalba Jr., Williamstown, N.J., '63 Corvette, 9.910, 151.22 def. Jim Smulligan, Coopersburg, Pa., '03 Corvette, 9.859, 148.72. SUPER STREET Robbie Welch, Mechanicsville, Md., '66 Fairlane, 10.969, 115.65 def. Michael Sawyer, Acton, Mass., '67 Camaro, 11.485, 106.14.