NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Saturday at Thunder Valley Raceway Park, Noble, Okla.

NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION
THUNDER VALLEY RACEWAY PARK - NOBLE, OKLA.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2003

HOWARD, GORDON STAY ON TOP AT THUNDER VALLEY RACEWAY PARK

	NOBLE, Okla. - In the final rounds of qualifying at Thunder Valley Raceway Park, Shelly Howard and Doug Gordon remained at the top of their classes.  Howard, of Tulsa, Okla., covered the quarter mile in 5.426 seconds at 259.74 mph yesterday, easily securing the number one position for Top Alcohol Dragster.  Gordon continued to lead the field in Top Alcohol Funny Car with a 5.746-second, 250.76-mph pass. Gordon, who traveled from Paso Robles, Calif., to compete in this weekend’s race, also set a new track record in his category.

In other categories, Rodger Brogdon, of Tomball, Texas, was the top qualifier in Competition Eliminator, while Bobby Dennis, of Shorter, Ala., led the field in Super Stock.  Robert Shaw outran the competition to take the top position in Stock Eliminator, and Earle Folse took the number one spot in Top Sportsman.

More than 550 cars came out to participate in the Thunder Valley Autumn Classic, which continues tomorrow at 9 a.m.  Round one eliminations for the highly anticipated Kerker King of the Coast motorcycle competition are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.  Gates open at 8 a.m.  Admission is $20 for adults, children 6-12 are $5, and under 6 are free.  For more information, call Thunder Valley Raceway Park at (405) 872-3429, or NHRA at (626) 688-9714.

The following are Saturday's final qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, South Central Division event at Thunder Valley Raceway Park:

Top Alcohol Dragster
1) Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.426 seconds, 259.74 mph
2) David Wells, LeMars, Iowa, 5.475, 260.19
3) Gene Snow, Fort Worth, Texas, 5.492, 239.36
4) Steve Federlin, Oregon City, Ore., 5.510, 258.17
5) Lee Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.516, 256.55
6) Karl Brounkowski, Magnolia, Texas, 5.555, 259.51
7) Bob Perkins, Bluffdale, Utah, 5.568, 252.88
8) James Thompson, Vernon, Texas, 5.569, 257.65
Not Qualified
9) James Copeland II, Red Oak, Texas, 5.577, 258.10
10) Ed Schmeeckle, Gothenburg, Neb., 5.591, 253.95
11) Scott Murray, Winnipeg, Manit., 5.627, 232.31
12) Larry Traugott, Woodward, Okla., 5.633, 246.71
13) Mike Bowers, Plano, Texas, 5.647, 239.04
14) Chris Ricketts, N. Kansas City, Mo., 5.648, 245.36
15) Darryl Hitchman, Hanford, Calif., 5.772, 255.02
16) Brandon Pierce, Moore, Okla., 5.875, 216.39
17) Brian Ratliff, Hulbert, Okla., 6.015, 224.55
18) Larry Becktold, Luther, Okla., 6.093, 238.72
19) Gary Cooper, Wichita, Kan., 6.108, 180.25

TAD pairings
1) Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.426 seconds, 259.74 mph vs. 8) James Thompson, Vernon, Texas, 5.569, 257.65
2) David Wells, LeMars, Iowa, 5.475, 260.19 vs. 7) Bob Perkins, Bluffdale, Utah, 5.568, 252.88
3) Gene Snow, Fort Worth, Texas, 5.492, 239.36 vs. 6) Karl Brounkowski, Magnolia, Texas, 5.555, 259.51
4) Steve Federlin, Oregon City, Ore., 5.510, 258.17 vs. 5) Lee Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.516, 256.55

Top Alcohol Funny Car
1) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.746 seconds, 250.76 mph
2) Tate Branch, Artesia, N.M., '03 Camaro, 5.796, 247.79
3) Robert Lee, Whittier, Calif., '03 Camaro, 5.842, 248.61
4) Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla., '00 Camaro, 5.854, 250.13
5) Ron Morrison, Oklahoma City, Okla., '97 Camaro, 6.117, 236.46
6) Eddie McDow, Waco, Texas, '00 Camaro, 6.191, 237.27
7) Bob Alberty, Muskogee, Okla., '97 Firebird, 6.230, 234.80
8) Kebin Kinsley, Kennedale, Texas, '98 Achieva, 6.230, 185.60
Not Qualified
9) Ron Rice, Oklahoma City, Okla., '96 Daytona, 7.093, 151.23

TAFC pairings
1) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.746 seconds, 250.76 mph vs. 8) Kebin Kinsley, Kennedale, Texas, '98 Achieva, 6.230, 185.60
2) Tate Branch, Artesia, N.M., '03 Camaro, 5.796, 247.79 vs. 7) Bob Alberty, Muskogee, Okla., '97 Firebird, 6.230, 234.80
3) Robert Lee, Whittier, Calif., '03 Camaro, 5.842, 248.61 vs. 6) Eddie McDow, Waco, Texas, '00 Camaro, 6.191, 237.27
4) Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla., '00 Camaro, 5.854, 250.13 vs. 5) Ron Morrison, Oklahoma City, Okla., '97 Camaro, 6.117, 236.46

Competition Eliminator
1) Rodger Brogdon, Tomball, Texas, '03 Cavalier, A/SMA, 8.083 seconds, -0.617 (under index)
2) Mike Trumble, Pasadena, Texas, '03 Sunfire, A/SMA, 8.127, -0.573
3) Michael Park, Norman, Okla., '03 Cavalier, D/SMA, 8.669, -0.571
4) Mike Johnson, Springdale, Ark., '03 Cavalier, F/SMA, 8.988, -0.562
5) Jeff Miller, Pearland, Texas, '99 Grand Am, C/SMA, 8.449, -0.551
6) Robert Freeman, Oklahoma City, Okla., '34 Chevy, B/SR, 8.053, 
-0.547
7) Adam Bowdish, Oregon City, Ore., '89 Trans Am, F/SM, 8.967, -0.533
8) Pete Carbery, Odessa, Texas, '02 Cavalier, B/A, 7.250, -0.530
9) Buddy Nickens, Hempstead, Texas, '02 S-10, B/TA, 8.507, -0.513
10) Brian Self, Hempstead, Texas, '02 S-10, PST, 7.594, -0.506

Super Stock
1)	Bobby Dennis, Shorter, Ala., '95 Achieva, GT/KA, 10.469 seconds, 
-1.281 (under index)
2) Buz Post, Arlington, Texas, '02 Grand Am, SS/AM, 8.363, -1.187
3) Robert Cruzen, Cleveland, Okla., '03 S-10, GT/TC, 10.321, -1.079
4) Kevin Helms, Mineola, Texas, '97 Achieva, GT/MA, 10.994, -1.056
5) Tim Cole, Collierville, Tenn., '96 Corvette, SS/AX, 8.847, -1.053
6) Shaun LeBlanc, Bartlett, Tenn., '88 Mustang, GT/A, 9.287, -1.013
7) Gary Emmons, Pasedena, Texas, '96 Firebird, SS/JA, 10.326, -0.974
8) Chad Guilford, Highlands Ranch, Colo., '84 Cougar, GT/EA, 9.993, 
-0.957
9) Fred Henson, Madisonville, Texas, '68 Dart, SS/AA, 9.059, -0.941
10) Don O'Malley, Decatur, Ill., '64 Corvette, SS/KA, 10.611, -0.939

Stock Eliminator
1) Robert Shaw, Sedalia, Mo., '78 Buick, V/SA, 14.538 seconds, -1.262 (under index)
2) Floyd Russo, Gonzales, La., '01 Firebird, B/FIA, 10.517, -1.183
3) R.J. Sledge, Boerne, Texas, '67 Fairlane, F/SA, 11.095, -1.055
4) Bill Nelson, Tucson, Ariz., '02 Pontiac, I/FIA, 12.734, -1.016
5) Mike Wenke, Conway Springs, Kan., '69 Mustang, B/SA, 10.555, -0.995
6) Austin Ford, Spring, Texas, '67 Shelby, D/SA, 10.858, -0.992
7) Mike Cotten, Broken Arrow, Okla., '73 Duster, H/SA, 11.467, -0.983
8) Harry Doolittle, Hillsdale, Mich., '01 Firebird, H/FIA, 12.472, 
-0.978
9) Fred Suiter, Defiance, Mo., '69 Camaro, B/SA, 10.573, -0.977
10) Marty Woffard, Gore, Okla., '66 Nova SS, J/S, 11.680, -0.970

Top Sportsman
1) Earle Folse, Raceland, La., '86 Cutlass, 7.213 seconds, 192.26 mph
2) T.J. Tracey, Bartlett, Tenn., '63 Corvette, 7.365, 189.99
3) Phillip Muse, Tomball, Texas, '92 Trans Am, 7.369, 184.08
4) Allen Firestone, Velma, Okla., '01 S-10, 7.375, 182.33
5) Keith Raferty, Lake Charles, La., '00 Dodge, 7.435, 182.37
6) Rickey Cate, Grand Saline, Texas, '67 Chevy II, 7.467, 181.19
7) Bert Prejean, St. Amant, La., '00 Firebird, 7.473, 184.16
8) Scott Randall, Carrollton, Texas, '00 Firebird, 7.589, 181.67
9) Keith Sasich, Highland Village, Texas, '00 Firebird, 7.683, 179.67
10) David Hensley, Norman, Okla., '89 Pontiac, 7.715, 178.85

Kerker Motorcycle
1) Chris LeBouef, Lafayette, La., '85 Suzuki, KMC, 0.001 seconds reaction time
2) Donnie Durenberger, Dayton, Minn., '93 Suzuki, KMC, 0.001
3) Brian Johnson, Burns Township, Minn., '00 Suzuki, KMC, 0.002
4) James Roberts, Bentley, Kan., '87 Suzuki, KMC, 0.002
5) Lisa Bennett, Plano, Texas, '84 Suzuki, KMC, 0.004
6) Shane Eperjesi, Lake Dallas, Texas, '88 Suzuki, KMC, 0.007
7) William H. Keele Jr., San Antonio, Texas, '82 Kawasaki, KMC, 0.009
8) Jerry Pomilla, Conroe, Texas, '86 Suzuki, KMC, 0.010
9) Tom Gilligan, Fremont, Neb., '79 Suzuki, KMC, 0.012
10) Eddie Glaze, Bellaire, Texas, '90 Suzuki, KMC, 0.014

Kerker King of the Coast Shootout
1)	William Keele Jr., San Antonio, Texas, '82 Kawasaki, KMC
2)	Curtis Spracklin, Omaha, Neb., '78 Kawasaki, KMC
3) Tracy Hemhold, Morrison, Colo., KMC
4) Tom Gilligan, Fremont, Neb., '79 Kawasaki, KMC
5) Lisa Bennett, Plano, Texas, Suzuki, KMC 
6) Brian Johnson, Ramsey, Minn., '02 GSXR, KMC
7) Chris LeBouef, Lafayette, La., '85 Suzuki, KMC
8) Larry Eperjesi, Lake Dallas, Texas, '00 Koenig, KMC