NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series-Final results from Bradenton Motorsports Park
NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - SOUTHEAST DIVISION BRADENTON MOTORSPORTS PARK, BRADENTON, FLA. Monday, February 19, 2007 FINKE, NOTHSTEIN OPEN NHRA LUCAS OIL SEASON WITH WINS IN BRADENTON
BRADENTON, Fla. - It was a day later than scheduled but the season opener of the NHRA Southeast division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, which kicked off Friday at Bradenton Motorsports Park, is complete. Several hours of unexpected track repairs on Sunday forced NHRA and track officials to finish up eliminations today. In the end, Top Alcohol Dragster pilot John Finke and Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Marty Nothstein were upset winners and Bradenton resident Stanley Albritton Jr. scored the win ion Top Dragster.
Finke, a Selkirk, N.Y., resident, faced reigning division champion Aaron Olivarez in the final. Finke outran the Sandy, Utah, racer with a 5.423-second, 269.05 mph pass to Olivarez's 5.439-second, 258.47 mph effort.
Nothstein, Orefield, Pa., took on Jay Payne of Claremont, Calif., in the final round. Nothstein made a 5.627-second, 256.92 mph pass to take the win over Payne's 9.705-second, 90.71 mph run. For Nothstein, an Olympic Gold Medal cyclist, this marked his first trip to a drag racing winner's circle.
Veteran racer Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Tenn., earned the win in Comp Eliminator over Pam Miskovosky, Quakertown, Pa. Super Stock racer Anthony Bertozzi, Ashland, Va., beat defending national champion Peter Biondo, Queens, N.Y., in the final, and Mickey Whaley, Kinston, N.C., beat Brenda Grubbs, Plant City, Fla., in Stock Eliminator. Elyria, Ohio's Dave Connolly, who also competes in the Pro Stock category in NHRA's PowerAde Drag Racing Series, scored the victory in Super Comp, beating out Scot LaMar, Hawthorne, Fla. In Super Gas, Tom Stalba, Williamstown, N.J., took the stripe from David Tatum III of Palmetto, Ga. Vinny Laudicina, Boca Raton, Fla., won in Super Street, beating Billy Italio of Knoxville, Tenn., and another Knoxville racer, Billy Vaughn, went to the winner's circle in the Top Sportsman class, beating Robert Sellers of Daytona Beach, Fla. Albritton got his win when he beat Kurt Damron Jr. of Fruitland Park, Fla., in the final round.
NHRA Southeast Division racers head to Gainesville, Fla., for the next NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, February 23-25.
The following are Monday's results for from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Bradenton Motorsports Park:
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER Round 1 (From Sunday) 1) Aaron Olivarez, Sandy, Utah, 5.526 seconds, 259.36 mph def. 9) Lindsey Wood, McAlpin, Fla., 25.744, 20.51 2) John Finke, Selkirk, N.Y., 5.845, 261.85 def. 7) Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville, Fla., 7.040, 152.15 6) Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.565, 236.90 def. 3) Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., 14.037, 52.14 4) Bill Evans, Miramar, Fla., 5.480, 264.08 def. 5) Robin Samsel, Marion, Ind., 28.700, 17.89 Semifinals Olivarez, 5.246, 269.94 def. Evans, 5.423, 264.78 Finke, 5.260, 271.73 def. Allen, 5.816, 241.93 Final Finke, 5.423, 269.05 def. Olivarez, 5.439, 258.47 TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR Round 1 (From Sunday) 1) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.547 seconds, 261.62 mph def. 8) William Fulford, Virginia Beach, Va., '02 Corvette, no show 2) Bob Newberry, Morriston, Fla., '05 Monte Carlo, 5.927, 248.61 def. 7) Bill Naves, Salisbury, N.C., '99 Avenger, 12.771, 63.83 3) Marty Nothstein, Orefield, Pa., '07 Charger, 5.645, 256.84 def. 6) John Sullivan, Montgomery, Ala., '04 Firebird, no show 5) Charles Gambino, Daytona Bch, Fla., '00 Corvette, 6.528, 224.77 def. 4) Mike Bell, Fulton, Mo., '05 Monte Carlo, 6.643, 203.11 Semifinals Payne, 5.512, 259.66 def. Gambino, no show Nothstein, 5.833, 198.85 def. Newberry, 19.951, 43.95 Final Nothstein, 5.627, 256.92 def. Payne, 9.705, 90.71 COMP ELIMINATOR Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Tenn., '05 Sunfire, B/SM, 8.138, 146.15 def. Pam Miskovosky, Quakertown, Pa., Fritz, C/DA, 7.091, 187.77 SUPER STOCK Anthony Bertozzi, Ashland, Va., '98 Grand Am, SS/BM, 9.246, 148.00 def. Peter Biondo, Maspeth, N.Y.,'07 Cobalt, SS/CM, 8.928, 146.93 STOCK ELIMINATOR Mickey Whaley, Kinston, N.C., '69 Camaro, C/SA, 10.414, 121.72 def. Brenda Grubbs, Plant City, Fla., '69 Camaro, C/SA, 10.475, 125.31 SUPER COMP Dave Connolly, Elyria, Ohio, dragster, 10.388, 99.03 def. Scot La Mar, Hawthorne, Fla., dragster, 8.911, 180.21 SUPER GAS Tom Stalba, Williamstown, N.J., '63 Corvette, 9.927, 156.30 def. David Tatum III, Palmetto, Ga., '05 Corvette, 9.923, 164.20 SUPER STREET Vinny Laudicina, Boca Raton, Fla., '83 Camaro, 10.961, 124.48 def. Billy Italio, Knoxville, Tenn., '64 Nova, 10.893, 131.02 TOP SPORTSMAN Billy Vaughn, Knoxville, Tenn., '01 S-10, 7.200, 178.60 def. Robert Sellers, Daytona Beach, Fla.,'06 Avenger, 7.124, 187.50 TOP DRAGSTER Stanley Albritton Jr., Bradenton, Fla., dragster, 7.383, 174.58 def. Kurt Damron Jr., Fruitland Park, Fla., dragster, 7.061, 176.60