NHRA Drag Racing: Import drags at Pomona
28 November 1999
CARNAGE, ACOSTA RULE AT POMONA IMPORT DRAGS
POMONA, Calif. - It was a day of broken transmissions and drive
shafts at the CSK International Finals presented by Bosch import drag race
Saturday. Competitor after competitor found the Pomona Raceway surface
offering too much bite for the highly temperamental vehicles. But when a
racer did find the correct balance between traction and performance, many
drivers recorded career-best runs.
Overshadowing the hoped-for showdown between Riverside, Calif.'s
Abel Ibarra and Brighton, U.K.'s Wayne Saunders in the Pro class, Bronx,
NY's Marcos Acosta stole the show with an 8.55-second run at 157.42 mph to
claim the pole position in the headline category. Saunders' Ford Focus
limped downtrack to an 8.66-second run, while Ibarra smoked the clutch in
his Mazda RX-7 and is unlikely to return for Sunday's eliminations.
The fiercest competition appears to be in the Outlaw 8 category
where Hempstead, NY's Craig Paisley leads the field with a 9.06-second run
in his Toyota Supra, a couple of ticks ahead of Import racing superstar
Adam Saruwatari. The Arroyo Grande, Calif., racer clocked a career-best
9.33-second lap at 146.72 mph in his Mazda RX-7.
An Eagle Talon leads the Quick 16 category as Fulton, Md.'s Sean
Glazar recorded a 9.70-second pass at 147.56 mph to claim the pole
position, ahead of Ed Bergenholtz. The Santa Ana, Calif., racer recorded a
9.75-second run at 148.41 mph for second place.
Racing resumes Sunday at 9:00 a.m. with the Quick 16 category
scheduled to begin their first round of eliminations at 11:00 a.m.
-- 30 --
Final qualifying results from the CSK International Finals presented by
Bosch at Pomona Raceway, Calif., listing driver, residence, car, elapsed
time in seconds, and speed in mph.
PRO
1. Marcos Acosta, Bronx, NY, '91 Mazda MX-3, 8.55 seconds, 157.42 mph
2. Wayne Saunders, Brighton, U.K., '99 Ford Focus, 8.66, 152.12
3. Stephan Papadakis, Huntington Beach, '99 Honda Civic, 9.44, 159.26
4. Abel Ibarra, Riverside, Calif., '98 Mazda RX-7, DNQ
5. Robert Cook, San Jose, Calif., '57 Volkswagen, DNQ
6. Kevin King, Harbor City, Calif., '71 Datsun 240Z, DNQ
OUTLAW 8
1. Craig Paisley, Hempstead, NY, '97 Toyota Supra, 9.06 seconds, 146.03 mph
2. Adam Saruwatari, Arroyo Grande, Calif., '93 Maxda RX-7, 9.33, 146.72
3. David Buschur, Wakeman, Ohio, '92 Eagle Talon, 9.71, 140.05
4. Ray Lockhead, Brentwood, Calif., '95 Maxda RX-7, 10.83, 122.00
5. Joel Yeagle, Lakewood, Colo., '78 Triumph Spitfire, 11.07, 116.55
6. Eddie Bello, Bronx, NY, '93 Porsche 911, 11.41, 138.88
7. Jose Vidal, Los Angeles, Calif., '83 Toyota Starlet, 11.42, 110.72
8. Dan Bellschweiler, Aurora, Colo., 12.04, 112.09
QUICK 16
1. Sean Glazar, Fulton, Md., '92 Eagle Talon, 9.70 seconds, 147.56 mph
2. Ed Bergenholtz, Santa Ana, Calif., '89 Honda CRX, 9.75, 148.41
3. Kenny Tran, Garland, Texas, '93 Honda Civic, 9.80, 144.39
4. Ryuhei Kida, Santa Fe Springs, Calif., '98 Honda Civic, 9.97, 149.92
5. Chris Rado, Reading, Pa., '94 Acura Integra, 10.00, 132.74
6. Russ Matusevich, Northridge, Calif., '85 Toyota Supra, 10.13, 139.08
7. Paul Umholtz, Wahiawa, Hawaii, '92 Honda Civic, 10.19, 144.18
8. Adrian Sabori, Los Angeles, Calif., '93 Honda Civic, 10.29, 138.93
9. Lisa Kubo, Rosemead, Calif., '92 Honda Hatchback, 10.31, 144.43
10. Myles Bautista, North Hollywood, Calif., '99 Acura Integra, 10.37,
140.77
11. Steve Dunn, Sherman Oaks, Calif., '82 Toyota Supra, 10.39, 139.75
12. Jensen Oda, Mililani, Hawaii, '89 Honda Civic, 10.91, 124.30
13. Kurt Gordon, Huntington Beach, Calif., '94 Honda Civic, 10.91, 131.61
14. Leevon Eisele, Quartz Hill, Calif., '98 Honda Civic, 10.98, 135.41
15. Jojo Callos, Long Beach, Calif., '94 Honda Civic, 11.06, 142.42
16. Roger Scalise, Los Angeles, Calif., '97 Honda Civic, 11.08, 131.92
STREET 8
1. Todd Chiamparino, San Carlos, Calif., '90 Mitsubishi Eclipse, 10.85,
127.64
2. Kyle Puckett, Houston, Texas, '93 Nissan 300Z, 10.88, 127.62
3. Aaron Poe, Fairfield, Ill., Nissan Conquest, 11.35, 124.75
4. Dave Jusko, Reading, Pa., '94 Toyota Supra, 11.78, 113.90
5. Scot Gray, Ontario, Calif., '94 Mitsubishi Eclipse, 11.97, 114.92
6. Ari Yallon, Garland, Texas, '93 Mazda RX-7, 12.15, 128.33
7. Cody Oliver, Sunnyvale, Calif., '93 Mazda RX-7, 12.63, 119.69
8. Glenn Kowta, Northridge, Calif., '72 Datsun 240Z, 12.64, 113.57
ALL MOTOR
1. Tony Shagday, Los Altos, Calif. '95 Acura Integra, 10.98 seconds, 122.64
mph
2. Bob Denton, Glendora, Calif. '88 Honda CRX, 11.45, 114.78
3. Rich Lumba, Woodland Hills, Calif., '88 Honda CRX, 11.86, 114.16
4. Bisi Ezerioha, Gardena, Calif., '88 Honda CRX, 11.88, 112.31
5. Jay Yuson, Northridge, Calif., '88 Honda CRX, 12.01, 110.18
6. Mike Escamilla, Cerritos, Calif., '85 Honda CRX, 12.13, 110.22
7. Erick Aguilar, Los Angeles, Calif., '94 Honda Civic, 12.41, 105.41
8. Gerardo Samayoa, Panorama City, Fla., '92 Honda Civic, 12.43, 109.02