Saturday Results from NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Event-Orl ando, Fla.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - NHRA SOUTHEAST DIVISION ORLANDO SPEED WORLD DRAGWAY SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2002 SMITH AND GALLANT GRAB TOP SPOTS AT NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES EVENT IN ORLANDO ORLANDO, Fla. - In the final rounds of qualifying at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Event being held at Orlando Speed World Dragway, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Art Gallant and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Von Smith lead their fields. Fresh off a win two weeks ago at Gainesville Raceway, Gallant of Boxboro, Mass., clicked off a 5.508-second pass at a 227.44-mph. The current Southeast Division points leader will face defending Southeast Division Champion Michael Gunderson in tomorrows opening round. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Von Smith of Oak Ridge, Tenn., looks to have regained some of his winning form. Smith, who is sure to be a Southeast Division Championship contender this year recorded a 5.950-seconds pass at 238.91 mph to gain the top spot. Plagued by problems throughout qualifying, defending Southeast Division Champion Jay Payne, qualified in the 7th spot and will face, Todd Veney in the opening round. Top qualifiers in other classes are Jeff Taylor of Lumberton, N.C., in Competition Eliminator; Charlie Westcott of Parma, Mich., in Super Stock; and Art Leong of Brooklyn, N.Y. in Stock Eliminator. The gates at Orlando Speed World Dragway will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. with eliminations set to begin at 9 a.m. Eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car are schedules to begin at 1 p.m. For more information please contact Orlando Speed World Dragway at (407) 568-5522. The following are the finals qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Orlando Speed World Dragway: TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER 1. Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 5.508 seconds, 227.44 mph 2. Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., 5.621, 256.33 3. David Wells, LeMars, Iowa, 5.647, 248.96 4. Billy Gibson, Chaptico, Md., 5.758, 249.44 5. Tim Slagle, Fairfax, Va., 5.822, 255.68 6. Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 5.825, 230.59 7. Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.912, 233.40 8. Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., 5.931, 246.91 ------------ Not Qualified ------------ 9. Brooks Brown, Houston, Texas, 6.026, 207.75 10.Tony Bartone, Manhasset, N.Y., 6.185, 240.44 11.Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville, Fla., 6.598, 202.70 12.John Haley, Wayzata, Minn., 9.630, 68.69 FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS 1) Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 5.508 seconds, 227.44 mph vs. 8) Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., 5.931, 246.91 2) Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., 5.621 seconds, 256.33 mph vs. 7) Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.912, 233.40 3) David Wells, LeMars, Iowa, 5.647 seconds, 248.96 mph vs. 6) Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 5.825, 230.59 4) Billy Gibson, Chaptico, Md., 5.758 seconds, 249.44 mph vs. 5) Tim Slagle, Fairfax Va., 5.822, 255.68 TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR 1. Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., '01 Pontiac Firebird, 5.950 seconds, 238.91 mph 2. Todd Veney, Indianapolis, Ind., '98 Pontiac Firebird, 5.953, 243.30 3. Jeff Craig, Muncie, Ind., '01 Dodge RT, 6.071, 237.27 4. Mark Billington, Apopka, Fla., '01 Dodge, 6.261, 232.55 5. Greg Beckner, Chester, Va., '93 Chevy Corvette, 6.656, 190.19 6. Kim McKean, Shahola, Pa., '01 Dodge Avenger, 8.982, 143.26 7. Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Chevy Camaro, 11.364, 66.02 FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS 1) Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., '01 Pontiac Firebird, 5.950 seconds, 238.91 mph vs. BYE 2) Todd Veney, Indianapolis, Ind., '98 Pontiac Firebird, 5.953 seconds, 243.30 mph vs. 7) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Chevy Camaro, 11.364, 66.02 3) Jeff Craig, Muncie, Ind., '01 Dodge RT, 6.071 seconds, 237.27 mph vs. 6) Kim McKean, Shahola, Pa., '01 Dodge Avenger, 8.982, 143.26 4) Mark Billington, Apopka, Fla., '01 Dodge, 6.261 seconds, 232.55 mph vs. 5) Greg Beckner, Chester Va., '93 Chevy Corvette, 6.656, 190.19 COMPETITION ELIMINATOR 1. Jeff Taylor, Lumberton N.C., D/SMA,'00 Grand Am, 8.710, -0.690 (under index) 2. Scott Tidwell, Pinson, Ala., D/AA, '02 Camaro, 7.789, -0.641 3. Michael Hardee, Wilmington, N.C., E/SMA, '98 Grand Am, 8.846, -0.624 4. Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Tenn., D/SM, '98 Grand Am, 8.591, -0.619 5. Glenn Treadwell, Sorrento, Fla., E/EA, '23-T Ford, 8.527, -0.603 6. Charlie Westcott Jr., Parma, Mich., H/SM, '98 Grand Am, 9.191, -0.589 7. Mike Saye, Johnston, S.C., H/A, '92 Cutlass, 8.912, -0.588 8. Kevin Houghtaling, Ashland, Va., F/SM, '91 Calais, 9.025, -0.525 9. Bill Zaskowski, Grand Rapids, Mich., F/SM, '92 Camaro, 9.037, -0.513 10.Don Eckel, Piscataway, N.J., C/D, ProStart Dragster, 7.131, -0.499 SUPER STOCK 1. Charlie Westcott, Parma, Mich., GT/F, '98 Grand Am, 9.581, -1.319 (under index) 2. Joe Scott, Sunbury, Pa., GT/TD, '01 S-10, 10.481, -1.219 3. Chuck Gallagher, Holly, Mich., SS/AM, '94 Sunbird, 8.380, -1.170 4. Jerry Silveus, Van Buren, Ohio, GT/IA, '00 Firebird, 10.343, -1.157 5. Jerry Holman, Hendersonville, Tenn., SS/JA, '86 Firebird, 10.160, -1.140 6. Michael Tueffel, Englewood, Colo., SS/BM, '98 Grand Am, 8.586, -1.114 7. Richard Beshore, Mason, Mich., SS/AA, '68 Barracuda, 8.906, -1.094 8. Ralph Marr, Kingsland, Ga., SS/JA, '67 Corvette, 10.216, -1.084 9. Michael Volkman, Moon, Pa., GT/IA, '99 Sebring, 10.420, -1.080 10. Dan Larson, Vadnais Heights, Minn., SS/KA, '85 Camaro, 10.471, -1.079 STOCK 1. Art Leong, Brooklyn, N.Y., EF/SA, '91 Dodge, 14.372, -1.528 (under index) 2. Joey Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, D/SA, '01 Firebird, 10.437, -1.413 3. Bruce Parsons, Lewisburg, Ohio, K/SA, '85 Camaro, 11.608, -1.342 4. Bob Horgan, Tyngsboro, Mass., J/SA, '85 Camaro, 11.466, -1.284 5. Bert Morgan, Charleston, Ill., R/SA, '75 Buick Wagon, 13.067, -1.283 6. Tom Russell, E. Sparta, Ohio, D/S, '98 Firebird, 10.520, -1.280 7. Jeff Teuton, Houma, La., ET/SA, '97 Ram, 12.013, -1.237 8. John Presing, N. Haledon N.J., L/S, '68 Mustang, 11.774, -1.226 9. Greg Rowe, Bridgeton, N.C., O/SA, '87 Trans Am, 12.250, -1.200 10. Woodro Josey, Byron, Ga., D/SA, '98 Firebird, 10.655, -1.195