Saturday Results-NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Event-Darlingt on Int'l Dragway-Darlington, SC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - NHRA SOUTHEAST DIVISION
DARLINGTON INTERNATIONAL DRAGWAY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2002

Haley and Payne blast to top spots at inaugural Darlington Int'l Dragway
DARLINGTON, S.C. - In the final rounds of qualifying at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event being held at Darlington International Dragway, John Haley and Jay Payne are leading their respective fields.
	In Top Alcohol Dragster, St. Louise, Minn., driver John Haley rocketed to his third pole in as many races in NHRA's Southeast Division, when he laid down a 5.423 second pass at 257.21 mph to nab the No. 1 spot in the class. 2002 has been a dream season for rookie driver Haley, who has a pair of runner-ups and a win in Southeast Division, as well as a national event win at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. In the opening round Haley will face national championship contender Duane Shields of Las Vegas, Nev.
	In Top Alcohol Funny Car, defending Southeast Division Champion Jay Payne qualified his '02 Camaro in the top spot with a pass of 5.702 seconds at 251.48. In the opening round of competition Payne will have a competition bye. Points leader Von Smith of Oak Ridge, Tenn., will face Micky Ferro of Stanford, Conn.  	
In Comp Eliminator, Richard Larsen of Tyrone, Ga., piloted his dragster to top spot with a run of 7.116 seconds, to take the pole in the class. Qualified in the second spot is the dragster of Brain Browell, of Lafayette, Ind. He's followed by the Chevy S-10 truck of Doug Harris of Millville, N.J.   
The top spot in Super Stock went to Jacksonville, Fla., runner Glen Mace. Mace is followed by Everett Hill of Fayetteville, Ga., and Tim Worner of Duncannon, Pa.  	
In Stock, Steve Haulman of Navarre, Fla., earned the No. 1 spot behind the wheel of his '85 Camaro. Qualified second is Tallahassee, Fla., racer Brandon Wood with his '85 Camaro. Tom Hemmingson of Concord, N.C., is qualified third.
In John Bleakley Motorhomes Top Sportsman, Jack Nunez of Daytona Beach, Fla., qualified his '63 Corvette in the top spot with a 6.866 second pass at 196.12 mph. Trailing Nunez in the No. 2 spot is the '97 Avenger of Robert Sellers of Bunnell, Fla. Taking the third spot is Jeffery Lynn Rudisill of Rutherford College, N.C., in his '92 Trans Am. 
Gates at Darlington International Dragway will open tomorrow at 9 a.m., with eliminations set to continue at noon. The opening rounds of eliminations for Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
The price for admission on Sunday is $15. Children 12 and under are admitted free with a paid adult. All tickets include a pit pass. For more information please call Darlington International Dragway at (843) 332-0123 or visit them on the web at www.darlingtondragway.com
The following are Saturday's qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Darlington International Dragway:

Top Alcohol Dragster
1) John Haley, St. Louise, Minn., 5.423 seconds, 257.21 mph
2) Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., 5.488, 256.41
3) Fran Monaghan, Meadowbrook, Pa., 5.498, 253.23
4) Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., 5.522, 253.23
5) Richard Bourke, Old Tappan, N.J., 5.577, 253.02
6) Billy Gibson, Chaptico, Md., 5.579, 252.31
7) Tim Rudy, Mason, Ohio, 5.622, 239.68
8) Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Nev., 5.691, 237.40
Not Qualified
9) Steve Cantrell, Wilmington, Del., 5.722, 246.77
10)Gary Ward, Cincinnati, Ohio, 5.832, 202.52
11)Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.902, 232.43 
12)Bruce Horner, Bergenfield, N.J., 11.970, 63.70
13)Guy Kelly, Wadley, Ala., DQ
14)Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., DQ
First Round Parings
1) John Haley, St. Louise, Minn., vs. 8) Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Nev.
2) Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., vs. 7) Tim Rudy, Mason, Ohio
3) Fran Monaghan, Meadowbrook, Pa., vs. 6) Billy Gibson, Chaptico, Md., 5.579, 252.31
4) Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., vs. 5) Richard Bourke, Old Tappan, N.J.

Top Alcohol Funny Car
1) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.702 seconds, 251.60 mph
2) Steve Harker, Brisbane, Australia, '99 Avenger, 5.801, 246.37
3) Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., '01 Firebird, 5.852, 248.96
4) Micky Ferro, Stanford, Conn., '98 Avenger, 5.921, 239.61
5) Craig English, Mount Holly, N.J., '98 Mustang, 5.927, 236.65 
First Round Pairings
1) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Camaro vs. BYE
2) Steve Harker, Brisbane, Australia, '99 Avenger vs. 5) Craig English, Mount Holly, N.J., '98 Mustang
3) Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., '01 Firebird, vs. 4) Micky Ferro, Stanford, Conn., '98 Avenger

Comp Eliminator  
1) Richard Larsen, Tyrone, Ga., A/ND, '02 Dragster, 7.116, -0.674 (under index)
2) Brian Browell, Lafayette, Ind., D/D, '97 Dragster, 7.280, -0.600
3) Doug Harris, Millville, N.J., PST/A, '02 S-10, 7.721, -0.579
4) Tim Freeman, Roan Mountain, Tenn., H/SM, '92 Camaro, 9.207, -0.573
5) Steve Ambrose, Woodhaven, Mich., J/AA, '23 Ford, 7.909, -0.571
6) Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Tenn., B/SM, '98 Grand Am, 8.283, -0.557
7) Kevin Houghtaling, Ashland, Va., F/SM, '91 Calais, 9.006, -0.544
8) Scott Tidwell, Pinson, Ala., C/A, '02 Grand Am, 7.529,  -0.541
9) David Eaton, Merritt Island, Fla., A/AP, '32 Bantam, 7.002, -0.528
10)Michael Hardee, Wilmington, N.C., E/SMA, '98 Grand Am, 8.903, -0.517

Super Stock 
1) Glenn Mace, Jacksonville, Fla., SS/JA, '84 Pontiac, 9.979 seconds, -1.321 (under index)  
2) Everett Hill, Fayetteville, Ga., SS/M, '64 Grand Am, 10.714, -1.186 
3) Tim Worner, Duncannon, Pa., GT/JA, '88 Cutlass, 10.640, -1.010
4) Wayne Hayes, Elgin, S.C., SS/OA, '56 Chevy, 11.596, -1.004
5) Andy Fogle, Norway, S.C., SS/HA, '67 Camaro, 9.899, -1.001
6) Blair Patrick, Jasper, Tenn., SS/FA, '68 Mustang, 9.759, -0.991
7) Ronnie Courtney, Johnston, S.C., GT/F, '80 Sunbird, 9.919, -0.981
8) Richard Diorio, East Brunswick, N.J, SS/PA, '55 Bel Air, 12.001, -0.949
9) James Sharron, Greensboro, N.C., GT/CA, '87 Camaro, 9.787, -0.913
10)Bruce Campbell, Waynesville, N.C., GT/HA, '88 Firebird, 10.458, -0.892

Stock 
1) Steve Haulman, Navarre, Fla., K/S, '85 Camaro, 11.418 seconds, -1.464 (under index)
2) Brandon Wood, Tallahassee, Fla., K/SA, '85 Camaro, 11.789, -1.161
3) Tom Hemmingson, Concord, N.C., L/S, '66 Chevelle, 11.872, -1.128
4) Sterling Simmons, Midlothian, Va., D/SA, '97 Camaro, 10.755, -1.095
5) Bud Rowe, Bridgeton, N.C., O/SA, '87 Trans Am, 12.405, -1.045
6) Bruce Noland, Leesburg, Va., I/SA, '72 Camaro, 11.573, -1.027
7) Jeff McKinney, Carroll, Ohio, E/SA, '97 Firebird, 10.985, -1.015
8) Robert Shaw, Douglasville, Ga., O/SA, '83 Malibu, 12.436, -1.014
9) Jason Line, Terrell, N.C., '70 Gran Sport, D/SA, 10.870, -0.980
10)Mark Lewis, Inman, S.C., J/SA, '73 Nova, 11.774, -0.976

John Bleakley Motorhomes Top Sportsman 
1) Jack Nunez, Daytona Beach, Fla., '63 Corvette, 6.866 seconds, 196.12 mph
2) Robert Sellers, Bunnell, Fla., '97 Avenger, 7.002,195.95
3) Jeffery Lynn Rudisill, Rutherford College, N.C., '92 Trans Am, 7.004, 200.17
4) Ronnie Davis, Lilburn, Ga., '63 Corvette, 7.014, 199.29
5) Will Roberson, Williston, S.C., '57 Bel Air  7.051, 192.76
6) Toney Russell, Ardmore, Ala., '55 Normad, 7.109, 185.14
7) Sandy Wilkins, Faquay Varina, N.C, '01 Camaro, 7.171, 188.67
8) Billy Vaughn, Knoxville, Tenn., '84 Beretta, 7.233, 190.75
9) Dave Saul, Winter Park, Fla., '93 Beretta, 7.261, 180.32
10) Jeffery Pittman, Conover, N.C., '68 Chevelle, 7.274, 185.79