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NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series - Friday Qualifying from Heartland Park Topeka


NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - WEST CENTRAL DIVISION
HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA 
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2003

Lucas and Branch lead opening rounds of qualifying
TOPEKA, Kan. - NHRA's West Central Division opened its NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series this weekend at Heartland Park Topeka for their first of six events in the division.
In the opening rounds of qualifying today, Riverside, Calif., Top Alcohol Dragster driver Morgan Lucas and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Tate Branch of Artesia, N.M., lead their respective fields.    
Lucas, who has been a force to be reckoned with all year, jumped to the top of the Top Alcohol Dragster field with a pass of 5.388 seconds at 266.95 mph behind the wheel of his Lucas Oil backed dragster. Qualified closely in second is Wichita, Kan., driver Gary Cooper with a 5.391 second pass at 252.71 mph. Defending NHRA West Central Division Champion Alan Bradshaw is qualified third.  
Defending South Central Division Top Alcohol Funny Car Champion Tate Branch leads the funny cars with a 5.671 second pass at 251.11 mph. Cy Chesterman, a former West Central Division champ, ran 5.691 seconds at 253.28 mph to earn the second spot. Defending division champion, Kirk Williams of Glenwood, Iowa, is 8th. 
Leading the field in Competition Eliminator is Cypress, Texas racer Daniel Mikel. Mikel, who fields a '02 Chevy Truck, ran 8.489 seconds to earn the top qualifying position. In Super Stock, Tyler Cassil of Belton, Mo., took his '66 Chevy II to the No. 1 spot in the class. Bob Shaw of Sedalia, Mo., guided his '76 Buick to the top spot in Stock Eliminator. 
In NHRA Kerker Motorcycle Series action Mike Voss of Maplewood, Minn., rode his '97 Kawasaki to the No. 1 spot in the class. Voss earned his first win of the season less than a week ago in Dallas, Texas and no doubt will be tough to beat this weekend. 
Saturday's racing action will feature the continuation of qualifying in all classes, beginning at 8 a.m. The final qualifying sessions in Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
 For more information contact Heartland Park Topeka at (800) 437-2237 or visit them on the web at www.HPT.com. Additional event information can also be found at www.nhra.com.
The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event being held at Heartland Park Topeka:

Top Alcohol Dragster
1) Morgan Lucas, Riverside, Calif., 5.388 seconds, 266.95 mph
2) Gary Cooper, Wichita, Kan., 5.391, 252.71
3) Alan Bradshaw, Odessa, Texas, 5.414, 263.62
4) Gene Snow, Fort Worth, Texas, 5.428, 259.26
5) David Wells, LeMars, Iowa, 5.454, 261.52
6) Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.502, 258.22
7) Bruce Bowler, Denver, Colo., 5.587, 254.42
8) Bob Perkins, Bluffdale, Utah, 5.783, 219.26
Not Qualified
9) Larry Traugott, Woodward, Okla., 5.801, 246.98
10) Ed Schmeeckle, Gothenburg, Neb., 6.255, 251.49
11) Robin Samsel, Marion, Ind., 12.100, 64.09

Top Alcohol Funny Car
1) Tate Branch, Artesia, N.M., '03 Camaro, 5.671 seconds, 251.11 mph
2) Cy Chesterman, Sioux City, Iowa, '03 Trans Am, 5.691, 253.28
3) Dale Brand, Sully, Iowa, '03 Firebird, 5.786, 246.93
4) Thomas Frickenschmidt, Lockwood, Mo., '00 Firebird, 5.919, 243.59
5) Shawn Jones, Albuquerque, N.M., '02 Camaro, 6.200, 236.34
6) Kurt Prososki, Bellveue, Neb., '99 Firebird, 6.266, 225.71
7) Gage Chaffee, Big Lake, Minn., '02 Corvette, 6.430, 230.45
8) Kirk Williams, Glenwood, Iowa, '98 Firebird, 6.682, 151.53
Not Qualified
9) Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla., '00 Camaro, 7.119, 137.50
10) Kevin Richardson, Winnipeg, Manit., '98 Firebird, 8.162, 119.46
11) Vern Moats, Des Moines, Iowa, '02 Firebird, 10.970, 77.41

Competition Eliminator
1) Daniel Mikel, Cypress, Texas, '02 S-10, B/TA, 8.489 seconds, -0.631 (under index)
2) Mike Nahan, Sartell, Minn., Tuttle, E/D, 7.596, -0.604
3) Frank Parks, Burlingame, Kan., N&P, A/ND, 7.156, -0.584
4) Jeff Perrella, Hibbing, Minn., '32 Bantam, A/EA, 7.454, -0.576
5) Scott Brown, Odessa, Mo., '34 Chevy, B/SR, 8.037, -0.573
6) Clint Sallee, Glendive, Mont., Fritz, B/D, 6.866, -0.534
7) Sean Dodd, Lewisville, Texas, '01 Camaro, D/AA, 7.830, -0.530
8) Brad Klein, Amarillo, Texas, '03 Cavalier, B/A, 7.271, -0.529
9) Bob Yonke, Burleson, Texas, '02 Cavalier, C/A, 7.490, -0.510

Super Stock
1) Tyler Cassil, Belton, Mo., '66 Chevy II, SS/K, 10.162 seconds, -1.138 (under index)
2) Rick Ryan, Aberdeen, S.D., '88 Cutlass, SS/NA, 11.335, -1.115
3) Dan Larson, St Paul, Minn., '85 Camaro, SS/KA, 10.512, -1.038
4) Michael Tueffel, Centenial, Colo., '98 Pontiac, SS/BM, 8.666, -1.034
5) Chad Guilford, Highlands Ranch, Colo., '84 Cougar, GT/EA, 9.920, -1.030
6) Ted Romero, Denver, Colo., '98 Grand Am, GT/JA, 10.642, -1.008
7) Ron Taylor, Lincoln, Neb., '57 Chevy, SS/MA, 11.172, -0.978
8) Gene Bichlmeier, Norkfolk, Neb., '66 Chevy II, SS/K, 10.357, -0.943
9) Larry Schmidt, Grand Island, Neb., '55 Bel Air, SS/PA, 12.015, -0.935
10) Tom Meyer, Pierce, Neb., '66 Chevy II, SS/LA, 10.826, -0.924

Stock Eliminator
1) Bob Shaw, Sedalia, Mo., '78 Buick, V/SA, 14.615 seconds, -1.185 (under index)
2) Keith Lynch, Mt Ayr, Iowa, '70 Nova, B/SA, 10.378, -1.172
3) Tim Ketels, Waterloo, Iowa, '71 Nova, I/SA, 11.486, -1.114
4) Jack Briner, Waterloo, Iowa, '85 Camaro, I/SA, 11.526, -1.074
5) Daniel Jeska, Eagan, Minn., '72 Duster, G/SA, 11.237, -1.063
6) Mike Wenke, Conway Springs, Kan., '69 Mustang, B/SA, 10.502, -1.048
7) Scott Burton, Golden, Colo., '72 Firebird, F/SA, 11.106, -1.044
8) Steve Couch, Sidney, Neb., '00 Dakota, DT/SA, 11.966, -1.034
9) Bob Johnson, Aurora, Colo., '67 Mustang, E/SA, 11.017, -0.983
10) Dirk Olson, LaCrosse, Wis., '69 Nova, B/S, 10.520, -0.980

NHRA Kerker Motorcycle Series
1) Mike Voss, Maplewood, Minn., '97 Kawasaki, 0.000 seconds, 141.43 mph
2) Ken Niesen, Brooklyn, Minn., '82 Suzuki, 0.001, 136.69
3) Dale Detlie, Owantonna, Minn., '83 Suzuki, 0.001, 150.66
4) Tom Gilligan, Fremont, Neb., '79 Kawasaki, 0.003, 138.22
5) Tony Webster, Topeka, Kan., '93 Kawasaki, 0.003, 143.81
6) Carl Lewis, Topeka, Kan., '99 GXSR, 0.003, 175.16
7) Jeff Lanoue, Zimmerman, Minn., '00 Kawasaki, 0.004, 159.57
8) JP Smith, Topeka, Kan., '86 Yamaha, 0.005, 128.90