NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series-Sunday from IRP
NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - NORTH CENTRAL DIVISION
INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK, INDIANAPOLIS
Sunday, May 18, 2003
RACING COMPLETE AT IRP; REICHERT, CHEESEMAN GRAB FIRST WINS OF THE SEASON
INDIANAPOLIS - A division record 718 cars in the North Central
division NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Indianapolis Raceway
Park were whittled down to just nine winners Sunday, including Indianapolis
racer Steve Dillman in Super Comp.
Competition in Top Alcohol Dragster saw Bill Reichert visit the winner's
circle for the first time this season, while in Top Alcohol Funny Car,
defending division champion Chuck Cheeseman earned his first win of the
year.
Reichert's team only got harder to beat as the day wore on. In the
first round of eliminations, Reichert, an Owasso, Mich., resident, defeated
Robert Badgett of Maryland Hts., Mo., with a 5.420-second, 266.58 mph pass.
In the semis, Reichert was even quicker, beating Danville, Ill., racer
Keith Stark with a 5.356-second effort at 272.61 mph. In the final round
of eliminations, Reichert faced Bill McCornack of Lexington, Ky. Reichert
made his best pass of the weekend: 5.386 seconds at 266.90 mph.
McCornack's 5.659-second, 249.95 mph run was not enough to catch Reichert.
The Top Alcohol Funny Car final was a familiar sight in the North
Central division. Galena, Ohio's, Cheeseman faced Marc White of Glendale
Hts., Ill., but Cheeseman's 5.703-second, 249.81 mph pass was enough to get
him to the finish line first. Before he could get to the final, however,
Cheeseman won the first round when Greg Elliott of Bebford, Ind.,
red-lighted, and in the semis he beat current division points leader, Jeff
Craig. Cheeseman out ran the Muncie, Ind., racer with a pass of 5.710
seconds at 249.81 mph.
Winners in the other NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes were
Mike Farrell, Louisville, Ky., in Comp Eliminator; Joe LoCicero,
Snellville, Ga., in Super Stock; Anatol Denysenko, Lyons, Ill., in Stock;
Steve Dillman, Indianapolis, in Super Comp; Barry Crane, Stouffville, Ont.,
in Super Gas; and Linn Bebout of Gambier, Ohio, in Super Street.
In the division's Top Sportsman class, which is run in conjunction
with the Lucas Oil series, Troy Cagle of Ranburne, Fla., took the win.
North Central Division racers head to Mid-Michigan Motorplex in
Stanton, Mich., for the next NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, June
20-22.
The following are Sunday's final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag
Racing Series event at Indianapolis Raceway Park:
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Round One
6) Keith Stark, Danville, Ill., 11.784, 77.29 def. 3) Russ Lindert,
Manteno, Ill., foul
1) Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., 5.441, 261.52 def. 8) Gary Ward,
Cincinnati, foul
2) Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., 5.420, 266.58 def. 7) Robert Badgett,
Maryland Hts., Mo., 15.635, 80.75
4) Bill McCornack, Lexington, Ky., 5.564, 250.18 def. 5) Todd Datweiler,
Herscher, Ill., 6.773, 145.61
Semifinals
McCornack, 5.603, 244.92 def. Thacker, 6.128, 178.00
Reichert, 5.356, 272.61 def. Stark, 5.489, 258.22
Finals
Reichert, 5.386, 266.90 def. McCornack, 5.659, 249.95
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Round One
1) Chuck Cheeseman, Galena, Ohio, Pontiac Firebird, 5.725, 250.92 def. 8)
Greg Elliott, Bedford, Ind., Firebird, foul
2) Marc White, Glendale Hts., Ill., Firebird, 5.754, 218.19 def. 7) John
Reikas III, Glendale Hts., Ill., Chevy Camaro, 6.635, 206.23
3) Steve Addleman, Fishers, Ind., Firebird, 5.913, 244.29 def. 10) Jeff
Lancaster, Hamilton, Ont., Firebird, 6.160, 234.53
4) Jeff Craig, Muncie, Ind., Dodge R/T, 5.842, 249.81 def. 5) Vern Moats,
Des Moines, Iowa, Firebird, 6.093, 245.94
Semifinals
Cheeseman, 5.710, 249.81 def. Craig, 7.665, 123.37
White, 5.795, 236.42 def. Addleman, 6.452, 209.04
Finals
Cheeseman, 5.703, 249.86 def. White, 5.742, 250.55
COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
Mike Farrell, Louisville, Ky., '32 Bantam, A/EA, 7.502, 175.66 def. Jerry
Arnold, Kalamazoo, Mich., Dragster, E/ED, 8.504, 147.29
SUPER STOCK
Joe LoCicero, Snellville, Ga., '88 Camaro, GT/CA, 10.298, 107.44 def. Dan
Olding, Hartland, Mich., '99 Monte Carlo, GT/KA, 11.109, 116.69
STOCK ELIMINATOR
Anatol Denysenko, Lyons, Ill., '86 Capri, I/FIA, 12.888, 101.38 def. Bill
Beaudin, Sterling Hts, Mich., '71 Challenger, B/SA, foul
SUPER COMP
Steve Dillman, Indianapolis, Dragster, 8.909, 155.02 def. Jeffrey Klomps,
Bayfield, Ont., Dragster, 8.889, 156.73
SUPER GAS
Barry Crane, Stouffville, Ont., '81 Arrow, 9.880, 140.59 def. Bob Sandman,
Okeana, Ohio, '67 Camaro, 9.863, 135.85
SUPER STREET
Linn Bebout, Gambier, Ohio, '69 Oldsmobile , 10.887, 136.57 def. Tony Hall,
Columbus, Ohio, '85 S-10, 10.817, 121.32
TOP SPORTSMAN
Troy Cagle, Ranburne, Fla., '89 Chevy S-10, 7.793, 162.47 def. Ryan Koener,
Morton, Ill., '01 Pontiac Firebird, 7.753, 175.16
