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NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series- Saturday Results from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - NHRA NORTHEAST DIVISION
OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK
SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2003

McPhillips and Manzo Tops at Raceway Park
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -In the final rounds of qualifying at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event being held at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Rich McPhillips and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Frank Manzo are leading their fields.
In Top Alcohol Dragster, McPhillips of Phoenixville, Pa., laid down a 5.471-second pass at 256.60 mph to take the top spot in the class. Qualified closely in second with a 5.478 second pass at 257.92 mph is Cuddy, Pa., racer Mike Kosky. Defending National Champion Arthur Gallant of Boxboro, Mass., is third. 
	Manzo, of Morganville, N.J., took his '03 Firebird to the top spot in the class after thundering to a 5.661-second pass at 258.42 mph. Qualified second with a 5.721 second pass at 250.83 mph is Bob Newberry of Schenectady, N.Y. Brockton, Mass., racer Paul Gill is third with a 5.735 second pass at 253.04 mph. This is the third time this year that Manzo, the defending national and divisional champ in the class, has qualified in the No. 1 spot. 
	In Competition Eliminator, Michael Hanratty, of Cromwell, Conn., recorded a 6.856-second pass behind the wheel of his '32 Bantam Roadster to take the lead in the class. Qualified in the second and third spots are New Jersey runners, Bob Rossi of Woodbridge and Michele Costa of Freehold. 		
Steve Sweitzer of Jersey Shore, Pa., drove his '92 Firebird to a  9.835-second pass to claim the No. 1 spot in Super Stock. Angelo DiTocco of Mahopac, N.Y., is qualified second, while Bunker Hill, W.V., racer Bucky Hess is third.  
In Stock Eliminator, Tim Abbazia of Greenwich, Conn., piloted his '62 Mustang to the No. 1 qualifying position after laying down a pass of 10.890 seconds. Claiming the second spot is Mike Farrell of East Nassau, N.Y. Evan Smith of Matawan, N.J., is third. 
As a reward for their qualifying efforts, McPhillips and Manzo each earned $1250 as part of the Sealed Power Low Qualifier Bonus. Hanratty and Sweitzer earned $400 each, while Abbazia earned $200 as part of the bonus from Sealed Power.  
Gates at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park open Sunday at 8 a.m. with eliminations in Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas and Super Street are set to continue at 10 a.m.  Eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car are scheduled to being at noon. For more information please contact Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at (732) 446-7800 or visit them on the web at www.RacewayPark.com
The following are Saturday's final qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park:

Top Alcohol Dragster
1) Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville, Pa., 5.471 seconds, 256.60 mph
2) Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa., 5.478, 257.92
3) Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 5.510, 240.04
4) Douglas Foley, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., 5.552, 254.38
5) Richard Bourke, Old Tappan, N.J., 5.563, 256.21
6) Fran Monaghan Jr., Meadowbrook, Pa., 5.582, 251.25
7) Steven Cantrell, Wilmington, Del., 5.583, 249.39
8) David De Angelis, Middlesex, N.J., 5.596, 254.33
Not Qualified
9) Mark Albert, Baldwin, Pa., 5.638, 247.25
10) Karen Benkovich, Fanwood, N.J., 5.668, 246.75
11) Ken Winward, Wilmington, Del., 5.683, 249.39
12) Daniel Mercier, Lery, , 5.730, 249.21
13) Bruce Horner, Bergenfield, N.J., 5.777, 242.36
14) Sheila Tafur, Middletown, Conn., 9.443, 87.00

First round TAD pairings
1) Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville, Pa., 5.471 seconds, 256.60 mph vs. 8) David De Angelis, Middlesex, N.J., 5.596, 254.33
2) Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa., 5.478, 257.92 vs. 7) Steven Cantrell, Wilmington, Del., 5.583, 249.39
3) Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 5.510, 240.04 vs. 6) Fran Monaghan Jr., Meadowbrook, Pa., 5.582, 251.25
4) Douglas Foley, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., 5.552, 254.38 vs. 5) Richard Bourke, Old Tappan, N.J., 5.563, 256.21

Top Alcohol Funny Car
1) Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J., '03 Firebird, 5.661 seconds, 258.42 mph
2) Bob Newberry, Schenectady, N.Y., '03 Camaro, 5.721, 250.83
3) Paul Gill, Brockton, Mass., '01 Avenger, 5.735, 253.04
4) Todd Veney, Indianapolis, Ind., '00 Avenger, 5.828, 251.25
5) Eric Lourie, Terryville, Conn., '01 Camaro, 5.903, 242.41
6) Bruce Peterson Jr., Wappingers Falls, N.Y., '02 Corvette, 5.999, 214.14
7) Fred Tigges, Holbrook, Mass., '97 Camaro, 6.007, 228.15
8) Dan Pompino, Berlin, N.J., '99 Camaro, 6.151, 231.20
Not Qualified
9) Darrel Cox, Whiteford, Md., '00 Firebird, 6.206, 226.39
10) Michael Ferro, Stanford, Conn., '02 Trans Am, 6.354, 229.82
11) John Fiorini, Dalton, Mass., '93 Saab, 6.467, 212.96
12) Scott Woodington, Delran, N.J., '03 Camaro, 6.718, 148.22

First round TAFC pairings
1) Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J., '03 Firebird, 5.661 seconds, 258.42 mph vs. 8) Dan Pompino, Berlin, N.J., '99 Camaro, 6.151, 231.20
2) Bob Newberry, Schenectady, N.Y., '03 Camaro, 5.721, 250.83 vs. 7) Fred Tigges, Holbrook, Mass., '97 Camaro, 6.007, 228.15
3) Paul Gill, Brockton, Mass., '01 Avenger, 5.735, 253.04 vs. 6) Bruce Peterson Jr., Wappingers Falls, N.Y., '02 Corvette, 5.999, 214.14
4) Todd Veney, Indianapolis, Ind., '00 Avenger, 5.828, 251.25 vs. 5) Eric Lourie, Terryville, Conn., '01 Camaro, 5.903, 242.41

Competition Eliminator
1) Michael Hanratty, Cromwell, Conn., '32 Bantam, A/AA, 6.856 seconds, -0.554 (under index)
2) Bob Rossi, Woodbridge, N.J., '92 Achieva, A/A, 6.689, -0.541
3) Michele Costa, Freehold, N.J., Capraun, G/D, 9.197, -0.533
4) Douglas Harris, Millville, N.J., '02 S-10, PSTA, 7.768, -0.532
5) Frank Aragona Jr., Franklin Square, N.Y., Bantam, F/EA, 8.516, -0.524
6) Chris Bozic, Pittsburgh, Pa., Dragster, C/D, 7.090, -0.520
7) Al Ackerman, Saddle Brook, N.J., ProStart, F/D, 8.256, -0.514
8) Sal Biondo, Maspeth, N.Y., '93 Beretta, D/EA, 8.514, -0.506
9) Tommy Ciccarone Jr., West Chester, Pa., '03 Cavalier, D/SMA, 8.820, -0.480
10) Billy Griffin, Norwalk, Conn., '92 Camaro, E/AA, 8.029, -0.471

Super Stock
1) Steve Sweitzer, Jersey Shore, Pa., '92 Firebird, GT/EA, 9.835 seconds, -1.115 (under index)
2) Angelo DiTocco, Mahopac, N.Y., '02 Firebird, GT/FA, 10.002, -1.098
3) Bucky Hess, Bunker Hill, W.V., '68 Barracuda, SS/AA, 8.910, -1.090
4) Tim Worner, Duncannon, Pa., '88 Cutlass, GT/KA, 10.663, -1.087
5) Howard Barsky, Levittown, Pa., '57 Bel Air, SS/NA, 11.451, -0.999
6) David Barton, Robesonia, Pa., '68 Dart, SS/AA, 9.009, -0.991
7) Michael Iacono, Wading River, N.Y., '89 Camaro, GT/FA, 10.128, -0.972
8) Bill Leber Jr., Tonawanda, N.Y., '03 S-10, SS/TB, 9.298, -0.952
9) Frank Lupo, Northeast, Md., '96 Achieva, GT/GA, 10.249, -0.951
10) Joseph Santangelo II, Marlborough, Conn., '90 Camaro, GT/IA, 10.549, -0.951

Stock Eliminator
1) Tim Abbazia, Greenwich, Conn., '62 Corvette, F/S, 10.890 seconds, -1.210 (under index)
2) Mike Farrell, E Nassau, N.Y., '71 Duster, E/SA, 10.792, -1.208
3) Evan Smith, Matawan, N.J., '93 Mustang, E/FI, 11.404, -1.096
4) John Gray Jr., Hudson, Mass., '72 Nova, H/SA, 11.355, -1.095
5) Dave Casey, Hampden, Mass., '86 Camaro, H/S, 11.227, -1.073
6) Fred Thibeault, Annapolis, N.S., '69 Camaro, B/SA, 10.497, -1.053
7) Rich Hoerth, Old Bridge, N.J., '78 Volare, K/SA, 11.902, -1.048
8) Bill Hawk, Manassas, Va., '67 Shelby, B/SA, 10.508, -1.042
9) David LeBrun, Uncasville, Conn., '69 Camaro, C/SA, 10.666, -1.034
10) Ken Kopecky, Edison, N.J., '71 Demon, F/SA, 11.135, -1.015