The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Series-Saturday Results from Darlington Int'l Dragway

NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - NHRA SOUTHEAST DIVISION
DARLINGTON INTERNATIONAL DRAGWAY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2003

Fields set at Carolina Nationals at Darlinton Dragway
DARLINGTON, S.C. - In the final rounds of qualifying at the 2nd Annual Carolina Nationals, a round of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, being held at Darlington International Dragway, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Tony Bartone and Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Jay Payne, are leading their fields. 
Bartone, of Manhassett, N.Y., laid down a 5.391-second pass at 265.95 mph to qualify in the No. 1 spot in the class. Qualified closely in second at a 5.391 second pass at 262.85 mph is the blown-dragster of Guy Kelly of Wadley, Ala. North Central Division runner, Bill Reichert of Owosso, Mich., is third.
"Considering the track conditions I feel like we made a good run today. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and win," said Bartone. 
 Payne, typically a front runner in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class, qualified at the top of his field with a 5.777 second pass at 243.17 mph. In the second spot is Mark Billington of Apopka, Fla., while Phillip Hooper of Chesterfield, Va., is third.  
In Competition Eliminator, Larry Pritchett of Clarkrange, Tenn., maintained his lead in the class with a run of 8.149 seconds. Behind Pritchett in the No. 2 spot is Van Puckett of Snellville, Ga. Qualified third is the '92 Cutlass of reining National Champion Mike Saye, of Johnston, S.C. 
The No. 1 spot in Super Stock was earned by Floyds Knobs, Ind., racer Bo Butner. Butner ran an 8.444 seconds pass behind the wheel of his '02 Grand Am to take the top spot. Qualified second is the '67 Camaro of Andy Fogle of Norway, S.C. Matt Hensley of Knoxville, Tenn. is qualified third with his '68 Barracuda. 
Moving up from the second spot, to pass yesterday's Stock Eliminator top qualifier, Bud Rowe, was Woodro Josey of Byron, Ga. Rowe, of Bridgeton, N.C., is now in the second spot, while Bobby Warren of Clinton, N.C., is qualified third with his '97 Firebird.  
In John Bleakley Motorhomes Top Sportsman Series action, Ronnie Davis of Commerce, Ga., qualified his '63 Corvette in the top spot with a 6.875 second pass at 199.37 mph. Trailing Davis in the No. 2 spot is the '97 Pontiac of Michael Allen of Surgoinsville, Tenn. Taking the third spot is Jeffery Rudisill of Rutherford College, N.C., in his '92 Trans Am. 
As a reward for their qualifying efforts, Bartone and Payne each earned $1250 as part of the Sealed Power Low Qualifier Bonus. Pritchett and Butner earned $400 each, while Josey earned $200 as part of the bonus from Sealed Power.
Gates at Darlington Int'l Dragway will open tomorrow at 9 a.m. with eliminations set to begin at noon. The opening rounds of eliminations for Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
 Admission 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) Tony Bartone, Manhasset, N.Y., 5.391 seconds, 265.95 mph
2) Guy Kelly, Wadley, Ala., 5.398, 262.85
3) Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., 5.421, 268.33
4) Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., 5.433, 261.09
5) John Haley, Wayzata, Minn., 5.442, 262.62
6) Fran Monaghan Jr., Meadowbrook, Pa., 5.537, 258.17
7) Jared Dreher, Clinton, Ind., 5.636, 252.31
8) Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.638, 249.72
Not Qualified
9) Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 5.814, 234.31

First round TAD pairings
1) Tony Bartone, Manhasset, N.Y., 5.391 seconds, 265.95 mph vs. 8) Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.638, 249.72
2) Guy Kelly, Wadley, Ala., 5.398, 262.85 vs. 7) Jared Dreher, Clinton, Ind., 5.636, 252.31
3) Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., 5.421, 268.33 vs. 6) Fran Monaghan Jr., Meadowbrook, Pa., 5.537, 258.17
4) Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., 5.433, 261.09 vs. 5) John Haley, Wayzata, Minn., 5.442, 262.62

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
1) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.777 seconds, 243.17 mph
2) Mark Billington, Apopka, Fla., '01 Avenger, 5.955, 244.56
3) Philip Hooper, Chesterfield, Va., '97 Camaro, 6.191, 235.47
4) Gregory Beckner, Chester, Va., '02 Corvette, 6.719, 204.63

First round TAFC pairings
1) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.777 seconds, 243.17 mph vs. 4) Gregory Beckner, Chester, Va., '02 Corvette, 6.719, 204.63
2) Mark Billington, Apopka, Fla., '01 Avenger, 5.955, 244.56 vs. 3) Philip Hooper, Chesterfield, Va., '97 Camaro, 6.191, 235.47

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
1) Santo Volpe, Cocoa, Fla., '34 Chevy, A/SR, 7.919 seconds, -0.771 (under index)
2) Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Tenn., '03 Sunfire, B/SM, 8.149, -0.681
3) Van Puckett, Monroe, Ga., '99 Firebird, H/AA, 8.853, -0.647
4) Mike Saye, Johnston, S.C., '92 Cutlass, H/A, 8.818, -0.642
5) Dennis Mitchell, Huntsville, Ala., '92 Cavalier, F/A, 8.219, -0.621
6) David Rampy, Piedmont, Ala., '32 Bantam, A/EA, 7.371, -0.619
7) Jerry Hemmingson, Concord, N.C., '02 Cavalier, B/A, 7.171, -0.609
8) Doug Engels, Watertown, S.D., Spitzer, D/ED, 7.394, -0.606
9) Don Eberly, Brunswick, Ga., '96 Achieva, F/SMA, 8.945, -0.605
10) Glen Treadwell, Sorrento, Fla., '23 Roadster, E/EA, 8.484, -0.596

SUPER STOCK
1) Bo Butner III, Floyds Knobs, Ind., '02 Grand Am, SS/BM, 8.444 seconds, -1.256 (under index)
2) Andy Fogle, Norway, S.C., '67 Camaro, SS/HA, 9.692, -1.208
3) Matt Hensley, Knoxville, Tenn., '68 Barracuda, SS/A, 8.784, -1.166
4) James Ellis, Heath Spgs, N.C., '92 Camaro, SS/AM, 8.417, -1.133
5) Don Barber, Hohenwald, Tenn., '93 Acheiva, GT/BA, 9.418, -1.132
6) James Holland, Forest City, N.C., '03 Grand Am, GT/EA, 9.855, -1.095
7) Mike Crutchfield, Montgomery, Ala., '90 Camaro, SS/BS, 8.977, -1.073
8) Michael Tueffel, Centenial, Colo., '98 Grand Am, SS/BM, 8.629, -1.071
9) Ray Scardelli, Manalapan, N.J., '97 Probe, GT/I, 10.180, -1.070
10) Everett Hill, Fayetteville, Ga., '64 Mustang, SS/L, 10.490, -1.060

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1) Woodro Josey, Byron, Ga., '98 Firebird, B/FIA, 10.355 seconds, -1.345 (under index)
2) Bud Rowe, Bridgeton, N.C., '95 Camaro, C/FIA, 10.735, -1.265
3) Bobby Warren, Clinton, N.C., '97 Firebird, B/FI, 10.412, -1.238
4) Tom Hemmingson, Concord, N.C., '66 Malibu, L/S, 11.771, -1.229
5) Steve Sullivan, West Chester, Ohio, '88 Mustang, G/FIA, 11.945, -1.205
6) Randy Taylor, Beavercreek, Ohio, '86 Camaro, I/SA, 11.413, -1.187
7) Garry Glazener, Jackson, S.C., '72 Mustang, G/SA, 11.144, -1.156
8) Harold Culpepper, Pine Mtn. Valley, Ga., '94 Camaro, B/FIA, 10.544, -1.156
9) Mike McGinley, Lebanon, Ind., '74 Grand Am, N/SA, 12.174, -1.126
10) Brian Rowe, New Bern, N.C., '69 Camaro, G/SA, 11.177, -1.123

TOP SPORTSMAN
1) Ronnie Davis, Commerce, Ga., '63 Corvette, 6.875 seconds, 199.37 mph
2) Michael Allen, Surgoinsville, Tenn., '97 Pontiac, 6.960, 196.03
3) Jeffrey Rudisill, Rutherford College, N.C., '92 Trans Am, 7.100, 194.38
4) Robert Sellers, Bunnell, Fla., '97 Avenger, 7.107, 193.21
5) Larry Vickers, Rogersville, Tenn., '63 Corvette, 7.164, 191.28
6) Jerry Barker, Byron, Ga., '02 Camaro, 7.218, 190.71
7) Corey Glidewell, Corinth, Miss., '94 Cutlass, 7.278, 187.93
8) Jay Marshall, Monroe, N.C., '87 Firebird, 7.283, 185.29
9) Sandy Wilkins, Fuquay Varina, N.C., '01 Camaro, 7.291, 186.87
10) Jerry Duke Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., '00 Firebird, 7.297, 189.99