NHRA NEWS: K&N Filters Supernationals Final Story, Agate

 
FULLER ENDS DIXON'S FATHER'S DAY WINNING STREAK AT FIVE WITH HIS THIRD
CAREER WIN
Ron Capps, Jason Line and Matt Smith round out Father's Day winners at
K&N Filters Supernationals
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller managed to stop Larry
Dixon's streak of five consecutive Father's Day victories Sunday by
beating Dixon in the final of the $1.8 million K&N Filters NHRA
Supernationals. 

Fuller's Valvoline rail went straight down a hot and greasy quarter-mile
in 4.692 seconds at 314.24 mph to beat Dixon's tire-hazing 4.825 at
299.73 mph. Fuller was joined by Funny Car's Ron Capps, Pro Stock's
Jason Line, and Pro Stock Motorcycle's Matt Smith in Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park's winner's circle.

"I knew Dixon had that Father's Day thing going but our car was running
great all weekend and I knew we had a chance if we stayed within
ourselves," Fuller said. "This one's for my dad. He's a racer and he's
the reason I love racing. He's my best friend."

Season-long points leader Melanie Troxel's first-round loss to Dixon
combined with her 11th-place qualifying effort helped Doug Kalitta trim
her lead in the POWERade standings from 71 to 48 points.

The Funny Car final was close as Capps got a big headstart with a .079-
to .133-second reaction time advantage only to barely hold off
hard-charging reigning champion Gary Scelzi. The final numbers had Capps
winning with a 5.025 at 299.46 mph in his Brut Dodge Charger to Scelzi's
quicker but losing 5.012 at 301.81 mph in the Oakley machine.

"Beating Gary on a holeshot takes some of the excitement out of this
win," Capps said, as he held back tears. "Last year 'Ace' (crew chief Ed
McCulloch) got sick the Thursday before the race with his cancer and
Scelzi's crew chief Mike Neff jumped in and helped us. Gary is a mentor
to me and our teams are together. Our trailers literally connect to one
another and I know they wanted that win."

This was Scelzi's first final-round appearance of his title defense. He
moved up one slot to seventh in the POWERade Series points. Capps more
than doubled his advantage in the standings with this win. After
entering the race with a 48-point cushion, he leaves town with a
106-point edge.

With all the pre-final talk focusing on Connolly's lethal performances
at the starting line, it was Line coming through with a quick start that
began his 6.729-second, 205.98-mph victorious pass. Line's .013-second
start got his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO rolling and he carried that
momentum to the other end, beating Connolly's 6.739 at 206.45 mph in his
Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt.

"I can't believe I won this race as crappy as I've been driving all
day," Line said. "This is really something. I don't know what it is
about this racetrack but I love it. We won the last two years here
before I was a father and now I win my first Father's Day race since my
son Jack was born. How cool is that?"

Greg Anderson paid the price for his first-round holeshot loss to
nemesis Warren Johnson as his lead in the POWERade rankings was trimmed
from 110 to 37 points over Line, his KB Racing teammate.

Smith finally got his first NHRA victory by coming from behind on his
G-Squared/Torco Race Fuels Buell and taking care of Karen Stoffer and
her Geico Suzuki in the final round. Smith was awarded the victory at
last year's U.S. Nationals at the racetrack but officials later reversed
the decision when video tape showed he crossed the finish line second.
This year, the same thing happened in an earlier round victory.

This one was a clear victory with Smith overcoming terrible.030- to
.107-second reaction time deficit by halftrack and taking the win with a
7.111 at 185.38 mph ahead of Stoffer's 7.234 at 186.12 mph.

"The first thing I asked them at the top end was, 'are you guys
absolutely sure I've won this race?' " Smith said. "I guess this one was
legit. Even Karen came over and said she saw that I was ahead of her at
the stripe. It feels like this has been a long time coming, for sure.
I'm glad dad (Pro Stock driver Rickie Smith) was down there waiting for
me."


 

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional
categories at the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by
Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The $1.8 million race
is the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series.

TOP FUEL:

1. Rod Fuller; 2. Larry Dixon; 3. Brandon Bernstein; 4. Hillary Will; 5.
J.R. Todd; 6. Doug Kalitta; 7. Cory McClenathan; 8. Tony Schumacher; 9.
David Grubnic; 10. Morgan Lucas; 11. Clay Millican; 12. Melanie Troxel;
13. Doug Herbert; 14. Bob Vandergriff; 15. David Baca; 16. Rit Pustari. 

FUNNY CAR:

1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger; 2. Gary Scelzi, Charger; 3. Tommy Johnson
Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo; 4. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo; 5. Phil Burkart,
Monte Carlo; 6. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Monte
Carlo; 8. John Force, Ford Mustang; 9. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo; 10.
Whit Bazemore, Charger; 11. Bob Gilbertson, Dodge Stratus; 12. Robert
Hight, Mustang; 13. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 14. Eric Medlen,
Mustang; 15. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo; 16. Jim Head, Stratus. 

PRO STOCK:

1. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO; 2. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt; 3. Allen
Johnson, Dodge Stratus; 4. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt; 5. Warren Johnson, GTO;
6. Jim Yates, GTO; 7. Rickie Smith, GTO; 8. Richie Stevens, Stratus; 9.
V. Gaines, Stratus; 10. Greg Anderson, GTO; 11. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 12.
Larry Morgan, Stratus; 13. Dave Howard, Cobalt; 14. Greg Stanfield, GTO;
15. Mark Pawuk, Cobalt; 16. Mike Edwards, GTO. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1. Matt Smith; 2. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 3. Tom Bradford; 4. Matt
Guidera; 5. Ryan Schnitz; 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 7. Antron Brown,
Suzuki; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 9. Chip Ellis; 10. Angelle Sampey,
Suzuki; 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki; 12. Paul Gast, Suzuki; 13. GT Tonglet,
Harley-Davidson; 14. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 15. Michael
Phillips, Suzuki; 16. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki. 

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Sunday's final results from the 37th annual K&N
Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park. The $1.8 million race is the 11th of 23 in the $50 million
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series: 

Top Fuel -- Rod Fuller, 4.692 seconds, 314.24 mph def. Larry Dixon,
4.825 seconds, 299.73 mph. 

Funny Car -- Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 5.025, 299.46 def. Gary Scelzi,
Charger, 5.012, 301.81. 

Pro Stock -- Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.729, 205.98 def. Dave Connolly,
Chevy Cobalt, 6.739, 206.45. 

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Matt Smith, Buell, 7.111, 185.38 def. Karen
Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.234, 186.12. 

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Jeff Bohr, broke was unopposed. 

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.691, 255.48
def. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 5.691, 256.65. 

Competition Eliminator -- Sal Biondo, Chevy Beretta, 8.575, 129.24 def.
Vinny Barone, Roadster, 8.083, 137.29. 

Stock Eliminator -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 10.831, 115.12 def. John
Shaul, Plymouth Fury, 10.215, 129.28. 

Super Comp -- Franklin Di Bartolomeo, Dragster, 8.902, 163.79 def. Jeff
Kundratic, Dragster, 8.944, 158.24. 

Super Gas -- Regis Lepage, Ghevy S-10, 10.128, 130.51 def. Jeff
Szilagyi, Chevy Corvette, broke. 

Super Street -- Matt Ticcony, Plymouth Duster, 10.950, 141.59 def. Tom
DePascale, Chevy Vega, 10.958, 139.93. 

 

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Final round-by-round results from the 37th annual
K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge
Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series:

 

TOP FUEL: 

ROUND ONE -- Cory McClenathan, 4.785, 273.22 def. David Baca, 6.264,
138.87; J.R. Todd, 4.645, 311.85 def. Doug Herbert, 5.037, 270.54; Larry
Dixon, 4.674, 320.43 def. Melanie Troxel, 4.828, 250.69; Rod Fuller,
4.619, 326.32 def. Clay Millican, 4.821, 283.01; Hillary Will, 5.741,
190.08 def. Bob Vandergriff, 5.935, 213.37; Tony Schumacher, 4.586,
324.51 def. David Grubnic, 4.614, 320.74; Brandon Bernstein, 7.282,
108.05 def. Rit Pustari, 7.342, 110.02; Doug Kalitta, 4.644, 324.67 def.
Morgan Lucas, 4.701, 304.53; QUARTERFINALS -- Bernstein, 4.728, 309.27
def. McClenathan, 5.158, 288.77; Will, 4.754, 310.91 def. Todd, 4.958,
279.32; Fuller, 4.643, 320.74 def. Kalitta, 5.002, 293.09; Dixon, 4.746,
310.13 def. Schumacher, 5.300, 254.42; SEMIFINALS -- Dixon, 4.754,
306.53 def. Will, 10.113, 75.88; Fuller, 5.007, 303.84 def. Bernstein,
6.248, 186.20; FINAL -- Fuller, 4.692, 314.24 def. Dixon, 4.825, 299.73.


 

FUNNY CAR: 

ROUND ONE -- Phil Burkart, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.974, 314.97 def. Eric
Medlen, Ford Mustang, 5.611, 187.36; Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.926,
313.73 def. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.961, 294.88; Tony Bartone,
Monte Carlo, 4.979, 308.21 def. Bob Gilbertson, Dodge Stratus, 5.169,
231.52; Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 5.010, 300.06 def. Robert Hight,
Mustang, 5.180, 281.25; Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.922, 311.85 def. Jim
Head, Stratus, 6.747, 131.42; Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.929, 313.44 def.
Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, DQ CBL; Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo,
4.980, 315.12 def. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 5.970, 185.74; John Force,
Mustang, 4.946, 315.71 def. Whit Bazemore, Charger, 4.995, 311.41;
QUARTERFINALS -- Johnson Jr., 5.597, 252.85 def. Wilkerson, 5.714,
268.92; Scelzi, 4.947, 311.41 def. T. Pedregon, 5.310, 241.67; Capps,
4.985, 308.43 def. Burkart, foul; Bartone, 5.836, 179.28 def. Force,
5.918, 217.35; SEMIFINALS -- Capps, 5.021, 301.20 def. Johnson Jr.,
5.857, 202.94; Scelzi, 5.478, 203.80 def. Bartone, 7.936, 101.73; FINAL
-- Capps, 5.025, 299.46 def. Scelzi, 5.012, 301.81. 

 

PRO STOCK: 

ROUND ONE -- Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 20.186, 39.13 def. Dave
Howard, Chevy Cobalt, foul; Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.707, 206.70 def. V.
Gaines, Stratus, 6.711, 206.57; Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.707, 206.61
def. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.749, 205.16; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.703,
206.76 def. Larry Morgan, Stratus, foul; Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.727,
205.94 def. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.718, 206.20; Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.753,
205.60 def. Mike Edwards, GTO, foul; Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.759,
205.19 def. Mark Pawuk, Cobalt, 6.756, 205.54; Jim Yates, GTO, 6.715,
206.13 def. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, foul; QUARTERFINALS -- A. Johnson,
6.736, 205.44 def. Stevens, 7.504, 166.62; Line, 6.718, 206.42 def.
Smith, 6.774, 205.32; K. Johnson, 6.741, 205.94 def. Yates, 6.750,
206.07; Connolly, 6.724, 206.54 def. W. Johnson, 6.734, 205.98;
SEMIFINALS -- Connolly, 6.739, 205.79 def. K. Johnson, 6.780, 205.57;
Line, 6.725, 206.42 def. A. Johnson, 6.768, 205.22; FINAL -- Line,
6.729, 205.98 def. Connolly, 6.739, 206.45. 

 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 

ROUND ONE -- Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.135, 184.93 def. Paul Gast, Suzuki,
foul; Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.149, 180.48 def. Andrew Hines,
Harley-Davidson, 7.173, 186.25; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.164,

192.58 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, foul; Matt Smith, Buell, 7.091, 184.14
def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, foul; Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.149, 188.49
def. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, foul; Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.126, 188.38
def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, broke; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.203, 183.82
def.

Chip Ellis, Buell, foul; Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.148, 185.36 def. GT
Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.168, 187.05; QUARTERFINALS -- Stoffer,
7.148, 186.51 def. Schnitz, 7.155, 179.28; Guidera, 7.171, 180.74 def.

Treble, 7.160, 187.11; Bradford, 7.130, 186.02 def. Johnson, 7.247,
181.20; Smith, 7.176, 181.54 def. Brown, foul; SEMIFINALS -- Stoffer,
7.282, 182.30 def. Guidera, 7.262, 181.23; Smith, 7.120, 186.07 def.

Bradford, 7.141, 185.38;

FINAL -- Smith, 7.111, 185.38 def. Stoffer, 7.234, 186.12. 

 

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional
categories following the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals
presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th
of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series - 

Top Fuel

1. Melanie Troxel, 872; 2. Doug Kalitta, 824; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 717;
4. Rod Fuller, 651; 5. Larry Dixon, 635; 6. David Grubnic, 623; 7. (tie)
Morgan Lucas, 560; Tony Schumacher, 560; 9. Cory McClenathan, 547; 10.
Doug Herbert, 487.

Funny Car

1. Ron Capps, 944; 2. John Force, 838; 3. Robert Hight, 684; 4. Eric
Medlen, 638; 5. Tony Pedregon, 616; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 608; 7. Gary
Scelzi, 568; 8. Whit Bazemore, 535; 9. Del Worsham, 502; 10. Cruz
Pedregon, 498.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 763; 2. Jason Line, 726; 3. Jim Yates, 672; 4. Dave
Connolly, 657; 5. Kurt Johnson, 639; 6. Mike Edwards, 569; 7. Erica
Enders, 560; 8. Allen Johnson, 506; 9. Warren Johnson, 503; 10. Larry
Morgan, 498.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Angelle Sampey, 463; 2. Andrew Hines, 451; 3. Antron Brown, 412; 4.
Karen Stoffer, 358; 5. Matt Smith, 346; 6. (tie) Chip Ellis, 338; Ryan
Schnitz, 338; 8. Matt Guidera, 275; 9. Tom Bradford, 256; 10. Geno
Scali, 255.