NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Event Friday form Southwestern Int'l Raceway

TUCSON, Ariz. - The first day of qualifying is in the books at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event being held this weekend at Southwestern International Raceway. This is the second Pacific Divisional race of the 2007 season. Top Alcohol Dragster driver Duane Shields and Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Kirk Kuhns will go into Saturday's qualifying rounds in the top position.

Shields of Boulder City, Nev., took the top spot in Top Alcohol Dragster with a pass of 5.289 seconds at 268.10 mph. Edwin Schmeeckle of Gothenburg, Neb., qualified in the second position with a time of 5.591 seconds at 256.84 seconds.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Kuhns of Huntington Park, Calif., led the field with a pass of 5.932 seconds at 244.38 mph. Kuhns outran Bret Williamson of Cambell, Calif., who qualified second with a time of 6.046 seconds at 235.02.

Comp Eliminator racer Thomas Schmidt of Lindstrom, Minn., driving a '34 Chevrolet, qualified in the top spot with a time of 8.748 seconds while Ed Sigmon of Chatsworth, Calif., took the second position in a '34 Chevy.

Super Stock driver, Dan Mason of San Clemente, Calif., driving an '85 Camaro qualified first with a pass of 9.638 seconds. Kip Mason of Phoenix, Ariz., qualified in the next spot with a pass of 10.700 seconds.

Don Forrester of Riverside, Calif., qualified first in Stock Eliminator ahead of Chris Denton of Chandler, Ariz., with a pass of 12.314 seconds. Denton, driving an '80 Trans Am, made a pass of 12.942 seconds to qualify second.

In the Top Sportsman Motorcycle category presented by Harley Davidson, Rick Newport of West Valley, Ariz., took the first position with a reaction time of 0.018 seconds. Qualifying in the second position was William Wilson of Phoenix, Ariz., who had a reaction time of 0.020 seconds.

Greg Lair of Canyon, Texas, qualified first in Top Sportsman driving an '04 Grand Am with a pass of 6.877 seconds at 203.19 mph. Chip Rumis of Ramona, Calif., took the second position with a time of 7.368 seconds at 187.08 mph.

Top Dragster racer Denny Hill of Gilbert, Ariz., qualified in first with a top speed of 195.04 mph while completeing a pass at 6.845 seconds. Carolyn Hills of Gilbert, Ariz., qualified in the next position with a pass of 6.855 seconds at 195.31 mph.

Racing continues on Saturday with gates opening at 7:00 a.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and children under 10 are free with a paid adult. For more information please call Southwestern International Raceway at 520-762-9700 or log on to www.SIRace.com.

The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Pacific Division event at Southwestern International Raceway: TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER 1) Duane Shields, Boulder City, Nev., 5.289 seconds, 268.17 mph 2) Edwin Schmeeckle, Gothenburg, Neb., 5.591, 256.84 3) Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., 5.688, 218.12 4) Randy Eakins, Carson City, Nev., 5.814, 226.32 5) Larry Miersch, Huntington Beach, Calif., 5.844, 225.22 6) Brian Smith, Fullerton, Calif., 10.473, 50.11 TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR 1) Kirk Kuhns, Huntington Park, Calif., '05 Monte Carlo, 5.932 seconds, 244.38 mph 2) Bret Williamson, Campbell, Calif., '01 Corvette, 6.048, 235.02 3) Dale Van Gundy, Anaheim, Calif., '97 Firebird, 6.081, 238.47 4) Jason Rupert, Yorba Linda, Calif., '02 Camaro, 6.154, 234.45 5) Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., '02 Camaro, 6.158, 236.55 6) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '05 Monte Carlo, 7.962, 117.54 7) Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., '05 Monte Carlo, 8.081, 117.39 8) Sean Bellemeur, Fullerton, Calif., '02 Camaro, 10.339, 84.78 COMP ELIMINATOR 1) Thomas Schmidt, Lindstrom, Minn., '34 Chevrolet, C/SR, 8.748 seconds, -0.682 (under index) 2) Ed Sigmon, Chatsworth, Calif., '34 Chevy, C/SR, 8.771, -0.659 3) David Beckley, Wildomar, Calif., '63 Corvette, A/AA, 6.830, -0.650 4) Vinnie Deceglie, Alta Loma, Calif., '63 Corvette, A/A, 6.719, -0.641 5) Clint Sallee, Glendive, Mont., dragster, B/D, 6.833, -0.637 6) Lou Ficco Jr., Wheat Ridge, Colo., '04 Cavalier, B/AA, 7.316, -0.624 7) Tom Huggins, Santa Paula, Calif., '07 GTO, B/A, 7.298, -0.612 8) Lucky Snyder, Longmont, Colo., '62 Alpine, G/A, 8.695, -0.605 9) Bill Morse, McKinney, Texas, '07 Cobalt, G/SM, 9.178, -0.582 10) Jeff Lane, North Bend, Wash., '34 Chevy, B/SR, 8.243, -0.577 SUPER STOCK 1) Dan Mason, San Clemente, Calif., '85 Camaro, GT/BA, 9.638 seconds, -1.302 (under index) 2) Brian McClanahan, Alta Loma, Calif., '67 Camaro, SS/HA, 10.017, -1.293 3) Kip Martin, Phoenix, Ariz., '64 Mustang, SS/L, 10.700, -1.280 4) Justin Lamb, Henderson, Nev., '07 Cobalt, SS/BS, 9.157, -1.263 5) Don Bevers, Tucson, Ariz., '91 Probe, SS/BM, 8.807, -1.253 6) Darren Smith, Palmdale, Calif., '68 Dart, SS/GA, 10.047, -1.203 7) Don Kennedy, Mesa, Ariz., '92 Trans Am, GT/DA, 10.011, -1.189 8) Steven Wann, Modesto, Calif., '69 Barracuda, SS/FA, 9.966, -1.184 9) Wayne Taylor, Chino, Calif., '99 sebring, GT/HA, 10.592, -1.178 10) Ryan McClanahan, Alta Loma, Calif., '07 Cobalt, SS/BM, 8.883, -1.177 STOCK ELIMINATOR 1) Don Forester, Riverside, Calif., '80 Delta 88, M/SA, 12.314 seconds, -1.326 (under index) 2) Chris Denton, Chandler, Ariz., '80 Trans Am, P/SA, 12.941, -1.319 3) Jack Foshee, Taylor, Ariz., '80 D-150, K/SA, 12.117, -1.313 4) Harry Doolittle, Wickenburg, Ariz., '02 Firebird, H/FIA, 12.674, -1.276 5) Nick Ariotti, Boulder City, Nev., '76 Volare, I/SA, 11.800, -1.270 6) Mike Johnston, Beaumont, Calif., '97 Firebird, C/FIA, 11.181, -1.269 7) Joe Faherty, Apple Valley, Calif., '79 Duster, H/SA, 11.656, -1.254 8) Glenn Person, Regina, Sask., '70 Challenger, B/SA, 10.731, -1.249 9) Spencer Duron, El Paso, Texas, '69 Camaro, H/SA, 11.662, -1.248 10) Don Keen, Palmdale, Calif., '68 Mustang, C/S, 10.835, -1.245 TOP SPORTSMAN 1) Greg Lair, Canyon, Texas, '04 Grand Am, 6.877 seconds, 203.19 mph 2) Chip Rumis, Ramona, Calif., '05 Cobalt, 7.368, 187.08 3) Dave Slatten, Fort Collins, Colo., '05 Grand Am, 7.605, 177.88 4) Joe Roubicek, Westlake Village, Calif., '63 Corvette, 7.615, 180.98 5) Todd Stewart, Atwater, Calif., '67 Camaro, 7.689, 178.10 6) Timothy O'Moore, Tucson, Ariz., '69 AMC, 7.720, 174.89 7) Tom Radeff, Mesa, Ariz., '98 Avenger, 8.041, 168.07 8) Darin Dolezal, Chandler, Ariz., '90 Firebird, 8.045, 171.36 9) Jim Momjian, Apple Valley, Calif., '05 Grand Am, 8.281, 165.70 10) Shane Molinari, Battleground, Wash., '68 LaMans, 8.365, 163.41 TOP DRAGSTER 1) Denny Hills, Gilbert, Ariz., dragster, 6.849 seconds, 195.03 mph 2) Carolyn Hills, Gilbert, Ariz., dragster, 6.855, 195.31 3) Chip Rumis, Ramona, Calif., dragster, 6.935, 194.72 4) Del Cox Jr, Downey, Calif., dragster, 6.945, 192.74 5) George Clark, Phoenix, Ariz., dragster, 7.014, 190.48 6) Paul Gladden, Tracy, Calif., dragster, 7.020, 192.33 7) Joe Roubicek, Westlake Village, Calif., dragster, 7.037, 190.89 8) Jimmy Johnson, Santa Rosa, Calif., dragster, 7.103, 194.38 9) Ric Orosco, Hobbs, N.M., dragster, 7.227, 185.92 10) Justin Lamb, Henderson, Nev., dragster, 7.244, 185.28 SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE 1) Rick Newport, West Valley, Utah, '95 Suzuki, SMC, 0.018 seconds reaction time 2) William Wilson, Phoenix, Ariz., '69 Honda, SMC, 0.020 3) Tom Patterson, Tucson, Ariz., '94 Kawasaki, SMC, 0.021 4) Greg Liskey, Salinas, Calif., '95 GSX-R, SMC, 0.026 5) Pete Miclette Jr, Garberville, Calif., '97 GSX-R, SMC, 0.027 6) Sean Conner, Boulder City, Nev., '98 Koenig, SMC, 0.028 7) James Surber, Sherter Cove, Calif., '06 Destroyer, SMC, 0.030 8) Tom Lannie, Tucson, Ariz., '81 Suzuki, SMC, 0.036 9) Mike Scott, Bonney Lake, Wash., '06 Kawasaki, SMC, 0.037 10) Jordan Miclette, Redway, Calif., '97 Suzuki, SMC, 0.040