ARMENDARIZ LEADS THE QUALIFIERS AT PALM BEACH NHRA SPORT COMPACT NATIONALS WITH RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE

JUPITER, Fla. – The NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series started it seventh season off with the fifth annual Palm Beach NHRA Sport Compact Nationals at Moroso Motorsports Park this Saturday with beautiful track conditions which set the drivers up for record performances.

Top qualifiers for the event are Leslie Armendariz (Honda Tuning Magazine All Motor), Brent Rau (Modified), Kenny Tran (Hot Rod), Ed Bergenholtz (Pro FWD) and Brad Personett (Pro RWD)

Armendariz in her Scion tC led the qualifiers in Honda Tuning Magazine All Motor by setting the national record for both time (9.45 seconds) and speed (143.06). If the record hold up through the end of the event Armendariz will get the cherished 20 extra points that go along with time record. This is her first No. 1 qualifier since 2003 when she was the top qualifier at five events. She has six career top qualifier positions.

“It’s been awhile,” said Armendariz. “It’s good to be back. I feel like we came a long way last year and now we have something to show for it. I just want to do well for Scion and all our other sponsors. There are a lot of cars in this class and it should make for an exciting year.”

Another driver that claimed a No. 1 qualifier position is Rau. Racing his Eclipse he topped the always tough Modified category. This is his first season racing on the Xplod Series, but he has been around racing for many years. He had the quickest run of the day at 7.22 seconds, but he was not able to back it up for a national record. He had a speed of 177.79 mph.

“I am ecstatic to be out here,” said Rau. “We threw a rod on that run which caught the thing on fire. So, that’s why we weren’t able to run the third round. We are getting the heads milled tonight and we will have a brand new fresh motor in the morning.”

While Rau wasn’t able to back up his run for a record, Paul Efantis did set a national time record for Modified at 7.43 seconds.

Tran is not new to the Xplod Series, but just like Armendariz it has been awhile since he last was the No. 1 qualifier. His last No. 1 qualifier was in 2003. This No. 1 qualifier in his Q Racing Scion tC is number five for his career. He drove to a time of 8.10 seconds at 177.72 mph.

“It just feels nice,” said Tran. “I think we hit this combo. We’ve got something to learn from and now we can make things happen. In the other car we were always chasing problems, but with this car you make a subtle change and it works. I want to thank my team member Nathan who flew in from Puerto Vallarta to come to this event. He cut short his family reunion to come. I also want to thank Q Racing, Scion and Nitto for backing us up and believing in us. We are on a mission.”

Personett continues to dominate the Pro RWD category. Driving to a time of 6.83 seconds at 209.49 mph Personett gained his 12th career No. 1 qualifier in his Titan Motorsports Scion tC.

“I just want to thank Harry Hruska and Dan Barlog at Precision Turbos for making this stuff happen,” said Personett.

Eliminations will be held Sunday at Moroso Motorsports Park after opening ceremonies which begin at 1 p.m.

***

JUPITER, Fla. -- Results Saturday after qualifying for the fifth annual Palm Beach NHRA Sport Compact Nationals at Moroso Motorsports Park, first of 11 events in the $2.5 million NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Drag Racing Series.

PRO RWD 1) Brad Personett, Elkhart, Ind., '06 Scion, 6.83 seconds, 209.49 mph 2) Gary Lee White, New Market, Ala., '05 Celica, 7.05, 197.67 3) Manny Cruz, Bronx, N.Y., '02 Cougar, 8.88, 167.22 4) Carlos Torres, Bronx, N.Y., dragster, 12.77, 67.52

PRO FWD 1) Ed Bergenholtz, Tustin, Calif., '07 Mazda, 7.63 seconds, 189.23 mph 2) Christian Rado, Temple, Pa., '06 tC, 7.88, 185.56 3) Jason Hunt, Crofton, Md., '07 Cobalt, 7.91, 193.17 4) Bryan Jimenez, Houston, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 8.11, 175.19 5) Gary Gardella, Howell, N.J., '07 Cobalt, 8.30, 163.22 6) Marty Ladwig, San Antonio, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 8.32, 128.86

MODIFIED 1) Brent Rau, St Francis, Minn., '99 Eclipse, 7.22 seconds, 177.79 mph 2) Paul Efantis, Ijamsville, Md., '03 Solara, 7.43, 182.59 3) Ken Scheepers, Flower Mound, Texas, '05 RX8, 7.49, 182.26 4) Melvin Santana, Lakeland, Fla., '85 Mazda, 7.72, 175.23 5) Carlos Perez, Orlando, Fla., '83 RX-7, 7.79, 173.47 6) Alex Deiguez, West Palm Beach, Fla., '82 Corolla, 7.91, 155.14 7) Jose Ortiz, Deerfield Beach, Fla., '91 RX7, 8.33, 126.42 8) Eddie Colon, Winter Park, Fla., '95 MX-6, 8.47, 157.17 9) Dee Karagiannis, Glenwood, Md., '07 Mazda, 8.88, 145.32 10) Felix Mercado, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., '94 SR20, 8.949, 137.57

HOT ROD 1) Kenny Tran, Garland, Texas, '06 tC, 8.10 seconds, 178.46 mph 2) Stephanie Eggum, Elgin, Ill., '00 Civic, 8.21, 180.14 3) Chuck Seitsinger, Oklahoma City, Okla., '92 Civic, 8.30, 176.95

HONDA TUNING MAGAZINE ALL MOTOR 1) Leslie Durst-Armendariz, Long Beach, Calif., '06 tC, 9.45 seconds, 143.06 mph 2) Jeremy Lookofsky, Simi Valley, Calif., dragster, 9.51, 145.16 3) Saul Salceda, Gardena, Calif., '00 Integra, 9.55, 142.04 4) Norris Prayoonoto, Springfield, Va., '04 Honda, 9.72, 118.26 5) Scott Kelley, Anaheim Hills, Calif., '06 Corolla, 9.78, 139.47 6) Angel Valentin, Kissimmee, Fla., '85 RX-7, 10.75, 121.34 7) Jesus Padilla, Kissimmee, Fla., '85 RX7, 11.27, 125.43 8) Julie Stepan, Grand Prairie, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 12.55, 104.93

SPORT RWD 1) Mark Mazurowski, Orlando, Fla., '05 240SX, 9.25 seconds, 150.95 mph 2) Omar Sanchez, Winter Park, Fla., '94 Supra, 10.97, 112.62 3) Darin Dichiara, Orlando, Fla., '94 Toyota, 12.04, 72.98 4) Thojan Matos, Orlando, Fla., dragster, 24.17, 51.50

URBANRACER.COM SPORT FWD 1) Jonathan Reynolds, Springfield, Va., '01 Integra, 9.75 seconds, 155.22 mph 2) Fernando Reyes, Orlando, Fla., '94 Honda, 10.16, 147.83 3) Richard Vernon, Plantation, Fla., dragster, 10.53, 146.98 4) Tim Brannigan, Lake Worth, Fla., '96 Integra, 10.59, 140.73 5) Chuck Seitsinger, Oklahoma City, Okla., '00 Integra, 10.63, 129.90 6) Damian Borroto, Miami, Fla., '00 Civic, 11.05, 140.77 7) Jason Lopes, Liverpool, N.Y., '05 tC, 11.42, 129.47 8) Hector Davila, Deltona, Fla., '92 Honda, 11.46, 119.31 9) Alfredo Morales, Plantation, Fla., '92 Honda, 12.30, 107.47 10) Kevin Van Natten, Belford, N.J., '04 SRT-4, 13.04, 78.22

BF GOODRICH TIRES STREET STOCK 1) Loan Nguyen, Burke, Va., '99 Civic, 11.92 seconds, 117.67 mph 2) Herberto Marin, Kissimmee, Fla., '93 Civic, 12.35, 108.43 3) Christian Gomez Castillo, Orlando, Fla., '92 Honda, 12.53, 111.73 4) Chris Dye, Colorado Springs, Colo., '02 RSX, 13.11, 108.64 5) Marc Podkowik, Naples, Fla., '94 Honda, 13.17, 104.61 6) Benjamin Reyes, Kissimmee, Fla., '93 Honda, 16.14, 92.83

QUICK 16 1) Marshall Ridlon, West Palm Beach, Fla., '97 Supra, 8.80 seconds, 158.08 mph 2) Vijay Rankissoon, Coral Springs, Fla., '89 Supra, 9.25, 150.95 3) Octavio Santara, Lakeland, Fla., '83 RX7, 9.30, 149.75 4) Hector Sanchez, Bronx, N.Y., '70 Mazda, 9.30, 152.20 5) Carlos Torres, Bronx, N.Y., '82 Starlet, 9.32, 134.28 6) Carlos Rivera, Lincoln, Pa., '81 Toyota, 9.34, 142.49 7) Chris Gore, Davie, Fla., '96 Supra, 9.35, 152.61 8) Brian Ballard, Sloatsburg, N.Y., '07 Cobalt, 9.65, 149.27 9) Antonio Baumgartner, Miami, Fla., '92 MR2, 10.06, 118.00 10) Miguel Rosario, West Palm Beach, Fla., '72 Datsun, 10.20, 138.91