NHRA (ENGLISHTOWN) - TRACK RECORDS FALL DURING QUALIFYING AT THE NHRA SPORT COMPACT SPRINGNATIONALS
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Times were fast during the first two rounds of qualifying at the seventh annual NHRA Sport Compact Springnationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in the NHRA Xplōd Sport Compact Racing Series.
Provisional top qualifiers for the event are Brent Rau (Modified), Ed Bergenholtz (Pro FWD), Kenny Tran (Hot Rod), Jeremy Lookofsky (Honda Tuning Magazine All Motor) and Brad Personett (Pro RWD).
Rau shattered the track record for both time and speed with his second run of 7.10 seconds at 199.17 mph in his Mitsubishi Eclipse. He will have one more qualifying chance and elimination rounds to establish these numbers for national records. Rau is looking for his second No. 1 qualifier in as many events on the Xplōd Series.
“It felt awesome,” said Rau. “I actually lifted twice during that run and still ran that number. With Brad Personett’s help doing the tuning we have been able to put things back together. We have been chasing what we thought were electrical problems when it was fuel problems.”
Another driver in Modified who is looking for potential national records is Paul Efantis. He also has additional chances on Sunday to back up his time of 7.24 seconds and speed of 192.36.
Bergenholtz had the ride of his career when he powered his Bergenholtz Racing/Mazdaspeed 6 to a track record of 7.30 seconds at 196.27 mph. Additionally, he can back up this time for a national record. Bergenholtz is looking for his fourth top qualifying position.
Jason Hunt was successful in running his Matco Tools Chevrolet Cobalt to a track record speed of 197.42 mph. If he is successful in backing this number up it will be a national record.
Tran is running smoothly along this season in his Q Scion tC. He is looking for his fifth career No. 1 qualifying position with his time of 8.12 seconds at 179.11 mph.
“I blew the tires off on the first hit,” said Tran. “I came out that second time with a good hit. We need to stay late to iron out some bugs for tomorrow.”
Lookofsky only needed to run one of the two rounds Saturday in hopes of achieving his sixth career No 1 qualifying position. His DVS-Drag Civic Coupe powered him to track records of 9.42 seconds at 145.96 mph.
“I felt comfortable with the .42 (to not run the second round),” said Lookofsky. “I want to save it for Sunday’s eliminations. I want to give a good show to the fans of Englishtown.”
Personett keeps looking for ways to add up the points at each event. His qualifying time of 6.75 seconds and speed of 21.28 mph are both potential national records. If he can keep the top qualifier position on Sunday this will be his 14th career No. 1 in his Titan Motorsports Scion tC.
The final round of qualifying will be held at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Eliminations will be held after opening ceremonies which begin at 1:30 p.m.
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NOTE - The final session of qualifying will be tomorrow morning with eliminations to follow...
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Results Saturday after qualifying for the seventh annual NHRA Sport Compact Springnationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, third of 11 events in the NHRA Xplōd Sport Compact Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Sunday.
PRO RWD
1) Brad Personett, Elkhart, Ind., '06 Scion, 6.751 seconds, 210.28 mph
2) Gary Lee White, New Market, Ala., '05 Celica, 6.869, 204.94
3) Manny Cruz, Bronx, N.Y., '02 Cougar, 8.593, 137.48
PRO FWD
1) Ed Bergenholtz, Tustin, Calif., '07 Mazda, 7.306 seconds, 196.27 mph
2) Marty Ladwig, San Antonio, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 7.328, 196.33
3) Jason Hunt, Crofton, Md., '07 Cobalt, 7.368, 197.42
4) Christian Rado, Temple, Pa., '06 tC, 7.774, 190.94
5) Bryan Jimenez, Houston, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 7.978, 180.74
6) Gary Gardella, Howell, N.J., '07 Cobalt, 8.382, 121.02
MODIFIED
1) Brent Rau, St Francis, Minn., '99 Eclipse, 7.101 seconds, 199.17 mph
2) Paul Efantis, Ijamsville, Md., '03 Solara, 7.248, 192.36
3) Eddie Colon, Corozal, P.R., '95 Mazda, 7.758, 179.28
4) Luis Corujo, Glendale, Md., '04 Celica, 9.160, 110.92
5) Ken Scheepers, Flower Mound, Texas, '05 RX8, 12.240, 72.17
6) Dee Karagiannis, Glenwood, Md., '07 Mazda, 13.022, 65.57
HOT ROD
1) Kenny Tran, Garland, Texas, '06 tC, 8.129 seconds, 179.11 mph
2) Stephanie Eggum, Elgin, Ill., '00 Civic, 8.319, 180.67
3) James Farrer, Matawan, N.J., '06 Cobalt, 8.519, 166.15
4) Mike Crawford, Eden, N.C., '04 SRT-4, (no time)
HONDA TUNING MAGAZINE ALL MOTOR
1) Jeremy Lookofsky, Simi Valley, Calif., '06 Civic SI, 9.427 seconds, 145.96 mph
2) Norris Prayoonoto, Springfield, Va., '04 Honda, 9.492, 143.87
3) Scott Kelley, Anaheim, Calif., '07 Corolla, 9.777, 138.47
4) Richie Gibson, Huntington, Md., '88 CRX, 10.639, 129.69
5) Julie Stepan, Grand Praire, Texas, '07 Cobalt, 10.750, 127.79
6) Doug Parks, Fullerton, Calif., '07 3, 10.771, 129.85
7) Leslie Durst-Armendariz, Long Beach, Calif., '06 tC, 12.108, 102.89
8) Saul Salceda, Gardena, Calif., '00 Integra, (no time)
SPORT RWD
1) Mark Mazurowski, Orlando, Fla., '05 240SX, 9.281 seconds, 149.56 mph
2) Darin Dichiara, Orlando, Fla., '94 Toyota, 9.489, 151.19
URBANRACER.COM SPORT FWD
1) Jonathan Reynolds, Springfield, Va., '01 Integra, 9.818 seconds, 155.20 mph
2) Kevin Van Natten, Belford, N.J., '04 SRT-4, 9.902, 143.32
3) Andrea Koury, Bangor, Pa., '91 CRX, 10.078, 149.00
4) Fernando Reyes, Orlando, Fla., '92 Civic, 10.082, 149.63
5) Felix Medina, Ridgefield, NJ, '92 Civic, 10.176, 146.02
6) Alfredo Morales, Plantation, Fla., '92 Honda, 10.328, 149.73
7) Joe Simpson, Mechanicsville, Md., '95 Civic, 10.413, 129.49
8) Ben Frieman, Reisterstown, Md., '94 Civic, 10.951, 128.11
9) Rick Everly, Pasadena, Md., '92 Civic, 11.061, 141.40
10) Chris Miller, North Babylon, N.Y., '99 Civic, 11.126, 133.75
BFGOODRICH TIRES STREET STOCK
1) Loan Nguyen, Burke, Va., '99 Civic, 11.755 seconds, 117.65 mph
2) Cristian Gomez, Orlando, Fla., '98 Integra, 12.705, 111.63
3) Francisco Pietri, Virginia Beach, Va., '01 Acura, 12.838, 110.15
4) Chris Dye, Colorado Springs, Colo., '02 RSX, 12.955, 107.87
5) Greg Samaroo, Fords, N.J., '94 Civic, 13.603, 109.44