Record Crowd Cheers National Guard ADRL Winners in Virginia
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:* American Drag Racing League Contact: ADRL Communications (404) 375-4895 or (636) 272-2375 www.ADRL.us *Record Crowd Cheers National Guard ADRL Winners in Virginia* PETERSBURG, VA (July 26, 2009) --- Virginia is for lovers of National Guard ADRL racing. At least that's what it looked like July 25, as a record-setting crowd witnessed Bubba Stanton, Jim Halsey, Chuck Ulsch, Lance Hines and Brian Gahm each collect a new Minuteman trophy from the ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II at Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP). The 600-acre facility south of Richmond issued a news release Saturday evening, stating attendance "overwhelmed everyone involved with the event." The release further said that since opening in 1994, VMP has hosted 14 other major-league drag racing events, "but the National Guard ADRL this weekend far surpassed crowds in the past," according to track general manager Bryan Pierce. In fact, Pierce pointed out for the first time in VMP's 15-year history, track and state officials agreed to close the entrance gates in order to reroute excessive traffic that was creating a more-than-four-mile traffic jam extending to the nearest Interstate. Meanwhile, Stanton, from Potts Camp, Mississippi, steered his '63 Corvette to a 3.80-seconds win at 196.70 miles per hour over the eighth-mile course against Yadkinville, North Carolina's Todd Tutterow in the Pro Extreme final. The win was the fourth of Stanton's National Guard ADRL career, and his first since last August. "We left pretty close together, but then I never saw Todd again," said Stanton, the 2006 Pro Extreme world champion. "I just concentrated on getting to the other end. It sure feels good to be standing here (in victory lane) again." For Pro Nitrous points leader Halsey, it marked his third National Guard ADRL win this year and came over Khalid Al-Balooshi from the Mid-East country of Qatar. "The car worked great all afternoon," Halsey said of his '68 Camaro. "We made solid passes every time except for one in the semis, but we got away with that one. In the final, Balooshi made a good pass, but he was a little late on the tree and that's what cost him." In the competition debut of a new, supercharged 2002 Camaro, Clarksville, Maryland's Ulsch officially reset the Extreme 10.5 elapsed time and top speed records to 4.01 seconds and 197.19 mph, then defeated Gary white and his turbocharged, six-cylinder Scion with a 4.03/196.07 combination in the final. "What can I say about the car?" Ulsch said after scoring his first National Guard ADRL race title. "It's awesome and working perfectly; I wouldn't change a thing about it." The Pro Extreme Motorcycle final turned out to be the quickest side-by-side race in the history of the class, with Dublin, Georgia's Hines going 4.22 at 168.43 to win his first Minuteman by defeating Eric MKinney's 4.23 at 169.13 in a pairing of 2009 Suzukis. Finally, the Extreme Pro Stock win went to points leader Gahm of Lucasville, Ohio, who ran 4.14 at 173.99 mph in his '07 Mustang over Cary Goforth in an '08 Cobalt. The next race on the 2009 National Guard ADRL Tour is the Hardee's Gateway Drags II, scheduled for Aug. 7-8, at Gateway International Raceway, near St. Louis, Missouri. PHOTO CUTLINES: ADRL_Rich_PXfinal.jpg After struggling some early this year, Bubba Stanton (far lane) and his "Widow Maker" team rebounded with a winning performance July 25, in the Pro Extreme final against Todd Tutterow in the ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II at Virginia Motorsports Park. ADRL_Rich_PNfinal.jpg Jim Halsey (far lane) strapped a holeshot on Khalid Al-Balooshi and never looked back on his way to the Pro Nitrous title in the ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II. ADRL_Rich_XTFfinal.jpg Chuck Ulsch,driving Gil Mobley's brand-new, Vanishing Point-built '68 Camaro (near lane), reset both ends of the Extreme 10.5 records along the way to his first National Guard ADRL win after beating Gary White in the final round at Virginia Motorsports Park. ADRL_Rich_PXMfinal.jpg Aboard a bike that was just a new frame a few days earlier, Vance Hines (near lane) beat Eric McKinney for the ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II win in the quickest side-by-side pairing in class history. ADRL_Rich_XPSfinal.jpg Brian Gahm (far lane) won his third of four Extreme Pro Stock finals he's reached this year, beating Cary Goforth by just six thousandths in the ADRL NATIONALGUARD.com U.S. Drags II at Virginia Motorsports Park. ABOUT THE NATIONAL GUARD The National Guard is the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and one of the nation's longest enduring institutions. The National Guard operates in all 50 states, three territories (Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia. For more information on the National Guard, visit www.NationalGuard.com. ABOUT THE ADRL Based in O'Fallon, Missouri, the National Guard American Drag Racing League is the nation's premier sanctioning body for the sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The professional categories featured in the National Guard ADRL are Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Extreme Pro Stock, Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme, the quickest doorslammer class in all of drag racing. The 2009 National Guard ADRL tour consists of 10 national events run throughout the United States. For more information on the ADRL, visit www.ADRL.us. -- END --