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NHRA- Orlando, Fla., Friday qualifying results

11 March 2000


NHRA FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAG RACING SERIES, SOUTHEAST DIVISION
ORLANDO SPEED WORLD DRAGWAY, ORLANDO, FLA.
FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2000


IT'S AN EAST-WEST BATTLE IN FLORIDA

        ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando Speed World Dragway, host to the NHRA
Southeast Division Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series this weekend, will
witness a battle between two of NHRA drag racing's better Federal-Mogul
Funny Car drivers: Tony Bartone of Long Island, NY, and Upland (near Los
Angeles), Calif.'s Jay Payne.

        With one of three scheduled qualifying rounds completed, Bartone,
driving his Roger Dean Racing/Quaker State Camaro Funny Car leads the
Valvoline-sponsored Camaro of Payne by a mere 0.008-second.

        "It [the 5.77-second lap] wasn't too bad and I think we can get
down to a 5.75 by the end of qualifying," said Bartone of the run.  "We ran
a 5.70 here last year, but I'm not sure the track is as good this year. 
You can try and run quicker than a 5.75, but you'd be risking smoking the
tires."

        Payne, likewise, is taking a cautious approach.  "I think we can
squeeze a little more performance out of the car, but I'm not sure how
much," said Payne.  "We had the car set very soft for that [5.78-second]
run; if we start to get aggressive with the tune up we'll risk not being
able to get the car downtrack at all."

        Qualifying continues Saturday with the Federal-Mogul Dragsters and
Funny Cars receiving two more laps, at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.


        The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA
Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Orlando Speed World Dragway:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
1. Jeanie Booz, Blooming Glen, Pa., 5.862 seconds, 238.66 miles per hour
2. Bob Bears, Clearwater, Fla., 5.929, 227.04
3. Billy Bybee, McLean, Texas, 5.990, 243.24
4. Bill McCornack, Lexington, Ky., 6.166, 227.27
5. Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 6.302, 221.13
6. Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., 7.361, 140.36
7. Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville, Fla., 14.601, 50.92
8. Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 16.977, 40.69

Did Not Qualify
9. Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 18.698, 45.30


FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
1. Tony Bartone, Manhasset, NY, '99 Camaro, 5.778 seconds, 251.81 miles per
hour
2. Jay Payne, Upland, Calif., '00 Camaro, 5.785, 248.75
3. Lynn Engels, Watertown, SD, '00 Camaro, 6.134, 233.10
4. Bobby Martin, Beaver Falls, Pa., '00 Avenger, 18.590, 39.82
5. Mikael Kagered, Linkoping, Sweden, '99 Avenger, DQ
6. Vern Moats, Des Moines, Iowa, '00 Corvette, DQ


COMPETITION
1. John Powers, Naples, Fla., AA/A '63 Corvette, 7.033 seconds
(0.717-second under Index)
2. Charlie Westcott, Parma, Mich., F/SM '98 Pontiac, 9.305 (-0.575)
3. Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Ind., E/SM '98 Grand Am, 8.387 (-0.563)
4. Rick Young, Murtreesboro, Ind., F/SM '92 Firebird, 9.322 (-0.558)
5. David Rampy, Piedmont, Ala., B/ED dragster, 7.043 (-0.557)
6. Larry Mayes, Greenwood, Ind., D/SM '96 Achieva, 8.290 (-0.540)
7. Michael Hardee, Wilmington, NC, D/EA '97 Firebird, 8.564 (-0.526)
8. Doug Stewart, Edwardsburg, Mich., B/ED dragster, 7.078 (-0.522)
9. Jeff Taylor, Lumberton, NC, C/A '00 Camaro, 7.747 (-0.503)
10. Tom Haueter, Chardon, Ohio, D/ED dragster, 7.707 (-0.493)

SUPER STOCK
1. Joe Skinner, Columbia Station, Ohio, GT/DA '94 Cavalier, 9.581 seconds
(1.219-seconds under Index)
2. Bob Dennis, Shorter, Ala., GT/MA '97 Firehawk, 10.877 (-1.173)
3. Jim Boburka, Coraopolis, Pa., GT/DA '99 Firebird, 9.668 (-1.132)
4. Don O'Malley, Decatur, Ill., SS/KA '64 Corvette, 10.461 (-1.089)
5. Butch Williams, Cherokee, NC, SS/CA '71 Corvette, 9.296 (-1.054)
6. Donald Smith, Maggie, NC, GT/GA '92 Firebird, 10.161 (-1.039)
7. David Thomas, West Chester, Pa., SS/BA '69 Corvette, 9.162 (-1.038)
8. Arnie Martel, Tewksbury, Mass., SS/BM '98 Grand Am, 8.672 (-1.028)
9. Ray Scardelli, Manalapan, NJ, GT/H '97 Probe, 10.122 (-1.028)
10. Randy Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, GT/GA '92 Camaro, 10.181 (-1.019)

Others include:
69. Eddie Diaz, Casselberry, Fla., SS/IA '68 Camaro, 10.725 (-0.275)
71. Bill Brooks, Kissimmee, Fla., SS/AA '68 Barracuda, 9.954 (-0.046)


STOCK
1. Joey Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, F/SA '99 Firebird, 10.981 seconds
(1.169-seconds under Index)
2. Joe Russell, East Sparta, Ohio, K/S '95 Mustang, 11.776 (-1.074)
3. Bob Dennis, Shorter, Ala., U/SA '82 Cutlass, 14.093 (-1.057)
4. Brandon Wood, Meigs, Ga., M/SA '85 Camaro, 12.096 (-1.054)
5. Don Martin, Dimondale, Mich., U/SA '82 Cutlass, 14.118 (-1.032)
6. Gary Russell, East Sparta, Ohio, L/S '94 Mustang, 11.993 (-1.007)
7. Lee Tuttle, Albany, Ga., T/SA '66 Chevrolet, 13.797 (-1.003)
8. Tom Baird, Blue Point, NY, A/S '69 Camaro, 10.258 (-0.992)
9. Randy Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, C/SA '99 Firebird, 10.724 (-0.976)
10. Jerry Newsome, Mayfield, Ky., B/SA '70 Challenger, 10.586 (-0.964)

Others include:
16. Jim Woods, Kissimmee, Fla., M/SA '77 Oldsmobile, 12.261 (-0.889)
42. Tom Trippy, Oviedo, Fla., J/SA '85 Camaro, 12.082 (-0.668)