NHRA FMDRS: Santos, Weaver heat things up in Bakersfield
1 May 2000
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.- Rick Santos of Brentwood, Calif., took his second consecutive Pacific Division event with a decisive win in the Federal-Mogul Dragster Category with a time of 5.539 seconds at 251.11 mph topping Steve Faria of Tipton, Calif., who clipped the quarter mile pass at 5.710 seconds at 246.30 mph. in warm conditions at Fomoso Raceway. "We struggled at the events in Boise, and Las Vegas, I'm just glad that we put that behind us and got the win today," said Santos. "The heat made track conditions difficult, but the team dialed the car in, and we came away with the win." John Weaver of Hanford, Calif., upset the number two qualifier Doug Gordon of Paso Robles, Calif., with a time of 5.844 seconds at 251.88 mph. taking his first win since the Salt Lake City event in 1998. "We've been working really hard, but struggled and things finally came through," said Weaver. "We came from behind in the final and began pulling away at about the eight hundred foot mark." Gordon posted a time of 5.983 seconds at 245.03 mph. The third event of the Pacific Division NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series will take place in Sacramento, Calif. on May 19-21, 2000. The following are the final results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Fomoso Raceway: FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER Round 1 1. Rick Santos, Brentwood, Calif., 5.413 seconds, 263.85 mph def. 8. Chris Lane, San Leandro, Calif., (No time recorded, broke) 2. Steve Faria, Tipton, Calif., 5.542, 260.04 (R/T 0.489) def. 7. Darren Nicholson, Mission Viejo, Calif., 5.497, 256.77 (R/T 0.597) 3. David Baca, Discovery Bay, Calif., 5.384, 257.36 def. 6. Paul Jones, Stockton, Calif., 5.944, 243.04 4. Brandon Henkelman, San Jose, Calif., 5.500, 260.71 def. 5. Mike Strasburg, Lindon, Utah, 5.585, 254.66 Semifinals 1. Santos, 5.551, 255.17 def. 4. Henkelman, 6.645, 148.63 2. Faria, 5.573, 253.16 (R/T 0.465) def. 3. Baca, 5.519, 253.44 (R/T 0.576) Final Round 1. Santos, 5.539, 251.11 def. Faria, 5.710, 246.30 FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR Round 1 8. Dennis Taylor, Anaheim, Calif., '00 Avenger, (No time recorded, broke) def. 1. Ron August Jr., Danville, Calif., '00 Camaro, 9.047, 99.08 (foul) 2. Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '99 Firebird, 5.912, 249.65 def. 7. Bret Williamson, Campbell, Calif., '00 Corvette, 5.965, 249.65 3. Rod Alexander, Simi Valley Calif., '97 Cutlass, 5.885, 247.93 (R/T 0.515) def. 6. Bernie Harrington, Apple Valley, Calif., '00 Avenger, 5.860, 243.04 (R/T 0.561) 5. John Weaver, Hanford, Calif., '99 Camaro, 5.793, 251.60 def. 4. Larry Miner, Woodbridge, Calif., '98 Dodge, 5.895, 245.63 Semifinals 5. Weaver, 5.953, 249.65 def. 8. Taylor, (No Show, broke) 2. Gordon, 7.297, 126.72 def. 3. Alexander, 6.550, 238.79 (foul) Final Round 5. Weaver, 5.844, 251.58 def. 2. Gordon, 5.983, 245.03 COMP ELIMINATOR Andy Manna, Covina, Calif., D/EA '33 Ford, 8.483,155.70 def. Jeff Gillete, Benicia, Calif., B/ED '97 Dragster, 7.022, 192.34 SUPER STOCK John Schiess, North Hills, Calif., GT/BA '91 Calais, 9.734, 135.62 def. Tony DeFrank, Tarzana, Calif., GT/FA '98 Grand Am, 10.325, 119.37 STOCK ELIMINATOR David Irvin, Glendale, Ariz., P/SA '65 Chevelle, 12.735, 102.71 def. Don Little, Westley, Calif., A/SA '70 Barracuda, 10.332, 128.49 SUPER ELIMINATOR Tom Koenen, Tucson, Ariz., '98 Dragster, 7.923, 167.16, def. Pat Jones, Westley, Calif., '96 Dragster, 7.918, 169.61 ET MOTORCYCLE Mike Fields, Sr., Sacramento, Calif., '99 Suzuki, (R/T 0.424) def. Shane Burrons, Clovis, Calif., '96 Suzuki, (R/T 0.528) SUPER COMP Mike solina, Poway, Calif., '98 Dragster, 8.868, 159.23 def. Larry Kinard, Spring Valley, Calif., '95 Dragster, (foul) SUPER GAS Larry Scarth, Manhattan Beach, Calif., '34 Roadster, 9.902, 127.95 def. Rick Takahashi, Pasadena, Calif., 9.891, 151.84 (Breakout) SUPER STREET Ted Kellner, San Jose, Calif., S/ST '77 Vega 10.858, 130.73 def. Tom Pulliam, Napa, Calif., S/ST '72 Challenger, 10.855, 134.60