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NHRA FMDRS: Former Northwest Division Champ back on top in Federal Mogul Dragster

15 October 2000

LAS VEGAS, Nev.- Former Pacific Division Federal-Mogul Dragster champion
and "semi-retired" racer, Rick Henkelman of San Jose, Calif. drove his sons
Federal-Mogul Dragster to the No. 1 qualifying position at the Gambler
Nationals event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  In Federal-Mogul
Funny Car, Mike Andreotti of Colusa, Calif. captured the No. 1 qualifying
position in the final qualifying session.

Henkelman in his first race back after his self imposed retirement showed
the 19 other Federal-Mogul Dragster drivers why he was a former division
champion.  Henkelman took the reins of his sons Henkelman Motorsports
dragster because Brandon Henkelman had previous college obligations back at
Santa Clara University, where he is earning his Masters Degree in Finance. 
Henkelman made the trip to Las Vegas to test some new parts for Brandon's
2001 season.  Rick Hankelman took half the day off on Saturday after
posting the quickest and fastest run in Friday's qualifying session with a
pass of 5.485 seconds at 263.31 mph.  Las Vegas resident, Duane Shields
qualified his Short Line Express Markets Federal-Mogul Dragster in the No.
4 position with his best run of the weekend, 5.591 seconds at 254.28 mph.
"We just made the trip from San Jose [Calif.] to test new parts, set-ups,
and configurations for the 2001 season," said Rick Henkelman.  "Our No. 1
qualifier position is just icing on the cake."

In Federal-Mogul Funny Car, Andreotti came from nowhere in the final
qualifying session to capture his first $1000 Winston Top Qualifier Bonus
of the 2000 season.  Andreotti made the quickest pass of qualifying in his
'92 Dodge Daytona Federal-Mogul Funny Car with a run of 5.751 seconds at
240.96 mph.  The SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals Federal-Mogul Funny Car
champion, Rod Alexander of Simi Valley, Calif. qualified No. 2 with a pass
of 5.783 seconds at 250.23 mph.

Eliminations will begin at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday
at 8 a.m.  Gates open at         7 a.m.  Federal-Mogul Dragster and Funny
Car will begin eliminations at 11 a.m.  

The following are Saturday's qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul
Drag Racing Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
1) Rick Henkelman, San Jose, Calif. 5.485 seconds, 263.31 mph vs. 8) Dale
Carlson, Olympia, Wash., 5.703, 243.33
2) Darren Nicholson, Mission Viejo, Calif., 5.539, 255.97 vs. 7) Bob
Perkins, Bluffdale, Utah, 5.676, 246.21
3)   Mike Strasburg, Lindon, Utah, 5.557, 255.92 vs. 6) John Shoemaker,
Sacramento, Calif., 5.662, 239.53
4)   Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Nev., 5.591, 254.28 vs. 5) Steve Federlin,
Oregon City, Ore., 5.632, 251.49

Alternates
1. Steve Faria, Tipton, Calif., 5.732, 250.69
2. Steve Cantrell, Wilmington, Del., 5.764, 228.92
3. Tony Meredyk, Cypress, Calif., 5.799, 237.42
4. Cliff Bingham, Huntington Beach, Calif., 5.866, 242.45
5. Darryl Hitchman, Hanford, Calif., 5.879, 225.63
6. Gregg Lawrence, Salem, Ore., 5.960, 237.46
7. Brent DuCray, Grand Junction, Colo., 6.304, 165.60
8. Fred Notzka, Ventura, Calif., 6.576, 178.19
9. Ed Vickroy, Fontana, Calif., 6.984, 157.04
10. J. Marshall Topping, Costa Mesa, Calif., 7.085, 152.33
11. Gary Anderson, Anaheim, Calif., 10.312, 91.57

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 
1) Mike Andreotti, Colusa, Calif., '92 Daytona, 5.751, 244.96 vs. 8) Mert
Littlefield, Garden Grove, Calif., '00 Camaro, 5.926, 238.51
2) Rod Alexander, Simi Valley, Calif., '97 Oldsmobile Cutlass, 5.783,
250.23 vs. 7) John Patton, Peoria, Ariz., '99 Pontiac Firebird, 5.918,
242.54
3) Steve Gasparrelli, Covina, Calif., '99 Pontiac Firebird, 5.814, 246.39
vs. 6) Russ Parker, Salem, Ore., '00 Dodge Avenger, 5.902, 245.45
4) Ed Marx, Stockton, Calif., '00 Dodge Avenger, 5.817, 247.88 vs. John
Weaver, Hanford, Calif., '00 Camaro, 5.851, 250.74 

Alternates
1. James Bartoli, Duarte, Calif., '97 Cutlass, 5.940, 237.92
2. Bob Gallio, Fullerton, Calif., '00 Camaro, 5.952, 243.28
3. Dennis Taylor, Anaheim, Calif., '00 Avenger, 5.967, 245.36
4. Lyle Greenberg, Albuquerque, N.M., '93 Dodge Daytona, 5.993, 242.10
5. Lawren Jones, Albuquerque, N.M., '00 Chevrolet Corvette, 6.067, 232.47
6. Jason Rupert, Anaheim, Calif., '00 Avenger, 6.069, 229.24
7. Bernie Harrington, Apple Valley, Calif., '00 Avenger, 6.088, 234.00

COMP ELIMINATOR
1. Andy Manna Jr., Covina, Calif., '90 Pontiac Trans Am, D/EA, 8.570
(0.670-seconds under Index)
2. Clint Sallee, Glendive, Mont., '00 Dragster, C/D, 7.154 (-0.646)
3. Ed Sigmon, Chatsworth, Calif., '34 Chevrolet Roadster, C/SR, 8.899
(-0.621)
4. Larry Hedlund, Irvine, Calif., '95 Chevrolet Camaro, A/SM, 8.621
(-0.599)
5. Rick Braun, Redlands, Calif., '97 Trans Am, C/EA, 8.443 (-0.597)
6. Rich Howell, Yorba Linda, Calif., '00 Dragster, C/D, 7.204 (-0.596)
7. Jimmy DeFrank, Tarzana, Calif., '89 Oldsmobile Cutlass, C/EA, 8.462
(-0.578)
8. John Chamberlain, Napa, Calif., '88 Dragster, B/D, 7.017 (-0.573)
9. Adam Bowdish, Lake Oswego, Ore., '89 Pontiac Firebird, C/SM, 9.188
(-0.572)
10. Jim Kennedy, San Jose, Calif., '00 Chevrolet S-10, A/T, 7.753 (-0.567) 

SUPER STOCK
1. Don Studley, Orange, Calif., '99 Dodge Dakota, GT/TD, 10.688
(1.352-seconds under index)
2. Steve Wann, Modesto, Calif., '98 Dodge Avenger, GT/TD, 10.819 (-1.221)
3. Bob Lambeck, Northridge, Calif., '98 Oldsmobile Cutlass, SS/CM, 9.067
(-1.083)
4. Tony DeFrank, Tarzana, Calif., '98 Grand Am, GT/FA, 10.314 (-1.066)
5. Frank Grossi, Upland, Calif., '00 Pontiac Grand Am, GT/BA, 9.748
(-1.062)
6. Dave Rayburn, Modesto, Calif., '68 Dodge Dart, SS/AA, 9.192 (-1.058)
7. Gary Williams, Mariposa, Calif., '64 Mercury Comet, SS/MA, 11.426
(-1.024)
8. John Gallina, Henderson, Nev., '87 Buick Regal, SS/DX, 8.820 (-1.020)
9. Howard Thompson, Wildomar, Calif., '95 Ford Mustang, GT/EA, 10.221
(-0.999)
10. Curt Auman, Yorba Linda, Calif., '90 Chevrolet Beretta, SS/AM, 8.795
(-0.995)
                                                   

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1. Steve Couch, Sidney, Neb., '00 Dodge Dakota, DT/SA, 12.323
(1.517-seconds under Index)
2. Darren Smith, Palmdale, Calif., '98 Dodge Dakota, DT/SA, 12.346 (-1.494)
3. Scott North, West Valley, Utah, '84 Buick Riviera, AF/SA, 14.241
(-1.179)
4. Marka Gallina, Henderson, Nev., '84 Buick Regal, L/SA, 12.167 (-1.153)
5. Bob Johnson, Aurora, Colo., '67 Ford Mustang, D/SA, 11.007 (-1.143)
6. Robert Pond, Riverside, Calif., '67 Ford Fairlane, A/S, 10.405 (-1.125)
7. Don Little, Westley, Wash., '70 Plymouth Cuda, A/SA, 10.482 (-1.098)
8. Scott Hilton, Sun Valley, Calif., '67 Ford Mustang, E/S, 11.171 (-1.079)
9. Richie Pauley, Newhall, Calif., '68 Ford Mustang, C/SA, 10.920 (-1.070)
10. Tom Roberts, Mira Loma, Calif., '76 Dodge Aspen, J/SA, 12.017 (-1.053)

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