FRIDAY BUDDS CREEK QUALIFYING
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Bob Gilbertson, Rick Cooper, Danny
Rowe, Robert Patrick and Mark Thomas Provisional Top
Qualifiers in
Maryland
Bob Gilbertson has been on a mission
lately. It all started at the World Nationals in Norwalk last month when the
Charlotte, N.C. resident eclipsed John Force’s long-standing track ET record. It
continued in Epping, N.H. at the Amalie Oil North American Nationals where
Gilbertson established a both ends of the IHRA World Record with a 4.841 pass at
318.09 mph. Friday, during the evening qualifying session at the Torco Racing
Fuels President’s Cup Nationals in Budds Creek, Md., Gilbertson continued his
assault on the record books.
In the second-to-last pair of cars in
Friday’s Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Funny Car qualifying session,
Gilbertson blistered the strip at Maryland International Raceway with a 4.762
pass at 323.35 mph. This pass set both ends of the professional record, pending
a qualifying back-up run sometime during the event.
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Bob Gilbertson, Rick Cooper, Danny
Rowe, Robert Patrick and Mark Thomas Provisional Top
Qualifiers in
Maryland
Bob Gilbertson has been on a mission
lately. It all started at the World Nationals in Norwalk last month when the
Charlotte, N.C. resident eclipsed John Force’s long-standing track ET record. It
continued in Epping, N.H. at the Amalie Oil North American Nationals where
Gilbertson established a both ends of the IHRA World Record with a 4.841 pass at
318.09 mph. Friday, during the evening qualifying session at the Torco Racing
Fuels President’s Cup Nationals in Budds Creek, Md., Gilbertson continued his
assault on the record books.
In the second-to-last pair of cars in
Friday’s Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Funny Car qualifying session,
Gilbertson blistered the strip at Maryland International Raceway with a 4.762
pass at 323.35 mph. This pass set both ends of the professional record, pending
a qualifying back-up run sometime during the event.
With teammate Doug Foley still
recovering from his injuries suffered in the final in Cayuga last week, Rick
Cooper (Boise, Idaho) put together a strong pass to move to the top of Friday’s
qualifying session in the Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Top Fuel class.
Cooper clocked a 4.635 at 320.13 mph to move to the top of the sheet. T.J. Zizzo
had previously set the new track mph record by clocking a 321.50 mph
pass.
Danny Rowe (Rossville, Ga.) moved to the top of the Friday
qualifying sheet in the Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Modified class as he
posted a 6.084 at 235.76 mph in his ’63 Corvette. Carl Spiering (Jordan Station,
Ont.) was the provisional #2 qualifier with a 6.086 at 235.64 mph. Mike Janis
(Lancaster, N.Y.) and Tommy D’Aprile (Port Charlotte, Fla.) both posted 6.087
passes Friday night, but Janis moved into the #3 position due to a superior
speed at the top end of the track.
Robert Patrick paced a Friday
qualifying session that saw 10 drivers eclipse the previous Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com Pro Stock track record. Each of those 10 drivers ran in the
6.30’s, led by Patrick’s 6.332 at 220.84 mph. Patrick (Fredericksburg, Va.)
grabbed the provisional top qualifying spot by running a solid three hundredths
quicker than the #2 driver, Dix Hills, N.Y. resident John Montecalvo, who posted
a 6.360 at 218.19 mph to grab the provisional #2 spot.
Mark Thomas (Louisville, Ohio) jumped
to the top of the provisional qualifying sheet in the Alcohol Funny Car class by
clocking a 5.882 pass at 246.44 mph in his Ethanol-sponsored Avenger. Thomas,
currently second in IHRA World Championship points standings, was one thousandth
quicker than Neal Parker…who carded a 5.883 pass.
Qualifying resumes
Saturday for the Torco Racing Fuels President’s Cup Nationals at Maryland
International Raceway. Gates open at 8 a.m. with Sportsman eliminations at 9:30
a.m., Professional qualifying at 3 and 7 p.m. Professional eliminations start
Sunday at 11 a.m.
