HERNANDEZ, SAVELL, GLIDDEN, GAHM, PROCOPIA LEAD DRAGPALOOZA V QUALIFYING

While others struggled with the tricky race track, local favorite Joshua Hernandez set the pace in Pro Extreme (PX) with a blistering 3.83 run in first round qualifying for the Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza V, round one of the ten-race National Guard ADRL tour.

Tim Savell, Billy Glidden, Ron Procopio and Brian Gahm also led their respective categories at the end of qualifying under the lights at Houston Raceway Park.

HERNANDEZ, SAVELL, GLIDDEN, GAHM, PROCOPIA LEAD DRAGPALOOZA V QUALIFYING

While others struggled with the tricky race track, local favorite Joshua Hernandez set the pace in Pro Extreme (PX) with a blistering 3.83 run in first round qualifying for the Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza V, round one of the ten-race National Guard ADRL tour.

Tim Savell, Billy Glidden, Ron Procopio and Brian Gahm also led their respective categories at the end of qualifying under the lights at Houston Raceway Park.

Hernandez’ stellar 3.83 – 199.02 run over the eighth-mile came midway through qualifying as most other teams were over-powering the race track. Hernandez said afterwards that going into the sole Friday night session he was confident his Jim-Oddy-tuned ‘68 Camaro would deliver a strong run.

“It was awesome, it really was,” said the Houston resident. “We tested last weekend in Georgia and saw we could make that kind of power. When I saw that big number come up I was really happy for the National Guard and everybody on the team.

“I was really surprised when the other guys didn’t step up. I thought the track was there and the weather conditions were there. These things are tricky and my guys just found the right combination so that it went right down Broadway.”

For Pro Nitrous (PN) racer Savell, his 3.99 – 185.89 No. 1 qualifier came with a brand new engine making its first full pass down the eighth-mile.

“It (his run) was really good for the conditions,” said Savell. “This is a brand new Reher Morrison motor and we don’t have any data. We just got lucky. It was just an awesome hit. The best part is that we finally got some data.”

Savell said afterwards that he was surprised that a good deal of the nitrous field had struggled during the session.

“Well, everybody here is just so good, I guess we just got lucky,” said the Terry, Mississippi resident. “That was the first 3.90 we’d ever run.”

Reigning world champion Glidden found it wasn’t easy to claim the top spot in the Extreme 10.5 (XTF) class despite a strong 4.185 – 173.45 mph run. Glidden’s nitrous-injected small block was just two-thousandths of a second quicker than ADRL newcomer Jake Carlton who ran a 4.187 – 174.80.

Many had expected Gary White to be the man to beat in XTF after running consistent 4.12s in testing here at Houston Raceway Park during last weekend’s Goodridge Spring Stampede. However, White lost traction early in his run and coasted to a 6.72 – 84.72.

Procopio led a tight Pro Extreme Motorcycle (PXM) qualifying session with his 4.27 – 175.14 run. His 175 mph mark would eclipse the current record (173.61 held by Nikie Corley) if he can back it up within 1% during competition on Saturday.

In the past, the PXM class would have been the first professional class to make qualifying runs, but with the addition of Extreme Pro Stock to the National Guard ADRL roster of professional categories, they now run second.

Procopio likes the change.

“It was a big plus for us,” said Procopio. “It used to be hard to go onto a cold track with a small tire.”

Was he confident he could reset the miles per hour mark?

“Well, it all depends on what the weather conditions are,” said Procopio. “But, yes.”

In Extreme Pro Stock (XPS), Gahm’s 4.10 – 176.03 run edged out Doug Kirk’s 4.11 – 176.42 for the top spot.

“It was a good run, a little loose in the middle,” said Gahm. “It’s just great to be here.”

While only five Extreme Pro Stock entries took qualifying runs on Friday it marked the debut of XPS as an official class in National Guard ADRL competition.  More teams are expected to join the field for Saturday’s final two rounds of qualifying. Gahm is up for the challenge.

“I look forward to it,” he said. “We’re having a ball here.”

Pro Extreme driver Todd Tutterow became the third and final member to join the very exclusive three-man Flowmaster Pro Extreme 200 mph Club with his 201.43 mph run.

Tutterow said afterwards that breaking the 200-mph mark had been his team’s main goal going into the nighttime qualifying session.

“We knew we could do it,” said Tutterow. “The way the track was, we knew we would be a little slow at the front, but we knew we could run 200 miles per hour.”

In Pro Junior Dragster, Dillon Richards claimed the provisional No. 1 spot with his .015 reaction time.

Pro Nitrous driver Doug Riesterer suffered minor injuries during qualifying after his car crossed lanes just past the 100 ft. mark on the track and bounced off the right side wall and then careened across to the other side of the track, finally coming to a rest against the left lane wall at about half track. Riesterer, who credited the use of his HANS device with preventing him from more serious injuries, declared his car to be damaged beyond repair.

It’ll be a short weekend as well for Texan Don Wootton and his controversial nitromethane injected 1969 Camaro Pro Extreme entry. Earlier in the day, during a practice run, Wootton damaged the drivetrain, forcing his team to end their quest to qualify for the event.

“We knew it (the driveshaft) might be a problem going in,” said Wootton. “We know what’s wrong and how to fix it. However, we’ll not be able to repair it this weekend. Joe (Monden) and the rest of the team did a great job getting us ready for the weekend, despite all that went on this past week. We’ll be ready for (the next National Guard ADRL race) Valdosta (GA).”

Qualifying continues on Saturday with two sessions at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. (local time). Final eliminations are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Results Friday after the first of three rounds of qualifying for the ADRL Safety Kleen Dragpalooza V at Houston Raceway Park, round one of the ten race National Guard ADRL tour.  Qualifying will continue Saturday (10 a.m. and 1 p.m.) with final eliminations at 4 p.m. (All times local)

Pro Extreme – 1. Joshua Hernandez, 3.831 seconds, 199.02 mph; 2. Jason Hamstra, 3.893, 194.77; 3. Jason Scruggs, 3.900, 197.13, 4. Todd Tuttterow, 3.945, 201.43; 5. Ron Muenks, 3.986, 194.80; 6. Ken Thomas, 3.996, 180.79; 7. Mike Neal, 4.057, 183.87; 8. Bil Clanton, 4.072, 180.65

Pro Nitrous – 1. Tim Savell, 3.994, 185.89; 2. Rickie Smith, 4.018, 188.70; 3. Keith Baker, 4.077, 181.79; 4. Steve Vick, 4.086, 180.52; 5. Josh Chester, 4.114, 178.78; 6. Jim Halsey, 4.119, 181.01; 7. Jackie Deaver, 4.542, 164.69; 8. John DeFlorian, Jr. 4.827, 108.39

Extreme 10.5 – 1. Billy Glidden 4.185, 173.45; 2. Jake Carlton, 4.187, 174.80; 3. Jeff Naiser, 4.211, 168.22; 4. Chuck Ulsch, 4.213, 182.35; 5. Michelle Wilson, 4.417, 169.40; 6. Ray Conover, 4.485, 166.89; 7. Steve Gorman, 4.523, 160.33, 8. Michael Neal, 4.984, 124.80

Pro Extreme Motorcycle – 1. Ronald Procopio, 4.277, 175.14; 2. Scott Gray, 4.313, 168.11, 3. Matt Prophit, 4.336, 159.72; 4. Casey Stemper, 4.341, 166.74; 5. Robert Hunnicutt, 4.392, 161.85; 6. T T Jones, 4.394, 168.89, 7. Darian Guillory, 4.413, 174.87; 8. Mac McAdams, 4.453, 158.82

Extreme Pro Stock – 1. Brian Gahm, 4,105, 176.03; 2. Doug Kirk, 4.119, 174.42; 3. Robert Patrick, Jr., 4.120, 176.81; 4. Matt Hartford, 4.124, 175.89, 5. Elijah Morton, 4.681, 115.91 

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