2009 ADRL TOPEKA - SAME DAY COVERAGE

Keep up with this weekend's ADRL Independence Drags by reading our same day coverage. We bring you the stories behind the numbers and win-lights throughout the course of the weekend. Tune in daily for the latest news from the pits.


		EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK RUN-BY-RUN RESULTS LIVE AUDIO LIVE TIMING			THURSDAY GALLERY FRIDAY GALLERY SATURDAY GALLERY

SATURDAY - NO RAIN DELAY, TOPEKA EVENT COMPLETED

Janis, Jenkins, Glidden, Gray and Morton Tops in Topeka for National Guard ADRL

Lancaster, NY’s Mike Janis is all smiles upon climbing from his car as the Pro Extreme winner at the National Guard ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags III at Heartland Park Topeka.

Veteran racers dominated victory lane for the National Guard ADRL July 4, as Mike Janis earned his first Pro Extreme title, Shannon Jenkins scored his second Pro Nitrous trophy in as many days, Billy Glidden returned to winning in Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 after just one day’s absence, Scott Gray picked up his third career Pro Extreme Motorcycle win and Elijah Morton joined Janis as a first-time winner in Extreme Pro Stock at the Hardee’s Independence Drags III at Heartland Park Topeka.

Though a National Guard ADRL rookie this year, Janis is a former world champion with another sanctioning body and has been working on adapting his supercharged 1968 Camaro’s tune-up to running the ADRL’s eighth-mile race distance. After qualifying sixth in Topeka, he outran Wes Johnston in the opening round, received a free pass in round two when Neal Wantye’s car broke during its burnout, ran a career-best 3.74 at 200.71 mph in the semis against Joshua Hernandez and defeated Cody Barklage with a strong 3.85-seconds pass at 197.65 in the Pro Extreme final.

“After going without a win all of last year in another series I was starting to wonder if we’d ever get one again, but we’ve really been working hard at getting better at this kind of racing,” Janis said. “Hopefully it won’t take that long to get another one.”

Shannon Jenkins shows off the hardware he received after posting back-to-back wins over two days of National Guard ADRL Pro Nitrous racing Heartland Park Topeka.

Jenkins didn’t have to wait long at all to follow-up his previous event National Guard ADRL win, as he was victorious July 3, also at Topeka, in the rain-postponed Ford Drive One Summer Drags V event from three weeks earlier when the series visited Martin, Michigan.

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” declared the man they call “The Iceman” after winning a record seventh National Guard ADRL event on Saturday night.

Number-one qualifier Jenkins drove his ’68 Camaro to convincing wins over Thomas Myers, a redlighting Charles Carpenter and Stan Allen before coming up lucky in the final round when he suffered a loss of traction and ran an off-the-pace 5.17, but opponent Pat Stoken’s car failed to start.

“I hate that happened to Pat; you always like to race for these things, but sometimes it’s even better to be lucky,” Jenkins said. “This was just one of those times.”

With his hands still bearing the evidence of a last-minute engine swap, reigning Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 World Champ Billy Glidden (center) embraces Kansas National Guard Sergeant Hubbard and race runner-up Jeff Paulk after winning the Hardee’s Independence Drags III at Topeka, KS.

Heading into Topeka and the make-up race from Michigan, Glidden, the reigning Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 world champion, had won the last five National Guard ADRL events in a row. That streak ended Friday night when he lost in the postponed Summer Drags quarter-finals, but only 24 hours later he was back to familiar ways.

After taking out Jason Wilson and making a solo pass when Todd Moyer had car trouble, Glidden said he “burned up” the nitrous-boosted, small-block Ford engine in his ’06 GTO at the conclusion of a 4.09 semi-final win over Gary White. After swapping in a new motor for the final, Glidden admitted to a little apprehension as he approached the line, wondering if every wire, fitting and hose were in place and tuned to perfection.

They must have been, as Glidden exactly matched the 4.090 posted by Jeff Paulk in the opposite lane, but won courtesy of taking a .015 advantage off the start. It was Paulk’s second appearance in a final round for the weekend after coming up just six thousandths short of his first National Guard ADRL win on Friday night.

“I lost two races by a combined total of 21-thousandths,” Paulk pointed out later. “So that’s not a bad weekend; just a bad result. We had fun, didn’t tear anything up and are getting better at every race. I’ll take that.”

Elijah Morton reacts to being introduced as the Extreme Pro Stock winner in a special, post-race ceremony at the Hardee’s Independence Drags III in Topeka, KS.

Also appearing in both the delayed Michigan final and the Topeka decider was Gray, who reversed his fortunes with a stripe-to-stripe win over Matt Prophit. Gray rode his ’08 Suzuki to a fourth-place start, then took wins over Ronald Procopio, T.T. Jones and Ashley Owens, who he’d fallen to the previous day, before taking on Prophit.

Gray left with a .021 holeshot, and then made his best pass of the event at 4.25 and 167.49 to edge out Prophit and become the winningest rider in the class with three race titles to his name.

“I just race my own lane so I didn’t even know how close Matt was, but most definitely it felt good to see that win light come on,” Gray said. “Last night I had to race probably the hottest rider in the class right now (Owens) and then tonight I had the points leader (Prophit), so to beat them both today feels really good.”

After qualifying 11th, Morton said he felt like his 824 c.i.-equipped 2007 Mustang was getting better in each round of eliminations, though it was a holeshot that earned him the win in round two against Doug Kirk after he took down Dean Goforth. In the semis, Morton took care of top qualifier Brian Gahm with a solid 4.14 pass, then repeated the number in the final while Jeff Dobbins coasted down the opposite lane after losing traction immediately off the start.

“We weren’t even planning on coming out here,” said Morton, who hails from Jacksonville, NC. “We usually just hang out and take it easy to celebrate the Fourth of July, but my guys told me they’d come if I would, so here we are. I’m glad we came.”

With 27 entrants in the all-run Pro Jr. Dragster field, only Trevor Wilson had to survive five rounds of racing to earn his first National Guard Junior Minuteman trophy. Wilson, of Battle Creek, Michigan, ran the Topeka eighth mile in 7.80 seconds at 80.91 mph against a 7.73 dial to win in the final over Zana Hines.

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FRIDAY - ADRL COMPLETES RAIN DELAYED MARTIN EVENT IN TOPEKA

With bad weather once more approaching, the National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) was in hurry-up mode this evening at Heartland Park Topeka with final-round eliminations for the Ford Drive One Summer Drags V, already postponed by rain three weeks ago at Martin, Michigan.

With little time to spare, Joshua Hernandez secured a National Guard ADRL-leading sixth Pro Extreme win, while Shannon Jenkins matched that total in Pro Nitrous and Ashley Owens won his second Pro Extreme Motorcycle race in a row. The Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 class and Extreme Pro Stock both delivered first-time event winners, however, in Jeff Naiser and John Montecalvo, respectively.

Hernandez ran 3.90 seconds at 191.84 miles per hour over the National Guard ADRL’s eighth-mile course in the final round, with opponent Bubba Stanton left stranded on the starting line with a broken supercharger on his 1963 Corvette.

“It’s been almost a year since I won one of these, but what a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend and honor our National Guard soldiers,” said Hernandez, driver of the National Guard-backed ’57 Chevy. “It must be true that absence makes the heart grow fonder because I sure am fond of this!”

The Pro Nitrous final featured a battle of Alabama-based veterans, with Jenkins and his Speedtech ’68 Camaro coming out on top with a 3.92/190.03 lap against Johnny Pilcher, who had to shut off early with tire shake.

“The car worked perfect all day, but especially those last two rounds where it ran almost identical (times),” Jenkins said, adding the win gives him extra confidence for tomorrow’s qualifying and eliminations for the Hardee’s Independence Drags III. “We’re in good shape; now we’ll see if we can do this again.”

Doing it again came naturally for Owens, who won his career-first race under similar conditions in a rain-postponed final from Memphis at the Michigan event. In Topeka, he overcame a starting-line advantage by Scott Gray by posting a 4.26-seconds pass at 169.81 mph astride the 2005 Suzuki owned by fellow rider T.T. Jones.

Naiser said his Extreme 10.5 win was welcome relief after coming up short in the previous event in the final round against reigning class champ Billy Glidden, who bowed out in round two, breaking a five race winning streak that dated back to last fall.

“That’s what we’re here to do, is win,” Naiser said after going 4.11 at 177.02 to edge out Jeff Paulk by just six-thousandths of a second. “It doesn’t matter who’s in the other lane, all I want to do is beat them to the finish and today it finally all worked out.”

Montecalvo was equally thrilled with his first National Guard ADRL Extreme Pro Stock win after leading Jason Collins stripe-to-stripe with a 4.19 at 164.87-mph trip down the Topeka strip.

“I’ve been in a couple of these finals before and I would always hear the winners say, ‘That was a damn good drag race,’ and I would always think it was pretty good, but not damn good. Well, today it’s damn good!”

Saturday’s on-track action at Heartland Park Topeka will begin at 10 a.m. with the remainder of the opening round of Pro Extreme qualifying for the Hardee’s Independence Drags III, cut short by rain with several pairs of cars waiting in the staging lanes, followed by two scheduled rounds of qualifying for all five professional National Guard ADRL classes and eliminations to determine champions for the Independence Drags.

In the first all-girl National Guard ADRL Pro Jr. Dragster final, Samantha Coe (near lane) won her first Junior Minuteman trophy after Raven Dupriest left .007 too soon.

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EVENT PREVIEW - NATIONAL GUARD ADRL AND HARDEE'S SERVE UP TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL IN TOPEKA

Race fans are in for a rare treat this weekend as National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) competitors go after two major event wins during the Hardee’s Independence Drags III at Heartland Park Topeka, in Kansas.

Rain cut short the National Guard ADRL’s previous event last month at Martin, Michigan, after just one round of eliminations for all five of the all-eighth-mile series’ professional classes were in the books. So, Friday in Topeka will feature the three leftover rounds of racing from the Ford Drive One Summer Drags V, along with one full round of scheduled qualifying for the Independence Drags.

“It’s going to be an action-packed day,” National Guard ADRL Executive VP of Competition Bubba Corzine promised. “You can be sure the drivers and teams will be pumped up and ready to race. Those who are still in it from the Michigan event have had all that extra time to get ready and anyone who didn’t make it into round two will be looking to step up in qualifying to get a good start on Saturday.”

Among the favorites in Pro Extreme, representing the fastest-accelerating full-bodied race cars in the world, will be second-place points man Quain Stott with a chance to close in on leader Jason Scruggs, who suffered massive engine failure in his first-round loss at Michigan. Also looking for a good outing will be 2006 World Champion Bubba Stanton, on the rebound after a string of DNQs at the three previous events, along with Tommy D’Aprile and Joshua Hernandez, who both carded 200-mph wins in their opening-round wins at the Summer Drags.

In the flame-throwing Pro Nitrous division, rookie Khalid Al Balooshi has turned into one of the most consistent drivers on the National Guard ADRL tour, but he’ll be challenged by teammate Shannon Jenkins and Jim Halsey, winner of the past two races and a finalist in the last four events. Also looking strong in their first-round wins from Michigan were title contenders Johnny Pilcher and Stan Allen, who will square off with each other in the quarter finals.

The big question in Extreme 10.5, for cars with relatively narrow 10.5-inch-wide rear tires, will once again be: who can stop Billy Glidden? The reigning class champion has won the last five national events, but Jeff Naiser will be looking to redeem his final-round loss to Glidden in the previous event, while fellow Texan Todd Moyer or Chicago’s Spiro Pappas also would love to end the Glidden juggernaut.

Alabama’s Ashley Owens will lead the two-wheeled crowd into Topeka, fresh off his career-first win at the previous event and after making the quickest and fastest pass in Pro Extreme Motorcycle history (4.18 seconds at 180.30 mph) in his first-round win at the Summer Drags. Owens’ team owner, T.T. Jones, also remains in contention, as do veterans Scott Gray and Jack Young, along with relative newcomer Brunson Grothus.

Extreme Pro Stock, in its first season as an official National Guard ADRL class, features cars with naturally aspirated engines up to 827 cubic inches displacement. Points leader Brian Gahm has made it to all three finals completed this year, winning the last two times, but Doug Kirk, winner of the season opener at Houston, will be looking to tie his good friend in the win column. Michigan’s own Bob Bertsch also is in a position to advance, as are veteran racers John Montecalvo, Jeff Dobbins and John Konigshofer.

Saturday’s National Guard ADRL action at Heartland Park Topeka will include two scheduled rounds of qualifying for all five pro classes, followed by eliminations for the Hardee’s Independence Drags III, which represents the halfway point of the 2009 National Guard ADRL tour. Upon completion of the race a massive fireworks show will be set off at the end of the track, followed by trophy presentations and winner’s circle festivities.