ADRL VIRGINIA - EVENT RESULTS
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FINAL RESULTS - SCRUGGS, AUXIER HIGHLIGHT ADRL VMP WINNERS
The 2011 American Drag Racing League (ADRL) season has been the most frustrating of Jason Scruggs’ highlight-filled career.
But that tune changed in a major way on Saturday at Virginia Motorsports Park.
One of the pioneers and most successful drivers in the ADRL’s Pro Extreme class, Scruggs struggled like never before this season, but that only made his performance during the Speedtech U.S. Drags IV that much sweeter.
Scruggs wrapped up a thrilling weekend with a career-best 3.63 at 206.70 miles per hour, knocking off Mick Snyder in the finals of what immediately became one of the most memorable weekends of his career.
“We’ve won two championships and a lot of races, but we’ve never struggled this bad. After knowing how it felt to struggle that much, to win this race after all of that feels better than those championships,” Scruggs said. “It was the most exciting win I’ve ever had.”
It sent a huge VMP crowd home happy and they had plenty to cheer about on Saturday.
The winners list also include Mike Castellana (Pro Nitrous), Dan Millen (Extreme 10.5), Ashley Owens (Pro Extreme Motorcycle), Dean Goforth (Extreme Pro Stock), Glenn Teets Jr. (Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman) and Mike Janis (Pro Modified).
World records were set in two classes as well, and the largest ADRL field in 2011 turned in one of the finest performances of the year in front of a delighted and energetic VMP crowd.
Scruggs provided the final highlight of Saturday’s fast-paced action, knocking off Mick Snyder with his best pass of the weekend. He went 3.66 or better in every run during eliminations – finally finding a rhythm with his converter combination – knocking off points leader Jason Hamstra in the semifinals with a 3.64.
“We’ve had so many guys helping us and we just appreciate all of it. I have to thank Speedtech and Hoosier Tires, Garrett (Race Cars) for sticking with me the whole time, and, of course, my dad, my crew, my wife and my kids,” Scruggs said. “It felt like we had a good hot rod out there this weekend.”
Burton Auxier set a new world record in Pro Nitrous, destroying the old mark with an unbelievable 3.746 during the first round of eliminations.
But his car broke in the semifinals against the consistent Castellana, who went 3.82 or 3.81 in every elimination round to pick up his third win this season. The Al-Anabi Racing driver then strengthened his points lead in the competitive PN class, going 3.827 at 196.19 mph to beat Jeff Naiser in the finals.
Castellana also watched No. 1 qualifier and teammate Mahana Al-Naemi crash hard into the wall during semifinals, though he went 3.812 moments later to move to the finals.
“You have to be fast, but you have to be consistent, too,” Castellana said. “We just didn’t want to do anything crazy. This is great. Winning never gets old.”
In Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Ashley Owens and his Fast by Gast bike made history in two major ways.
Not only did he pick up his 13th career win, which is a new ADRL record, Owens also became the first rider in PXM history to reach the illustrious 3-second mark.
He did it first in the quarterfinals, going 3.989, and then followed it up with a new world record pass of 3.977 at 179.42 mph in the finals.
“That was the culmination of two years of work,” team owner Paul Gast said. “We never could have dreamed to have this much success, but with the work and effort we’ve put in, it really feels good. After so many 4.01 and 4.02s, we felt like it had to happen.”
Owens also needed every part of that 3.977 in the finals, as Casey Stemper nearly won due to a .007 reaction time. Owens barely tracked him down, edging him out by just .003 in a spectacular final round that came after the class had its quickest qualifying bump in history (4.21).
“He was out there on me. I thought I was going to run out of track,” said Owens, who has four wins in 2011. “I’m just happy to get the win light. We put in a lot of work and to get two 3s and win, it’s a great weekend.
“I can’t thank Paul enough. This bike is just unreal and we needed every bit of it.”
Dan Millen used every bit of power from his Jerry Bickel Race Cars 2011 Mustang, going 3.883 at 198.03 mph in the finals of Extreme 10.5.
The time broke a track record and it was just enough to edge out No. 1 qualifier Chuck Ulsch, who went 3.897 in the championship round.
The victory, which is the second in three races for Millen, also allowed him to pass Billy Glidden for the points lead.
“We had it all hanging out there. The car was maxed out,” Millen said.
“Compared to the beginning of the year, this stretch has really brightened our season. The middle part of the year has really put us in a much better position. Our goal coming in was to get ahead of Billy and we did that.”
Dean Goforth celebrated his second career win and first since 2009 when he went 4.095 at 174.91 to slip past defending world champion John Montecalvo.
Goforth’s Jerry Haas Race Cars-built GXP was quicker off the line, leading to an emotional celebration in the winner’s circle.
“This means a lot to me, but my crew is awesome and they won this race. They made it all possible,” Goforth said. “This is just wonderful.
“Jerry has really given us a good car. I really think it’s the best one he’s every built, and (Sonny’s Racing Engines) has given us great horsepower, too.”
In Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman, Glenn Teets Jr. went 4.373 at 161.04 mph to knock off Sandy Wilkins in the finals.
Wilkins had a perfect reaction time of .000 in the semifinals to slip past No. 1 qualifier Ronnie Davis, but Teets had a great .015 reaction time in the finals to celebrate a win in a big and wildly-competitive Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman class.
“This was great. I’ve never felt anything like that,” Teets said. “Just the atmosphere and the fans, this was like heaven. This is the kind of racing that I love.”
The debut of Pro Modified in the ADRL was also a rousing success, as the eight-car exhibition featured a number of standouts runs.
None could top Janis in eliminations, however, as he put together back-to-back runs of 3.914, including one in the finals against Khalid Al-Balooshi. The holeshot win on Saturday also comes 10 years after Janis’ first victory at VMP.
“This track has always been good to us and just to win, period, is special,” Janis said.
“We saw a lot of encouraging things and it was just a great weekend.”
In Pro Junior Dragster, Trevor Wilson ousted Tia Tutterow in the finals, going 7.979 at 80.94 mph to get the win.
The seventh stop on the nine-race 2011 ADRL Tour – Dragstock VIII – takes place on Sept. 9-10 at Rockingham Dragway.
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SATURDAY FINAL SESSION
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - AL-NAEMI, TAYLOR, ULSCH HEADLINE FRIDAY ADRL QUALIFIERS
Mahana Al-Naemi made sure the final pass on Friday at Virginia Motorsports Park was one to remember.
The Pro Nitrous standout delivered an incredible and possibly record-breaking run to end the third round of qualifying at the Speedtech U.S. Drags IV, going a blistering 3.784 at 198.15 miles per hour to send the crowd home buzzing.
Not only did it send the Al-Anabi Racing driver to the top qualifying spot, but it becomes a new class record if Al-Naemi can back it up tomorrow in his Rick Jones Race Cars Camaro.
“We knew we could do it, we just had to get the numbers right,” legendary crew chief Shannon Jenkins said. “The track was definitely there.”
Track records and overall class records were shattered in numerous classes, as the action delivered during qualifying at one of the fastest tracks on the ADRL Tour.
Every class but Pro Extreme made three qualifying passes on Friday, as the track curfew that went into effect kept PX qualifying to two sessions.
Their third session will begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow before the fourth and final qualifying session for all classes will begin. Final eliminations for the Speedtech U.S. Drags IV will follow.
Other top qualifiers after Friday include Frankie Taylor in Pro Extreme (3.668), Chuck Ulsch in Extreme 10.5 (3.902), Ashley Owens in Pro Extreme Motorcycle (4.027), Cary Goforth (4.084), Ronnie Davis in Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman (4.091) and Mike Knowles in Pro Modified (3.90).
Al-Naemi, who set both ends of the track record, has his sights set on his fifth straight No. 1 qualifying spot after making the second quickest pass in Pro Nitrous history.
It’s another sign that Al-Naemi is steadily improving during his rookie season in the ADRL.
“He’s improved greatly. Mahana’s getting more and more confident with each pass, and he’s doing a phenomenal job,” Jenkins said. “We give him the car, but he knows what to do with it.
“We’re pretty proud of (possibly being the No. 1 qualifier for the fifth straight race). That’s pretty good.”
Burton Auxier is right behind with his career-best in the ADRL, as his 3.803 has him in second with Al-Naemi’s teammate, Mike Castellana, in third with a 3.827.
In Pro Extreme, Taylor was one of only a handful of drivers to get down the track on the opening session, as his Jeffers Pro Cars Corvette went 3.668 at 204.88 mph to easily outdistance his competition.
“We softened it up just to make it go down the track,” Taylor said. “We saw everyone was struggling, but the track felt good and we just had to soften things up. It turned out pretty well and we were definitely happy about it.”
Points leader Jason Hamstra is No. 2 with a 3.705, while former champion Jason Scruggs made his best pass of 2011, going 3.709 to move to third.
Like Al-Naemi, Chuck Ulsch and his PSI Supercharger-powered Extreme 10.5 Camaro saved the best for last.
In the final run of the night for the class, Ulsch went an incredible 3.902 at 205.01 mph to set new track records.
What made it even more impressive was that the run came following a mad thrash in the pits after Ulsch bent a rod in his engine during the second pass. The team worked furiously to get the car repaired and then delivered one of the finest runs of the evening, regardless of class.
“To thrash like we did and get that, it felt great,” Ulsch said. “We come to race, have fun and win.”
Taylor is second in XTF with a 3.911, while Dan Millen is close behind after his 3.914.
Ashley Owens set another track record in Pro Extreme Motorcycle, going 4.027 at 176.12 mph, and the Fast by Gast bike wasn’t done there.
On that run, he became the first PXM rider to record a 60-foot time of less than one second (0.996), adding another achievement for the record-setting bike.
“That’s pretty good. We tried to run (3 seconds) and it’s very seldom we try to do that,” team owner Paul Gast said. “We had some experimental things on that pass and we just dropped off a little bit at the other end.”
The 3-second run will have to wait, but Owens seems on point for his fifth No. 1 qualifying spot. The talented field, though, continued to improve as the 4.214 bump spot makes it the quickest field in PXM history by far.
A total of 12 bikes went in the 4.10s or quicker, including Casey Stemper’s 4.089 and Terry Schweigert’s 4.112.
“I’m happy as can be for the class. It’s great to see,” Gast said.
Cary Goforth made a late charge thanks to another spectacular performance from the points leader in a class continuing to put together amazing days.
He went 4.084 in his Jerry Haas Race Cars GXP under the lights on his final pass, jumping several competitors to move into the top spot.
“We were having clutch problems all day and we knew we had to step it up,” Goforth said. “The guys were nervous, but we put in a new one from Ram Clutches in and it made all the difference in the world.”
Dean Goforth went 4.089 for second and John Montecalvo, the leader after two sessions, is in third with a 4.096.
Goforth and his Sonny’s Racing Engine will have their work cut out for them if they hope to win their second straight race. The top 16 XPS cars are separated by just .054.
“We need to keep our momentum going on our side, but I have to get better on the tree,” Goforth said. “I’m not cutting the lights I’m accustomed to, so I have to do better there, but I’m happy.”
Mike Knowles was another driver who ended his day with a bang, going 3.90 at 189.92 mph to take the top spot in the first ADRL Pro Modified exhibition.
“That’s what we were looking for,” Knowles said. “We had it pretty hopped up.”
Leah Pruett-Leduc is No. 2 after going 3.926 in her R2B2 Camaro with Mike Janis right behind at 3.941.
“This is our first ADRL event and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been very enjoyable,” Knowles said. “It’s a great opportunity for us and it’s definitely going to grow.”
Top Sportsman standout Ronnie Davis made his first ADRL appearance, putting together an impressive display in Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman, going 4.091 at 180 mph.
“That felt real good. It’s our second race with this engine, so we’re still trying to learn it, but we’re having a good time,” Davis said. “It’s awesome here and they gave us just an awesome track.”
Earl Folse sits in second with a 4.12 and L.J. Wood’s 4.151 has him in third.
Carrie Wilson is the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Junior Dragster after posting a .001 reaction time.
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FRIDAY - SECOND SESSION
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FRIDAY - FIRST SESSION
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