IHRA CANADIAN NATIONALS - SAME DAY COVERAGE
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FINAL - McMillen Thunders to Top Fuel Ironman at Grand Bend Motorplex
Paul Noakes’ Alcohol Funny Car win completes dream weekend for McMillen’s Hoosier Thunder Motorsports
Terry McMillen was not satisfied with one Ironman. After watching Paul Noakes, driving his Amalie Oil InstiGator, claim the Alcohol Funny Car championship at the Mopar Canadian Nationals, McMillen figured he might as well put the icing on the proverbial cake. He knocked off rookie Spencer Massey in the Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel final round to put a second Hoosier Thunder Motorsports car in the winner’s circle at Grand Bend Motorplex.
“What a weekend…this is something you can just dream about,” McMillen said. “Getting both cars to the finals was a goal, to be fortunate enough to have both cars win is really amazing.”
McMillen (Elkhart, IN) defeated Spencer Massey in the Top Fuel final while Noakes knocked off Larry Dobbs in the AFC class. Noakes drives the car McMillen left behind when he stepped into a Top Fueler, a car McMillen never took to the winner’s circle.
“My hat is off to Les Mellows, Paul’s crew chief, and his entire crew for what they were able to accomplish this weekend,” McMillen said. “I also have to give the credit to my team here and the entire gang at the shop back home. (Crew Chief) Doug Kuch gave us the power and all my guys busted their butts and they never gave up their faith in this team. And here we are. They deserve all the credit, I’m just the nut behind the wheel.”
McMillen, who broke Clay Millican’s 2-year-old track speed record in his first elimination round against Kevin Jones, ran a 4.867 at 278.52 mph in the final to top Massey’s tire-spinning 5.393/201.43 pass. His first-round 322.42 pass set the new Grand Bend Motorplex speed standard.
“We had a plan when we got here,” Noakes said. “Les has really high expectations of me and he’s amazing at tuning these cars…he’s the best in the business.”
Noakes left the car he owns to step into McMillen’s ’99 Avenger this season.
“This is a new car for me so there’s a lot on me,” he said. “I’m starting to figure the car out but it’s not as easy as people think to move from one Funny Car to another. I could not do this without my guys, they keep making this car easier and easier for me to drive.”
Amalie Oil is the primary sponsor on both cars, something McMillen did not want overlooked.
“Amalie Oil has made such a great commitment to this team, but they’ve also made a huge commitment to IHRA in general,” he said. “They sponsor two races as well as this team. Andy Bornstein and everyone at Amalie have been so supportive. They are the ones who let Paul and I come out here and chase our dreams. I can never thank them enough.”
Haddock drove through Matt Hagan, a two-time winner on the tour this season, in the first round before defeating Motor City Nationals champion Paul Lee in the semifinals. Before the final he did not know if Macklyn was going to be able to make the call due to severe damage to his clutch in the semifinals against Jack Wyatt. He did get there in time but could not top Haddock’s 5.183/254.38 pass.
“You never underestimate anybody and you run your own race…that’s what we were doing,” Haddock said. “There have been plenty of times when it was us back there thrashing in the pits. We waited for them and the fact that they were able to make it says a lot. They had help from other teams back there and that shows how much teams work together out here. There were people back there helping Macklyn, but we also had people from other teams helping us. IHRA is such a great organization to race with. On the other side you would have never seen that.”
Haddock qualified #2 on the ladder and, with the victory, took over the 2008 NFC points lead from two-time defending champion Dale Creasy Jr., who suffered a season-ending injury in Edmonton two weeks ago.
“The points are really tightening up at the top, but we really miss Dale out here,” Haddock said. “If he was here he would have been over there working on our car to help get us to the finals with everyone else.”
“This was a great weekend and a real tribute to Al Billes, my crew and everyone who works on this car,” Hoover said. “They work so hard night after night, day after day, giving up their free time to come with me. I mostly have a volunteer crew and it’s great to win for them.”
Hoover (Gilbert, S.C.) qualified in the top half of the field, ending up #5 on the sheet, and defeated Mark Nielson, Jason Hamstra and Mike Janis to reach the final round. He was very consistent in eliminations, carding 6.107, 6.118 and 6.092 ETs during eliminations. He was able to step it up even more in the run for the championship, clocking a 6.062/234.53 pass to top D’Aprile’s 6.873/220.22.
“We went to the finals at Budds Creek and didn’t give it enough to get the win,” he said. “This time we leaned on it a little bit because we didn’t want to fall short. You have to have a consistent car and have to get down the track. We were able to do that this weekend.”
Hoover wanted to thank his car owner Paul Trussell.
“Paul is a motorhead, a car enthusiast, and I knew if I ever got him to a drag race and got him on the starting line he would be hooked,” Hoover said. “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else. Paul has always been a gentleman and a man of his word. That’s how he and I operate and there couldn’t be a closer friend to me than him.”
“I saw him the whole time,” Gugliotta said of Berner in the final. “He was in front of me, then I got around him and held on. Pete and I have had some battles over the years, really good races, and the track was awesome the whole week long.”
After a sluggish start Friday, Gugliotta and his ’07 Mustang turned things around.
“We struggled in the beginning and the car was not running very well, but it really started picking it up as the weekend went on,” Gugliotta said. “I have a great group of guys who really work hard and I can’t say enough about (car owner) Bob Yoak. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. I’m lucky he gave me the opportunity to do this and I can’t thank the man enough.”
The IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam will continue Aug. 1-3 at US 131 Motorsports Park for the IHRA Northern Nationals, the seventh event on the 10-event 2008 schedule.
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Sunday's final results from the Mopar Canadian Nationals presented by Castrol at Grand Bend Motorplex. The race is the sixth of 10 in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - A DOUBLE DIP FOR RICHARD HARTMAN
Tunes Bruce Litton (Top Fuel) and Andy Kelley (Nitro Funny Car) to #1 qualifier positions at Mopar Canadian Nationals
At Grand Bend Motorplex for the Mopar Canadian Nationals Hartman was on his game. He put Andy Kelley on top of the Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car qualifying sheet with a 5.013 at 294.31 mph. Then, when rain washed away the final Top Fuel session, Bruce Litton became the second Hartman-tuned nitro car to find the top of the qualifying sheet…this time in the Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel class.
“Richard is so great for our team,” Kelley said. “He is such a great tuner who really knows how to get a car down the track, but he also knows how to tune on a budget. We don’t try to set any records or set the world on fire, we just try to get from A to B effectively. Richard put us on the right track this year and things are paying off.”
Litton, an Indianapolis resident, jumped to the top of the qualifying sheet Friday night with a strong 4.743 pass at 302.75 mph. That number stood up against all challengers during the Saturday afternoon qualifying session.
“Richard and our tuning consultant Nicky Boninfante really know this car and always make the right calls,” Litton said. “They make my job a lot easier because all I have to worry about is driving the car. My entire team is so professional and so effective…they consistently do their job as well as any other team in drag racing.”
Litton will face #5 qualifier Kevin Jones, the winner two weeks ago in Edmonton, in the first round Sunday.
“The reason this feels so good is because I’ve been really struggling with this car,” Commisso said about his ’68 Firebird. “We changed a lot of things and have tried some different stuff. We looked at qualifying as four test runs on a good race track. We didn’t expect anything special to come out of it, but the changes we made the car really responded to. That’s what I’m so happy about. We went a 6.03 and that’s an awesome run, but what I’m more happy about is that the car responded to what we tried. Things are working.”
Commisso will square off with Jason Hamstra in the first round of eliminations Sunday.
“I did my job, I left from where my crew wanted me to leave when I was staging and went right down through there,” Carter said. “We had a good afternoon pass and that’s when we put our race day tune up in it, so that’s encouraging. We’ll be right there Sunday. We just wanted to get down the track so we didn’t do anything very aggressive during the afternoon session.”
Jeff Dobbins (Wilmington, NC) came to Grand Bend with the Torco Pro Stock points lead. He added to that lead by
Dobbins ended up on top of the qualifying sheet by posting a 6.381 pass at 218.65 mph during the Saturday evening qualifying session. He will square off with #9 qualified John Konigshofer in the first round of eliminations Sunday.
“This was great,” Dobbins said. “My wife and son are here this weekend so that made things even more special.”
Frank Gugliotta (Mt. Airy, Md.) ended up second on the qualifying sheet while defending World Champion Robert Patrick (Fredericksburg, Va.) qualified third.
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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the Mopar Canadian Nationals presented by Castrol at Grand Bend Motorplex, the sixth of 10 events in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.
Top Fuel -- 1. Bruce Litton, 4.743 seconds, 302.75 mph vs. 5. Spencer Massey, 4.897, 300.40; 2. Terry McMillen, 4.764, 311.85 vs. 6. Kevin Jones, 4.966, 295.21; 3. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.823, 284.27 vs. 7. Mitch King, 4.985, 284.99; 4. Todd Paton, 4.837, 295.40 vs. 8. Mike Strasburg, 5.050, 277.43.
Nitro Funny Car -- 1. Andy Kelley, Pontiac Firebird, 5.013, 298.27 vs. 5. Steven Macklyn, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.172, 287.66; 2. Terry Haddock, Dodge Stratus, 5.042, 293.28 vs. 6. Matt Hagan, Monte Carlo, 5.262, 247.02; 3. Jack Wyatt, Stratus, 5.118, 242.36 vs. 7. Jeff Diehl, Monte Carlo, 5.496, 248.66; 4. Paul Lee, Chevy Camaro, 5.155, 292.52 vs. 8. Cory Lee, Firebird, 5.546, 205.98.
Pro Modified -- 1. Raymond Commisso, Chevy Camaro, 6.039, 238.30 vs. 9. Jason Hamstra, Camaro, 6.167, 230.45; 2. Tommy D'Aprile, Chevy Bel Air, 6.044, 237.13 vs. 10. Thomas Patterson, Dodge Charger, 6.201, 229.82; 3. Mike Janis, Pontiac Firebird, 6.057, 236.80 vs. 11. Mike Castellana, Firebird, 6.249, 230.53; 4. Kenny Lang, Chevy Corvette, 6.073, 236.22 vs. 12. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.274, 229.70; 5. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 6.095, 230.92 vs. 13. Mark Nielsen, Camaro, 6.278, 230.65; 6. Jim Halsey, Camaro, 6.117, 232.63 vs. 14. Jason Stock, Corvette, 6.316, 227.92; 7. Carl Spiering, Corvette, 6.130, 230.45 vs. 15. Pat Stoken, Camaro, 6.334, 220.66; 8. Scott Cannon, Firebird, 6.151, 234.37 vs. 16. Gary Irving, Corvette, 6.468, 221.74.
Alcohol Funny Car -- 1. Thomas Carter, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.842, 243.24 vs. 5. Paul Noakes, Dodge Avenger, 5.894, 238.51; 2. Laurie Cannister, Chevy Camaro, 5.857, 239.44 vs. 6. Mark Thomas, Monte Carlo, 5.909, 239.61; 3. Rob Atchison, Monte Carlo, 5.871, 245.09 vs. 7. Tim Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 5.943, 236.26; 4. Larry Dobbs, Chevy Corvette, 5.879, 240.34 vs. 8. Dylan Hache, Pontiac Firebird, 5.978, 235.31.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jeff Dobbins, Ford Escort, 6.381, 218.65 vs. 9. John Konigshofer, Ford Mustang, 6.425, 217.98; 2. Frank Gugliotta, Mustang, 6.383, 216.69 vs. 10. Dean Goforth, Chevy Cobalt, 6.428, 218.05; 3. Robert Patrick, Mustang, 6.387, 217.32 vs. 11. Steven Boone, Cobalt, 6.433, 217.67; 4. Rob Mansfield, Pontiac GTO, 6.392, 217.49 vs. 12. Jason Collins, Cobalt, 6.438, 216.27; 5. Pete Berner, Pontiac GXP, 6.402, 216.69 vs. 13. Elijah Morton, Mustang, 6.451, 215.93; 6. John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 6.409, 218.05 vs. 14. Richard Freeman, Cobalt, 6.456, 217.84; 7. Cary Goforth, Cobalt, 6.412, 218.05 vs. 15. Bob Bertsch, Mustang, 6.467, 217.25; 8. Brian Gahm, Mustang, 6.418, 218.44 vs. 16. Ron Miller, Cobalt, 6.485, 215.20.
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - Bruce Litton Heads Friday Top Fuel Qualifying in Grand Bend
Andy Kelley (Nitro Funny Car), Mike Janis (Pro Modified), Rob Atchison (Alcohol Funny Car) and Rob Mansfield (Pro Stock) also claim provisional #1 qualifying spots at Mopar Canadian Nationals
Defending World Champion Bruce Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) moved to the top of the provisional Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel behind the wheel of his Lucas Oil Canada Hadman Dragster qualifying sheet with his 4.743 pass at 302.75 mph. Litton was in the last pair of cars that went down the track in Friday’s Top Fuel qualifying session and was just looking to get his feet under him at Grand Bend Motorplex. He ended up on the top of the list heading into Saturday’s pair of qualifying sessions at the Mopar Canadian Nationals.
“The track was a little green last year, so we walked the track this morning and felt like it was in good shape,” Litton said. ”We just tried to get down the track and make the best of things. (Crew Chief) Richard (Hartman) and (Tuning Advisor) Nicky Boninfante made some great calls and things worked out.”
Though Litton was in Grand Bend, his thoughts were in Western Canada where fellow 2007 World Champion Dale Creasy Jr., the Nitro Funny Car champ, lay in a hospital bed still recovering from his accident in Edmonton.
“I spoke with Dale about a half-hour before I got in the car and he seemed to be in good spirits,” Litton said. “He’s expecting to go home tomorrow, but he said he’s really missing all of us right about now. I pray for a speedy recovery for him and hope he’ll be back with us real soon.”
Andy Kelley (Piedmont, S.C.) jumped to the top of the Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car provisional qualifying sheet Friday evening with a 5.013 pass at 294.31 mph. Jack Wyatt (Corydon, Iowa) was second with a 5.118/242.36 while Paul Lee (Wynnewood, Pa.) rounded out the top three with a 5.155/292.52.
Mike Janis (Lancaster, N.Y.) ran a strong 6.058 in the heat of the day Friday afternoon, a number that stood up against all challengers Friday night to put him in the provisional Torco Pro Mod pole position heading into Saturday. Torontonian Ray Commisso took a swing at Janis’ number Friday evening but fell a little bit short. Despite sitting #2 on the qualifying list Commisso is confident heading into Saturday’s qualifying sessions.
“That was a soft tune-up,” Commisso said. “(Crew Chief) Al (Billes) wanted to put a soft tune-up in it to see if it would get down the race track. There’s a lot left in that race car.”
Rob Atchison (London, Ont.) defended his home turf by grabbing the provisional #1 qualifying position Alcohol Funny Car Friday night. Living just 45 minutes from Grand Bend Motorplex Atchison, a new father, laid down a 5.871 pass at 236.96 mph to move to the top of the sheet.
“This is our home track and it was great to be able to put on a good show for them,” Atchison said.
Atchison and his wife Julie welcomed their first child, son Wyatt, to their family a few short months ago. Wyatt came to the races for the first time this weekend.
“This is his first race, but he didn’t get to see that pass tonight,” Atchison said. “He was back at the motor home. When I get back I’ll tell him all about it.”
Robert Mansfield (Margate, Fla.) jumped to the top of the provisional Torco Pro Stock qualifying ladder with a blistering 6.421 pass at 216.79 mph in the sweltering heat. Mansfield zipped straight down the groove Friday evening at Grand Bend Motorplex to narrowly nip defending world champion Robert Patrick (Fredericksburg, Virg.), who carded a stout 6.426 at 215.00.
Mansfield ran a decent number during the afternoon session, clocking a 6.477 pass, but his crew made some critical adjustments that allowed him to move to the top of the sheet.
“My crew is amazing,” Mansfield said. “They can take the car apart and know exactly what to change. They are the ones making the car really fast. They make it easier for me to drive.”
As the fastest qualifier who defeated his opponent during the Friday evening qualifying session Mansfield also won the Quarter-Max Pro Stock Challenge…claiming five bonus points and collecting a $500.00 cash bonus from Quarter-Max.com.
The Mopar Canadian Nationals will continue Saturday with a 2pm professional qualifying session. The final qualifying hit for the pros is scheduled for 7pm. Final eliminations, as part or PartSource Championship Sunday, will commence at 11am July 20th.
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Results Friday after qualifying for the Mopar Canadian Nationals presented by Castrol at Grand Bend Motorplex, sixth of 10 events in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Bruce Litton, 4.743 seconds, 302.75 mph; 2. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.823, 284.27; 3. Todd Paton, 4.837, 295.40; 4. Terry McMillen, 5.037, 231.68; 5. Kevin Jones, 5.080, 295.21; 6. Mike Strasburg, 5.085, 229.74; 7. Spencer Massey, 5.188, 244.69; 8. Smax Smith, 6.025, 232.15. Not Qualified: 9. Mitch King, 6.280, 135.59; 10. Chris Karamesines, 6.543, 159.59.
Nitro Funny Car -- 1. Andy Kelley, Pontiac Firebird, 5.013, 294.31; 2. Jack Wyatt, Dodge Stratus, 5.118, 242.36; 3. Paul Lee, Chevy Camaro, 5.155, 292.52; 4. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.496, 248.66; 5. Cory Lee, Firebird, 5.546, 205.98; 6. Terry Haddock, Stratus, 7.988, 109.31; 7. Matt Hagan, Monte Carlo, 10.625, 70.17; 8. Rob Bruce, Camaro, 12.426, 65.16. Not Qualified: 9. Steven Macklyn, DQ.
Pro Modified -- 1. Mike Janis, Pontiac Firebird, 6.058, 235.56; 2. Raymond Commisso, Chevy Camaro, 6.071, 235.31; 3. Kenny Lang, Chevy Corvette, 6.073, 235.80; 4. Tommy D'Aprile, Chevy Bel Air, 6.098, 230.53; 5. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 6.147, 230.92; 6. Scott Cannon, Firebird, 6.181, 234.37; 7. Jason Hamstra, Camaro, 6.199, 228.89; 8. Thomas Patterson, Dodge Charger, 6.201, 228.89; 9. Carl Spiering, Corvette, 6.207, 227.46; 10. Mark Nielsen, Camaro, 6.302, 230.65; 11. Mike Castellana, Firebird, 6.303, 230.53; 12. Pat Stoken, Camaro, 6.334, 220.66; 13. Jim Halsey, Camaro, 6.390, 229.20; 14. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.583, 222.03; 15. Gary Irving, Corvette, 6.885, 221.74; 16. Jason Stock, Corvette, 7.708, 114.51.
Alcohol Funny Car -- 1. Rob Atchison, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.871, 236.96; 2. Larry Dobbs, Chevy Corvette, 5.879, 240.34; 3. Paul Noakes, Dodge Avenger, 5.903, 235.47; 4. Mark Thomas, Monte Carlo, 5.909, 238.51; 5. Thomas Carter, Monte Carlo, 5.915, 241.41; 6. Laurie Cannister, Chevy Camaro, 5.964, 238.30; 7. Rocky Hummel, Camaro, 6.004, 226.81; 8. Jason McKnight, Monte Carlo, 6.039, 233.24. Not Qualified: 9. Dylan Hache, 6.046, 231.32; 10. Tim Stevens, 6.071, 233.88.
Pro Stock -- 1. Rob Mansfield, Pontiac GTO, 6.421, 216.79; 2. Robert Patrick, Ford Mustang, 6.426, 215.00; 3. John Montecalvo, Chevy Cobalt, 6.427, 217.07; 4. John Konigshofer, Mustang, 6.431, 216.45; 5. Steven Boone, Cobalt, 6.433, 217.67; 6. Brian Gahm, Mustang, 6.433, 217.88; 7. Cary Goforth, Cobalt, 6.436, 217.11; 8. Frank Gugliotta, Mustang, 6.440, 214.76; 9. Dean Goforth, Cobalt, 6.441, 216.62; 10. Jeff Dobbins, Ford Escort, 6.442, 216.45; 11. Elijah Morton, Mustang, 6.451, 214.69; 12. Jason Collins, Cobalt, 6.455, 214.14; 13. Richard Freeman, Cobalt, 6.456, 217.84; 14. Bob Bertsch, Mustang, 6.499, 215.62; 15. Ron Miller, Cobalt, 6.503, 211.83; 16. Cale Aronson, Escort, 6.509, 214.48. Not Qualified: 17. Chuck DeMory, 6.512, 213.06; 18. Larry O'Brien, 6.515, 214.55; 19. Pete Berner, 8.207, 105.84; 20. Mark Martino, 12.221, 69.60.
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EVENT PREVIEW - IHRA MAKES LAST 2008 STOP IN CANADA
After setting ticket sales records in Edmonton, IHRA will close out the Canadian portion of its schedule in Grand Bend where the professional points chases will heat up at the Mopar Canadian Nationals.
The Nitro Funny Car class is now wide open as the top gun in the clas
Though his season is over, Creasy had a message for his fans.
“You haven’t seen the last of me. We’re going to see how long it takes to recover and do what we can to make a safer race car, but this isn’t the end of the line for me,” Creasy said from his hospital bed in Edmonton. “It’s a tough deal but if you fall off the horse you have to do everything you can to get back on it. I just want us to figure out how to make these cars safer because no one should have to go through this…this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Hagan, a Nitro Funny Car rookie and teammate of Creasy, claimed his first career event championship at the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham. He also captured the Ironman in Edmonton and has 348 points heading into Grand Bend Motorplex. Terry Haddock, with 293 points, sits third while San Antonio winner Steven Macklyn (283 points) and Milan winner Paul Lee (271 points) are also in the championship mix.
“Right now I’m not as concerned with points; just want to take it race by race, lap by lap,” Hagan said. “If we can just win the small races, win the first and second rounds, that leads to the bigger races and the points will take care of themselves. But the last thing on my mind now is running for the championship…I’m just worried about qualifying well in Grand Bend, then winning the first round. I haven’t been doing this long enough and am in no position, in the middle of the season, to think about breezing through the rest of the year and walking away with the championship. That’s not realistic thinking. I just have to do my job, hope my crew does its job, depend on (Crew Chief) Jay (Lewis) to do his job and see how things play out.”
“I would love to see Dale get back involved in this race team and be able to make decisions on this race car to help us win the championship,” he said. “In Edmonton we wanted to go out and win the race for him. Hopefully we can go rounds because I think every round we win will help him feel a little better. I want to encourage him every way I can to get him back racing, to get his legs rehabilitated and get him back on that horse.”
Defending champion Bruce Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) leads the Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel points chase, but his lead is tenuous. Top Fuel rookie Spencer Massey (Fort Worth, Tex.) has won twice on tour this season and sits just 33 points behind the defending champion. Bobby Lagana Jr. is in striking distance as well, 67 points behind Litton. Mike Strasburg is two points behind Lagana, causing quite a logjam at the top of the standings.
“I’ve been saying it all year long, this class is tough,” Litton said. “Any of the cars that qualify can end up winning the whole deal on Sunday. That makes things great for the fans but really tough for us racers. I love the competition, though, and get excited every time I put on the fire suit. Look at the guys right behind me…Spencer is in his 20’s and Bobby is in his late 20’s. Mike Strasburg is not as old as me, but he knows what it’s like for us old guys to try to hold off these young guns. But I’m having a ball.”
Canadian Kenny Lang (Grande Pointe, Mb.) has won twice on the 2008 Nitro Jam schedule and leads the points chase heading into Grand Bend Motorplex. But his once wide lead is closing rapidly. He missed a golden opportunity to put some distance between himself, Mike Castellana and defending World Champion Scott Cannon Jr. in Edmonton, but all three lost in the quarterfinals leaving room for Tommy D’Aprile to move back into contention. D’Aprile lost to event champion Carl Spiering in the semifinals, but kept within striking distance of the leaders in the class.
Lang enters Grand Bend with 377 points followed by Castellana (303), Cannon (295) and D’Aprile (265).
“With half the season left there are so many good cars in this class…any one of them can win,” D’Aprile said. “In Edmonton we were the car to beat, everyone knew it, but we missed the clutch set-up in the semifinal and that was that. But I don’t think about the points, I just love driving this race car. We’ve worked so hard and I’m tickled with how this team has come together.”
D’Aprile is looking forward to returning to Grand Bend Motorplex.
“The fans in Grand Bend are great,” he said. “We set the track record in 2006 and I’m looking to do it again. The Canadian fans are really cool and I look forward to going up there. I’m really excited and want to put on a great show for those fans.”
Laurie Cannister (Johnstown, Ohio) added to her already huge points lead in the Alcohol Funny Car class, winning her fourth national event of the season. Unless someone else steps up soon Cannister is threatening to run away with the 2008 world championship.
A number of the top drivers in the Torco Pro Stock class are also expected to make the trip to Grand Bend as well, including Edmonton Pro Stock winner Bob Bertsch.
