Photos by Ron Lewis, Mike & Jeff Burghardt, Chris Haverly, Alex Owens,
WEDNESDAY QUALIFYING – COMELLA, MANDELLA, BOUDREAU TOP FIRST DAY QUALIFYING
Qualifying opened Tuesday for the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park with more than 800 entries across the largest contested sportsman classes. Action continues through Thursday, which will also feature class eliminations for Stock and Super Stock.
In the Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge’s first qualifying session, Steve Comella of Webster, N.Y., led the field with an 8.299-second run at 161.54 mph in his 1968 Barracuda. He was followed by Jason Line of Troutman, N.C., also in a ’68 Barracuda, at 8.325 seconds and 160.82 mph.
Super Stock qualifying saw Tony Mandella of Springfield, Tenn., claim the provisional No. 1 spot in his 2005 Sunfire with an 8.900 on a 10.00 index, 1.100 seconds under. Byron Worner of Duncannon, Pa., and Sean Dornan of Bucyrus, Ohio, rounded out the top three.
In Stock, Jim Boudreau of Tewksbury, Mass., paced the field with a 9.985-second run in his 1969 Camaro, 1.265 seconds under his 11.25 index. Douglas Hoven of Monroe Township, N.J., in a 1972 Nova, and Jeffrey Blanchard of Lowell, Ind., in a 2013 Mustang, followed.
SOX & MARTIN HEMI CHALLENGE (Q-1)
1 1968 Steve Comella, Webster NY, ’68 Barracuda 8.299 161.54 161.54
2 2455 Jason Line, Troutman NC, ’68 Barracuda 8.325 160.82 160.82
3 1058 Jimmy Daniels, Levittown PA, ’68 Dart 8.331 161.34 161.34
4 1426 Bucky Hess, Bunker Hill WV, ’68 Barracuda 8.356 157.71 157.71
5 7406 Eric Bell, Chandler AZ, ’68 Barracuda 8.373 159.97 159.97
6 3651 Charlie Westcott, Albion MI, ’68 Barracuda 8.379 160.18 160.18
7 574 David Bogner, Kearney NE, ’68 Barracuda 8.624 154.88 154.88
8 5651 Rick Johnson, Wayzata MN, ’68 Barracuda 8.633 154.16 154.16
9 4261 Doug Fazzolare, Ocean Springs MS, ’68 Dart 8.767 152.95 152.95
10 5122 Jack Peterson, Hartford SD, ’68 Barracuda 8.851 154.02 154.02
SUPER STOCK (Q-2)
1 785 GT/DA Tony Mandella, Springfield TN, ’05 Sunfire 8.900 10.00 -1.100
2 3 SS/IA Byron Worner, Duncannon PA, ’95 Camaro 9.613 10.70 -1.087
3 3440 SS/BA Sean Dornan, Bucyrus OH, ’64 Savoy 8.817 9.90 -1.083
4 315 SS/B Ray Paquet, Holt MI, ’64 Fairlane 8.822 9.90 -1.078
5 3777 FGT/C Brandon Daugherty, Sheperdsville KY, ’07 8.730 9.80 -1.070
6 D433 FSS/C Darrell Brown, Hominy OK, ’15 Challenger 8.586 9.65 -1.064
7 3052 GT/QA Jeff Bryson, Washington IL, ’02 Alero 10.726 11.75 -1.024
8 3254 FSS/E Jeff Myers, Decatur IN, ’15 Camaro 9.034 10.05 -1.016
9 26 GT/GA Marion Stephenson, Williamsport IN, ’06 C 9.388 10.40 -1.012
10 159 FSS/F Victor Cagnazzi, Mooresville NC, ’18 Cama 9.199 10.20 -1.001
STOCK (Q-2)
1 1499 B/SA Jim Boudreau, Tewksbury MA, ’69 Camaro 9.985 11.25 -1.265
2 1189 U/SA Douglas Hoven, Monroe Twp NJ, ’72 Nova 13.685 14.85 -1.165
3 353C FS/G Jeffrey Blanchard, Lowell IN, ’13 Mustang 10.186 11.35 -1.164
4 2124 FS/D Jeff Strickland, Red Bay AL, ’23 Camaro 9.469 10.60 -1.131
5 7784 R/SA Paul Wong, Las Vegas NV, ’86 C10 12.943 14.05 -1.107
6 8608 B/S Daniel Williams, Northampton UK, ’69 Nova 10.098 11.20 -1.102
7 5715 FS/G Randy Eakins, Sikeston MO, ’19 Mustang 10.251 11.35 -1.099
8 5018 FS/A Corey Hopkins, North Branch MN, ’12 Musta 8.622 9.70 -1.078
9 3569 FS/J Patrick Downing, Petersburg MI, ’10 Musta 10.728 11.80 -1.072
10 2221 G/SA Thomas Mace, Jacksonville FL, ’90 Corvette10.930 12.00 -1.070
