Two first-time event winners visited the Motor Mile Dragway winner's
circle Saturday night at the conclusion of the ADRL.us Independence
Drags, although one of them had previously won the biggest title the
Flowmaster American Drag Racing League has
to offer.
Bubba Stanton (Pro Extreme) and Doug Riesterer (Pro Nitrous) won their
respective classes to cap an exciting day of racing Saturday in front
of another sold out ADRL venue. For Stanton, the event win was his
first in an ADRL points-earning event, although his other ADRL victory
- the Battle for the Belts world championship eliminator last fall -
made him the 2006 ADRL Pro Extreme world champion.
With his win Saturday night, Stanton jumped to the top of the
AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts points standings, leaping over Joshua
Hernandez (who did not attend) and Huntsville winner Jason Scruggs (who
recorded a surprising DNQ). Stanton's 1,544 points now leads Hernandez
by the rough equivalent of three round-wins.
After qualifying No. 7 with a 4.018 best, Stanton simply got better
with each eliminations pass he made. He opened with a 4.032 to oust
Dwayne Watkins, then followed with three consecutive 3-second runs:
3.997 to edge Michael Neal's 4.03; 3.990 to take a dramatic holeshot
win over Frankie Taylor's 3.971; and, in the final, a 3.971 to score an
easy win over Travis Swearingen, who shook and could not recover.