The traditional East Coast opener and the season’s first of 17 events for Pro Stock Motorcycle riders, this event is one of the sport’s most revered with a rich tradition of history-making performances. This hallowed quarter-mile has entertained spring-break-loving fans for decades.  

 

 

		EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS POINTS AFTER EVENT			EVENT GALLERY

 

 

SUNDAY FINAL - PEDREGON, SCHUMACHER, COUGHLIN AND GUIDERA EARN VICTORIES AT ACDELCO NHRA GATORNATIONALS

Defending NHRA POWERade Series Funny Car world champion Tony Pedregon raced to his first victory of the season and 37th of his career Sunday at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

Tony Schumacher, Jeg Coughlin and Matt Guidera also were winners at the NHRA POWERade Series race, the third of 24 in 2008.

Pedregon clocked a 4.921 at 315.27 in his Q-Horsepower Chevy Impala at the historic Gainesville Raceway quarter-mile dragstrip to edge veteran racer Gary Densham at the finish, whose Racebricks Impala trailed with a 4.924 at 309.13. In the first three elimination rounds Pedregon defeated Jerry Toliver, Ashley Force and Jim Head.

Pedregon, who escaped injury at Pomona, Calif. after suffering one of the most spectacular explosions in NHRA history, moved to fourth in the point standings with the victory.

“Winning is definitely the best medicine for this team right now,” Pedregon said. “A little more than a month ago I was in the hospital with a burned hand. Today we were able to win the race and get this season turned around. We didn’t get off to the kind of start (to the season) we wanted, but when you look at the quality of cars out here, you know why. You can’t count on too many of these guys just folding up. It used to be not that many years ago you had one or two dominant cars; now you have a world-class field of 12 to 15 cars with all of the resources and talent. It’s going to be a dogfight and every race is going to be important.”

Pedregon’s brother Cruz suffered a similar explosion in a first round win over Ron Capps. The 1992 NHRA Funny Car champ was OK and his Advance Auto Parts Impala team was able to repair the car in time for the next round, which he lost to Head.

“Those deals are always pretty scary,” Tony Pedregon said. “When I saw the explosion and the car bounce around a little bit I was concerned, but then when I saw that there wasn’t that much fire I felt a little better. Anything can happen in those situations, but as long as there’s not much fire to contend with, Cruz is one of the best out here at driving under those conditions.”

Schumacher claimed his 43rd career Top Fuel victory and third at this event with a performance of 4.603 at 325.37 in his U.S. Army dragster to defeat Brandon Bernstein, who finished in 4.665 at 323.27 in his Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster.

“This is Gainesville, one of my favorite races, and you look at the full stands and it’s a great race to win, but we’re going to need to try some different parts to get back ahead because everyone is right there with us," said Schumacher, who beat J.R. Todd, Antron Brown and Larry Dixon in earlier rounds. "There were a lot of good cars and a lot of people running equal to us and every round was a battle. We really had to earn this one. I look at this trophy and it’s a nice one, and we had really difficult cars to beat and it was one of the (tougher) ones to earn.”

Coughlin took his first Pro Stock win of the season and 39th of his career by outrunning Jason Line in the final round. Coughlin powered his Jegs.com Chevy Cobalt to a 6.652 at 208.07 to hold off Line’s Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, which posted a 6.656 at 209.10. Coughlin beat Ron Krisher, Greg Anderson and Johnny Gray in the first three rounds.

“The Gatornationals is definitely a marquee event on the NHRA tour so it feels good to win here,” Coughlin said. “Beating Greg (Anderson) on a holeshot in the second round was certainly a turning point for us and we got a little fortunate in the semifinals after breaking a wheelie bar on the burnout. Then to have Jason Line, the last reigning champ, in the other lane (in the final) I knew we had our hands full and both of us put .65s on the board and put on a good show for the crowd.”

Top qualifier Guidera earned his second career victory in Pro Stock Motorcycle by sweeping the season-opening race for bikes. Guidera finished in 6.949 at 191.54 on his Mohegan Sun Rocklin Motorsports Buell, and defeated Andrew Hines, who posted a 6.985 at 189.55 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

Guidera's bike was consistently fast all day in earning early round wins over Hector Arana, Chris Rivas and Chip Ellis.

“This win is so much better than our first win,” said Guidera, whose victory at Reading came on a mid-week afternoon after a three-day rain-delay. “I’m so happy with the No. 1 qualifier and that I didn’t beat myself. We ran consistent all day but it was a lot different doing it in front of the packed grandstands. I was feeling it and trying to relax and stay calm with everyone waving at you and looking at you. They say the first one is always special but I don’t know how this one could have been much better. Every win is great, but to come in and run like we did and kick everybody’s butt all day long is great.”

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series continues with the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals, March 28-30 at Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, Texas.

 

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Sunday's final results from the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.  The  race is the third of 24 in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

 

 

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BAKER WINS JEGS PROMOD TITLE 

Joe Baker entered the first event of the 10-race JEGS ProMod Challenge as a last-minute alternate after another competitor crashed in testing earlier in the week. He barely made the 16-car field with the slowest elapsed time in the group. He even had to race the quickest and fastest car of the meet in the final round of the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

In the end, none of that mattered as the local hero from Milton, Fla., pulled off one of the most improbable victories in the seven-year history of the series, winning with a coasting 12.687-second pass at 63.03 mph after final-round foe Raymond Commisso hit the retaining wall just before the finish line to disqualify himself from contention.

"I had the luck when I needed it, that's for sure," Baker said. "What a great day. This was my first win in NHRA competition and to do it at the Gatornationals in my home state makes it all the better. I can't thank Jeg Sr. and Troy Coughlin enough for this. We had to scramble just to get here but it all seems worth it now. What a blast!"

Driving a '41 Willy's once owned by two-time champion Mike Ashley, Baker shook his tires hard right off the launch pad in the final round. He sat and watched Commisso zoom away to an apparent easy win. But Commisso's '68 Camaro started drifting towards the centerline and when he tried to guide it back into the groove it went a little too far right and impacted the wall, negating a 6.352 at 173.58 mph that would have given him the win.

Baker's lucky day began with a huge upset win over No. 1 qualifier Mike Ashley, who lost traction early in his run. He then got a gift from a red-lighting Scott Ray, before watching Kirk Kuhns get way out of shape and shut off early. His best pass of the day was a 6.167 at 232.19 mph.

Commisso, meanwhile, was driving like a man possessed, rattling off a pair of five-second runs, including a 5.935 in the semifinals, to set low elapsed time of the meet. Earlier in the day he had topped out at 247.34 mph to set the event's top speed mark. He clearly had the car to beat, but ended up beating himself.

The early points lead belongs to Baker, followed by Commisso, Kuhns, and Jay Payne. Reigning series champion Josh Hernandez ended the day in fifth place. 

 

Final round-by-round results from the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the first of 10 events in the JEGS ProMod Challenge:

ROUND ONE -- Scott Ray, Chevy Corvette, 6.061, 227.77 def. Taylor Lastor, Chevy Camaro, 6.082, 238.30; Jay Payne, Camaro, 5.996, 232.91 def. Harold Laird, Corvette, 8.173, 119.39; Tony Pontieri, Chevy Bel Air, 6.082, 234.66 def. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 6.123, 235.84; Roger Burgess, Corvette, 6.193, 225.00 def. John Russo, Pontiac Firebird, 10.947, 88.34; Kirk Kuhns, Willys, 6.104, 233.80 def. Rick Stivers, Ford Mustang, 6.136, 211.69; Raymond Commisso, Firebird, 17.953, 60.85 def. Carl Spiering, Corvette, no show; Joshua Hernandez, Camaro, 6.898, 156.46 def. Eddie Ware, Firebird, 10.723, 83.17; Joe Baker, Willys, 6.411, 229.94 def. Mike Ashley, Camaro, 10.405, 107.82;

QUARTERFINALS -- Commisso, 5.950, 247.34 def. Pontieri, 6.068, 237.05; Baker, 6.167, 232.19 def. Ray, foul; Payne, 6.667, 226.28 def. Hernandez, 7.416, 166.21; Kuhns, 6.464, 178.71 def. Burgess, broke;

SEMIFINALS -- Baker, 6.855, 166.29 def. Kuhns, 19.741, 37.17; Commisso, 5.935, 246.44 def. Payne, 10.651, 79.62;

FINAL -- Baker, 12.687, 63.03 def. Commisso, disqualified.  

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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - PEDREGON, BRADSHAW, JOHNSON AND GUIDERA EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT ACDELCO NHRA GATORNATIONALS

More than a month after suffering one of the most spectacular Funny Car explosions in NHRA history, Tony Pedregon raced

to the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.

Alan Bradshaw, Warren Johnson and Matt Guidera also were No. 1 qualifiers and will lead their respective categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the third of 24 NHRA POWERade Series events in 2008.

Pedregon covered the quarter-mile distance at historic Gainesville Raceway in 4.780 seconds at 326.40 mph in his Q-Horsepower Chevy Impala for his 32nd No. 1 qualifying effort and first since July 2005.

“We got some cloud cover and it was a good call by Dickie (Venables, crew chief),” said Pedregon, the defending and two-time POWERade Series Funny Car world champion. “This is really the best medicine for this team and we’ve put what happened in Pomona behind us.”

Bradshaw, a former Lucas Oil Series Top Alcohol Dragster world champion who is in his second season in Top Fuel, powered his Vis Viva dragster to his first career No. 1 performance in professional racing, covering the distance in 4.547 at 306.95.

“We left Phoenix with our heads down low, but we tested and did really well, and we made a pact to one another that we weren’t going to another race this season until we get the car to run,” Bradshaw said. “We’re still working on some fuel-system issues right now, but we’re getting close. We almost made it to the finish line under power but didn’t quite get there, but we’re No. 1, and that’s what counts. These boys haven’t seen what we’ve got yet. Once we get the fuel system ironed out we’ll be in the 4.4s, I believe.”

Pro Stock’s Johnson raced to the 137th No. 1 qualifying position of his career, ninth at this event and first since Aug. 2005. He posted a 6.665 at 208.36 in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP to lead the 16-car field.

“It’s always good to start off with a new car by qualifying No. 1,” said Johnson, a nine-time winner at the Gatornationals. “My last No. 1 came during our first race with the GTO. It’s been a good start to the season. Early on we were making good power with the GTO at the first two races, which was a good indicator we had adequate power to qualify in the upper half of the field. This car seems to be a little quicker in the back half, which is where the mile-per-hour is coming from.”

Guidera claimed his first top qualifying performance in Pro Stock Motorcycle, riding his Mohegan Sun/Rocklin Motorsports Buell to a career-best performance of 6.922 at 192.85.

“We knew we left some on the table in the first session, about five-hundredths,” Guidera said. “The bike went left, and I had to pull it right because it was up in the air for half the run and not very aerodynamic at all. The last pass it left hard and was stuck. The guys worked so hard our on our motor package in the off-season because we were about a tenth off last year, and all that hard work paid off. Running a 6.92 here in the humidity we had is really something.” 

 

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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Alan Bradshaw, 4.547 seconds, 306.95 mph  vs. 16. Bruce Litton, 4.755,
309.84; 2. David Grubnic, 4.555, 327.59  vs. 15. Michael Gunderson, 4.743, 316.01; 3. Rod Fuller, 4.555, 326.71  vs. 14. Urs Erbacher, 4.678, 316.08; 4. Antron Brown, 4.558, 327.51  vs. 13. Doug Foley, 4.676, 325.85; 5. Tony Schumacher, 4.579, 326.56  vs. 12. J.R. Todd, 4.659, 318.99; 6. Cory McClenathan, 4.581, 327.59  vs. 11. Hillary Will, 4.624, 314.75; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 4.586, 330.63  vs. 10. Clay Millican, 4.624, 325.77; 8. Larry Dixon, 4.612, 317.87  vs. 9. Doug Herbert, 4.620, 318.09.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Morgan Lucas, 4.762, 313.15; 18. Mitch King, 4.802, 302.82; 19. Doug Kalitta, 4.865, 295.14; 20. Luigi Novelli, 5.825, 177.58; 21. Bob Vandergriff, 6.027, 182.28.

Funny Car -- 1. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.780, 326.40  vs. 16. Jerry Toliver, Dodge Charger, 4.973, 291.26; 2. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.816, 326.71  vs. 15. Gary Densham, Impala, 4.953, 311.70; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.820, 320.58  vs. 14. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.944, 291.01; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Impala, 4.841, 316.15  vs. 13. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.936, 312.86; 5. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.847, 325.77  vs. 12. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.927, 319.45; 6. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.847, 324.12  vs. 11. Frank Hawley, Charger, 4.916, 319.60; 7. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.863, 318.39  vs. 10. Del Worsham, Impala, 4.903, 313.80; 8. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.864, 319.45 vs. 9. Scott Kalitta, Solara, 4.892, 325.37.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Bob Bode, 4.979, 290.26; 18. Gary Scelzi, 5.014, 307.37; 19. Terry Haddock, 5.187, 277.15; 20. Tommy Johnson Jr., 5.226, 287.96; 21. Mike Smith, 5.412, 191.97; 22. Melanie Troxel, 5.854, 259.06; 23. Tony Bartone, broke.

Pro Stock -- 1. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.665, 208.36  vs. 16. Matt Hartford, Dodge Stratus, 6.743, 204.48; 2. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.665, 207.27  vs. 15. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.741, 205.01; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.680, 206.51  vs. 14. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.721, 205.60; 4. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GTO, 6.685, 205.57  vs. 13. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.715, 205.41; 5. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.687, 206.13  vs. 12. Dave Northrop, GTO, 6.714, 204.76; 6. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.689, 206.45  vs. 11. Jim Yates, GXP, 6.713, 204.85; 7. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.690, 205.72  vs. 10. Justin Humphreys, GXP, 6.709, 205.19; 8. Jason Line, GXP, 6.705, 206.89  vs. 9. Rickie Jones, Stratus, 6.708, 205.60.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.744, 203.89; 18. Kenny Koretsky, 6.746, 204.45; 19. Larry Morgan, 6.761, 205.13; 20. Max Naylor, 6.761, 201.79; 21. Tom Hammonds, 6.771, 205.60; 22. Bill Glidden, 6.776, 204.35; 23. Steve Spiess, 6.782, 204.26; 24. John Nobile, 6.793, 204.98; 25. Adam Flamholc, 6.807, 203.09; 26. Bob Benza, 6.816, 202.45; 27. Jimmy Alund, 6.824, 201.55; 28. Richard Sundblom, 6.844, 202.09; 29. Matt Scranton, 6.895, 199.70.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Matt Guidera, Buell, 6.922, 192.85  vs. 16. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.147, 186.54; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.972, 190.38  vs. 15. Edward Murphy, Suzuki, 7.138, 184.40; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.982, 190.51  vs. 14. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.136, 181.67; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.001, 190.97  vs. 13. Michael Ray, Buell, 7.135, 184.45; 5. Chip Ellis, Suzuki, 7.016, 187.70  vs. 12. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.092, 187.76; 6. Angie McBride, Buell, 7.024, 188.31  vs. 11. Wes Wells, Suzuki, 7.088, 186.87; 7. Angelle Sampey, Buell, 7.030, 186.82 vs. 10. Paul Gast, Suzuki, 7.080, 187.39; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.035, 188.70  vs. 9. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.041, 190.27.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Steve Johnson, 7.181, 191.05; 18. Mike Berry, 7.226, 185.03; 19. Craig Treble, 7.265, 189.60; 20. Redell Harris, 7.265, 183.42; 21. Darin McCurdy, 7.346, 182.26; 22. Ryan Schnitz, 7.471, 177.16.

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PRO MODIFIED - Former champ Ashley shines in return to JEGS ProMod Challenge
 

Mike Ashley may have spent the last two years in a nitro Funny Car since winning back-to-back Pro Mod titles in 2004-2005,

but he certainly hasn't forgotten how to drive the 2,500-horsepower hot rods.

Ashley opened the 10-race 2008 JEGS ProMod Challenge with a stellar 5.945 at 239.61 mph in his ProCare Rx Chevrolet Camaro Saturday evening to lead the field into Sunday's elimination action at the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. It was the only five-second run of the weekend and places him a full seven-hundredths of a second ahead of the chase pack.

"I can't say I'm surprised because when I look at the caliber of the race team I'm on I see a bunch of champions," Ashley said. "But I'm certainly not driving my best. I'm off, way off, on judging where the finish line is and I keep clicking it off early. The scoreboards come out you a lot quicker at 330 mph in a Funny Car than they do in a 230 mph Pro Mod car but I'll be alright after a few more runs, I hope.

"We added it up the other day and I've made something close to 200 runs in a Funny Car since I've driven a Pro Mod car so I need to re-train myself. I can't be the weak link on this team. There's too much talent over here."

Reigning series champion Josh Hernandez was the closest to Ashley with a 6.015 at 240.42 mph in his AMS Staff Leasing Camaro. Raymond Commisso is third with a 6.020 at 244.34 mph in his ProCare Rx machine, the fastest pass of the meet.

Joe Baker of Milton, Fla., will be the lone representative of the Sunshine State as he squeaked into the field with a 6.243 at 226.62 mph to earn the bump spot. He'll face Ashley in the opening round, slated to begin at noon.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the first of 10 events in the JEGS ProMod Challenge.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Pro Modified -- 1. Mike Ashley, Chevy Camaro, 5.945, 239.61  vs. 16. Joe Baker, Willys,
6.243, 226.62; 2. Joshua Hernandez, Camaro, 6.015, 240.42  vs. 15. Eddie Ware, Pontiac
Firebird, 6.231, 231.36; 3. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.020, 244.34  vs. 14. Carl Spiering,
Chevy Corvette, 6.223, 231.75; 4. Kirk Kuhns, Willys, 6.035, 233.12  vs. 13. Rick Stivers, Ford
Mustang, 6.219, 219.72; 5. John Russo, Firebird, 6.047, 240.47  vs. 12. Roger Burgess, Corvette,
6.216, 235.10; 6. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 6.075, 236.51  vs. 11. Tony Pontieri, Chevy Bel Air, 6.201,
232.39; 7. Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.111, 231.83  vs. 10. Harold Laird, Corvette, 6.141, 232.47; 8.
Taylor Lastor, Camaro, 6.113, 236.38  vs. 9. Scott Ray, Corvette, 6.132, 213.87.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Roger Johansson, 6.272, 222.91; 18. Steve Engel, 6.544, 232.31;
19. Tim Tindle, 6.557, 234.00; 20. George Landis, 6.784, 177.30; 21. Tommy Gray, 6.843,
198.44; 22. Troy Coughlin, 9.733, 92.42; 23. Brad Personett, 10.044, 95.86.

 

FRIDAY QUALIFYING - RAIN FORCES CANCELLATION OF FRIDAY SCHEDULE

The first day of qualifying for the 39th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals, the third of 24 races in the NHRA POWERade Series, was cancelled after persistent rain Friday at Gainesville Raceway.

Action will resume on Saturday with professional qualifying rounds scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m.