Photos by Alex Owens, Auto Imagery
Strong performances across multiple NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes highlighted sportsman competition at Brainerd International Raceway, with standout performances from Cali Neff, Jason DeForrest, and David Bares leading the way.
In Comp Eliminator, Neff claimed the top qualifying spot in his A/ED Clack-Ford dragster with a 6.608-second run on a 7.28 index, good for a -.672 under performance. Doug Engels followed with a -.650 under in his D/DA dragster, while Pat Nahan secured third at -.637 under.
Royce Freeman placed fourth with a -.561 under in B/AA, and Scott Linder rounded out the top five in A/A at -.549 under. Defending class regulars Dean Carter, Matt Harris, Jim Greenheck, Michael Foster, and Bruno Massel also qualified in the top 10.
Super Stock qualifying saw Minnesota’s Jason DeForrest take the No. 1 spot in GT/CA with a 9.015 (-0.885) in his ’05 Cavalier. Randy Hopkins was second in FSS/B with an 8.330 (-0.870), and Aydan Patterson followed in FSS/F with a 9.368 (-0.832).
Rounding out the top five in Super Stock were Wyatt Wagner at -.774 in SS/GA and Michael Howard at -.765 in FSS/B. Ryan Montford, Rodney Thompson, Terry Elias, Scott Dugdale, and Brett Speer completed the top 10 qualifiers.
David Bares led Stock Eliminator with a standout 10.552 (-0.998) pass in his ’68 Cutlass out of D/SA. Brad Koivisto and Lance Line, both from Cromwell, Minn., followed closely at -.912 and -.908, respectively.
Matt Malerke placed fourth in E/SA with a 10.795 (-0.905), and Hannah Line rounded out the top five in D/SA with a 10.666 (-0.884). Other top qualifiers included Scott Dugdale, Brent Kopejtka, Bryan Heath, James Tolston, and Bob Tilton.
In Top Sportsman, Allen Firestone secured the No. 1 spot in his ’16 Camaro with a 6.389-second pass at 213.37 mph. Jim Thorp was second at 6.456 and 221.49 mph, followed by Richard Smith at 6.470.
Top five in the class included Rob Meservier at 6.513 and Tom Patterson at 6.515. Alan Hiebert, Charley Whittenburg, Michael Chitty, Curt Fredrich, and Brian Antony completed the 10 fastest.
While Thorp came up short in Top Sportsman, he sealed the deal in his other car by taking the top spot in Top Dragster with a 6.110 pass at 229.16 mph in his Spitzer-Chevy. Jim Prevo posted an identical 6.110 time but with a slightly slower 225.41 mph for second.
Roland Rang followed in third at 6.153 and 228.42 mph, with Ross Laris and Donna Patterson rounding out the top five. The rest of the top 10 included Dane Ward, Holden Laris, Les Feist, Al Kenny, and Daria Vang.
Eliminations in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series begin on Friday morning. The Mission Food Series makes its first run on Friday afternoon.
