FINAL NOTEBOOK - WINNERS CROWNED AS THE RECORD BOOK IS SMASHED AGAIN
Littleton, Colorado's Doug Paddock went for a pair of wild rides at North Star Dragway over the course of the weekend in Pro Drag Radial. The first one was Friday night during qualifying when he spun out in the sand trap which resulted in some minor front end damage patched together with duct tape. Saturday's even scarier incident occurred in Q4 when again Paddock had troubles stopping, with late chutes and room running out, Paddock got on the brakes hard which sent the car out of control and headed for the track staff at the top end. Fortunately, the car missed the safety truck and scales station before coming to a stop. Paddock bowed out in round two to Mark Woodruff and won't soon forget his first trip to North Star.Steven Fereday came up from Houston, Texas to mix it up and qualified fourth with a 3.96 elapsed time. In round two action, Fereday's 4.10 came up short to Shawn Ayers' 3.95.Mark Woodruff had a solid outing in his Corvette from Arnold, Missouri. After qualifying third with a 3.95, Woodruff used two more 3.95's to advance the semi-finals of Pro Drag Radial. Taking on Rob Valden, Woodruff got the starting line advantage and stepped up to a 3.93 but fell short of Valden's world record 3.85 at 212 mph.Ryan Martin blasted through the field in Pro Drag Radial taking out Rodney Whatley on a hole shot, snuck past Kyle Huettel in second round when Huettel tagged the centerline cone and then took out a wheelstanding Shawn Ayers to move into the final round. Unfortunately, mechanical issues kept the car from starting for the final and Martin could do nothing but watch Rob Valden back up his world record with a 3.859 solo shot to the winners circle.Rob Valden destroyed the world record in Pro Drag Radial with his semi-final blast of 3.856 at 212 mph which will likely stand atop the record books for quite some time. A truly impressive feat considering this car is literally brand new after making it's debut at Lights Out 7 in February. Valden and company were happy campers in Texas and are now the most feared drag radial car on the planet.Eric Moore calls Sanger, Texas home and lives literally across the street from North Star Dragway, so doing well at his home event is always a goal for the father son team as father Mark competes in Pro Drag Radial as well. Moore qualified seventh with a 4.55 and took out David Deramus, Odie Sturgeon and Kenny Hubbard to meet Clint Downs in the final round of X275. In a great drag race where we were guaranteed a first time RTRA winner, Moore got the starting line advantage and posted a 4.52 at 155, but was just shy at the stripe to Downs' 4.47 at 157 mph.Clint Downs will have a satisfied drive home to Yukon, Oklahoma after a string of win lights and consistently quick passes at the RTRA Texas Radial Round Up. Downs qualified fourth with a 4.53 and marched through LeWayne Brown, Dewayne Barbaree and top qualifier Rich Bruder to move into the finals. Downs stepped up his game and used a 4.47 at 157 mph to drive around Eric Moore to secure his first career RTRA X275 event win. Moore, Oklahoma's Odie Sturgeon was number two qualifier with a 4.49 elapsed time and a favorite to contend for the win at the RTRA season opener. Sturgeon posted a 4.48 in round one, a 4.47 in round two and a 4.46 career best in the quarterfinals, but came up short to Eric Moore's 4.51 as Moore strapped it on him at the starting line to end Sturgeon's weekend.Clint Davis qualified number twenty in a field of twenty five Limited 275 entrants, but put together a string of win lights to take out Brent Gibbs and Chad Revia before finally bowing out to eventual event winner Stephen Barnett in the quarterfinals.Daniel Large enjoyed a successful RTRA Texas Radial Round Up by qualifying third with a 4.83 and took out Chuck Fairchild in round one. In round two, Large made history with the first pass in the 4.70's in Limited 275 with a stellar 4.78 at 147 mph, a new class and series record. Large marched past Brad Brand and Chris Kato to meet top qualifier Stephen Barnett in the final. A .389 red light ended Large's run as Barnett took the win with a 4.80 at 146 mph.Austin, Texas' Chris Kato came from the bottom half of the field in the number twenty one spot to knock out Travis Thomason , Chris Elliott and Miguel Varela before falling in the semi-finals to Daniel Large.Benny Wilmeth qualified fifth in Limited 275 with a 4.84 and lived in the 4.80s to advance to the semi-finals to take on Stephen Barnett. Barnett's 4.82 was just enough to hold off Wilmet's 4.83 at the stripe.
FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS - A RECORD-SETTING FRIDAY NIGHT IN TEXAS
Pro Drag Radial qualifying is led by Kyle Huettel of team Bad9er who blistered North Star Dragway to a world record 3.875 at 205 mph, the quickest pass ever on drag radials, yet again at North Star Dragway. This is a gratifying accomplishment given that teammate Jason Michalak is not behind the wheel this weekend after his father's tragic death just a few weeks prior. The team is certainly racing in his honor this weekend in Texas.Rob Valden keeps knocking away at the scoreboards with every run so far this weekend. It all started in testing on Thursday with a stout 3.90 and was backed up during qualifying with the car's first trip to the 80s with a 3.88 at 193 mph, just a tick off the record and good for number two after three qualifying sessions in Pro Drag Radial.In a grudge race on Friday night, Rodney Whatley in "Jekyll" took on Jeff Sitton in "Hyde" in a battle of two cars that graduated from the grudge world into the drag radial scene, still both feared three second players. Sitton is the former owner of both cars and made them famous terrorizing the grudge scene across the country before switching over to compete in drag radial events. The first bout went to Sitton as Whatley red lit, throwing away the better 4.06 elapsed time. In the third qualifying session, the cars lined up again and Sitton again took the win with a 4.01 at 189 mph.
Mark Woodruff from Arnold, Missouri wheeled his 2010 ZR1 to the number three spot with a strong 3.95 at 199 mph in Pro Drag Radial.New Jersey's X275 hero Rich Bruder has a firm grasp on the charts so far in Texas, leading the field by a tenth of a second after three qualifying rounds with a 4.39 at 160 mph. Bruder will be one to watch today and certainly the favorite on paper heading into final qualifying and eliminations on Saturday.Oklahoma's Odie Sturgeon stapled his 1971 Chevy Nova to the number two spot with a 4.49 at 156 mph, number two out of twenty, but still a tenth behind the pole position in X275.
Marty Pearcy of Bronte, Texas claimed the number three position in X275 in his 2010 Dodge Challenger with a 4.52 at 162 mph and leads a healthy field of cars in the 4.50 range at North Star Dragway.Eric Stubbs made highlight reels for weeks after Lights Out 7 in Georgia with his massive wheelstand, but this weekend it's all about keeping the front end down and going fast. Stubbs' 2003 Ford Mustang currently sits number eight with a 4.58 at 158 mph in X275 action.Stephen Barnett abused the scoreboards in Limited 275 action with a pair of 4.81s in his 1990 Ford Mustang from Spring, Texas. Barnett was a hitter in last year's RTRA season and is showing no signs of mercy as the field prepares for final qualifying and eliminations.Chris Elliott of Willis, Texas blasted to the number two spot with a 4.814 at 135 mph and is keeping pace with Barnett in the race to be the first Limited 275 car in the 4.70's, which is certainly a possibility this weekend in Texas.
Conroe, Texas racer Kenny Rodriguez is having fun this weekend in his 1991 Chevy S-10 and qualified number five with a 4.84 at 143 in a twenty five car field of Limited 275 entries.Joe Garza's 1969 Ford Falcon is a fan favorite at the track this weekend, it may not be the fastest, currently qualified number twenty with a 5.46, but it sure does look good and add variety to the class.Cord Clark wheeled his 1967 Chevy Chevelle to a 5.03 at 137 mph which qualifieds him number eleven with one session to go before eliminations get underway at the Texas Radial Round Up.
THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - TESTING FOR THE BIG WEEKEND
Rob Valden has Andrew Alepa's immaculate new C7 Corvette at North Star Dragway for the RTRA Texas Radial Round Up! Valden laid down a 3.94 at 209 mph solid test pass today and he's just getting started folks! Watch the streaming live feed this Friday and Saturday on CompetitionPlus.tv courtesy of our coverage partners at Bangshift.com.Kenny Hubbard of Conroe, Texas had a little backfire action in his 1974 Chevy Nova X275 entry, but was able to put down a few strong runs on test day.Shawn Ayers and team owner NFL star Fletcher Cox are making their first appearance at North Star Dragway with the RTRA series this weekend. This car ran well at Lights Out 7 and could play spoiler this weekend.
T.J. Gatlin of Yukon, Oklahoma hooking up good on a test hit today, hoping for a win in the X275 category.Miguel Varela of Dallas, Texas ran a strong 4.85 at 142 mph which should qualify very strong in Limited 275 action this weekend at North Star Dragway.Jeff Sitton and team "Hyde" assisted by Stevie "Fast" Jackson posted stellar numbers in the high 3.80's at the RTRA Championship Finals this past November. Testing didn't turn up anything close to that today, but everyone in the pits knows Sitton is a three second player this weekend.Rodney Whatley of Sanger, Texas is in his first RTRA Pro Drag Radial appearance with a blown combination new for this season. This car has been in the three second zone in private testing earlier this year and is one to keep an eye on this weekend.David Wolfe is on his comeback tour that not many people in the radial circles knew about. Wolfe showed up at a test session at North Star Dragway prior to Lights Out 7, attended Lights Out 7 and is now back at NSD for the RTRA Texas Radial Round Up and fans are excited to see the veteran back on the strip in Texas.2015 RTRA Limited 275 Champion Stephen Barnett made several strong runs in today's testing action.
Chad Revia of Beaumont, Texas is in his first RTRA start with his new Camaro competing in the Limited 275 category.
