Quain Stott proclaimed earlier in the week that he planned to make the ADRL series his primary source for racing in 2009. On Saturday night at the ADRL LenMar Motorsports World Finals in Dallas, Texas, he got a head start on the competition.

Joining Stott (Pro Extreme) in the winner’s circle were such heavy-hitters as Mike Castellana (Pro Nitrous), Billy Glidden (Outlaw 10.5) and Scott Gray (Pro Extreme Motorcycle).

 

Quain Stott proclaimed earlier in the week that he planned to make the ADRL series his primary source for racing in 2009. On Saturday night at the ADRL LenMar Motorsports World Finals in Dallas, Texas, he got a head start on the competition.

Joining Stott (Pro Extreme) in the winner’s circle were such heavy-hitters as Mike Castellana (Pro Nitrous), Billy Glidden (Outlaw 10.5) and Scott Gray (Pro Extreme Motorcycle).

Stott, of Inman, S.C., drove past newly crowned world champion Jason Scruggs in the final round to claim his fourth career ADRL Pro Extreme national event crown.

 

Stott streaked to a winning 3.877 elapsed time at 183.59 miles per hour to upend the heavily favored Scruggs who nearly crashed his Dodge Stratus in the final round.

This was the final round which nearly almost didn’t happen.

Stott had mortally wounded an engine in his semi-final victory over past champion Bubba Stanton thus requiring an engine swap between rounds. Members from teams eliminated from competition helped to prepare the LeeBoy Paving Equipment-sponsored Corvette. Among those assisting was Scruggs personally.

When the call went out for the Pro Extreme final round, Scruggs opted to wait on Stott to complete the necessary between-rounds work.

Scruggs averted disaster in the final when he launched and his Dodge made an abrupt left turn just past the 60-foot cones, crossing the centerline, taking out the cones and an unmanned television camera while headed for the retaining wall. A last second save prevented an impact.

 

“The master (brake) cylinder let go just as I let the clutch out and brake fluid sprayed all over the rear tire,” Scruggs explained. “I don’t know how I managed to not hit anything more (than the camera), because I really should have.”

Castellana, of Westbury, N.Y., won a clash of the nitrous titans when he defeated Jim Halsey in the finals to get a leg up on the 2009 championship chase.

ADRL’s championship system crowns champions from the current year on Friday and begins the next year’s championship on Saturday. At the final event of 2009, the top eight points earners in all four divisions will do battle to determine the series champion.

Castellana battled tire shake for most of qualifying but found the right combination on race day to drive past Tim Savell, Doug Reisterrer, and Harold Martin en route to the final round. He entered Saturday’s final eliminations as the No. 9 qualifier.

“Once we got the car to go straight it got better every time out,” said Castellana, who made the best Pro Nitrous pass of the weekend in the final round. “It was really straight and smooth by the end there.”

Halsey mortally wounded his 820-inch, Gene Fulton powerplant in a semi-final victory over Johnny Pilcher. A made thrash ensured his appearance for the final round.

Halsey entered final eliminations as the No. 2 qualifier behind Castellana’s teammate Shannon Jenkins.

Glidden, for his part, showed his championship pedigree as son of eleven-time (10 NHRA, 1 IHRA) Pro Stock champion Bob Glidden as he won the Outlaw 10.5 championship on Friday and got off to an early title defense on Saturday by stopping Gary White in an incredible holeshot victory.

 

“This class just keeps getting tougher and tougher,” Glidden said later. “It used to be you could run 4.30s and occasional 4.20s and be competitive, but everyone has really stepped up their game over the last five months or so and that’s a thing of the past.”

Glidden scored the win-light with a 4.103, 175.98 which barely nipped the 4.101, 174.91 of White who races a turbocharged four-cylinder Scion. Remarkably White’s final round established a new Outlaw 10.5 world record.

Gray’s day got off to a good start in the first round when he knocked off newly christened world champion Billy Vose in the first round and culminated the incredible day with a victory over Matt Prophitt in the final round.

 

“I just felt like it was my time to win today,” Gray said. “For sure it took a lot of hard work, but when it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

Gray also defeated Tommy Campbell (quarter-finals) and Robert Hunnicutt (semis) en route to the final round.

Gray entered eliminations as the fourth quickest qualifier.

The National Guard ADRL series continues in 2009, most likely in March, but nothing is confirmed until the official schedule is released in December at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show held in Orlando, Fla.