ORTC -VALDOSTA – EVENT NOTEBOOK PRESENTED BY AEROMOTIVE
by
Bobby Bennett
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK –
Jeff Kyle entered the fourth and final round of 275 vs. 28/10.5 qualifying in first place at 4.78 seconds, but after back-to-back passes by Joel Greathouse and Terry Elim, he’ll start from third in eliminations tomorrow. Greathouse was up first Saturday afternoon and took over the top spot from third with a 4.76 at 156.53-mph pass in his Oakland, KY-based 1990 Mustang. But Elim, who was pushed from second to third by Greathouse, responded with a stellar 4.72 at 156.23 in his ’03 Cobra
Dan Jackson of Lebanon, TN, lost his left rear wheel when all four studs sheared off at their base right off the launch of his ’79 Mustang in 6.50 index qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Note the brake drum skidding off to the left in the photo. Fortunately, Jackson emerged unscathed from the accident and his car appeared to suffer minimal damage.
Clearly establishing himself as the class of the field in Radials vs. the World, David Wolfe officially lowered the Drag Radial record to 4.354 seconds at 188.62 in the fourth and final round of qualifying.
Shortly after Wolfe’s record run, Eric Dillard served notice he’s headed for the .30s, too, improving to a 4.41 at 189.79 mph, which is top speed of the meet so far, too.
“We ran a .48, then a .44 and now a .41 and we’ve got five more shots at it tomorrow,” Dillard said, referring to eliminations for the 32-car Radials vs. the World field. “We’re feeling pretty good about it right now.”
David Reese of Rockmart, GA, went for a wild ride in his last qualifying pass for the Radials vs. the World class. Starting from the left lane, Reese’s ’93 Mustang went into a huge wheelstand off the start, eventually riding on only its left, rear tire until Reese brought the car down and crossed the centerline behind the ’68 Camaro of Oklahoma racer Dewyne Mills.
Paul Major broke into the top 10 in Radials vs. the World qualifying with a 4.60 pass at 176.28 mph in his turbo-boosted 2001 Corvette.
A solid crowd and good car count was on hand Saturday night at South Georgia Motorsports Park for final qualifying for the ORTC Nights the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Part II. Eliminations for the six drag radial classes begin at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Clarence Cloud of Vidalia, GA, ran 5.31 at 129.87 mph in his 1941 Willys to win the 5.30 index class final over Dillon Voss, who broke out with a 5.26/124.91 combination Saturday night at SGMP.
Melvin Pfeifer made the long tow from Biloxi, MS, worthwhile with the 5.70 index win in his ’75 Duster. In a double-breakout final, Pfeifer ran 5.68 at 119.68 to David Harvey’s 5.67 at 122.77 in his ’84 Trans Am.
Both finalists ran right on the number in the 6.50 index final and produced a one-thousandth of a second margin of victory after Kenny Ford of Muscle Shoals, AL, was able to overcome a slim .005 holeshot with a 6.502 run at 100.53 mph in his ’69 Camaro to beat the 6.508 at 108.22 by Matt Powell in an ’85 Chevy.
The 7.50 index title went to Louisville, KY’s Clark Carroll and his ’86 Cutlass with an unopposed 7.59 at 90.48-mph pass when Dennis Smith was unable to answer the call with his ’87 Mustang. Also picking up a win in the Open Comp index class was Walt Shipley of Tampa, FL, with his 1970 Nova beating the ’83 Oldsmobile of Georgia racer Chris VanLandingham.
David Wolfe’s top qualifying 4.38 from the opening round of Radials vs. the World qualifying for the ORTC Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Pt. II, held up through round three Saturday afternoon at South Georgia Motorsports Park. In fact, the top seven retained their positions, but Amanda “Puddin” Long (shown) made the jump up from 10th to 8th with a 4.61 pass, while Brad Bonnett’s 4.62 at 170.32 took over 9th place, pushing the first-round 4.66 by Kevin Fiscus down to 10th of 35 entries.
In the last of four rounds of No Boost qualifying, top qualifier Brian McGee lowered his ET to a record 4.578 seconds at 163.89 mph, shattering the former marks of 4.66 at 154 by number-five qualifier at Valdosta Francis Johnson.
Kirk Hatley, driving lifetime friend Eric Kenward’s Florida-based Chevy station wagon for only the second time (and first time in nearly two years), drove straight to the top of the Ultimate Street class in fourth-round qualifying with a 5.220 at 133.92 mph.
Kenward, meanwhile arrived at the track this morning immediately after becoming a father for the fourth time at 3:37 a.m. Friday when his wife, Lori, gave birth to six-pound-13-ounce baby Mallory.
“She just told me to go and make us some money,” said Kenward, who is driving Bruce Robert’s ’91 Mustang in the X275 drag radial class. Kenward was 43rd after one pass with one more qualifying session to go.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – WE’RE UNDERWAY
A LONG DAY TO LAUNCH – The Outlaw Radial Tire Championship’s (ORTC’s) Nights the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Part II opened under rainy skies Feb. 25, but the wet stuff was gone by noon and within a couple of hours the eighth-mile action at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP) was well underway.
Only the six drag radial (DR) classes (Holley No Boost, Billet Atomizer Racing Injectors Ultimate Street, TCI Outlaw Radial, VP Race Fuels Outlaw 275 vs. 28X10.5, TRZ Motorsports X275 and PTC Radials vs. the World) made laps today in a pair of qualifying rounds. With only a few cars left in the lanes, round two of qualifying for the Radials vs. the World class was called off early due to a lengthy clean-up for oil and dew settling on the track.
Saturday’s schedule calls for two more DR qualifiers, plus qualifying and eliminations in 7.50, 6.50, 5.70, 5.30 and Open Comp index classes.
The SGMP staging lanes were full with a nice assortment of drag radial rides for the ORTC Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Part II.
After taking the top spot with an excellent 4.38 in round one of Radials vs. the World, David Wolfe broke an oil line at the end of his burnout for round two. The Fort Worth, TX-based racer later said he’s got a “happy” race car, though, and expects to go a little quicker on Saturday.
Four-time and defending NMRA Drag Radial champ Jason Lee improved from a 4.99 to 4.97 at 142.76 mph to place third in the Extreme 275 class after two rounds of qualifying.
Amanda “Puddin” Long, wife of race promoter Donald Long, ran a pair of 4.68s in Radials vs. the World qualifying that had her ninth after the first round, with the second yet to be completed Saturday morning.
Paul Major hangs ‘em high Friday night with his late-model Corvette in Radials vs. the World qualifying at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Hanging out in the SGMP tower and enjoying the drag radial show was 2010 NHRA Pro Mod World Champion Von Smith, fresh off winning the 2010-11 Arabian Pro Extreme world championship in Qatar just one week earlier. Smith, from Oak Ridge, TN, made the trek down to the Valdosta, GA, track prior to attending the Supercross race at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Saturday night. When asked if he was thinking of making the switch to DR, Smith responded, “I wouldn’t say no!”
Steve Morris managed a best of just 5.48 with his fan-favorite Chevy wagon to tentatively place him 22nd in Radials vs. the World qualifying before the second round has been completed, but ran a 4.81 in testing on Thursday that would have put him just outside the top ten.
After this wheelstanding 6.80 in the opening round of X275 qualifying with his ’86 Mustang, Hoschton, GA’s Bob Kurgan responded with a 5.13 at 138.99 in round two that has him 18th heading into Saturday’s two qualifiers.
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