Thu, 18 Oct 2007, 09:44 PM
As Always, It Goes Down To The Wire
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By Bob Frey
Photo copyright 2007 Auto Imagery, Inc., Bob Johnson Photography, Robert Grice
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Frank Aragona
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Earlier this week I touched on a couple of the drivers who still have a chance to make a run at the
Lucas Oil World Championship in the various sportsman categories. Already, three of the titles have
been secured with Bill Reichert and Frank Manzo repeating as champs in the Top Alcohol Dragster and
Funny Car class while Frank Aragona has locked up the Competition Eliminator championship. With
three already wrapped up it means that there are still four categories that are still wide open.
Now "wide open" may be a little too broad of a term, but as we always say, until someone
mathematically puts the championship out of reach the titles are still up for grabs.
Darren Smith
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In Super Stock, Darren Smith is the current leader in the clubhouse, or in the pits or wherever
Darren is this weekend. With a total of 657 points and two national events still to claim, Darren
has the upper hand and the other contenders are going to have to go through him if they want to be
crowned champion at the end of the year. Plus, the way I see it, Darren is replacing a couple of
fourth round showings so he can still put some more points on the board. The driver of the really
cool Mopar will be looking to add to his total at the final two national races of the year, Las
Vegas and Pomona. With divisional wins in Tucson, Las Vegas and Fontana as well as a runner-up at
the recently completed Sportsnationals in Fontana, Darren is enjoying the best year of his career.
Jimmy DeFrank, from that famous racing DeFrank family, is currently in second place with 648 points
and that's certainly within striking distance of the leader. Jimmy, the 1997 and 1999 world champ,
already has posted final rounds on the national level at the Winternationals and Seattle and he
pairs that up with a divisional win in Phoenix to put him less than a round behind the leader. The
main difference between the two is that Jimmy only has one national event left at which to claim
points and he'll need to improve on a 3rd round finish
Jimmy DeFrank
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if he wants to move up in the standings. Peter Biondo, the reigning Super Stock World Champion, who
is probably on his way to Silver Dollar Raceway, the home of the last divisional race of the year,
as I write this, is still alive in two classes. He is currently in 3rd place in Super Stock with
645 points, and if he wins four rounds this weekend he will tie Darren and if he wins five rounds
he'll take the lead. Peter told me that he "lives for moments like this" and he is looking forward
to the challenge of the weekend. Jim Harrington is in fourth place right now and he can add to his
total at both one divisional race and one national race. Jim can pick up points early at Silver
Dollar since he will be replacing a thirty point race, or a first round, this weekend. His national
race, if indeed he goes west, will require him to win at least four rounds to add points to his
current total of 579. He's seventy-eight points behind Darren and that's a bunch, but when you
start out by replacing a first round loss you can add points in a hurry. Michael Mans, the
Earlville winner in Division 5, and the Indy runner-up, is also in the mix. Michael, currently in
sixth place, could go to Silver Dollar since he can add points at one more divisional race, and I
expect he'll go to Las Vegas since he also has one more national event at which to score points.
Granted, he's eighty-six points back, but he is still in it, at least mathematically, and he's
close so why not give it a shot over the next two weeks?
Michael Iacono
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Michael Iacono leads the Stock Eliminator points and he has for a while. With 643 points Michael
has put all the points on the board that he can for this year. He got that total by winning in
Atlanta and by going to the final round at Maple Grove, and at both of those races he faced Peter
Biondo in the final round, so he should get extra credit just for winning one of them. Michael was
also the runner-up at the Cecil County divisional race where he lost to, oh yeah, Peter Biondo.
Jerry Emmons, of the famous Emmons clan, is currently in second place with 603 points, just a few
rounds behind the leader. Jerry can add to his total at two more national events so I fully expect
to see him in Las Vegas and then, if everything goes well, in California. Jerry is looking to
replace a third round at one race and that might be his best chance to catch Michael since his
other race that he would be replacing is a sixth round affair. Basically, a quick look at that
would seem to indicate that he'll need to win a whole pile of rounds if he wants to be the champ. A
whole pile! Jody Lang, who is also in the top ten in the Super Stock points, has 592 points in
Stock Eliminator and that puts him 51 off the pace. With one national event left to claim, Jody
basically needs to win a race in order to catch and pass the leader. It should be pointed out that
one of Jody's wins this year came at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where we, and I assume
he, will be next week. Peter Biondo, looking to double-up with a Stock and Super Stock title, still
has a chance at winning in Stock Eliminator even if it is a long shot. Peter is replacing a thirty
point (first round) loss but since he is sixty-one points behind Michael, he will need to win the
race if he wants to pass his fellow D-1 racer. Anyone care to bet against Peter? Edmond Richardson,
a three-time national champ, is also is the mix in two eliminators, Stock and Super Comp. While his
chances are a lot better in the 8.90 class, a win this weekend could move Edmond into the lead in
the Stock class. If Stock is the only eliminator they run this weekend at Silver Dollar Raceway it
will be worth the price of admission.
Shawn Langdon
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Shawn Langdon has been the leader for a while in Super Comp and he has put up 644 points. Edmond
Richardson, who won in Richmond a few weeks ago, is the closest challenger and he can never be
counted out. Edmond needs to win four rounds this weekend if he wants to overtake the leader. From
what I hear, Shawn, who is from California, is on his way east to compete in Reynolds, Georgia this
weekend in an effort to protect his lead. This is a very close knit sport and I'm sure there is a
team or teams who will let Shawn use their car for the event this weekend. It's always interesting
to see the alliances that come out of these situations. Another west coast standout, Anthony
Castillo, also has not been eliminated from contention and he can add points next week in Las
Vegas. Anthony has been one of the most consistent drivers in the class over the past few years and
he has a couple of top ten finishes to his credit already, but he is in a "must win" situation when
he goes to the track the next time. Gary Stinnett, another former world champ, is also in range and
he'll be in Georgia, too this weekend. With 568 points, and with a national and divisional still to
claim, the always-tough Mr. Stinnett could sneak in and steal it all. Well he could. One thing in his
favor, if you can call it that, is that Gary is replacing a second round loss at the divisional
level, so if he makes it to the third round this weekend he'll start adding points.
Val Torres
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The Super Gas class is also wide open although Sherman Adcock Jr., the leader right now, will be
playing on his home court this weekend. The Division 2 standout from Georgia has one divisional
race left to claim and that will be this weekend. Michael Ruff, coming off his big win in Richmond
two weeks ago, all of a sudden finds himself with a shot at the title. Michael, who will leave at
least one points race on the table at the end of the year, needs to win four rounds this weekend in
order to move up. Of course what Sherman does will have a lot to do with how the points shake out
at the end of the weekend. Val Torres, another California runner, can add to his 566 point total at
both Las Vegas and Pomona and that's huge, especially when you consider that he is sixty-five
points behind Sherman right now. Ed Olpin and Rodney Lee both are long shots, real long shots, but
we've seen guys come from way behind with one or two races to go in the past and there's nothing to
say that it can't or won't happen again this year.
Every time I do one of these "what if" scenarios I always find out that I forgot someone or added
the points wrong or calculated something wrong and that's why I say that these are all unofficial
numbers. And if I did forget or miss anyone, I'm sorry. As I always say, that's why I took three
years of Latin in school so I wouldn't have to take math. It never was my best subject, but then,
what was? I do know this, after having the final points race in Las Vegas for a couple of years,
and before that the last event was in Phoenix, it will be interesting to see how the last race
plays in Georgia this year. It will be like a hall of fame show in the sportsman classes and I urge
you to stop by if you're in the area. As I always say, it should be fun.
NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]
Oct 25- LAS VEGAS - Event Preview
Oct 22- NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Awards Ceremony Returns to Pechanga Resort Casino
Oct 22- NHRA Breakfast at 2026 SEMA Show Features Legends, Champs & A Rookie Talking Funny Car Showdown
Oct 22- DALLAS - Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Wrap Up
Oct 22- Five NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Drivers Currently Eligible for 2026 Rookie of the Year
Oct 22- Lucas Oil and NHRA Celebrate 25-Year Partnership with Multi-Year Extension
Oct 19- DALLAS - Sunday Video
Oct 18- DALLAS - Sunday Wrap Up
Oct 18- DALLAS - Summary of Eliminations in Super Stock
Oct 18- DALLAS - Summary of Eliminations in Competition Eliminator
