Mon, 19 Jul 2010, 09:30 PM Wonders Out West

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

SONOMA, Calif. --

Kyle Seipel, Jimmy DeFrank, Tony Mandella, Mike DePalma, Mike Ferderer and Shawn Langdon

After a weekend of thunderously thrilling drag racing competition on the outskirts of Napa Valley's quiet wine country, six Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series drivers celebrated respective victories earned at the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. Mike DePalma picked up the Comp title, Tony Mandella won Super Stock, Jimmy DeFrank scored in Stock, Kyle Seipel took home the Super Comp hardware, Shawn Langdon emerged victorious in Super Gas, and Mike Ferderer earned Top Sportsman honors.

Ferderer vs. Forkner

K&N Filters-campaigner Ferderer took his '06 Grand Am to the winner's circle in Top Sportsman following the 21st national event win of his career. The regular Super Gas competitor was the 1985 Super Gas national champion and has held 12 divisional titles covering the Super Gas and Super Comp categories. Ferderer, of Buckley, Wash., got off to a strong start in the first round with a .002 reaction and a 7.468 on his 7.41 dial to beat Ray Martin's .041 and 6.903 (6.88) and then scored a set of freebies when Royce Freeman and Johnny Matassa both fouled in their respective second- and third-round matches. In the semifinals, Dave Slatten was .007 at the tree to Ferderer's .009 launch, but he broke out by five-thousandths and Ferderer advanced on a 7.402 (7.38).

Temecula, Calif., driver Gary Forkner was second to the leave the starting line in the final and put forth valiant effort to recover, but at the top end, Ferderer saw the familiar flashing win light.

DePalma vs. Mettler

A pair of pickups pulled to the starting line in the Comp final, and after a fairly non-stellar .088 reaction, C/T Chevy S-10 driver DePalma took a permanent CIC to nab the win and stop 2007 event winner Tom Mettler and his '01 Dodge Dakota. DePalma, of Glendale, Ariz., was No. 1 qualifier and had a first-round bye run. He automatically advanced in the second round when John Edwards fouled by .027, and in round three, Justin Lamb went red by .016 to DePalma's clean .009. In the semis, DePalma nibbled at the CIC to get to the finish line ahead of Ross Wilson with a (-.57) 8.82 to (-.49) 8.56.

The second round was the setting for an unusual spectacle; Puyallup, Wash., racer Brandon Huhtala got the win light but went out of control past the finish line in his Oldsmobile Cutlass, crossing the track and crashing into the wall before the car lifted onto its nose. It quickly came to a rest with the shiny side up, and Huhtala was not seriously injured, but the run was disqualified by NHRA citing excessive braking. Dean Carter was ruled the winner of the round.

DeFrank vs. Durham

In both Super Stock and Stock, DeFrank was accumulating round wins in pursuit of a double-up, and for the second time in his career, he finished with a just-miss; the California Car Cover-backed driver also nearly doubled in Pomona at the 2009 World Finals. In Sonoma, he was No. 1 qualifier and won Stock, but Mandella was .010 quicker off the starting line and clocked a 9.735 (9.70 dial) to beat DeFrank's 8.809 (8.77) in the Super Stock final.

Though it was ultimately decided when Jim Durham rolled the beams in the money round and clicked on the red-light, B/SA '69 Camaro wheeler DeFrank's Stock title was worthy of much celebration for the Chatsworth, Calif., driver. The victory was the 11th of his career, but his first in Stock. Each of the previous 10 were claimed in Super Stock, the category in which DeFrank is the reigning national champion.

Mandella vs. DeFrank

Mandella's Super Stock win was the first of his career and well earned; he shone in the first round when he deftly maneuvered his GT/DA '87 Camaro to a defeat of prolific sportsman racer Dan Fletcher. Mandella was three-thousandths deficient at the starting line but came through at the top end, putting a 9.895 (9.87) on the scoreboard to Fletcher's 9.370 (9.34).

He again was at a slight disadvantage at the starting line but made it up at the final stripe to get the win over Brad Rounds in the second stanza, and in the next two rounds he was better out of the gate to sock away wins over Don Durham - who fell in their third-round double-breakout meeting - and Steve Hanby, who was two-hundredths too quick on his 10.93 dial to Mandella's nearly spot-on 9.904 (9.90) in round four.

Mandella, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was victorious in a heads-up GT/DA competition with Tony Smith in the semifinals, 9.698 to 9.720. It was one of only two heads-up no-breakout contests; DeFrank drove his SS/BS Cobalt to an 8.734 to 12.287 win over Grant Singer in the opening round.

Seipel vs. Kinard

Local Nor Cal racer Seipel wheeled his Super Comp rail to a ninth national event win by cutting a crisp .008 light and recording an 8.916 on the 8.90 index to Aaron Kinard's respectable .011 and breakout 8.885. Seipel, who last won big in NHRA competition at the 2008 Winternationals, put Nicholas Saetes on the trailer in round one and then overcame a deficient launch, .052 to .022, in the second round to stop Russ Stevenson, 8.914 to 8.953.

He got the nod in the third round when Justin Davis broke out and then advanced on Mike Henderson in the same manner in round four, which set him up for a lucky quarterfinals match with Redding, Calif., resident Craig Blaisdell. Seipel had major troubles early that would go down on record as a way tardy .483 and then ran into even more troubles as he attempted to take on the quarter mile stretch. Blaisdell sailed ahead to what could have been an easy triumph and a bye run into the final but broke out of the 8.90 index by eight-thousandths to Seipel's unexpectedly effective 11.803.

Langdon vs. Torres

Top Fuel racer Langdon returned to his racing roots and it paid off with a Super Gas win, his sixth national event title and his first sportsman win since 2008. The final round was decided at the starting line when Val Torres red-lighted in his '63 Corvette. Langdon beat Eddy Plaizier in a double-breakout first round match, ran closer to the 9.90 index to stop Charlie Waggoner Jr. in round two, clicked off a typical Langdon .007 start to aid in a defeat of Steve Williams in another double-breakout in round three, and then got the nod when Jim Hughes went red by a thousandth in the fourth act. Quarterfinals opponent Thomas Bayer replayed Hughes -.001 and sent Langdon to the semis, where he was second off the starting line, .014 to Ryan Mangus' .005, but ran closer to the index for a chance at glory, 9.911 to 9.921.

Many Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors stayed on through Monday at Infineon Raceway for the makeup of the much-delayed Arizona Nationals, and the series will rejoin the Full Throttle tour next weekend, July 23-25, in Denver at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

Sunday's Lucas Drag Racing Series final results from the 23rd annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway.

Competition Eliminator -- Mike DePalma, Chevy S-10, 8.156, 159.46 def. Tom Mettler, Dodge Dakota, 7.365, 176.03.

Super Stock -- Tony Mandella, Chevy Camaro, 9.735, 133.98 def. Jimmy DeFrank, Chevy Cobalt, 8.809, 155.94.

Stock Eliminator -- Jimmy DeFrank, Chevy Camaro, 10.421, 113.92 def. Jim Durham, Dodge Duster, DQ.

Super Comp -- Kyle Seipel, Dragster, 8.916, 155.33 def. Aaron Kinard, Dragster, 8.885, 166.46.

Super Gas -- Shawn Langdon, Chevy Camaro, 10.489, 117.58 def. Val Torres, Chevy Corvette, foul.

Top Sportsman -- Mike Ferderer, Pontiac Grand Am, 7.431, 182.50 def. Gary Forkner, Pontiac GTO, 7.175, 193.68.

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