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BRAINERD, Minn. -- As the regular season of the Full Throttle series drew to a close and the pros prepared to get down to the nitty gritty in the Countdown to 1, sportsman standouts made a ruckus in the winner's circle of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in celebration of hard-earned event wins. Chris Demke (Top Alcohol Dragster), Frank Manzo (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Al Ackerman (Comp), Rick Johnson (Super Stock), Dan Fletcher (Stock), Gary Stinnett (Super Comp), and Lance Trujillo (Super Gas), each claimed victories in their respective classes.
As the No. 1 qualifier, Demke earned a first-round bye run, and in round two, he drove his blown Peen Rite Abrasive Finishing dragster to an easy win after Mike Austin illuminated a .007 red-light. In the semifinals, Marty Thacker made his quickest pass of the weekend but it wasn't enough; Demke's 5.318 trumped his 5.349. Shields, whose most recent victory was in Topeka earlier this season, triumphed in his previous five consecutive final rounds. In his first round match with Darren Nicholson, Shields was second off the starting line in his Shortline Express A/Fueler and trailed until just before the finish line, when he edged ahead for the win light. In round two he beat Scott Palmer, who was also competing in Top Fuel at the event, for a bye run into the final. Defending event champion Bill Reichert led the national points entering the event and maintained the lead at the conclusion, despite a first-round holeshot loss to Palmer. Demke left Brainerd second in the standings, 19 points behind Reichert, and Shields was perched in the No. 4 spot.
With four runs in the .50s, Manzo burned up the track during eliminations, socking away a round win over red-lighting Wayne Butler in the first round for a bye into the semi's and then slamming a 5.500 on the scoreboards at the top end in his semifinals conquest over Vern Moats, who was competing in his 254th career Top Alcohol Funny Car race, the most in the history of the class. Carter was better at the starting line to shut out Scott McVey on a holeshot in the opening round and then overcame a slight launch-deficiency in round two to advance on Lance Van Hauen for a bye run into the final.
Three-time Comp winner Ackerman displayed polished starting line capabilities during eliminations, recording a couple of lights in the teens and then killing the tree in the final with a .005 in his winning efforts to prevent Lou Ficco Jr. from claiming a sixth season title. At the finish line, Ackerman was .50-under 8.004 to Ficco's .47-under 7.266 in his F/D entry. After putting Todd Patterson on the trailer in the first round, Ackerman got the nod when Santo Volpe was way red (-.307) in round two. He emerged victorious from a third-round meeting with the winningest Comp pilot of all time, David Rampy, for a bye run into the final. Ficco got the best of Brian Antony in a first-round B/AP showdown for a second round bye, and then in the quarterfinals, he was .012 on the launch to Clint Neff's quick .005 and clocked a .53-under 7.346 to outshine Neff's .047-under 7.947. In a hard-won semifinals battle, Neff was behind by five-hundredths at the starting line but surged ahead to get the win light with a permanent index adjusting .61-under 7.237 to Shaun Vincent's .50-under 8.583.
Super Stock victor Johnson relived his 1982 Brainerd win when he was better at both ends of the track to stop the reigning Super Stock world champ Jimmy DeFrank, who made the long haul from So Cal. Johnson was eight thousandths quicker out of the gate and crossed the finish line with a 9.638 on his 9.61 dial to DeFrank's 8.954 (8.81). Johnson survived a first-round double-breakout with David Bogner before stopping Charley Downing in the second round and advanced on a .003 red-light by Travis Sorokie in round three. In the quarterfinals, Johnson was victorious in his triumph over Mike Koppien, and he was more efficient on the launch and closer to his dial in his SS/CA '64 Dodge to halt fellow semifinalist David Goldie. DeFrank drove his SS/BS Cobalt to an opening round victory over breakout opponent Rod Neugebauer and then ran dead-on his 8.89 dial with a four to defeat Brad Zaskowski in round two, who was nine-thousandths over his 10.14 dial. In the third round, DeFrank was .012 on the launch to Scott Pearson's even better .011, but his 8.838 (8.83) was the decider; Pearson clocked a 10.820 on his 10.79 target. In an unusual semifinals competition, DeFrank's Cobalt moved towards the guardwall before the 330-foot timer, and it showed on the scoreboard with a 9.680 (8.81), but Michael Mans gifted his opponent with a breakout 9.534 (9.55).
Line didn't have an easy road to the final; he had to wheel his Line Performance C/SA Mustang past the likes of Lucas Oil series standouts Mark Faul (round three), David Rampy (round four), and Luke Bogacki (quarterfinals) to earn a bye semifinals bye. Also competing at the event were Line's mother Maxine, father Lawrence, brother Lance, and brother Jason, who drives the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP Pro Stocker. Notably, touring sportsman racer Brad Plourd debuted his new C/SA '94 Camaro at the event. The car was formerly driven by Grace Howell, who made the trade for Plourd's Super Stock Cavalier. Also notable: Tyler Wudarczyk went around Faul to take over the points lead with his semifinals finish.
Stinnett, who finished the event third in the Super Comp standings, sent Bogacki back to the pits in the first round and was then nine-thousandths over the 8.90 index to get past Glenn Gordon in round two. He was second off the starting line but ran closer to the number to advance on Jerry Hoss, and in the fourth round, Emporia, Kan., racer Stinnett was the winner in a double-breakout affair with Travis Nygaard. He picked up another double-breakout win in the fourth round for a bye into the final when he ran closer to the index than Kevin Wright. Topeka winner Long, of Mitchell, S.D., enjoyed conquests over Neil Markuson, Keith Lundberg, Grant Pederson, Terry Edwards, and Eugene Belair on his way to the second final of his career.
Foley, Minn., driver Moulzolf was nine-thousandths over the 9.90 index in the opening round to beat Murray Hebert and then survived a double-breakout with Russ Ginger in round two. He drove his '71 Opel GT to a third-round victory over Mike Belew and then got the decision in round four when Steve Schultz broke out. Moulzolf was again better than his opponent at the finish line as Keith Gilmore crossed the stripe quicker than 9.90 in round five, and his effective finish-line driving earned Moulzolf a bye into the final. The Lucas Oil Series will rejoin the Full Throttle tour at the revered Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, Sept. 1-6. Sunday's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series final results from the 29th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Top Alcohol Dragster -- Chris Demke, 5.281, 269.40 def. Duane Shields, 5.322, 262.49. Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.584, 258.37 def. Thomas Carter, Ford Mustang, 5.692, 247.25. Competition Eliminator -- Al Ackerman, Dragster, 8.004, 164.03 def. Lou Ficco Jr., Pontiac GXP, 7.266, 186.56. Super Stock -- Rick Johnson, Dodge, 9.638, 134.71 def. Jimmy DeFrank, Chevy Cobalt, 8.954, 153.11. Stock Eliminator -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 11.188, 108.89 def. Ben Line, Ford Mustang, 10.649, 123.70. Super Comp -- Gary Stinnett, Dragster, 8.893, 180.91 def. Dustin Long, Dragster, 8.835, 173.67. Super Gas -- Lance Trujillo, Chevy Corvette, 9.885, 158.37 def. Stan Moulzolf, Opel, 9.855, 146.65.
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