Mon, 27 Sep 2010, 07:56 PM A Toast to Texas

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

ENNIS, Texas --

Standing: NHRA's Craig Hutchinson, Steve Benoit, Mickey Ferro, Don Garlits, Chase Copeland, Bruno Massel and Austin Williams Kneeling: Steve Evans, Trevor Land and Tommy Phillips

The silver anniversary of the first event held at Texas Motorplex was a barnburner, with the final rounds of Lucas Oil Series racing at the now 25-year-old facility populated by former finalists and previous Lone Star state winners -- and a couple of first-timers, too. The honored victors at the all-concrete track near Dallas were Chase Copeland (Top Alcohol Dragster), Mickey Ferro (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Bruno Massel (Comp), Austin Williams (Stock), Steve Evans (Super Comp), Tommy Phillips (Super Gas), Trevor Land (Super Street), and Steve Benoit (Top Sportsman).

Top Alcohol Dragster competition boiled down to Copeland, of Gainesville, Texas, and defending event champion Marty Thacker, a four-time national event titlist. Copeland laid down a shocking and blazing 5.212 at 276.46 mph in his semifinals defeat of low qualifier Jim Whiteley, setting a career best e.t. as well as low e.t. and top speed of the meet, and in the final, the first of his career, he clocked an awesome 5.239 at 275.84 to pummel Thacker's 5.377, 253.23.

Copeland, the No. 4 qualifier, got the nod in the first round when multi-class racer Scott Palmer, who was also competing in Top Fuel at the event, smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle in his A/Fuel dragster. Second-round opponent Buddy Domingue, twice before triumphant at the national event level, fouled by .141-second in his Vins Racing A/Fueler, sending Copeland to his second semifinals match in a Top Alcohol Dragster.

Copeland vs. Thacker

Thacker's road to the final started from the No. 3 qualifying position, and in the first round of eliminations he used a second-quickest-of-the-round 5.395, his best of the weekend to that point in his Rapid Transit blown rail, to stop Art Trautman. Thacker improved upon his time with a low-of-the-round 5.345 to trailer Brandon Pierce in round two. Pierce was first off the starting line but drifted out of the groove, allowing Thacker to make his pivotal move before he was 100 feet down the track. In the semifinals, Thacker scored a decisive win, 5.371 to 5.550, to beat Mark Taliaferro.

Ferro, second in the Top Alcohol Funny Car standings, raced ahead of Steve Harker to get the Wally in his sixth final round of the season one day before his birthday. Ferro launched his Ryco Hydraulics Monte Carlo off the starting line first, .029 to .065, and kept ahead of his opponent to log the fourth national event win of his career with a 5.575 to Harker's 5.595.

Ferro vs. Harker

After earning a start from the No. 3 spot, Ferro was out of the gate first and to the finish line ahead of ARC Specialties Camaro driver Steve Burck in round one. Second-round challenger Chris Foster was behind Ferro a couple hundredths at the start and couldn't make up the difference, falling with a 5.651 to Ferro's 5.560, and in the semifinals, Alexis DeJoria was at a disadvantage out of the gate with her .076 to Ferro's .039 but rallied hard, nearly nabbing the eventual winner but losing on a holeshot. Ferro got the win light - and lane choice in the final - 5.569 to 5.561.

Harker's daughter, Kate, was the Top Alcohol Dragster runner-up at the 2008 event at the Motorplex, but this time it was Dad's turn. The native Australian qualified one position behind Ferro and took out Bryan Brown in the first round before Kris Hool had troubles in round two and had to get out of it. Harker easily advanced to the semis on a 5.569 that was his quickest of the weekend and allowed for lane choice over Jay Payne and his FireIce Mustang. Payne was first off the starting line by a hundredth but Harker was around him by the 60-foot timer and extended his lead all the way down the 1320. The final was Harker's first since the 2009 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indy.

Massel vs. Smiley

The Comp final pitted the defending event champion against first-time finalist Clark Smiley. Reigning world champion Massel, in his DD/AT turbo-charged Cobalt, was the automatic winner when Smiley jumped too soon and lit a -.012 red bulb.

Massel cleared a first-round win over Harrah, Okla., racer Jody Holland and then was a quick .006 at the tree and 7.683 on the 7.74 index to defeat Ravenna, Texas, driver Keith Hall's tire-rattling 8.040 on an 8.898 for a third-round bye run. Chase Williams was .007 red in the semifinals, sending Massel to his first national event final round since winning the event last season.

Smiley drove his C/A entry to a first-round win over Cordis Johnson, nabbed a generous advantage off the starting line and parlayed it into a second-round defeat of Kevin Self, emerged successfully from the third round when DarinWest fouled by .062, and waltzed into the money round when David Rampy was nine-thousandths too quick at the start.

Williams vs. Cummings

The Stock final was a double-breakout affair with F/SA '72 Duster pilot Williams launching first, .015 to Bayou Boyz representative Slate Cummings' .020, and running closer to his dial to record his third national event win. Williams, the 2008 runner-up at the Dallas event in the Super Comp category, was 11.004 on his 11.01 dial to his opponent's 10.328 (10.37).

Williams opened eliminations with an F/SA heads-up win over Bill Basham and moved into the second round, where he was an awesome .003 at the tree and 11.068 on his 11.04 dial to dispose of Trista Henderson's .023 launch and 10.473 (10.51). His third-round match with D/SA pilot Mike Trumble was a squeaker, and Williams utilized a .048 reaction to score with a nine-thousandths-over 11.04 to Trumble's .061 light and six-thousandths-over 11.07. The margin of victory was a slim .0104-second.

In round four, Williams was four-thousandths over his number to stop Todd Ewing's 11.221 (11.20), and he beat his second heads-up challenger of eliminations, R.J. Sledge, 10.885 to 11.039 in the quarterfinals to score a bye into the final.

Evans vs. Choate

Cummings, who was runner-up in Stock at the event in 2008, wheeled his B/SA '99 Firebird to a first-round win over Dave Workman before fellow Louisianan Patrick Courts, of New Iberia, fouled out in his N/SA Trans Am. Steven Hall was .026 too quick in the third round, setting Cummings up for a B/SA heads-up match with Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. in which Cummings was three-thousandths quicker off the starting line and first to the finish for the win, 10.402 to 10.521. Jeff Teuton was out of the game when he took a wee bit too much stripe in the quarterfinals after a nice .016 reaction to Cummings' .022, and in the semifinals, Cummings was the survivor of a double-breakout with John Brimer.

In his first final round, Evans, who was competing in his first race of the year, claimed the Super comp title when Scooter Choate, the 2009 Belle Rose runner-up, broke out of the 8.90 index by six-thousandths. Early in eliminations, Evans, of Moore, Okla., used a better reaction, .013 to .020, to send Samantha Kenny packing despite a closer-to-the-index 8.909 to his 8.913, and in round three, Evans was the benefactor of a red-light by David Dale. Another holeshot win was logged over fourth-round challenger Rick Prudhomme, and when Bobby Fuentes broke out by .011-second, Evans scored a coveted bye run into the final.

Phillips vs. Stewart

Choate, of Hubbard, Texas, won a close one in the third round when he got the win light by just five-thousandths over Dylan Lee, and in the semifinals he overcame a deficient .071 reaction to William Carrell's .027 and edged his opponent out at the top end with an 8.901 to Carrell's breakout 8.874.

Phillips, of TNT Super Cars fame, picked up his third national event trophy at Texas Motorplex when he cut a quick .005 light in his '58 Corvette and raced to a nicely done 9.909 on the 9.90 Super Gas index to shut out Charlie Stewart's .027 launch and 9.925. The win was reminiscent of Phillips' Dallas Super Gas victory in 2008; the other two triumphs at his home track were in Super Comp (1995 and 2005). Now second in the Super Gas national standings, Phillips, of Forney, Texas, used superior starting-line skill to demolish his challengers and regularly recorded lights in the double-ohs and teens throughout eliminations.

Azle, Texas, resident Stewart, driving his '63 Corvette, won a very close match with Jack Campbell in round two by a slim eight-thousandths and went on to get the better of James Palmer before landing on the right side of the index at the top end to beat back-to-back breakout opponents Jay Peppler and Gale Wallace and earn a bye run into the final.

Land vs. Owens

Land, the 2008 winner of the JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, was a stunningly perfect triple zero on the launch and clocked a very efficient 10.909 on the 10.90 Super Street index to send Charlie Owens home from his first final-round appearance empty-handed. Owens, of White Oak, Texas, was a remarkable .005 at the start in his '67 Camaro but broke out by .013.

Land's .000 in his '82 Mustang was not out of character; throughout eliminations he exhibited excellent skill on the line, including a .005 in the second round to Lonnie Sears' .002 red-light and a .003 to Cody Wampler's .018 green in round four. In the semifinals, Land, of West Monroe, La., was a near-perfect 10.902 at the finish line to Tim Philpot's breakout 10.871.

Owens was none-too-shabby himself when it came to starting line performances throughout the weekend and clocked a series of teen lights broken by a .001 in the fourth round. His .012 reaction in the semifinals greatly aided his quest for success and had Ray Drew battling from go in an attempt to recover from a .119 start that ended in a tiny but lethal .001-second breakout.

Benoit vs. Vettel

After sitting out of national event competition since Sonoma, Top Sportsman racers returned to action at the event - their final contribution to the Full Throttle Series this year - and Benoit snagged a plentiful holeshot and tucked it in at the top end with a 6.762 on his 6.73 dial to beat Joshua Vettel's 6.916 (6.88). In the first round, Benoit was gifted with a .036 red-light by Mark Pickens, and Christmas continued in round two with a .021 foul by Joseph Mohana.

Benoit finally got to prove his worth in the third round, and he clocked a .017 reaction at the starting line and a 6.746 (6.70 dial) at the top end to sock away a win over Royce Freeman, who was .061 at the hit and put a 6.783 (6.75) on the scoreboard in a losing effort. Benoit advanced to the final with his '02 Camaro when Todd Stewart broke out by six-thousandths in the semifinals.

Vettel beat everyone but Benoit off the starting line during eliminations. In the first round, his .035 to .058 against Marlon Goates made the difference as they were both .023 over their respective dials, and in the second act, a great .004 start to Monte Green's .086 likely had a hand in his opponent's breakout 7.031 (7.08) to his own 6.883 (6.86). Kirk Piepke had to lift in their third-round match after traction troubles set in approximately 1,000 feet down-track, and in the semifinals, Vettel, driving an '04 Stratus, got the jump with a .015 to .066 launch time and earned a trip to the final with a 6.991 (6.89 dial) to beat Lonnie Sumner's breakout 7.276 (7.29).

The Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will next join the Full Throttle series in Reading, Pa., for the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at historic Maple Grove Raceway, Oct. 7-10. Last season, Duane Shields (Top Alcohol Dragster), Frank Manzo (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Dan Fletcher (Comp), Donald Sabin (Super Stock), Thomas Fletcher (Stock), and Billy Upton (Super Gas) claimed respective titles at the event.

Sunday's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series final results from the 25th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex. The race is the 20th of 23 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Chase Copeland, 5.239, 275.84 def. Marty Thacker, 5.377, 253.23.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Mickey Ferro, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.575, 257.04 def. Steve Harker, Monte Carlo, 5.595, 254.57.

Competition Eliminator -- Bruno Massel, Chevy Cobalt, 7.726, 130.14 def. Clark Smiley, Pontiac GXP, 7.629, 150.75.

Stock Eliminator -- Austin Williams, Plymouth Duster, 11.004, 111.36 def. Slate Cummings, Pontiac Firebird, 10.328, 125.27.

Super Comp -- Steve Evans, Dragster, 8.911, 176.97 def. Scooter Choate, Dragster, 8.894, 172.45.

Super Gas -- Tommy Phillips, Chevy Corvette, 9.909, 150.11 def. Charlie Stewart, Corvette, 9.925, 157.26.

Super Street -- Trevor Land, Ford Mustang, 10.909, 138.57 def. Charlie Owens, Chevy Camaro, 10.887, 143.96.

Top Sportsman -- Steve Benoit, Chevy Camaro, 6.762, 187.63 def. Joshua Vettel, Dodge Stratus, 6.916, 196.19.

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