READING - Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Wrap Up

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Mon, 11 Oct 2010, 10:08 PM

Final Fling in the East for 2010

By Kelly Wade
Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

MOHNTON, Pa. --

Austin vs. Finke

Historic Maple Grove Raceway, in its 48th year of continuous operation, was host to the recent Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals, and though pre-event wet weather caused a late start, Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors patiently waited for their turn to race on the same hallowed grounds where the first side-by-side four-second Top Fuel dragster runs were made as well as many other record-setting passes in the history of the sport. Adding their names to the Maple Grove Raceway winner's list were Mike Austin (Top Alcohol Dragster), John Bojec (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Steve Szupka (Comp), Anthony Bertozzi (Super Stock), Bo Butner (Stock), Joey Cambria (Super Comp), Tom Stabla (Super Gas), and James Schreiner (Super Street).

Austin, in the blown Impatience Racing rail, notched his first national event victory when he took a small advantage at the starting line and expanded upon it to cross the finish line ahead of Bobcat Express A/Fueler pilot John Finke, 5.351 to 5.416. The Medford, Ore., racer was a long way from home, but he made the most of it with a career best e.t. in the first round to trailer Brandon Greco, 5.298 to 5.386. In round two, Austin launched ahead of Ken Perry but fell behind at the 60 foot timer. He surged ahead at the 330 mark and got the win light but spewed parts on the track. In the semifinals, Austin was first to leave the starting line and first to the top end to claim victory over Darren Nicholson.

Bojec vs. Harker
Finke was competing in his fourth final round and has two national event wins on his scorecard: the 2008 Gatornationals and the 2006 event in Richmond, Va. He advanced from the first round on red-lighting Mike Kosky and took on Duane Shields in round two. Shields and Finke were just four-thousandths apart at the starting line, but Finke got the win, 5.361 to 5.389. For his accomplishments, Finke was rewarded with a semifinals match with the most fearsome competitor of the weekend, Tigerflow A/Fuel driver Monroe Guest, the No. 1 qualifier who had blazed through the first two rounds of eliminations with a jaw-dropping 5.238 and 5.193. Guest was out of the gate first in the semis, .026 to .030, but he started dropping cylinders, and his weekend of glory came to an end when the numbers flashed a 5.398 to 5.489 in favor of Finke.

Chardon, Ohio, racer Bojec earned his first victory in his first final round without much challenge when No. 1 qualifier Steve Harker rolled the beams. Bojec, in his PC Valve Springs Monte Carlo, became the 85th driver to win a Top Alcohol Funny Car national event. He advanced from round one when Tony Bogolo spun the tires early and had to shut off; Bojec shook as well but pedaled through to get the win light. In the second round, competition heated up when Eric Lourie got past a tire-shaking Bojec at the 330 foot mark, but Bojec straightened up and reclaimed the lead at 1,000 feet to snatch the round win on a holeshot, 5.675 to 5.670. Paul Gill's early tire shake in the semifinals sent Bojec ahead with ease.

Monte Carlo pilot Harker, with the recent Dallas runner-up in his mind, was still looking for another national event win that would be his first since the 2009 NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka. The Reading final was the 18th of his career, and the Gainesville transplant is fourth in the national standings. A four-time national event winner, Harker was the quickest car in the first three rounds of eliminations, clicking off 5.539, 5.550, and 5.562 passes to beat Bill Naves, Brian Harvanek, and Fred Tigges, respectively. His low qualifier award was the ninth of his career.

Szupka vs. Aragona Jr.
Notably, Al-Anabi Racing backed Frank Manzo, who clocked low e.t. and top speed of the event with a 5.517 at 261.22 mph, had won in Reading every year since 2000, but he was stopped by Gill in the second round. Gill won the race in 1999.

A first-time winner took the stage in Comp Eliminator. Szupka, of Willow Grove, Pa., had been to one final before his Maple Grove Raceway victory -- at the 2008 Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown where he was runner-up in Stock to Peter Biondo. Szupka was .017 on the launch in the Reading final but it was for naught when former world champion Frank Aragona Jr. fouled by .010.

In the first round, G/EA pilot Szupka's challenger, Fred Gallo, made a lurch toward the wall just after leaving the starting line and he got off the throttle, watching Szupka clock a triumphant (-.50) 8.80. The second round was a heart-stopper, with Szupka picking up the win over Brian Darcy by just .00006-second. A (-.50) 8.80 was again the winning number for Szupka, who trailered Frank Affronti in round three and then ran down Scott Benham in the semifinals, recording a (-.57) 8.80 to Benham's (-.48) 9.60 that was preceded by a .015 reaction to Szupka's slightly tardy .050.

Bertozzi vs. Fletcher
Runner-up Aragona, who is fourth in the national standings, was competing in his fifth final round and looking for his fourth national event victory. He was on the winning end of matches with Bertozzi, Dave Yediny, Buddy Perkinson, and Charlie Greco.

No. 1 qualifier Vinny Barone got a break in the first round when Elio Mannino broke on the burnout and could not back up to begin the staging process. Barone took the solo run and then was sent packing when Best Engineered Car award winner Greco used a (-.56) 9.48 to beat his (-.48) 8.38.

Super Stock victor Bertozzi picked up his ninth national event title in 15 final rounds and his sixth trophy in Super Stock -- the Ashland, Va., driver also has wins in Stock Eliminator and Super Comp. His most recent final round was in Competition Eliminator in Englishtown this season where he fell to Sal Biondo.

The outcome was decided at the starting line when Bertozzi's final-round challenger Thomas Fletcher left by .012 too soon. Bertozzi's winning ways began in the first round with an impressive defeat of Ralph Porpora; Bertozzi was a cool .015 at the start and clocked a 9.086 on his 9.08 target while Porpora broke out by three-thousandths.

After stopping Tim Worner in round two, Bertozzi took on notoriously tough Dan Fletcher, father of finalist Thomas, and they left the starting line with a thousandth between them. Bertozzi took care of business at the far end with a 9.106 on his 9.07 to Fletcher's 9.409 (9.37). Fourth-round opponent Anthony Fetch fouled by two-thousandths and Bertozzi was awarded a bye run into the semifinals, where he advanced easily on a .006 red-light illuminated by Sal Biondo.

Butner vs. Iacono
The younger Fletcher, competing in his second final, won the event in Stock Eliminator last season. His dad, Dan, was a winner last season in the Comp Eliminator category, and he also won Super Stock in Reading in 2006 and 2008.

Finalist Fletcher was on the winning end of a first-round match with Sam Biondo and then tucked away victories over Larry Miller, Joe Lisa, Tom Boucher, and Nick Chiles before taking a bye into the final. His worst light during eliminations was a .027; the other greens were all between .002 and .014.

The Stock Eliminator final brought Butner up against former world champion Michael Iacono, who was looking for his first win since scoring the Super Stock title at the Phoenix event in 2009. Butner was .033 at the hit in his A/SA '02 Firebird and clocked a 10.075 on his 10.07 dial to best Iacono's quicker .010 reaction and breakout 10.755 (10.77).

Floyds Knobs, Ind., resident Butner advanced from the first and second rounds on red-lighting opponents Jeanne Linke and Chris DePascale before getting past Bob Bender in round three. Dean Cook was first to launch in round four, .012 to Butner's .027, but a 10.197 (10.16) was enough to beat Cook's 11.757 (11.68), setting up Butner for a heads-up no breakout A/SA contest with Frank Maiolo in the quarterfinals. In the only heads-up of eliminations, Butner was .039 and 10.090 to earn the bye run into the final over Maiolo's .134 and 10.103.

Iacono has four national event wins in 13 final rounds across three classes: Stock Eliminator, Super Stock, and Super Comp, and he won Super Stock in Reading in 2004.

Wading River, N.Y., racer Iacono drove his D/SA '67 Camaro to victories over Nick Relter, Eric Merryfield, and Joseph Martens before taking a bye in the quarterfinals and then going on to trailer Joe Santangelo and Ed Fernandez.

Cambria vs. Kenny
Butner, who also advanced to the quarterfinals in Super Stock at the event, has been to the final round on 14 different occasions in three different classes (Stock, Super Stock, and Competition Eliminator). The Reading final was his first in the Stock Eliminator category, and he adds the national event Wally to a collection that now includes eight -- Stock (1), Super Stock (3), Competition Eliminator (4).

Local racer Cambria scored the Super Comp victory in the first national event final round of his career next to five-time finalist Jason Kenny, who is tied for fifth in the national standings. Cambria was out of the gate first, .015 to .048, and cleared the finish line with an 8.925 to Kenny's breakout 8.890.

In the first round, Cambria advanced on breakout opponent Scott Weney and then was closer to the 8.90 index to get past Steve Martel. He was better from start to finish in his third-round defeat of Richard Dorr, and then overcame a .030 starting-line disadvantage to send Lee Ream back to the pits. A very close match with Jeff Serra in the quarterfinals (Cambria won by three-thousandths) was rewarded with a bye into the final.

Close races abounded in Super Comp: Serra entered his quarterfinals match with Cambria fresh off of a narrow .007 victory over Kent Hanley in the fourth round, and Hanely beat Scott Albrecht by a thousandth in round three, the same round where Serra defeated Al Kenny by .005.

Stalba vs. Albrecht
On the way to the final, Kenny, who claimed the Super Gas title in Houston in 2006, picked off Thomas Slater, Jack Sepanek, Warren Ferrese, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Adam Gerber, and Mike Robilotto.

Jeff Kundratic was the only Super Comp racer to post a perfectly timed 8.900 and he did so in the second round.

Stalba claimed his sixth win in his ninth final when Albrecht broke out in the Super Gas closer by four-thousandths. Stalba, who had won in Reading twice before (2003 and 2006), drove his '63 corvette to a double-breakout victory over Tommy Allen in round one, cut a quick .010 light to Michael Lubniewski's respectable .015 and tied it up on the other end of the track with a 9.960 on the 9.60 index to his opponent's 9.977 in round two.

Now seventh in the national standings, Stalba was better at the starting line by .022-second to beat Lance Kreiger on a third-round holeshot by a super-slim one-thousandths margin of victory, got the nod when Earl Nichols was six-thou in the red in round four, and was better at both ends of the track to advance from a quarterfinals match with Charlie Kenopic. In the semifinals, Stalba got the attention of Peter Luciano with a .008 to .020 start and Luciano clocked a 9.878 breakout number in the semifinals.

Albrecht, in his '63 Corvette, was competing in his second final after forfeiting the Super Comp title to Mike Robilotto in Bristol earlier this season. At Maple Grove Raceway he earned his final round berth with round wins over Raymond Fordyce, Ken Bowers, Delaney Richardson, Dale Koncen, and Marc Caruso to score a semifinal bye run in which he warmed up for the final with a perfect reaction time and a 9.911.

In a fantastic first-round match, former champion Iggie Boicesco and Dan Northrop were both .000 at the tree and raced to a double-breakout finish that ended in favor of Boicesco. Also in the first round Scott Reinford and Jake Barbato were both dead-on the index against respective competitors, though Barbato lost on a holeshot.

Schreiner vs. Abad
Super Street winner Schreiner, of Brick, N.J., got the job done in the first final round of his career with an awesome .009-second reaction and a 10.923 on the 10.90 index. In the other lane, Frank Abad, a two-time national event finalist, was .050 on the tree in his '68 Camaro and clocked a closer-to-the-index but still short 10.912.

Schreiner launched his '90 Beretta off the starting line with a near-perfect .001 light in the opening act and finished it up at the top end with a 10.926 to beat the 10.920 of Ronald Ross. Mike DeSio was just eight-thousandths later on the light than Schreiner in the second round, but it was enough to equal defeat when he was just a thousandth quicker at the finish line stripe.

Third-round challenger Alain Berard fouled by .006, and in the quarterfinals, Schreiner was again .001 at the tree before running closer to the index in a double-breakout affair with Lisa Moyer. A standout .008 reaction and 10.901 got the job done for Schreiner in the semifinals, where he halted breakout opponent Ray Miller.

Abad stopped Donald Harrell, Pat Doherty, Thomas Rakowski, John Maggiulli, and William Nycz on his way to the money round. Other stand-out performances included a triple-zero reaction by Alain Berard in the first round and another by Rakowski in round two, the same round that Bernard Staub recorded a dead-on the index 10.900 to beat Doug Wood.

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors will next join the Full Throttle Series tour for the second-to-last national event of the season, the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, Oct. 28-31.

Sunday's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series final results from the 26th annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. The race is the 21st of 23 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Mike Austin, 5.351, 264.39 def. John Finke, 5.416, 238.89.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- John Bojec, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.598, 258.17 def. Steve Harker, Monte Carlo, foul.

Competition Eliminator -- Steve Szupka, roadster, 9.180, 105.75 def. Frank Aragona Jr., Dragster, foul.

Super Stock -- Anthony Bertozzi, Pontiac Grand Am, 9.044, 149.58 def. Thomas Fletcher, Pontiac Starfire, foul.

Stock Eliminator -- Bo Butner, Pontiac Firebird, 10.075, 130.61 def. Michael Iacono, Chevy Camaro, 10.755, 113.52.

Super Comp -- Joey Cambria, Dragster, 8.925, 171.23 def. Jason Kenny, Dragster, 8.890, 171.01.

Super Gas -- Thomas Stalba, chevy Corvette, 9.951, 152.97 def. Scott Albrecht, Corvette, 9.896, 156.53.

Super Street -- Jim Schreiner, Chevy Beretta, 10.923, 137.92 def. Frank Abad, Chevy Camaro, 10.912, 126.98.