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BRISTOL, Tenn. --
As the sun began to set at Bristol Dragway and eliminations wound down, Fletcher was, for the eighth time in his storied career, aiming for a double. Competing in both Stock and Super Stock and going rounds like the pro that he is, Fletcher had a serious shot and was closer than he had been since nearly doubling in Seattle in 2009, when he won Super Stock and was runner-up in Stock. By the time he got to the third round of Stock, he had the Bristol Dragway tree all figured out. Fletcher launched in his E/SA '69 Camaro with a killer .003 to get the advantage over Bill Owens and then played it just right at the top end before he was again .003 at the tree next to a red-lighting Bo Butner in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the racer from Churchville, N.Y., was also tucking away round wins in the SS/AS Camaro. Poor Butner was bullied by his fellow veteran doorslammer competitor during the weekend; Fletcher kicked him out in the third round of Super Stock when he was better at both ends of the track before moving on to a quarterfinals match with multi-time champ Kevin Helms, where Fletcher was out of the gate with a swift .001 reaction right before his opponent reacted .012 too quick. In the semifinals, Division 1 racer Herbie Null was better on the starting line by a bunch, but Fletcher compensated with an .008-over 9.57 to Null's breakout 10.107 on a 10.12 target. After a long-lasting cleansing of the facility at the hands of Mother Nature on Sunday, the Safety Safari had the track dry within a couple of hours and racing resumed. The final rounds began well into the evening, and Stock Eliminator was the first to be decided: Fletcher was set to race Joe Santangelo, of Marlborough, Conn., and his D/SA '95 Camaro, and he left effectively in their meeting with a reliable .013 before almost immediately seeing the win light as Santangelo jumped the gun and reacted .013-second too soon. Half of the double was in his hands, as was his 73rd national event win.
Fletcher sealed his own fate with a heartbreaking .004 red-light start in the last sportsman round of the weekend, and Saye got the automatic win - the 14th of his career on the national level - in his GT/EA '91 Firebird. Though ultimately the trophy was his based on Fletcher's misfortune, Saye, of Johnston, S.C., earned his trip to the final with a series of fine performances, including a .002 reaction and less-offending 10.479 on his 10.49 number to beat Peter Biondo's .018 and 10.318 (10.35) in the quarters, and a very close semifinals round saw Saye victorious by just three-thousandths over Roger Keeling.
Carr's weekend began on a lucky note when he drew a bye run in the opening act, and a .002 and 8.923 got him out of his round-two meeting with a sharp Steve Mikus, who was .006 on the launch and 8.921 at the big end. Carr's package in round number three was scary; racing against Belle Rose double-upper Phillips he was a machine, leaving just two-thousandths off of perfect and then putting an even closer to perfect 8.901 on the scoreboard. Phillips' .016 and 8.911 would have been effective in many other matches, but it was Carr's day, and after surviving a double-breakout with the young and talented Allstars winner Ray Miller III, he trailered Billy Upton in the quarters to earn that blessed bye run into the final. By the way, Carr was .000 at the hit and clocked an 8.890 in his single pass to warm up for the closing scene.
Lawton had advanced from the semifinals on an unusual situation: challenger Kenny Threatt was first to the staging lines for the semifinal and held tight until suddenly noticing a problem that required a quick trip back to the pits. He was able to get everything sorted but was short on time by a matter of seconds, literally, and missed the call. Lawton was waiting patiently but was motioned ahead by the starter to take a single. Though the final round didn't call for a dip into the reserves of experience and skill after Lawton broke, Phillips had been proving his worth throughout eliminations. In the first round he was .014 at the tree and .007-over the index, round two he was .001 on the launch and 9.908 at the stripe, and after his third-round opponent broke, he was off the starting line in .013-second and put a perfect 9.900 on the scoreboard to halt Tom Stalba before winning a close one with David Owens in the semifinals; the margin of victory was just .005.
Fuller had used a .001 reaction and 6.843 on his 6.84 dial to beat Lauren Freer before jumping off the starting line with a better .016 to White's .063 in the semis, but the race was won at the finish line as he bolted across just a smidge quicker than his intended 6.83 with a 6.826, and White ran right on her 6.60 number with a six. Lucas Oil drag racers competing in the Full Throttle Series are hot-lapping this time around; the excitement continues in just a few days, June 23-26, at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk. Sunday's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series final results from the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway. The race is the ninth of 22 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series- Super Stock -- Mike Saye, Pontiac Firebird, 10.559, 115.00 def. Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, foul. Stock Eliminator -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 11.648, 101.07 def. Joe Santangelo, Camaro, 11.149, 98.93. Super Comp -- Shane Carr, Dragster, 8.946, 160.08 def. Riley Ledbetter, Dragster, 8.936, 172.96. Super Gas -- Tommy Phillips, Chevy Corvette, 9.968, 134.83 def. Scott Lawton, Chevy Roadster, broke. Top Dragster -- Jenifer White, Dragster, 6.632, 203.61 def. Casey Spradlin, Dragster, foul.
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