Mon, 05 Mar 2012, 12:13 PM LODRS 4-1 Event Wrap Up

by Larry Sullivan

Baytown, Texas -- Mike Trumble, Matt Crisp, Robert Cool, John Covington, David Latino, Jacky King, John Salter, Charlie Owens and Curtis Spracklin were crowned as the winners Sunday at Royal Purple Raceway for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Texas Sportsman Challenge event.

Racing action during the three-day event began in Summer-like heat and humidity on Friday, continued through cooling temperatures and strong headwinds on Saturday, and finished in near-perfect racing conditions Sunday. These changing conditions challenged the competitors' ability to adjust their tuneups and dial-ins for round two Sunday morning in all classes, including the Sunset Racecraft Top Dragster, Competition Eliminator and Suburban Chevrolet Top Sportsman classes. Each winner successfully met the tuning challenge to pocket their share of the event purse and contingency postings, along with bragging rights and the first 2012 champion's trophies in NHRA's South Central Division.

Trumble's win came in a tight Competition Eliminator race against Charles Watson to close out the racing action Sunday. Trumble had a 0.03 second advantage at the green, with a 0.016 light against Watson's 0.046, then wheel-raced his way to an eight-inch victory. Sunday's near-perfect conditions triggered permanent index reductions in four different Competition Eliminator classes and Trumble made it five with an index-busting win against Raymond Martin in round one Saturday evening. Trumble dodged further damage with wins over red-lighting opponents Duane Robison in round two and Will Hatcher in round four, with a bye in round three. Watson dispatched Keith Hall in the opening round and a red-lighting Charlie Stewart in round two, then had an index-busting -0.612 win against Chase Williams in the quarterfinals and a bye run in the semifinals.

Matt Crisp faced Mike Chitty in the Top Sportsman final round, both drivers earning a spot in the finals with consistent, quick reaction times through the first four rounds, but Chitty earned the dubious honor of having the only red light in Sunday's final rounds, handing the win to Crisp. Crisp qualified in the bottom half of the field, 22nd, then defeated Jeffrey Cummins, Todd Stewart, Keith Sasich and #1-qualifier Russell Marr to earn his final round berth. Chitty qualified in the top half, eighth, then dispatched Arlie Boggs, Bob Gulitti, and Chris Arnold, with a bye in the quarterfinals, to meet Crisp in the trophy round.

The Top Dragster final saw Cool take a three-foot win over Todd Schumert. Cool was quicker at the tree with a 0.021 to Schumert's 0.045 and kept his nose out front for the win. Cool worked his way past Nick Brener, Keith McCullar, Mike Weaver and Gary Mock to get to the finals, while Schumert took on Mark Jones, Allen Constantine, #1-qualifier Michael Kile and Mark Jones to line up against Cool.

Trumble had a shot at a "double" when he lined up against Covington in the Super Stock final round and had the better light, 0.011 to Covington's 0.019. At the other end, Covington was just 0.002 seconds over his 9.40 dial-in while Trumble was 0.019 over his 9.87 prediction, Covington getting to the stripe 0.0135 seconds (about three feet) ahead of Trumble to take the win and the hardware. Covington defeated Dewayne Custer, Bryan Chaney, John Clegg (fresh off his stunning 7.964 second ET in round two), and Jerry Emmons, with a bye in the semifinals. Trumble took on and defeated Norman Marsden, Dale Hulquist, Jeff Colvert and Chris Chaney, with a bye in round two, enroute to the final round.

Double breakouts were the norm Sunday and the Stock Eliminator final between Latino and Jason Buckner was no different. Both drivers were "on the tree" all day and Latino had just a small advantage at the green in the final round, with a 0.025 to Buckner's 0.034. Buckner stuck his bumper in front to take the stripe by a couple thousandths, but was 0.023 seconds under his 11.05 dial-in while Latino was just 0.012 seconds under his 10.28 target. To get to the final round, Latino worked his way past Bill Bogues, Ronnie Marlow, Britt Cummings, Brent Bratson, and Kevin Helms. Buckner faced an equally inpressive list of opponents, defeating Jared Swinehart, Steven Hall, J. Allen Sherman and Jimmie Hutto, with a welcome bye run in the quarterfinals.

The Super Comp final was almost a "double" (of sorts), with John Covington's daughter Jana lining up against King in the money round. However, King is a tough competitor and his experience may have tipped the balance. Covington had the better light, 0.018 to King's 0.030, but King got close enough to let Covington see his front wheel, then backed off just enough to take the double-breakout win, 0.018 under the 8.90 index to Covington's 0.022 under. Super Comp was the largest field of the event and it took seven rounds to determine the winner. King posted wins against Laramie Reid, Joel Covington, Dan Foley, Super Gas finalist Jeff Lopez, Lloyd Parfait and Lyndon Rutland to earn his spot in the final round, while Covington took on Westley Scott, Rick Legaux, Top Dragster winner Robert Cool, Douglas Miller and Stephen Hughes, with a bye in the semifinals.

The Super Gas final saw Salter and Lopez facing off, Salter taking the win with a near-perfect run. Salter left three goose eggs on the tree with a perfect 0.000 light, then ran just 0.002 seconds over the 9.90 index for the win. Lopez chased Salter all the way down the track, coming up a couple feet short and well under the index. Salter's opponents enroute to the finals included Clark Mundt, Jason Richey, Jim Peppler, Vernon Rowland and Brandon Harris. Lopez defeated Jack Campbell, Kohlby Sasich, Leonard Trahan, Tommy Phillips and Jerry Debusk to face Salter.

Super Street got the honor of opening Sunday's eliminations and most pairs were decided on a breakout or double-breakout, the combination of cool, dry air, high barometric pressure and no wind requiring almost a two tenths adjustment from Saturday's first round conditions. By round three, most drivers had adjusted to the new conditions, including finalists Owens and #1 qualifier Ray Todd. Todd was "on the tree" throughout eliminations, including the final round, where he left first with a 0.013 light to Owens' 0.033. Owens gave chase and pushed Todd into a double-breakout, getting the win with a -0.024 10.876 to Todd's -0.038 10.862. Todd's opponents enroute to the finals included John Winn, Chester Jones, Larry Carter and Rick Huffman, with a bye in round three. Owens faced Paul Martinez, Fred Sibley, Jim Cappiello, Ton Phillips and Reggie Baudoin on his side of the ladder.

The Motorcycle final was a true "race of champions." 2011 Division 5 champion Spracklin made the long tow from Omaha, Nebraska to face 2011 Division 4 champion Lisa Bennett in the final round. Spracklin was 0.004 on the tree and just 0.010 over his 8.55 dial-in to close out Bennett, who had a 0.040 light. Bennett faced Brandon Brener, Benji Gibson, Brenda Kay and #1-qualifier P.W. Holman on her side of the ladder, while Spracklin tackled Raegan Gentilli, Christos Theodoridis and Robert Sanders, with a bye in the semifinals.

The event was the first of six stops on the NHRA South Central division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Racers in the South Central division head to No Problem Raceway for the NHRA JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals in two weeks, March 16-18. Next up for Royal Purple Raceway is their NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style event on Friday followed by their bracket series event on Saturday.

The following are the final round results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Texas Sportsman Challenge at Royal Purple Raceway:

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR Mike Trumble, Pasadena, Texas, '06 Cobalt, E/SMA, 8.338, 162.61 def. Charles Watson, Humble, Texas, '10 Cobalt, D/SM, 8.340, 162.61.

TOP SPORTSMAN Matt Crisp, Castroville, Texas, '09 Mustang, 7.961, 132.18 def. Mike Chitty, Ames, Iowa, '04 Cavalier, foul.

TOP DRAGSTER Robert Cool, La Place, La., dragster, 6.664, 197.54 def. Todd Schumert, La Place, La., dragster, 6.618, 204.48.

SUPER STOCK John Covington, Center, Texas, '98 Grand Am, GT/BA, 9.402, 134.00 def. Mike Trumble, Pasadena, Texas, '67 Camaro, GT/FA, 9.889, 131.33.

STOCK ELIMINATOR David Latino, Donaldsonville, La., '02 Firebird, B/SA, 10.268, 122.53 def. Jason Buckner, New Waverly, Texas, '74 Challenger, G/SA, 11.027, 118.45.

SUPER COMP Jacky King, Norman, Okla., dragster, 8.882, 176.93 def. Jana Covington, Center, Texas, dragster, 8.878, 174.64.

SUPER GAS John Salter, Katy, Texas, '03 Grand Am, 9.902, 172.74 def. Jeff Lopez, Bedford, Texas, '63 Corvette, 9.865, 161.83.

SUPER STREET Charlie Owens, White Oak, Texas, '67 Camaro, 10.876, 148.95 def. Ray Todd, Friendswood, Texas, '68 Chevy II, 10.862, 135.96.

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE Curtis Spracklin, Omaha, Neb., '05 Kawasaki, 8.560, 147.50 def. Lisa Bennett, Lucas, Texas, '95 Suzuki, 8.039, 153.96.

LODRS: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Competition Eliminator Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Super Stock Final, Round 7 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Super Stock Round 6 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Sportsman Motorcycle Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Top Sportsman Final, Round 6 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Stock Eliminator Final, Round 7 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Top Dragster Final, Round 6 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Super Street Final, Round 6 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Super Gas Final, Round 7 Eliminations
Nov 09- LODRS 7-7 - Super Comp Final, Round 7 Eliminations