Mon, 05 Mar 2012, 17:47 PM LODRS 2-3 Event Wrap Up

by Larry Sullivan

CECIL, Ga. -- The NHRA Southeast division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series tackled the eighth mile at South Georgia Motorsports Park for the Ultimate Sportsman Weekend event, with hundreds of racers going head to head Sunday and Monday. Torrential rains Saturday and strong, gusty winds Sunday forced race officials to shorten the race distance for the second race in a row. Winners were crowned Monday for the annual event in Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, Comp Eliminator, and the rest of the classes that encompass the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

Grant Lewis (Competition Eliminator), Mark Padgett (Top Sportsman), Casey Spradlin (Top Dragster), Bob Marshall (Super Stock), Jeff Adkinson (Stock Eliminator), Billy Upton (Super Comp), Sherman Adcock (Super Gas), and Leland Poppell (Super Street) all picked up divisional wins and bragging rights after a weekend that challenged race officials and competitors. After surviving Saturday's torrential rains and tornado warnings, they were faced with strong crosswinds and a lengthy track drying process on Sunday, complicated by the dreaded "weeper" problem that often follows heavy rainfall. Shortening the race distance helped with both problems, especially since many of the cars did not get on the track prior to Saturday's downpour.

Lewis prevailed over Lee Sharp in the Competition Eliminator final with a huge starting line advantage that Sharp had no chance of overcoming. Lewis took on Gerry Russo, Russell Joly, Mark Kirkman, Mark Kirkman and Allen Stanfield to get to the final round. Sharp faced David Allen, Joe Carnasciale and Glen Treadwell, with a bye in the semifinals.

Padgett faced the #1 qualifier, Ronnie "The King" Davis, in the Top Sportsman final round and got his first divisional win against Davis' better light (0.018 to 0.028) when Davis took the stripe and broke out by 0.003 seconds. Davis faced a red-lighting Mark Roberts to earn the bye in the second round, then got another bye in round three when neither of his potential opponents was able to stage their car in round two. Davis then prevailed against Ed Richardson, who had the better light (0.008 to 0.030), but broke out by a thousandth of a second in the semifinals. Padgett advanced to round two with a double-breakout win against Mike Thompson and moved to round three when Sandy Wilkins was a no-show for round two. He advanced to the semifinals when Kenny Burgess broke out (by four thousandths), with a bye to the finals.

Spradlin faced Lindsey Barker in the Top Dragster final and earned the win with a small starting line advantage and a 0.054 second breakout by Barker. Barker advanced to the finals with wins over Kelly Cooke, Mia Tedesco, Larry Strickland and Dylan Stott. Spradlin faced off against Kevin Brannon, Pete Wheeler, Mike Lago and Eddie Careccia to make his way to the finals.

Marshall prevailed over #1-qualifier Norm Hall in a seven-round Super Stock contest when Hall lit the red bulb in the final. Hall had the odd-lot bye in round one, then tackled Ray Skillman, Steve Comella, Tony Cafaro and Robert Park before getting a second bye in the semifinals. Marshall took out Jeremy Duncan, Merrill Schrimscher, Joey Wilkes, then took a breather with a fourth-round bye before taking on Rich South and Jeff Adkinson to earn his spot in the final round.

Adkinson missed the Super Stock final by one round, but took home all the marbles in Stock Eliminator by getting a small edge over "Country Puppy" Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. at the green (0.021 to 0.028) and forcing Hidalgo into a 0.013 second breakout in a close finish. Hidalgo faced Kevin Cradduck, Bruce Kerber, Gene Jordan, Dick Kincaid and Dustan Lowell enroute to the final stanza, while Adkinson took on Marion Stephenson, Jeremy Waibel, Brenda Grubbs, Bug McCarty and Chris Stephenson on his side of the ladder.

Upton got an instant win in the Super Comp final when Troy Williams Jr. made a rare mistake at the starting line, turning on the red bulb with a -0.003 reaction time. Both worked their way to the final round without any bye runs, but Upton was very consistent on the tree through all six rounds, including the final.

Adcock is on a roll, winning the Gainesville divisional and the Shootout race at South Georgia Motorsports Park on Friday, then winning a double-breakout race against Owen Bellamy Jr. in the Super Gas final today by the smallest possible margin, -0.001 to -0.002.

Poppell was better at both ends of the track to take the Super Street win against Edward Arvonio, with a 0.022 to 0.035 advantage at the green and 0.018 over the index to Arvonio's -0.009 breakout.

Also on a roll are two of the three winners in the Index classes. Jon McLain was the third differtent winner in the 10.0 Index class this year, but Bob George, in 11.0, and Shane Williams, in 12.0, were also winners at the Gainesville divisional.

The event is the third of six in the Southeast division season where competitors will earn points toward both national and divisional championships. Many of these racers will take part in the tracks Eastern Spring Test session starting tomorrow, Monday, March 5 before heading to Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville where they will join the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series next weekend, March 8-11.

The following are Monday's final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Southeast Division event at South Georgia Motorsports Park:

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR Grant Lewis, Jesup, Ga., '05 Grand Am, H/SMA, 5.566, 118.57 def. Lee Sharp, Louisville, Tenn., '09 G5, D/SMA, 5.372, 109.90.

SUPER STOCK Bob Marshall, Columbus, Ohio, '65 Coronet, SS/BA, 6.125, 106.82 def. Norm Hall, Waldorf, Md., '05 Cavalier, GT/CA, foul.

STOCK ELIMINATOR Jeff Adkinson, Damascus, Ga., '69 Camaro, C/SA, 6.588, 97.21 def. Jimmy Hidalgo Jr., Donaldsonville, La., '02 Firebird, B/SA, 6.527, 102.47.

SUPER COMP Billy Upton, Taylors, S.C., dragster, 6.249, 99.97 def. Troy Williams Jr., Bradenton, Fla., dragster, foul.

SUPER GAS Sherman Adcock, Fortson, Ga., '02 Trans Am, 6.299, 130.35 def. Owen Bellamy Jr., Crawfordville, Fla., '04 Corvette, 6.298, 128.79.

SUPER STREET Leland Poppell, Odum, Ga., '96 Achieva, 6.918, 113.58 def. Edward Arvonio, Cocoa, Fla., '82 S-10, 6.891, 113.60.

TOP SPORTSMAN Mark Padgett, Dublin, Ga., '08 Corvette, 5.201, 134.08 def. Ronnie Davis, Suwanee, Ga., '63 Corvette, 4.327, 165.76.

TOP DRAGSTER Casey Spradlin, Ranburne, Ala., dragster, 4.288, 164.91 def. Lindsey Barker, Warner-Robins, Ga., dragster, 4.386, 153.47.

10.00 INDEX Jon Mclain, Hoschton, Ga., '84 Mustang, 10.202, 120.01 def. Cody Harrison, Thomasville, Ga., '90 Mustang, 10.195, 135.65.

11.00 INDEX Bob George, Satellite Beach, Fla., '67 Camaro, 11.006, 117.75 def. Phil Greene, Ocala, Fla., '68 Camaro, 10.996, 117.50.

12.00 INDEX Shane Williams, Knoxville, Tenn., '99 Mustang, 12.028, 98.72 def. Monica Roberts, Ocala, Fla., '95 Firebird, 11.980, 102.40.

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