Mon, 12 Apr 2010, 12:08 PM Milestone Victories in Houston

Courtesy of NHRA Communications Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

BAYTOWN, Texas --

Reichert vs. Guest

In just his second race of the season, defending Top Alcohol Dragster champion Bill Reichert picked up the hardware with a final-round defeat of first-time finalist Monroe Guest and surged into the lead for round-wins (240) in the category. Joining Reichert in the winner's circle at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals were Mickey Ferro (Top Alcohol Funny Car), David Rampy (Comp), Slate Cummings (Super Stock), Lloyd Parfait (Super Comp), Tommy Phillips (Super Gas), and John Garner (Top Dragster). The Pro Mod victory went to Danny Rowe.

The triumph over Guest was the 21st national event win in 41 final rounds for Reichert, whose esteemed career includes seven North Central Division championships and four national titles. The Bar's Leaks/Rislone rail pilot and his challenger were just a thousandth apart out of the gate - Reichert was .044 at the tree to Guest's .043 - but the No. 5 qualifier quickly consumed the tiny difference and stayed just ahead for a 5.33 to 5.41 victory.

Ferro vs. Bartone

Reichert, the 2006 and 2007 Houston winner, stopped first-time national event competitor Kristen Wootton in the first round and then beat Chase Copeland in round two before drawing No. 1 qualifier Chris Demke in the semi's. Demke was remarkable at the tree, recording a .011 reaction to Reichert's .052, but the champ got the nod at the finish line, 5.32 to 5.38.

Top Alcohol Funny Car No. 1 qualifier Mickey Ferro utilized his first-round bye to wheel his Ryco Hydraulics Monte Carlo to a quick 5.49 at 262 mph in round one to better his qualifying time, reset both ends of his career best numbers, and become the fifth driver in the class to dip into the 5.40s.

The Stamford, Conn., resident clocked low e.t. of every round en route to his third national event triumph, putting Andy Bohl and John Lombardo Jr. on the trailer before running into longtime category standout and former fuel Funny Car racer Tony Bartone in the money round. No. 2 qualifier Bartone, in the Centre Pointe Collision Mustang, made a major effort and put up a good number (5.56), but he didn't have enough for Ferro, who was 5.54 at the finish line stripe.

Rampy vs. Fletcher

The Comp final pitted two of the heaviest hitters in the sportsman ranks against one another, and in the end, a CIC penalty-free David Rampy scored the win over Dan Fletcher, who carried a .08 CIC penalty into the round. Rampy, the winningest driver in the history of the class who last visited the winner's circle at the U.S. Nationals in Indy last season, was second off the starting line, .067 to .046, but he got the win light with his (-.53) 7.32 to Fletcher's (-.38) 7.87. The round was still monumental for Fletcher; it was the 100th final of his career.

Slate Cummings sealed the deal in Super Stock and scored his first Wally in his second final round - he was runner-up to Jerry Emmons in Dallas 2008. In the Houston final Cummings faced GT/DA driver Chris Chaney, and the two both recorded very respectable reaction times, .015 (Cummings) and .021 (Chaney). At the stripe, though, Cummings was .019 over his 8.96 dial to get the win over his opponent's .021-over 9.66 and win by eight-thousandths. Cummings, of Hammond, La., expertly maneuvered his SS/CM Cavalier at both ends of the track, kicking off eliminations with a very close victory over Bob Dennis and then consistently recording exceptional reaction times - including three double-ohs - to stop Allen Wade, Jim Hale, Jonathan Womack, and John Covington.

Parfait vs. Thornburg

Hometown hero Lloyd Parfait, who hails from Baytown, Texas, notched his second national event victory and has now won at both of the Lone Star state's national event tracks (he won the category at Texas Motorplex in 2009). He was nearly perfect on the launch in Houston, and he parlayed his .002 reaction into a holeshot win over Jay Thornburg, who was .026 over the 8.90 index to Parfait's .043-over. Super Stock winner Cummings was shooting for the double but was defeated in the Super Comp quarterfinals.

Tommy Phillips is fairly cozy at Houston Raceway Park; he won Super Comp at the track last season and collected the Super Gas win there in 2003, and when Jim Hughes left the starting line .004-second too soon in the most recent final round, Forney, Texas, racer Phillips picked up another Wally at his home track. The final was a milestone for '57 Corvette pilot Phillips, who notched his 20th national event win.

Garner vs. McCullar-Rodgers

The Top Dragster racers took to the track at a Full Throttle Series event for the third time this season, and Houston's John Garner was the last man standing in the class when the weekend drew to a close. His .009 reaction in the final was nine-thousandths quicker than Mallori McCullar-Rodgers, who slowed a bunch with a 9.23 (6.70 dial) to Garner's 7.33 (6.76). Garner advanced on Jim Gascoyne in the opening stanza when he ran closer to his dial in a double-breakout. He stopped Phil Unruh in round two and then got the easy win in the third round when Mike Weaver broke. In the semi's, he beat Britt Cummings in another double-breakout to earn a trip to the final.

In the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge, Danny Rowe picked up the win over category newcomer Melanie Troxel, who was pulling double duty driving the In-N-Out Burger Funny Car. Troxel had a slight advantage off the starting line, but Rowe had no trouble making up the difference and racing to a 5.93 to 6.03 victory.

Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, and the always thrilling Pro Mods will return to competition at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest nationals in St. Louis, April 30-May 2, and more Sportsman action will continue next weekend in Las Vegas at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, April 16-18.