Mon, 19 Apr 2010, 04:52 PM Las Vegas is for Celebrating

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

LAS VEGAS --

Standing: Jay Payne, Mike Ferderer, Dick Vandermeer and Larry Gilley Kneeling: Justin Lamb and Shawn Cowie

The desert sun was shining brightly all weekend long at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the world was a little brighter for a few lucky racers who scored big in sin city: Shawn Cowie (Top Alcohol Dragster), Jay Payne (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Justin Lamb (Super Stock), Larry Gilley (Stock), Dick Vander Meer (Super Comp), and Mike Ferderer (Super Gas), were the big winners at the conclusion of the event.

Cowie vs. Severance

Delta, B.C., Top Alcohol Dragster racer Cowie had the privilege of taking out the Nos. 1 and 2 qualifiers on his way to the winner's circle in Las Vegas, but first he had to get past Courtney Force in the first round. Force wheeled her Darien & Meadows A/Fuel Dragster off the starting line first by .057-second, but Cowie got to work and laid down an improved 5.406 to get the win and earn a head-to-head match with 10-time finalist Jim Whiteley.

Cowie quickly made up Whiteley's .006-second starting line advantage and put a 5.401 on the scoreboard to better his opponent's 5.422. In the semi's, No. 1 qualifier Chris Demke made a smooth pass, but was second off the starting line and second to the finish. Cowie, who won his first national event in Las Vegas at the fall event, picked up his second win in his Mundies Towing B/AD rail when fellow Division 6 competitor Joey Severance turned on the red light by .007.

Payne vs. O'Bannon

Payne logged his 105th win and his sixth at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when he raced his FireIce Mustang Top Alcohol Funny Car past a troubled Sean O'Bannon in the final. O'Bannon was out of shape early in the run, but Payne went straight down the track to log the 5.673 to 9.550 win. Payne, the No. 3 qualifier, got around Larry Miner in the first round before winning on a holeshot over John Lombardo Jr. in round two, and in the semi's, both he and Clint Thompson struggled to go straight down the track, and multi-category national event winner Payne got the win light at the top end, 5.697 to 5.817.

Lamb vs. Plourd

The nail-biter Super Stock final pitted Las Vegas racer Lamb against Division 6 standout Brad Plourd. Nine-time national event winner Plourd had the edge off the starting line, .016 to .023, and battled hard all the way down the track, but at the finish line, it was Lamb who was celebrating; his 9.210 (9.19 dial) to 8.892 (8.86) was better than his hard-fighting opponent's by .005-second.

SS/DM pilot Lamb, now in possession of seven national event trophies, put Skip Loeffler on the trailer in the first round and scored a holeshot win in his MadCap Racing powered Cobalt over Rob Youngblood before succeeding in a double-breakout third round meeting with reigning Super Stock world champion Jimmy DeFrank. In the quarters, Lamb and Jackie Alley posted identical .019 reactions but the UNLV student and ace racer ran closer to his dial to earn a trip to the semifinals, where he advanced on a red-lighting James Butler.

Gilley vs. Alley

Gilley was almost perfect off the starting line in the Stock final, where he paired a .001-second start with an 11.396 (11.37 dial) to stop first-time finalist Mick Alley, who recorded a .022 reaction and clocked a 10.443 (10.42).

Gilley kicked off eliminations by driving his shiny black E/SA '69 Dart to a win over Jim Durham, and in the second round, he was perfect at the tree to and quicker to the finish to stop Gregg Luneack in a heads-up no breakout competition, 11.283 to 12.478. After putting Mark Yacavone on the trailer in round three, Gilley stopped Lloyd Mackay and followed it up with a victory over Dave Moreno in the semi's to score the coveted bye run into the final.

Vander Meer vs. Bayer

After nearly 20 years of competing in the series, Super Comp racer Vander Meer, of Nampa, Idaho, scored his first national event Wally. Vander Meer cut a light on Tom Bayer in the final, ran a smidge closer to the index, and was rewarded with a well-earned and long-awaited trip to the winner's circle.

Vander Meer drew a tough competitor in the first round, but he matched Brad Plourd's .003-second reaction with a double-oh-three of his own and ran dead-on the 9.05 index with a six to beat Plourd's 9.096. When Colton Hiatt fouled in the second round, Vander Meer automatically advanced to round three, where he emerged unscathed in a double-breakout with Brent Theobald. A .005 start to Mike Hiatt's .010 aided a holeshot victory in round four, and in the quarters, Vander Meer was on his game from start to finish to stop Greg Boutte. Kevin Wright ran just .007 over the index in the semi's, but Vander Meer's .013 and dead-on 9.05 got the job done.

Former Super Gas world champion Ferderer's quick .008 light in the final to beat Dennis Paz out of the gate wasn't a surprise; he had been killer on the tree all weekend and recorded two .00 reactions and three lights in the teens. His worst reaction was a .024 on a bye run in the semifinals.

Ferderer vs. Paz

Ferderer, the reigning Northwest Division Super Gas titlist, triumphed over Ray Buckley on a holeshot in the opening round, 10.10 to 10.08, and in the second round, his .009 light was the decider to Rick Beckstrom's .027 and closer to the index pass. Then Ferderer was on the winning end of a double-breakout third-round match with 2008 Division 7 champ Hollis Colleasure, and in round four, he wheeled his '06 Grand Am to a narrow .006-second margin of victory over fellow Division 6 racer and the Northwest's Super Comp champ Michael Dalrymple. When Glen Smith broke out in the quarterfinals by .003, Ferderer scored a bye run into the final, where he was better at both ends of the track to record his 14th victory in the category and 21st overall.

Lucas Oil Drag Racing competitors will rejoin the Full Throttle Series tour at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., April 30-May 2.