Mon, 21 Jun 2010, 07:42 PM Bristol Bounty

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

BRISTOL, Tenn. --

Slate Cummings, Lloyd Parfait and Bob Dennis

Picturesque Bristol Dragway, nestled in the smoky mountains of Tennessee, was the setting for the 10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, and competitors in four Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories wrestled a hot and sticky track while vying for national event victories. Super Stock's Bob Dennis, Stock pilot Slate Cummings, Super Comp veteran Lloyd Parfait, and Super Gas racer Ed Apple earned the Wallys in their respective categories.

Dennis certainly had his hands full in the final round when he drew recent Allstars winner Joe Santangelo, who was hot off of a win in Englishtown the week prior. Both were ready at the hit, cutting identical and exceptionally swift .002-second lights, but Dennis followed through at the top end, crossing the finish line .018 over his 11.00 dial to shut out Santangelo's 10.013 (9.98 dial). The triumph was win No. 5 for Dennis.

Dennis vs. Santangelo

The Shorter, Ala., racer wheeled his GT/MA Calais to an opening-round defeat of Chuck Gallagher, who was extra efficient on the starting line with a .004 reaction but broke out of his 8.71 dial by two thousandths to Dennis' 10.934 (10.92). After a single in round two, Dennis got the nod in a double-breakout with Grace Howell and her SS/JA '94 Camaro, and in the quarterfinals, he was better at the tree, .014 to .022, and ran closer to his dial in a double-breakout with GT/FA racer Herbie Null. Dennis warmed up for the final with a .002 launch and 11.089 on his 10.99 dial in the semis to beat Mike Walter's .024 reaction and 10.972 (10.86).

Santangelo scored his first round win of eliminations in a heads-up match with fellow GT/DA driver Mark Alvey and then stopped John Kenney, Todd Ewing, and Doug Chervanik to score the bye into the final.

Three-time IHRA world champion Cummings utilized a superior starting line performance to pick up his first NHRA Stock national event win over Sharpsburg, Ga.'s Russell Johnson. Cummings clocked a .038 reaction to Johnson's .089 and was 10.792 on his 10.68 dial to get the win by seven-thousandths over his opponent's 11.368 (11.30).

Cummings vs. Johnson

Cummings, who celebrated in the Super Stock winner's circle in Houston earlier this season, drove his Moser Engineering-back B/SA '99 Firebird to a first round victory over Memphis, Tenn., resident Gerald Nivans and then stopped No. 1 qualifier Eric Merryfield in round two to get the bye run into the quarterfinals, where he advanced on John Fisher's breakout 11.999 (12.00 dial) with a 10.699 (10.66) to earn a another bye, this time into the final.

Johnson and his E/SA '67 Fairlane dominated in matches with Don Fezell, Joey Warren, Jeff Strickland, and Tommy Mattingly before taking a single in the quarters and then advancing to his career-first final on red-lighting Roy Johnson.

Roy, engine builder and father to Pro Stock ace Allen Johnson, was racing his F/SA Drag Pak Challenger for the first time and nearly claimed the class title on Saturday but red-lighted to Merryfield. The Greeneville, Tenn., resident was awarded Best Appearing car honors for his retro-paint schemed Challenger, and went rounds in eliminations following a nearly 30-year retirement. After running dead-on his 10.69 dial in the quarterfinals, Roy missed the tree by just six-thousandths and illuminated the red light in the semis.

Parfait vs. Denton

The Super Comp final was decided on the starting line, when Trevor Denton left .013-second too soon and Parfait automatically notched a treasured third win of his long career. Parfait, who won his first national event last season in Dallas and was triumphant in Houston earlier this year, kicked off eliminations with a bye run and then scored in a tough match with Matt Weston. Weston slapped a .008 light on him but Parfait wasn't too far behind, clocking a very nice .018 and racing to victory in the double-breakout affair, 8.878 to 8.864 on the 8.90 index.

In the third round, Parfait was quicker off the starting line and put an 8.918 on the scoreboard to Bruce Adams' breakout 8.878, and in round four, Chad Hedgecock was just three-thousandths over the index to Parfait's 8.910, but the eventual winner's quick .014 to .025 start made the difference by four-thousandths at the finish line. In his best round of eliminations, a dead-on 8.900 and .018 launch got the job done with another .004-second margin of victory, and he put quarterfinalist challenger David Tatum III on the trailer and picked up another bye run.

Bristol, Va., racer Denton opened eliminations with an awesome run, recording a .014 reaction and going four-thousandths over the index to beat Lauren Freer. Second round opponent Steven Farrow was on the losing end of a double-breakout with Denton, and in round three, Denton was red by two-thousandths but Cameron Manual was a worse offender with a .006 foul. After taking a single in round four, Denton was paired with multi-class racer Dave Connolly, who possesses more than 20 national event wins in various classes, including ultra-competitive Pro Stock. Connolly was four-thousandths quicker off the starting line but Denton was the winner of the double-breakout round and then ran closer to the index to best Jeff Brooks in the semifinals to earn the right to participate in his first final round at a national event.

Apple vs. Upton

The Super Gas final ended on a sour note for 2009 runner-up Billy Upton, who had been on a tear in Thunder Valley socking away round-wins over Steve Furr, Connolly, Chuck Trotter, Derek Clark, and Michael Ruff. His '63 Corvette broke as he attempted to stage in the final and he had to shut it off, allowing Apple to claim his first national event win without challenge.

Apple, of Beloit, Ohio, was catching breaks from the word go, whether he needed them or not. First round opponent James Sessoms broke and Joseph Carbacio fouled by three-thousandths in round two. In the third round, Apple was a cool .017 at the tree in his '34 Chevy and 9.935 on the 9.90 index to beat Bernard Weaver on a holeshot, and in the quarterfinals, Tom Stalba was way ready at the start, clocking a .005 to Apple's .015, but at the top end, Apple was the survivor in their double-breakout race to pick up the coveted bye run into the final.

The Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series will continue at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk next weekend, June 24-27.

Sunday's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series final results from the 10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Super Stock -- Bob Dennis, Olds Calais, 11.018, 119.45 def. Joe Santangelo, Pontiac Trans Am, 10.013, 130.35.

Stock Eliminator -- Slate Cummings, Pontiac Firebird, 10.792, 116.46 def. Russell Johnson, Ford Fairlane, 11.368, 116.08.

Super Comp -- Lloyd Parfait, Dragster, 8.873, 173.81 def. Trevor Denton, Dragster, 8.878, 168.18.

Super Gas -- Ed Apple, Chevy Roadster, 9.927, 148.66 def. Billy Upton, Chevy Corvette, broke.