Tue, 21 Sep 2010, 07:58 AM Taking It To the Max

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

CONCORD, N.C. --

Guest vs. Perry

A very warm yet pleasantly dry weekend at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway provided an agreeable setting for Lucas Oil Series competitors to battle for respective titles and precious points as the season inched towards completion. When the weekend at "the Bellagio of Dragstrips" was all said and done, Monroe Guest (Top Alcohol Dragster), Frank Manzo (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Lincoln Morehead (Super Stock), Dan Fletcher (Stock), Frank Altilio (Super Comp), and Peter Biondo (Super Gas) were the happy victors.

The Top Alcohol Dragster final came down to Guest, a two-time winner this season heading into the event, and Ken Perry, who was runner-up at the race in 2008 and 2009. For Perry, history repeated as he was struck down at the starting line by Guest's perfect triple-zero reaction. The Richmond Hill, Ont., resident was .064 at the tree and clocked a quicker 5.348 to 5.361 as he crossed the finish line, but it wasn't enough to overcome Guest's .000, and he lost on a holeshot.

Guest drove his Tigerflow A/Fuel dragster to a 5.359 during qualifying to secure a start from the No. 3 spot. In the first round, the Mannford, Okla., racer disposed of Scott Moore, who was competing in his first national event, and in round two, he was first off the starting line, .023 to .045, and first to the finish as Dave DeAngelis was off the throttle early. Guest used quick reflexes to again launch first in his semifinals meeting with points leader Bill Reichert, .028 to .035, and he needed it at the top end; the 5.370 to 5.369 victory went down in the books as a holeshot win scored by just six-thousandths over the defending event champ.

Perry, in his Pump Systems Interfacing blown rail, earned a start from the No. 4 qualifying position and took down Brandon Greco in the opening round before getting lucky in round two when Darren Nicholson was too quick off the starting line by a thousandth and illuminated the red bulb. Perry shook hard and popped the 'chutes before getting as far as 400 feet out, while Nicholson raced to a wasted 5.494. Semifinals opponent John Finke had a 3-1 advantage against Perry before their encounter at zMax, but a .160 reaction and 5.753 were no match for Perry's .065 and 5.389.

Shortline Express A/Fuel dragster driver Duane Shields logged the 14th low qualifier award of his career when he blasted to a 5.346 that held as low e.t. of the weekend.

Manzo vs. Thompson

The Top Alcohol Funny Car final was a surprising squeaker, and Al-Anabi Racing's Manzo, who struggled with clutch problems all weekend and confessed before the round that he had replaced the clutch moments before and was "taking a swing in the dark," came away with the win by just six-thousandths of a second. Clint Thompson, of Klamath Falls, Ore., was first off the starting line by .003 and kept just ahead until the 1,000-foot mark, when Manzo inched past to get the win light, 5.578 to 5.587.

Manzo, the No. 1 qualifier for the 80th time in his career with a 5.579 at 262.18 mph, was awarded the first-round bye run for the 26th time for his efforts. He needed it as he shook the tires and made a lurch to the left before getting off the throttle. In the second round, Ken Webster had lane choice, but Manzo's quick 5.567 was untouchable. The points leader had traction troubles in the semifinals that might have cost him had opponent Mark Billington not broke on the launch, and Manzo pedaled through and got it to hook back up, recording a 6.315 that forfeited lane choice in the final to Thompson.

No. 3 qualifier Thompson drove his Cascade Monte Carlo to a first-round victory over Tony Bogolo, who was in the red by three-thousandths in his first NHRA national event since Columbus 1991. Round two was more of a challenge for Thompson, who got left at the tree by Brent Henry, .023 to .125, but made up ground just in time, skirting around his challenger who blew the burst panel at 1,000-feet and slowed. In the semifinals, Thompson and John Bojec left with identical .089 reactions, but the former was the winner, 5.588 to 5.628.

Morehead vs. Zane

Former Stock world champion Lee Zane was on the wrong end of a double-breakout match with Morehead in the Super Stock final. They both had respectable reaction times, Morehead, in his GT/GA '89 Camaro, was .015 on the launch to Zane's .020, but he ran closer to his dial in their double-breakout finish to nab the Wally for the first time since the 2004 Supernationals in Englishtown.

Morehead, of Marlboro, N.Y., got a freebie in the first round when Russell "Bubba" Linke was a no-show, and in the second round, Merrill Schrimscher jumped the gun at the tree by .013, and Morehead advanced to a third-round match with Grace Howell, who was better on the launch by eight-thousandths but couldn't run her number and posted an 8.855 on her 8.78 dial to Morehead's 10.190 (10.18 dial). In the quarterfinals, Morehead was ready for tough challenger Anthony Bertozzi with a .005 reaction and a dead-on 10.217 (10.21) to Bertozzi's very quick .003 light and 9.163 (9.13). Things didn't ease up in the semi's, when Morehead pulled up next to Fletcher, who was in the hunt for a double-up win. Fletcher had the starting line advantage, .034 to .041, but Morehead was the victor in their doub le-breakout finish.

Zane, who also competed in Stock in Charlotte, wheeled his SS/KA '98 Firebird to round wins over Roger Keeling, Rob Carpenter, Rick Baehr, and Doug Chervanik before taking a bye run into the final.

Fletcher vs. Strickland

The Stock victory was career win number 69 for Fletcher, who drove his K&N Filters-backed E/SA '69 Camaro to a final round defeat over Red Bay, Ala., racer Jeff Strickland and his A/SA '70 Nova. Fletcher was quicker at the start, utilizing a .014 reaction and an 11.206 on his 11.18 dial to best Strickland's .041 and closer-to-the-number 10.529 (10.52).

Fletcher stopped Frank Maiolo in the opening round with a quicker launch and an 11.203 on his 11.15 target to his opponent's 10.245 (10.22), and in round two, No. 1 qualifier Roy Johnson was second off the starting line and couldn't make up the difference, allowing Fletcher to advance on a quick .008 start and 11.219 (11.14) to his .067 and 10.231 (10.15). Opponent Len King fouled by a thousandth in the third round, setting up Fletcher for a quarterfinals match with Jimmy DeFrank. Fletcher launched first, .018 to .027, and lit up the scoreboards with an 11.157 on his 11.15 dial to DeFrank's 10.330 (10.32) to get the win by .012 and secure a bye run into the final.

Strickland got the best of Mark Beaver, McNeal Freeman, Anthony Bertozzi, Johnny Fisher, and Jim Marshall en route to his first final since this event last season, when he was runner-up to Todd Hoven.

Altilio vs. Flynn

Altilio picked up his second national event victory when he beat defending event champion Joe Flynn in the Super Comp money round. Altillo was out of the gate first, .035 to .063, and ran right on the 8.90 index plus two-thousandths to Flynn's breakout 8.888. The Ocoee, Fla., resident raced his '06 Undercover rail to his first final round since winning the 1992 Gatornationals. His conquests in Charlotte included the defeat of Tom Stalba in the first round, where he was .006 on the tree and put together a .015 package to Stalba's .008 breakout run, and a victory by just nine-thousandths in a fourth round match with Shannon Waycaster for a bye into the semis, where Altilio got the nod when John Biermann fouled by two-thousandths.

Biondo, driving a '63 Corvette, won the Super Gas double-breakout final over Delaney Richardson. Biondo recorded a .011 reaction and ran closer to the 9.90 index by three-thousandths to Richardson's .014 light and four-thousandths-under effort. The win placed Biondo in a very rare category: he became one of four drivers to have won in five different Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories. Biondo runner-upped in the category to Kevin McClelland at the 1997 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona.

Biondo vs. Richardson

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors, including Top Sportsman, will next join the Full Throttle Series in Dallas for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex, Sept. 23-26.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Monroe Guest, 5.361, 273.16 def. Ken Perry, 5.348, 264.08.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.578, 259.91 def. Clint Thompson, Monte Carlo, 5.587, 256.31.

Super Stock -- Lincoln Morehead, Chevy Camaro, 10.198, 122.72 def. Lee Zane, Pontiac Firebird, 10.924, 119.25.

Stock Eliminator -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 11.206, 112.35 def. Jeff Strickland, Chevy Nova, 10.529, 114.93.

Super Comp -- Frank Altilio, Dragster, 8.902, 179.66 def. Joe Flynn, Dragster, 8.888, 178.83.

Super Gas -- Peter Biondo, Chevy Corvette, 9.899, 158.86 def. Delaney Richardson, Corvette, 9.896, 159.64.