Tue, 28 Jun 2011, 07:54 AM Rising To The Top In Norwalk

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2011 Auto Imagery, Inc.

NORWALK, Ohio --

Thacker vs. Booher

Drivers in nine Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories were competing for titles this past weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, and some surprises were in store. A good time was had by most, but Marty Thacker (Top Alcohol Dragster), Fred Hagen (Top Alcohol Funny Car), David Rampy (Comp), Bob Marshall (Super Stock), Edmond Richardson (Stock), Nick Folk (Super Comp), Mark Horton (Super Gas), Ryan Ondrejko (Top Sportsman), and Troy Stone (Top Dragster) were celebrating the most at the end of the weekend.

Thacker, the No. 9 qualifier in his Rapid Transit blown alcohol dragster, was challenging fellow blown rail pilot Brandon Booher for the big payout. Booher cut a killer .015 light to Thacker's .048 and was surging before banging the blower at half-track and slowing with 'chutes deployed, allowing Thacker to get the win light with a 5.403 at 263.26 mph.

No. 1 qualifier Bill Reichert earned the top spot for the 30th time when he drove his Bar's Leak/Rislone A/Fueler to a super speedy 5.300 and 261.12 mph, and he improved on the time in his first-round bye run with an awesome 5.272, 263.51 that would hold as low e.t. of the meet. Thacker took down the reigning series champ in the second round of eliminations when he made a clean pass to Reichert's cylinder-dropping effort.

Eliminations started on a high note for Thacker; he was totally perfect at the tree in the opening act and used the number to log a holeshot win over John Finke by just .008-second, and after his victory over Reichert, he put a tire-shaking Jerry Powell on the trailer in the semifinals.

Hagen vs. Veney

The final round was the first for Booher at the national event level and the tenth for Thacker. It also counted as Thacker's sixth national event win.

Hagen and the remainder of the Top Alcohol Funny Car class got a break when No. 1 qualifier Frank Manzo launched ahead of Paul Noakes but then heard the engine of his Al-Anabi Monte Carlo fall deathly silent. He cut a slow path to the finish line and logged his first opening-round loss since the St. Louis main event in 2005.

The weekend was a double-whammy for Manzo, who also forfeited in the final round make-up of the rain-delayed Indy divisional race that was contested prior to eliminations in Norwalk. Hagen and his Dark Horse Mustang got the win over Manzo in the make-up before blasting through eliminations to claim the first national event win of his career in his third final round.

First to fall to the eventual Norwalk titlist was Fred Tigges, who posted season-best numbers (5.754, 253.37 mph) alongside Hagen's 5.68, 260.11. Round two saw Thomas Carter turn on the red light while Hagen raced ahead to a low e.t. of the meet 5.548 at 259.46 mph, and Lou Sgro paved the way to the final for Hagen when he was .056 in the red in their semifinals meeting.

Rampy vs. Biondo

Hagen and another second generation driver, Todd Veney, came to the starting line in the last round to race one another for the first time at a national event, and the meeting conjured memories of the 1989 Division 3 event at U.S. 131 Dragway where Fred Hagen Sr. defeated Veney's dad, Ken. The younger Hagen was first off the starting line in Norwalk, .069 to Veney's .118, and kept ahead, tripping the critical top end timer with a 5.571 at 259.01 mph to top Veney's 5.693, 253.71 to keep the Hagen/Veney win-loss stats in his family's favor.

The Competition Eliminator final was set up to be a nail-biter, with Gainesville winner and esteemed competitor Sal Biondo driving Vinny Barone's I/AA Cavalier and set to take on the winningest driver in the category, Rampy. But Biondo decided his own fate in his 14th Comp final when he was five-thousandths too quick off the line to Rampy's stellar .009 green-light start, and Rampy reeled in his 78th national event win (65th in Comp) with ease.

The Piedmont, Alabama-based driver had a lucky break in the second round of eliminations when he lost traction in his A/EA '32 Bantam as soon as he hit the throttle but still got the win after opponent David Yediny broke. In the quarterfinals, Rampy was at a disadvantage with a .072 reaction to David Billingsley's .014 but clocked a .53-under 7.84 to get to the finish line ahead of the .44-under 9.42 his opponent managed.

Marshall vs. Keeling

Rampy earned his berth in the final with a .006 reaction and .49-under 7.81 to top Charlie Greco's .041 and .50-under 9.33.

Marshall became a five-time Super Stock winner with a defeat of first-time finalist Roger Keeling, driver of the GT/DA '09 Cobalt. The pair dialed relatively close for a barely noticeable handicap start, and the Columbus, Ohio-based driver of the SS/BA '65 Coronet was at a disadvantage at the tree with a .055 start to Keeling's .020, but at the top end he was the lesser offender in their double-breakout match. The win-light flashed atop the scoreboard in Marshall's lane with his 9.739 (9.74 dial) defeating Keeling's 9.776 (9.79).

The Stock Eliminator final was another decided at the starting line; Richardson, driving his C/SA '99 Camaro, was awarded the 46th title of his long, full, and still charging career when Drew Skillman fouled out in his AA/SA '10 Mustang by .015. It was the first of a string of foul starts that would light the way for Richardson's advancement.

Richardson vs. Skillman

He began eliminations on Saturday morning with a gift from first-time national event contender John McCleod, whose .003-second foul start in his Classic Instruments A/SA Challenger Drag Pak halted further progress in his Big Show debut. Veteran driver Richardson saw each of his opponents in the next three rounds illuminate red lights; his only race unmarked by a rosy glow from the other side of the tree was the semifinals, where Tim Fletcher started with green but took too much stripe in a double-breakout.

Super Comp driver Folk's .004 reaction time in the final gave him a tidy advantage over Sherman Adcock's .022, and at the top end the Durand, Ill., driver came out as the lesser offender in a double-breakout finish; his 8.873 was closer to the 8.90 index to top Adcock's 8.853.

Folk had his timing right at the starting line and recorded superior performances at the tree throughout eliminations to put his opponents on the defense. His quarterfinals defeat of Bryan Richardson was good for a bye run in the semis and guaranteed entry into the final round, his tenth at a national event. Folk has yet to be defeated in Super Comp final rounds at the national level and is a perfect three-for-three (he also has victories in Stock and Super Gas).

Adcock vs.Folk

Horton's Super Gas victory was his fourth in four national event final rounds in the category, and he also has a runner-up in Super Comp. Repeating the success of his 2007 win over Jim Hughes in Norwalk, Horton launched second by just .005-second to category mainstay Jimmy Lewis in the final at this year's race, but Lewis was .008 too quick at the stripe and gave it back.

Milbury, Ohio, driver Horton survived a close and important round with Brina Splingaire in the quarterfinals. He wheeled his '02 Corvette off the starting line second despite a nice .011 - Splingaire clocked a speedy .008 - and put up a 9.898 on the 9.90 index to Splingaire's just a bit further from the target 9.889 to win the bye run into the final.

As per the norm, Ondrejko used impressive starting line abilities to enhance his overall performance in the Top Sportsman category. Ultimately, there was just one round where the Division 1 standout didn't have a better launch: the quarterfinals, where Glen Butcher was .003-second quicker out of the gate, but Ondrejko knew what he had to do and simply did it, carefully crossing the finish line .005-second over his 6.95 dial to Butcher's 6.667 (6.64).

Horton vs. Lewis

Gino Fagnilli recorded an impressive 6.981 on his 6.98 target in the final round, but Ondrejko's better reaction time, .011 to .051, paid off when paired with his 6.956 on his 6.94. It was the third national event win for Ondrejko in three Top Sportsman final rounds, and he also possesses a final-round finish in Top Dragster obtained in 2008 at the Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus.

Top Dragster winner Stone was super quick during the course of the weekend at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park and nearly nabbed the No. 1 qualifying position with a 6.054 that was just behind Eddie Careccia's 6.053.

Stone dialed six-flat in the opening act, posted a remarkable .002 reaction, and crossed the finish line with a 6.024 to top Jacob Elrod in the first round before seeing Buddy Forrest to a breakout number in round two. He was better at both ends of the track to put a stop to James Bridge's advancement and then used a .009 reaction to beat Phillip Oakley on a holeshot in the semifinals.

Ondrejko vs.Fagnilli

Another near-perfect .002 launch in the final round nudged Marco Abruzzi, who was .027 at the tree, to a breakout in the final round, and Stone was awarded the event trophy after posting a runner-up finish in Norwalk last season.

Lucas Oil Series racers will next join the Full Throttle tour on the outskirts of Chicago in Joliet for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, where the prestigious Allstars competition - pitting the best of the best of the sportsman racers from each division - will also be contested July 7-10, 2011.

Sunday's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series final results from the Fifth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Marty Thacker, 5.403, 263.26 def. Brandon Booher, 6.465, 107.66.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Fred Hagen, Ford Mustang, 5.571, 259.01 def. Todd Veney, Chevy Impala SS, 5.693, 253.71.

Competition Eliminator -- David Rampy, Bantam Roadster, 7.351, 148.64 def. Sal Biondo, Chevy Cavalier, foul.

Super Stock -- Bob Marshall, Dodge Coronet, 9.739, 128.40 def. Roger Keeling, Chevy Cobalt, 9.776, 135.59.

Stone vs. Abruzzi

Stock Eliminator -- Edmond Richardson, Chevy Camaro, 10.779, 115.86 def. Drew Skillman, Ford Mustang, foul.

Super Comp -- Nick Folk, Dragster, 8.873, 167.26 def. Sherman Adcock, Dragster, 8.853, 167.82.

Super Gas -- Mark Horton, Chevy Corvette, 9.924, 151.14 def. Jimmy Lewis, Corvette, 9.892, 157.17.

Top Sportsman -- Ryan Ondrejko, Pontiac GTO, 6.956, 191.29 def. Gino Fagnilli, Ford Mustang, 6.981, 187.96.

Top Dragster -- Troy Stone, Dragster, 6.063, 219.79 def. Marco Abruzzi, Dragster, 6.593, 202.79.