Tue, 18 Oct 2011, 12:28 PM They're Hot

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2011 Auto Imagery, Inc.

CHANDLER, Ariz. --

Steve Casner, Chris DePascale, Steve Williams, Randi Lyn Shipp, Ray Martin, Tony Jardino and Ryan McClanahan

Those circled days on the calendar are running out with just two national events left for the Lucas Oil Series drivers, and the conclusion of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int'l Raceway near Phoenix ended with blazing rays of sunshine illuminating exhausted but accomplished competitors: Ryan McClanahan (Super Stock), Randi Lyn Shipp (Stock), Steve Williams (Super Comp), Steve Casner (Super Gas), Chris DePascale (Super Street), Ray Martin (Top Sportsman) and Tony Jardino (Top Dragster).

"Private Ryan" McClanahan scored his sixth national event win and first at Firebird Raceway when Peter Biondo, the Reading Super Gas winner and Super Stock runner-up, went way red in their money-round meeting. Early on, McClanahan piloted his SS/BM Cobalt to a narrow defeat of Ken Etter - a close second-round fight that ended with a .008-second margin of victory in favor of the young McClanahan.

McClanahan recorded a great .008 reaction time in the third round and went 8.742 on his 8.71 dial to Tony Mandella's .045 and breakout 9.907 on his 9.95, and the win light came with a bye run into the semifinals, where Bobby Dennis was .010 red.

McClanahan vs. Biondo

At the conclusion of the event, Biondo was still leading in both the Super Stock and Super Gas national standings.

Floyds Knobs, Ind., D/SA '67 Firebird driver Randi Lyn Shipp had a great weekend of racing in the Valley of the Sun that ended with her first national event winner's circle celebration. Alta Loma, Calif.-based driver Brian McClanahan was working diligently towards a McClanahan family double-up, but his 10.133 on a 10.07 dial was bested by Shipp's .009-over a 10.80 bullseye in their final-round meeting.

After knocking out Dennis Alvey in round one, Shipp ousted Kayla Mozeris by .009-second and then took on Chad Loge in round four. The two were dialed just a hundredth apart, 10.88 for Shipp and 10.89 for Loge, and they left with matching .038 reactions times, but Shipp played the top end better for a .0261-second victory.

Next in line was Al Corda, a three-time Phoenix winner. Shipp gave herself a little room by leaving the starting line in .020-second to Corda's .041, and her 10.846 on a 10.79 dial was good for a .0056 margin of victory (approximately 12 inches) to the veteran racer's 10.630 (10.59). The well-earned win was good for a bye run into the final.

Shipp vs. McClanahan

The Super Comp final began with a near synchronistic launch and turned into a double-breakout affair with 2008 event winner Williams getting the nod over Tucson's Donny Toia.

The Beaumont, Calif., racer, who was the runner-up in Super Gas in Pomona earlier this year, was good and lucky in the second round when Matthew Harvil was just a thousandth off of perfection at the start but broke out by a second at the finish line. Williams was .028 at the tree and 8.933 on the 8.90 index.

The next round, Williams was better at the starting line and carried it through to a .002-over the index pass to beat Chuck Babcock, and in the quarterfinals, his luck returned when Nick Saetes was a no show and he got the easy win - as well as the bye run into the final.

Sonoma winner Casner, of Sheridan, Calif., matched Chicago victor and Norwalk runner-up Jimmy Lewis, a resident of Forney,Texas looking to finish in the top 10 nationally, identically with a .013 reaction time and got the Super Gas final off to a very thrilling start. The incredibly close match ended with the win light flashing in Casner's lane by just .0007, or approximately two inches. Casner was the Super comp runner-up in Phoenix last season, and the 2011 title counted as the fourth of his career.

Williams vs. Toia

Casner, in his '07 Cavalier, put a block on the possibility of Williams doubling-up at the event when he was first to leave and better at the finish line than his challenger - a 9.923 on the 9.90 index topped Williams' breakout 9.898 in the quarterfinals. The defeat was awarded with a semifinals bye run and a direct path to the final round.

The Super Street final was the first for Depascale, a two-time finalist in the Super Comp category with one previous win, earned at the 2007 event at Englishtown. The Parlin, N.J., resident was a long way from home but didn't struggle with the unfamiliar elements in his '62 Nova. A couple of early red-lights from opponents helped him to a bye run into the semifinals, where he won a double-breakout with Dave Gotts on a 128 degree track.

In the final, DePascale was a cool .009 at the tree and edged out 2009 Chicago winner Ryan Giacone and his '88 Thunderbird for the title. Giacone, of Phoenix, was out of the gate with a .038 light and missed the 10.90 index by .008 on the bad side to DePascale's winning 10.945.

Casner vs. Lewis

Martin was awarded his first national event Wally when would-be opponent Darryn O'Connor was a no-show in the Top Sportsman final after being involved in a semifinals altercation on the racetrack with Ronnie Lahn. Although Martin didn't have much of a challenge in that last round of eliminations, he was on his game early and won several very close matches to earn his position.

As the No. 9 qualifier, Martin and his '55 Chevy began eliminations with a very narrow win over Val Torres Jr., who was quicker at the starting line with a .018 reaction to Martin's .029 but couldn't hold onto the advantage down track. Martin's 7.380 on his 7.36 dial got the win by a mere 20 inches at the stripe.

After parlaying a better starting-line performance of his own into a win in a second-round face off with Joe Roubicek, Martin saw Kevin Kleineweber leave with a .024-second advantage in the quarterfinals but made up the difference and clocked a closer to his target 7.360 (7.33) to his opponent's 7.569 (7.51) to score a bye run into the final.

De Pascale vs. Giacone

Jardino, last season's Top Dragster runner-up at the event, returned to the final round and this time came out on top. Chuck Phelps had the better reaction by .007-second with Jardino carrying the front wheels approximately 200 feet out before settling on all four. It came down to the stripe, where Jardino was .018-second over his 6.81 and Phelps broke out of his 7.25 goal by just a thousandth.

Now a two-time national event winner - he also won the trophy at the Pacific SPORTSnationals in Fontana last season - Jardino qualified 12th at Firebird Raceway and advanced easily when first-round opponent Tom Shambaugh broke.

In the second round, he had a great package, posting a . 015 reaction and running .009-second over his 6.82 dial to Michael Kile's .001 too-quick 6.439, and Roubicek left the window open when he was late at the hit in the quarterfinals. A .011 red-light from Jim Luttrell in the semis sent Jardino to the third final round of his career at the national level.

Jardino vs. Phelps

The Lucas Oil Series competitors will next race at the Full Throttle event scheduled Oct. 27-30 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Sunday's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series final results from the 27th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Super Stock -- Ryan McClanahan, Chevy Cobalt, 9.905, 100.51 def. Peter Biondo, Pontiac Firebird, foul.

Stock Eliminator -- Randi Lyn Shipp, Pontiac Firebird, 10.809, 119.78 def. Brian McClanahan, Chevy Camaro, 10.133, 130.42.

Super Comp -- Steve Williams, Dragster, 8.898, 185.38 def. Donny Toia, Dragster, 8.893, 173.81.

Super Gas -- Steve Casner, Chevy Cavalier, 9.918, 164.39 def. Jimmy Lewis, Chevy Corvette, 9.918, 158.17.

Ray Martin

Super Street -- Chris De Pascale, Chevy Nova, 10.945, 128.36 def. Ryan Giacone, ford Thunderbird, 10.892, 144.74.

Top Dragster -- Tony Jardino, Dragster, 6.828, 196.39 def. Chuck Phelps, Dragster, 7.249, 178.59.

Top Sportsman -- Ray Martin, Chevy, 8.346, 113.30 def. Darryn O'Connor, Chevy Cavalier, broke.