Sun, 24 Jul 2005, 12:11 PM Kelly Thunders to Second Title in a Row at Bristol

Courtesy of NHRA Field Marketing

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- After two days of fierce NHRA Southeast Division competition, winners in eight Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories and the Tracstar Systems Satellites Top Sportsman Series, were crowned today at the Winnebago Industries Thunder Valley Challenge being held this weekend at Bristol Dragway.

Among the winners of this weekend's event were Top Alcohol Dragster driver Guy Kelly, Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Mick Snyder and Super Stock driver, Jimbo Fields of Gallatin, Tenn.

In Top Alcohol Dragster, Kelly earned his second straight title here when he defeated recent Lebanon Valley Dragway winner Karen Benkovich of Fanwood, N.J. In the final, Kelly, who hails from Wadley, Ala., ran 5.627 seconds at 253.33 mph, to take out Benkovich, who laid down a 5.700 second pass at 244.07 mph.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Snyder, who is the defending class champ in NHRA's North Central Division, earned his first Lucas Oil victory of the year when he defeated Beaver Falls, Pa., runner Bobby Martin. In his final round contest, Snyder ran low elapsed time of the weekend, 5.832 seconds at 250.64 mph, to defeat Martin and take the win. This is the second final in a row for Snyder, who was a finalist last weekend in his home division at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.

Other winners at the event were Glen Treadwell of Sorrento, Fla., in Comp Eliminator; Jimbo Fields of Gallatin, Tenn., in Super Stock; Greg Rowe of Bridgeton, N.C., in Stock Eliminator; Mickey Whaley of Kinston, N.C., in Super Comp; David Tatum III of Palmetto, Ga., in Super Gas and Tony Fuller of Ouiedo, Fla., in Super Street. The winner in Tracstar Systems Satellites Top Sportsman, which ran in conjunction with the event this weekend, was Jerry Barker of Fort Valley, Ga.

The next stop on the NHRA Southeast Division Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series tour is South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga. There racers will complete in a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series double header featuring final qualifying and eliminations from the postponed events from SGMP and Gainesville Raceway. That event is scheduled to take place August 5-7. For more information contact South Georgia Motorsports Park at (229) 896-7000 or logo on to www.SGMPracing.com.

The following are the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event being held this weekend at Bristol Dragway:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER:
Round 1
5) Dave DeAngelis, Middlesex, N.J., 5.672, 251.44 def. 
4) Jeff Bohr, Plymouth, Mich., 5.674, 251.44

6) Karen Benkovich, Fanwood, N.J., 5.668, 246.57 def. 
3) Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 5.707, 249.53

1) Guy Kelly, Wadley, Ala., 5.598, 254.62 def. 
8) Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 5.978, 198.32

2) Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., 5.614, 256.94 def. 
7) John Finke, Selkirk, N.Y., 5.912, 242.28

Semifinals
Benkovich, 5.661, 244.96 def. Thacker, 5.699, 251.91
Kelly, 5.662, 252.52 def. DeAngelis, 11.494, 68.38

Final
Kelly, 5.627, 253.33 def. Benkovich, 5.700, 244.07

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR:
Round 1
5) Bill Naves, Salisbury, N.C., '97 Firebird, 6.238, 225.26 def. 
2) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Camaro, 10.074, 83.85

4) Bobby Martin, Beaver Falls, Pa., '01 Avenger, 6.002, 239.02 def. 
3) Mark Billington, Norcross, Ga., '01 Avenger, 6.769, 143.81

1) Mick Snyder, Demotte, Ind., '02 Firebird, 5.905, 245.58 def. 
6) John Headley, Newportville, Pa., '96 Avenger, 7.190, 135.82

Semifinal
Martin, 5.978, 233.44 def. Naves, 6.257, 226.09
Snyder, 5.929, 245.40 was unopposed

Final
Snyder, 5.832, 245.54 def. Martin, 6.020, 236.84

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
Glen Treadwell, Sorrento, Fla., dragster, E/ED, 8.520, 153.68 def. 
David Eaton, Merritt Island, Fla., '32 Bantam, A/AP, 7.106, 190.32

SUPER STOCK
Jimbo Fields, Gallatin, Tenn., '68 Corvette, SS/IA, 10.441, 122.34 def. 
Hugh Meeks III, Montgomery, Ala., '93 Achieva, GT/AA, 9.844, 126.85

STOCK ELIMINATOR
Greg Rowe, Bridgeton, N.C., '91 Camaro, F/FIA, 12.011, 103.87 def. 
Mickey Whaley, Kinston, N.C., '69 Camaro, D/SA, 11.357, 114.98

SUPER COMP
Mickey Whaley, Kinston, N.C., dragster, 8.926, 160.29 def. 
David Tatum III, Palmetto, Ga., dragster, 8.934, 153.21

SUPER GAS
David Tatum III, Palmetto, Ga., '04 Cavalier, 9.940, 157.10 def. 
Douglas Marshall III, Marshall, Va., '63 Corvette, 9.943, 146.51

SUPER STREET
Tony Fuller, Ouiedo, Fla., '69 Pontiac, 10.893, 133.54 def. 
Brian Davis, Tucker, Ga., '71 Camaro, 10.881, 133.71

TOP SPORTSMAN
Jerry Barker, Fort Valley, Ga., '02 Camaro, 7.394, 185.95 def. 
Jeff Wilkerson, Athens, Ala., '00 Trans Am, 7.367, 188.10