Race Updates

NHRA Heats up in Atco

May 20-21, 2006

ATCO, NJ - The NHRA Sport Compact Drag Racing season is in full swing and many teams are in full stride, ready to upset the class favorites. The weekend was full of upsets and unlikely winners as well as some close calls.

Starting in Hot Rod, Ron Lummus found himself in an unfamiliar spot. The Turbo By Garrett driver would start Sunday in the number 2 position after Stephane Beauregard qualified an 8.07 ET, 0.03 seconds faster than Ron's time. Both drivers would fight through the bracket facing Stephanie Eggum, Mike Crawford, and Kenny Tran to meet in the finals for a re-match. Stephane's Shelby Charger took the quicker time of 8.11 sec at 178.19 mph to Ron's 8.13 sec @ 178.99 mph, but it was Ron's reaction time of 0.050 to the Canadian's 0.169 that brought the Wally back to the Garrett trailer. What a great race!

The Modified class saw many of the local racers returning to wreak havoc on the national tourers. 2005 Champion Justin Humphries brought his tried and true Lexus GS300 to take on the rotary power of many of the class entries and local favorites. He would run perfect 7's (as in 7.777 sec) in round one eliminations but would run through the beams a little early to give the win to Dee Karigianis in round two. Karigianis would meet Jorge Lazcano in the finals. Lazcano would prove that his win at Englishtown two weeks before was more than a fluke by taking home his second Wally and vowing it would not be his last.

Pro FWD was a toss-up as well. 2005 Champion Ed Bergenholtz's Mazda 6 bowed out uncharacteristically in the first round to Bryan Jimenez. Jimenez would face Lucas Oil/Garrett Turbo driver/owner Marty Ladwig in round two and defeat him as well, setting himself up for the finals. On the other side of the bracket, Gary Gardella, driving his newly painted Chevy Cobalt driven by a Garrett Turbo provided through distributor Precision Turbo & Engine would have a controversial run against Bothwell Motorsports/Garrett Turbo driver Ron Townsend and his Cavalier. Gary took the race by a fair margin, but after tripping the beams, his transmission failed causing him to veer across the center line. Townsend's front end would ram into and be punctured by Gardella's wheelie bar. The Cobalt then spun and hit the wall, destroying the front end and rendering the car virtually unusable the rest of the day. It is unknown if either car will be able to compete in Colorado the second week of June. Gardella would stage in the finals against Jimenez, but would not attempt a run down the track.

Brad Personett's Pro RWD Scion tC, powered by a Garrett GT55 through Precision Turbo & Engine would set a new record as the quickest and fastest sport compact ever at 6.44 sec at 220.15 mph! He still needed to back that up within 1% for it to be official. He backed up the speed record in Sunday's first round but would have to wait till the finals to try for the ET again. Waiting for him in the final round was the formidable Toyota Solara of Matt Scranton. The Ride Revolution/Turbo By Garrett would have to hit a home run in order to leave the Titan team without Wally hardware. In what was probably the closest Pro RWD race ever, Scranton went out swinging for the fences and pulled in an amazing 6.51 ET @ 217.21 mph to Personett's 6.56 ET @ 218.23 mph! But wait, Scranton's fire-engine red Toyota left the line too early and red-lit, giving the win to Personett, who's time was good enough to back up his record setting performance!

The NHRA is getting more competitive as the season progresses and rivalries are digging in. Get ready for a dog fight at Bandimere in early June as the greatest sport compact drag racers battle against not only each other, but also the thin mountain air!