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J M Hallas’ IHRA Nitro Jam at San Antonio Raceway report

After a very successful day one with the return of IHRA’s Nitro Jam show to San Antonio Raceway, day two brought cloudy, humid conditions, with occasional mist in the air, which made for tricky tuning conditions. One more round of qualifying was held for the sportsmen classes before the beginning of eliminations on the 1/4 mile drag strip, just east of San Antonio.

By mid-afternoon the sun started finally breaking through changing track conditions for drivers through the middle of eliminations. The temperatures weren’t enough to effect the first round of Pro Class qualifying later in the evening, especially after yesterday’s near record breaking heat.

By the time IHRA Nitro Jam’s Pro qualifying began the stands were filled to capacity, more were hanging on the fences on both sides of the track, with the spectator side nearly reaching the entire length of the quarter mile.

Nitro Jam Pro Eliminations

Top Fuel

Bobby Lagana jr. clicked off an .084 light then ran a 4.70 at over 300 mph, while last nights winner, Bruce Litton shut off nearly as soon as he left the line when he broke the tires loose, while Lagana was running straight through.

“I’m just excited to be back here,” said Lagana, driver of the Lucas Oil, Service Central, Fram, Autolite, MavTv, Top Fuel Dragster. “I’ve got a lot of memories of this track, to be honest not a lot of good ones. Our first year here it was so cold our clutch system froze. We were shooting for between 4.65-4.75 and it ran a 4.70 even after I shut it off early. I hit the rev limiter and shut it off expecting Bruce(Litton) to go by us, but he had his own problems. We had a little drama in the shut down area. My chute got caught on a light tower and flipped it over nearly tipping the car over. It was crazy down there. I saw a big flash, people running and thought, this isn’t good.

“We had a fresh motor in it round one, but something didn’t feel right. So we changed back between rounds to a motor that we were sure about. We were able to use last nights run, but we were detuned too much so we knew were we needed to step up to. Bruce(Litton) and I are essentially match racing, but we both know what the track can hold and that leaves it up to us. He’s beat us on hole shots several times, he’s great competitor. I love those guys over there. We run neck and neck.

“The fan turnout was incredible. We did some morning TV shows and people would see us at IHOP or WalMart and come up to us. That was one of the most successful media things we’ve done. Those same people came down and hung out it the pits with us. Everything was a big hit. The fans here were absolutely awesome. I can’t wait to come back here next year. The fans were great and I think we put on a good show. That is our goal.

“ I’m really pleased with the way IHRA is going. Mr Feld is keeping a lot of us in business. They’re talking about bringing in some more Top Fuel cars. We’re basically swapping money from what we win with what it costs to run the car. But it keeps us in the spotlight, in the media and more importantly learning more and more. We’re roadies anyway, we never go home. We live on the road and just go racing.”

Bobby Lagana jr, 4.707 @ 301.41
Bruce Litton, 15.533 @ 58.98

Pro Fuel Finals

As soon as the green came on it was Mike Manners race. Evans’ car went silent while Manners was clicking off a pass of 5.28 at 274+ mph. Tonight’s win made it two for two, backing up last nights victory.

“We had a wonderful night,” exclaimed Manners driver of the Anglia Homes, Cosmo Development, Aquagen, Spitzer Body & Chassis. “It’s a shame Bill(Evans) broke. We love racing him. He’s one of the best guy out there. We like going down the track side by side, hopefully I’m the winner. We’re real happy with our return to San Antonio. We got the Ironman both nights and it can’t get any better than that.

“We were a little disappointed with the 5.38 we ran in round one. We were expecting the car to go quite a bit faster. Then we ended up with Bill in the second round, you can never count that man out. He was running good numbers yesterday and today. We went back, looked at some things, found some things that needed adjustment, tuned it up a little and were able to run a good number in the finals.”

“ I’ve been here a few times before running Top Dragster and Top Sportsman but not for about four years. There’s nothing we could bring from those cars to these, it’s a totally different animal. These tracks can be different day to day anyway let alone four years later. The track was really good. We looked at it and thought it might be a little soft. It was really deceptive.

“We have a baseline that we can go off of, and try to factor in the track conditions. Every day is racing the track. With these races on Friday night and Saturday night, there are some similarities.

“I got started at this at a late age, but I’ve got no attention span, so this works out great. People ask me what I’m going to do when I grow up? I tell them, drive Monster Trucks and line all these A/Fuel cars up, that are so hard to drive, and crush ‘em all!”

By the way, Manners is 55.

Mike Manners, Shredder, 5.288 @ 274.05
Bill Evans, Black Pearl, 12.524 @ 78.25

Consi

Cherrisa Smallwood, Nitro & Lace, 6.055, 240.13
Robin Samsel, Predator, 5.752 @ 238.85

Prostalgia Funny Car Final

Rick Krafft, who got into the finals with a late birthday present, after Mike McIntire was DQ’ed for crossing the center line, used a good light(.054) and decent run(5.95) to hold off Mark Sanders for the victory.

** Peter Gallen used round two to back up his speed record from last night(252.10), and increase the ET record with last night’s run as the back up.

“It’s absolutely incredible.” said Krafft driver of the Chicago Fire Prostalgia Funny Car owned by Mike Faser. “The first run the car got to half track and was shaking bad. I was doing everythng I could to hold the car down the groove and get the win. But we came up short. On a technicality we ended up in the finals.

“ So here we are in the finals against Mark Sanders, one of the fastest cars out here. My guys are telling me to put percentage in it, throw more clutch at it, do this, do that. I told them to wait, let’s do some little things and I’ll get him off the line. I took him off the light and beat him.

“I’ve never been to Texas before, let alone run this track. Having a baseline to go off means you know what you have when you roll the car off the trailer. We’ve got a new oiling system that’s been giving us problems. So we weren’t sure what it was going to do. These are the first two complete runs we’ve made without hurting any parts. So we’re absolutely elated.

“ I don’t know how he(Faser) does it. Somehow he keeps us out there. IHRA has given us the opportunity to show we can still get it done, and here we are winning with it. That car was built in 1974 and probably has 10,000 runs on it, and a bunch of different bodies. We just keep upgrading and making improvements on it.

“This trip has been a great experience. The track was good and IHRA had it prepped well. The stands were packed and that says a lot about pre-race advertising. We couldn’t have asked for a better show.”

Mark Sanders, Mr Explosive, 6.058 @ 221.13
Rick Krafft, Chicago Fire, 5.958 @ 223.17

Consis

Jon Capps, Jungle Jim, 6.410 @ 200. 71
Mike McIntire, McAttack, 18.130 @ 71.67

Bye
Greg Jacobsmeyer, 6.389 @ 220.05

Peter Gallen, Poverty Stricken, 5.744 @ 251.92**
Mike Smith, Brand X, 11.591 @ 70.28

Nostalgia Fuel Altered Final

The Nostalgia Fuel Altered final saw Chris Bennett back up last nights win with a second Ironman. Jim Maroney beat Bennett off the line, but Bennett drove back around J. Maroney for the honors.

Chris Bennett, Pure Heaven, 6.272 @ 222.88
Jim Maroney, Blind Faith, 6.562 @ 196.42

Consi

Jason Richey, Pure Hell, 6.502 @ 230.18
Ron Maroney, Nanook, 6.638 @ 222.22(Red light)

Nitro Harley Final

After giving up .05 to Steve Dorn on green, Randall came back past him in the final 320′ to steal the victory away on the top end. At 1000′ Andras still trailed Dorn by -.078 who may have lifted early judging by his speed.

Randall Andras, 6.495 @ 210.96
Steve Dorn, 6.558 @ 178.78

Consi

Jay Turner, 6.747 @ 174.35
Mike Scott, 6.720 @ 200.63

Exhibition

Jet Dragster

Jill Canuso, Queen of Hearts, 5.248 @ 299.20
Terry Rosberg, Jersey Thunder, 5.854 @ 267.22

Kent Shockley, Shockwave, 7.678 @ 123.04
Randy Brown, Grave Digger, 8.554 @ 74.38

Sportsmen Finals

Between red lights and break outs there were so many gifts given away you’d have thought it was Christmas. Nine out of the eleven finals were decided by one or the other fouls occurring. Three drivers had chances to pick up double wins(Ryan McDonnell, David Latino and Tommy Phillips), only two were successful.

Top Dragster

Jenifer White worked her way to the finals by putting World Champion, Scott Ball out in round two. Gordon Cole had to get by fast qualifier Ed Schneider in round three to reach the finals. Gordon nearly pegged his dial with a 7.11 on 7.10 while White gave up too much running a 6.65 on a 6.58

Gordon Cole, 7.111 @ 183.82
Jenifer White, 6.654 @ 187.73

Top Sportsman

Trent Wilson picked up the win before green when number two qualifier, Glenn Wright went red. Wilson would have been tough to beat running a 7.472 on 7.47 dial in.

Trent Wilson, 7.472 @ 184.80
Glenn Wright, 6.913 @ 194.13

Quick Rod(8.90)

Tommy Phillips picked up the first of two wins in the finals after Gina Mundt broke out. Phillips turned a 8.91 on the index while Mundt put up a 8.87.

Tommy Phillips, 8.918 @ 158.51
Gina Mundt, 8.876 @ 159.24

Super Rod(9.90)

Phillips snagged his second Ironman of the evening on yet another gift from Kip Guenzel as he was too fast. Phillips 9.92 was good enough after Guenzel ran a 9.89.

Tommy Phillips, 9.926 @ 145.63
Kip Guenzel, 9.890 @ 151.46

Hot Rod(10.90)

The first or worst rule came into play for the Hot Rod finals when both drivers ran over the index. Deborah Ridenhour’s 10.87 was better than top qualifier, Ray Todd’s 10.86 giving Ridenhour the trophy.

Deborah Ridenhour, 10.878 @ 138.16
Ray Todd, 10.861 @ 130.78

Super Stock

David Latino saw his opportunity for a daily double end early when he went red handing the win to local driver, Cody Blackmon. The overeager Latino was .41 red with Blackmon making a cruise run for the win.

Cody Blackmon, 13.255 @ 70.65
David Latino, 10.345 @ 96.11

Stock

David Latino rebounded in the Stock finals to get the win over Kirk Morgan who went red. Luckily for Latino the red was first as he ran over his dial in with a 10.61 on a 10.67.

David Latino, 10.619 @ 122.35
Kirk Morgan, 11.196 @ 117.68

Electronics

Drag racing can be measured in tenths, hundredths, sometimes even thousandths of seconds, but Phillip Pennington found out it can go even farther when he gave Ryan McDonnell the victory breaking out by 5/10,000th turning a 7.5095 on a 7.51. McDonnell may not have needed the help hitting a .002 light, then running a 7.50 on a 7.49 dial in.

Ryan McDonnell, 7.504 @ 168.67
Phillip Pennington, 7.509 @ 174.42

Footbrake

The Mustang of RJ Doerr got the victory in Footbrake after Rick Hudel went red. Good thing for Doerr who popped a .003 light then ran a 10.67 on a 10.70 dial in and would have broken out.

RJ Doerr, 10.674 @ 123.52
Rick Hudel, 9.492 @ 149.35

Top Eliminator

Ryan McDonnell scored his double dip victory in the Electronics versus Footbrake final event. Doerr went red and broke out, while McDonnell easily rolled it through the top end.

Ryan McDonnell, 8.234 @ 106.99
RJ Doerr, 10.639 @ 124.24

Jr. Dragster

Two youngsters outlasted the 32-car Jr Dragster field to meet in the finals. Kayliegh Scates got the win after Ashley Hubbell went red. Scates still ran a 7.948 on a 7.94 dial in

Kayliegh Scates, 7.948 @ 82.46
Ashley Hubbell, 9.012 @ 72.35

Nitro Jam Pro Class Qualifying

Top Fuel

Bruce Litton, 4.810 @ 296.83
Bobby Lagana jr. 4.859 @ 310.56

Pro Fuel

Mike Manners, Shredder, 5.577 @ 253.09
Cherrisa Smallwood, Nitro & Lace, 6.625 @ 161.06

Bill Evans, Black Pearl, 5.321 @ 268.66
Robin Samsel, Predator, 5.830 @ 241.68

Prostalgia Funny Car

Peter Gallen, Poverty Stricken, 5.904 @ 246.71
John Dunn, Dunn & Gone, 7.463 @ 127. 44

Mark Sanders, Mr Explosive, 5.689 @ 240.64
Jon Capps, Jungle Jim, 5.998 @ 237.22

Rick Krafft, Chicago Fire, 5.838 @ 144.88
Mike McIntire, McAttack, DQ-Center line

Greg Jacobsmeyer, All Star, 6.385 @ 219. 94
Mike Smith, Brand X, 9.576 @ 87.67

Nostalgia Fuel Altered

Jim Maroney, Blind Faith, 6.322 @ 225.56
Ron Maroney, Nanook, 6.515 @ 220.48

Chris Bennett, Pure Heaven, 6.559 @ 165.32
Jason Richey, Pure Hell, 6.976 @ 220.80

Nitro Harley

Randall Andras, 8.282 @ 109.60
Mike Scott, DNR

Steve Dorn, 6.478 @ 199.82
Jay Turner, 6.596 @ 202.61

Jet Dragsters

Jill Canuso, Queen of Hearts, 5.291 @ 296.83
Terry Rosberg, Jersey Thunder, 5.929 @ 267.86

Rob Hall, Airborne Express, 10.085 @ 137.11
Randy Brown, Grave Digger, 8.555 @ 74.15(1/8th mile)

Kent Shockley, Shockwave, 8.107 @ 203.62

Story by JM Hallas
Photos by Larry Crum

LSS Gear - show you really mean business!

You have probably seen this gear on the Lone Star Speedzone staff around the state the past couple of weeks. We have had such a large number of people coming up asking how they can purchase one that we are now making them available here. We are on our second printing already and they are continuing to go fast.

Pick them up now because all the cool kids will be wearing them this racing season!!

We have two great items available


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Athletic cap - gray color (ProFlex fitted sizes M/L available now) $14.95

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Addidas pique polo - black w/white stripes (L & XL available now) $45.00

HRA files papers against San Antonio Raceway - Sanctioning body reportedly owed $764K from San Antonio Raceway

The IHRA has filed papers against Zimmer-Zampese and Associates (a.k.a. San Antonio Raceway) demanding payment of $764,000 allegedly owed for the 2008 national event as well as canceling a ten-year contract with the sanctioning body in Houston Federal Court, this according to a newswire for lawyers.

IHRA President Aaron Polburn was vague in his description of the issue with CompetitionPlus.com citing only, “We are having some issues with San Antonio Raceway.”

Polburn declined any other details of the pending legal case.

CompetitionPlus.com attempted to contact San Antonio Raceway for comment but all calls were directed to voicemail and was unable to leave a message because the mailbox was full.

According to a source close to the situation, Zimmer-Zampese and Associates were given a window of time in which to respond to the request for money and as this story is posted, are still within the legal window in which to do so.

“We have served notice there is money owed to us and it needs to be paid,” Polburn concluded.

Written by Bobby Bennett of CompetitionPlus.Com (http://www.competitionplus.com/)

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