32nd Carquest World Finals
Rockingham, NC (Oct. 11-13th, 2002)
Notes|
Results | Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
IHRA’s 2002 Hooters Drag Racing season series wound up at Rockingham Dragway. By just qualifying for the event, Shannon “Iceman” Jenkins and Jimmy Rector clinched IHRA World Championship titles in Pro Modified and Alcohol Funny Car respectively. The 2002 World Champions in the remaining three IHRA Pro categories, Top Fuel (Clay Millican), Pro Stock (Brian Gahm) and Nitro Harley (Doug Vancil) had already been determined prior to the event.
Clay Millican capped the most dominating season ever seen in Top Fuel racing history when he won for the 11th time in 12 races this season. Millican and his talented Werner Enterprises team beat Bruce Litton’s Lucas Oil dragster in the final round. Incredibly that was the 9th time this season that Millican beat Litton in an IHRA event championship final. Millican’s IHRA World Championship season was his 2nd consecutive. His only round loss of the entire IHRA season came during the previous event (Carquest Presidents Cup Nationals) two weeks before. Millican set low ET of the event at Rockingham during qualifying at 4.762 secs.
IHRA’s marquee “doorslammer” classes, Pro Modified and Pro Stock lived up to their reputation at the event as class racers established the quickest 16-car fields in drag racing history. The Pro Modified show attracted the biggest assembly of cars ever with no fewer then 50 (!) machines attempting qualifying runs. After four rounds of qualifying were complete the bump spot was a phenomenal 6.303 secs which reset the previous all time quickest 6.328 secs mark set at Rockingham in the spring. In fact 15 of the 16 qualified cars were sub 6.3 secs, paced by 2001 World Champion Mike Janis who ran 6.130 secs (low ET). The Pro Modified classes hottest driver, Mitch Stott, won his third event in a row driving the Radiac-sponsored ‘63 Corvette. Stott took that supercharged car past the nitrous-injected Dodge Avenger of Rickie Smith in the final round. Stott’s runner-up finish vaulted him into
2nd place behind Shannon Jenkins in final IHRA Pro Mod World Championship points.
Pro Stock racing was just as exciting with class racers all qualifying sub 6.60 secs for the first time in drag racing. The numbing 6.599 secs bump spot eclipsed 6.626 secs mark set at New England Dragway the previous month. Pro Stock racing was paced surprisingly by veteran class driver Charlie Peppers who hit a superb 6.541 secs driving his ‘02 Mustang. The final round was once again all Ford products with Carl Baker winning his second career IHRA title behind the wheel of the Summit Racing Mercury Cougar. Baker out drove the Ford Probe driven by former IHRA Top Sportsman World Champion Jeff Dobbins in the final round.
Nitro Harley racing saw a first time winner emerge in Mark Cox. Cox was able to beat out local favorite Ray Price in the final round of competition spoiling Price’s scheduled career ending event. Cox won at 6.691 secs to 6.754 secs. Ohio’s Steve Strodeur set both low ET and top speed in the class at 6.292 secs and 221.77 mph which are both new Rockingham Dragway track records.
Saturday’s racing schedule included the 2nd annual Screamin’ Eagle Nitro Harley Shootout event which featured the season’s top eight riders battling for $22,000 in prize money. That final round featured an intra-team battle with Johnny Mancuso facing his racing team mate Steve Stordeur. Mancuso who was the Shootout’s defending 2001 champion, won the title when his final round 6.467 secs at 208.10 mph beat Stordeur’s troubled 8.820 secs at 102.78 mph.
Iowa’s Dale Brand affirmed his strong second place finish in final IHRA Alcohol Funny Car World Championship points by winning for the third time of the season driving his Pontiac Firebird. Brand clicked off low ET of the meet during qualifying at 5.765 secs and then never really looked back. In the final round his 5.847 secs at 235.80 mph easily handled Mark Thomas who was forced to lift when his car got loose. Laurie Cannister, who won her first career IHRA race two weeks earlier at Budds Creek, set top speed of the meet for the breed at 244.07 mph.
IHRA presented it’s Top Stock category at Rockingham which was dominated by Mike Adams and his 427-powered Chevy Camaro. Adams recorded the quickest time ever in the Top Stock class while winning the event, including a 9.847 secs to take the pole. Adams beat the Chevy Camaro of Paul Mercure in the final round 9.862 secs to 10.028 secs. Fourteen Top Stock cars were entered at the event.
