26th Sunoco World Nationals
Aug. 21-24th, 2003, Norwalk, Ohio
Notes |
Results | Photos #1 | Photos #2
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
For the first time in almost 30-years the IHRA presents a full 16-car Top Fuel field. Indiana’s Bruce Litton wins the special affair defeating runaway points leader Clay Millican in the final round of competition. Litton wins the final in the Lucas Oil dragster at 4.938 secs at 294.50 mph while Millican in a rather rare development for his team, blows his motor in the lights. Litton wins the event after placing on the pole with a run of 4.721 secs.
The event includes marquee Top Fuel player Scott Kalitta who enters his first race since the end of the 1999 season. Kalitta runs Norwalk to gather some seat time and prepare for NHRA’s Mac Tools U.S. Nationals next weekend. Kalitta runs the Mac Tools/Wright Brothers dragster which his cousin Doug Kalitta drove earlier this season. Kalitta sets top speed of the meet at 320.28 mph during a round one win but in round two runs off the end of the track after beating Tim Cullinan, causing some damage. That does seem to upset things because Kalitta then smokes his tires and loses to Litton in the semis.
Norwalk’s Alcohol Funny Car program is a record setting affair as for the first time in IHRA history all 16-cars are in the five-second zone (5.973 secs bump). The class also produces a first time winner with New York’s Jim Sickles prevailing driving his Meyer’s RV-backed Dodge Avenger. Sickles, using the tuning expertise of Tom Anderson, KO’s the field after qualifying 4th. He runs both low ET (5.769 secs) and top speed (246.17 mph). Sickles guns down Von Smith in the final round, 5.828 secs to 5.880 secs.
Von Smith does double driving duty at Norwalk. In addition to driving the “Raptor” Dodge Avenger to 2nd place in AFC, Smith also takes his first ever tour of duty driving in the Pro Mod class. Smith is behind the wheel of Roy Hill’s Odoban-sponsored Ford Mustang. Smith qualifies that car 8th with a 6.298 secs and rolls to a semi-final round finish.
Texan Thomas Patterson wins big in Pro Mod over a very fast field driving his supercharged Willys. Patterson’s win is his second career IHRA title and comes when he takes out Quain Stott’s Lee-Boy Corvette in the final round.
Pro Mod class car racing includes a tragedy as veteran competitor Jack O’Dell from Iowa passes away at the track on Saturday. O’Dell does a burnout in his Chevelle but then stops at mid-track for a time before finally idling to the end of the track. He exits the car but then collapses and dies a short time later of a massive heart attack. (Everyone at DragRaceCanada offers it’s sincere condolences to the O’Dell family.)
Billy Harper wheels his nitrous-injected Dodge Viper to the #1 qualified position in Pro Mod when he records the quickest time of his career at 6.226 secs. The pole is the first for the likeable Kentucky-based driver in IHRA competition. Harper takes out Steve Vick in round one but then shakes his tires while racing Von Smith in round two.
Frank “The Flying Meatball” Gugliotta wins his first ever Pro Stock title scoring in the prestigious Sunoco Pro Stock Shootout on Saturday night. Driving his all-new Ford Mustang, Gugliotta slaps a major holeshot on final round opponent Pete Berner (.061 to .291 RT) and wins easily with a 6.581 secs at 211.99 mph. Gugliotta also beat Rick Jones and John Montecalvo in earlier action enroute to the $20,000 payday.
On Sunday it’s Doug Kirk who wins the event Pro Stock title driving the Don Smith-sponsored Ford Mustang. Kirk, using a borrowed engine from Brian Gahm, ends a long winless streak when he gets an easy final round victory over Carl Baker when Baker’s Summit Racing Mercury Cougar breaks shortly after the start.
Tom Rix wins in Top Stock driving his 1970 Buick GS. Rix runs low ET of the event in the final round at 9.854 secs at 132.75 mph to beat the Chevy Camaro of Monty Bogan Jr. Rix’s win comes over the biggest assembly of Top Stock cars so far with 15 cars showing for competition at Norwalk.
Top Fuel racing includes a couple of surprise starters with Tim Gibson, the aerodynamic expert behind John Force’s Funny Car team and former NHRA FC star K.C. Spurlock, both entered at the event. Gibson is driving a special edition “George Thorogood & The Destroyers” themed car while Spurlock is behind the wheel of the Carrier Boyz dragster. Spurlock runs a 4.898 secs to qualify 7th while Gibson gets in on the bump. Both racers however do not advance past round one on Sunday.
Top Dragster class racing is a mind-bender with no less then 69 cars entered in the category. The 48-car field bump spot is a phenomenal 6.939 secs marking the first time in IHRA history that a 48-car field has been all in the “sixes”. Ohio’s Bill Spangler emerges the winner in the class marathon driving his unique nitrous-injected Ford-powered machine.
Pro Mod class highlights include a best career finish for Canada’s Tony Pontieri (from Toronto). Pontieri qualifies his supercharged ‘91 Camaro 6th in the swift field at a career best 6.296 secs and 225.48 mph. Pontieri beats fellow Canadian Carl Spiering in round one before rudely upsetting overall IHRA points leader Mitch Stott in round two at a 6.314 secs at 225.00 mph clip. Unfortunately for Pontieri his car then breaks and he loses out to Mitch’s brother Quain in the semi final round.
