2nd SummitRacing.com Nationals
Las Vegas, NV. (Apr. 5-8th)
Notes| Results
| Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
Bernstein Family and sponsor Budweiser are in ecstasy after Las
Vegas event as both Kenny Bernstein and his son Brandon find victory
lane. Kenny wins SummitRacing.com Nationals Top Fuel title for the second
year in a row with and amazingly quick and consistent outing. He and
his new crew chief Tim Richards serve up nothing but 4.5 seconds ETs
on each and every lap throughout the event! That includes both low ET
and top speed at 4.522 secs and 325.61 mph (both career bests). Son
Brandon wins in FMD driving for car owner Jerry Darien. Brandon wheels
that injected-nitro car past Mark Hentges in the final round. Brandon
is being groomed to replace his father in the "Bud King" Top
Fuel cockpit likely beginning in 2002.
FC field at Las Vegas is for the fourth time this season the quickest
in NHRA history. Bump spot is dropped to a 4.958 secs which eclipses
the 4.960 secs set at rained out and yet to be completed Gainesville
(Mac Tools Gatornationals.) Final round sees Tommy Johnson Jr. win for
the first time as driver for Don Prudhomme's Skoal Racing team. T.J.
starts eliminations with his "blue" car but after teamate
Ron Capps is eliminated in round one finishes the event in the more
advantageous "green" bodied Chevy Camaro. Johnson Jr. outguns
Whit Bazemore in the final round. R/U is Bazemore's best finish so far
as driver of the Schumacher Racing Firebird.
Jim Yates, driving new Splitfire '01 Pontiac appears to have the Pro
Stock field covered right up to the final round. Yates has low ET and
top speed during qualifying and rampages through early eliminations
but then loses to defending Winston World Champion Jeg Coughlin Jr.
in the trophy dash. Once again Coughlin's driving skills are the difference.
Jeg cuts a .436 RT which makes his 6.956 secs a winner over Yates's
quicker 6.940 secs.
Canada's Bryon Setters claims his first NHRA national event win in
Super Stock eliminator. Setters ambushed the field after qualifying
his GT/DA '96 Camaro 30th with a .878 secs under the index run. Setters,
who is a former NHRA Division Six points champ, takes the measure of
former NHRA World Champion Dan Fletcher in the final round. Both drivers
break out -- but it's Byron by the least 10.131 secs (10.14).
Competition eliminator features wild new Pro Mod Viper (A/PM) driven
by Dennis Radford from Oregon. Radford is driving the ex Shannon Jenkins/Billy
Harper machine which ran in IHRA last season. Radford is a huge fan
favourite and qualifies the nitrous-injected machine 4th in Comp with
a 6.488 secs before losing out in round two. Ultimately it is Jeff Taylor
who emerges victorious driving mechanical marvel C/AA '01 Grand-Am owned
by Arnie Martel. Taylor beats a red-lighting Jeff Lane in the final
round.
Most serious incident of event comes in Funny Car when Al Hofmann endures
a wild high-speed explosion during Saturday's third qualifying session.
Hofmann has a big blazer in the Mooneyes car driving for Jim Dunn and
gets the car stopped but not before striking a glancing blow to the
NHRA safety truck which was in hot pursuit. High dollar new Pontiac
body is junk but Hofmann makes repairs in time for round one eliminations
on Sunday.
NHRA just misses out on the international headlines it very much desires
when Australia's Andrew Cowin places runner-up in Top Fuel. 21-year
old just misses his first career NHRA event win driving the K&N
Filters dragster. Cowin gets out first on Kenny Bernstein in the final
round but his 4.615 secs at 322.73 mph falls just short of "King
Kenny's" quicker 4.533 secs.
Bob Panella scores in Pro Stock Truck driving his Chevy S-10. Panella
beats recent hot shoe Greg Stanfield in a final round showdown. Stanfield
had qualified on the PST pole with a 7.595 secs but Panella runs low
ET of the meet at 7.531 during eliminations enroute to the victory.
Terry Sherrill crashes his popular SS/AM '57 Corvette during Super
Stock qualifying. Sherrill, who is from Oregon, goes on his head and
heavily damages the familiar car but thankfully he is not injured.
Bucky Austin is a winner in the hard fought FMFC program. Austin tops
Larry Miner in the final round 5.789 secs to 5.833 secs. Bucky has to
also take the measure of his nephew Pat Austin in the semi final round.
Pat rolls through the beams and goes .358 red making Bucky's 5.768 secs
at 246.93 mph an easy winner. Austin also has low ET in the class at
5.749 secs -- runner-up Miner sets top speed at 249.49 mph.
Top Fuel eliminations includes some big time round one upsets. The
names Gary Scelzi, Doug Kalitta and Tony Schumacher are all sent packing
after the initial frame.
