We get started this morning with a bracket time trial at nine AM and into heads up eliminations at ten. A large Pro Mod field this weekend will have a second chance race for the non qualified cars so there will be plenty of Outlaw Pro Mod action today to go along with the fabulous Florida weather. Check in with Dragzine for track side updates through the day.
Ken Cruz’ crew member Jon Lucas was prepping the car this morning for Pro Mod after qualifying on the bump last night with a 4.06. The crew includes Ken Cruz and Jon Lucas with Chris Mendola and Bob Newberry tuning.Ruben T. struggled with the car driving left yesterday and was unable to make a clean run. he qualified well below potential with a4.62 and will be racing the second chance Pro Mod field today. They made some adjustments to the chassis so they hope to do a little better today. He lost an engine last month at the Orlando World Street Nationals and has since fitted the car with the engine from his Pro Drag Radial Mustang.Another racer making chassis adjustments this morning was Jimmy Stoupas out of Dunedin, Florida. He qualified twenty-fifth in Pro Mod and also has his daughter running Jr. Dragster here this weekend.The showstopping Corvette is owned and driven by Bob Meiring out of Paqrish, Florida. He is sitting in fifteenth spot in Outlaw 632 and set to face off with Troy Blake in first round. This is the second event for the car after a several year hiatus.Adam Flamholc took delivery of this Pro Extreme style Dodge Viper last night from Dan Nicholson. They are scheduled to test over the next couple of days here with the Jerry Hass built car. Dan had set the quarter mile record earlier this year in the 4.60 range that was only just broken in Vegas a few weeks ago by John Stanley with the Stanley and Wiess racing Camaro.
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After a staging duel with Josh Green Mike Stavrinos got into tire shake early in the run then the car shot sideways and into the opposite retaining wall and burst into flames after crushing the fuel cell. It's scary watching incidents like this when the car is on fire and you can see the driver trying to get the door open. It wasn't a hard hit and Mike was able to get out uninjured, though I am sure he was shaken up a bit. Check out the full sequence in the gallery.
Round One Elimination Results
Nearly every winning pass in Outlaw Pro Mod was in the three second zone. Round two is gonna be some tight racing.
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Brad Personett put up a 3.94 at 197 in his round one match with John Camp in a classic turbo vs. nitrous battle.George Williams put a hole shot on John Vergotz to earn the win with a 4.01 to Vergotz’ 3.99.Jason Harris laid down low ET for this round with a 3.897 at 192 MPH in a win over the red lighting Scott Braskett.Adam Flamholc showed the potential of the Dodge Daytona running a 4.009 at 188 in the B field of Pro Mod in a win over Terry Duffy.Justin Swanstrom will go home early after a loss to Brandon Spires. Swanstrom took the early lead with a .036 reaction but backfired down track allowing Spires to get around him at the top end. That’s a tough loss for Fat Boy Racing.Mike Miller earned a trip to round two by taking out Mike Wabuda’s supercharged 2000 Trans Am with a 5.23 at 134 to Wabuda’s 5.38 at 130.Dave French took a come from behind win over Anthony Masiello in Outlaw 632 running a 4.67 at 153 to Masiello’s 4.84 at 148 after getting beat on the tree.Pete Bairan runs this 67 Chevelle out of Plantation, Florida. he earned a round win over Tim Ray who slowed to a 7.65.Troy Pirez Sr. took a win in OL 632 this round with a 4.626 at just 150 MPH over Bob Alexander.Frank Meshaw took low ET by a wide margin in Pro Drag Radial running a 4.46 at 170 over Mike Freeman who lost traction early. Here Todd Brash from TRZ Motorsports backs Meshaw up into the groove.Sean Ashe led early in his match with Mel Nelson with just .002 separating them at the launch. Nelson’s car coughed down track and he just squeaked by Ashe, taking the win with a 4.721 at 165 to Ahse’s 4.738 at at 157. Ashe has been struggling recently and the ATF team just found a broken plug wire last night to qualify with a 4.73.There several bye runs in round one of Open Outlaw with racers just taking the tree and saving parts. Here Ken Gonyo drives through tire shake to earn the win over Bob Bridges with a 4.43 at 162.Matt Gilmore had a good run putting up a 4.012 at 177 taking the win over Alan Glatt.Troy Pirez Jr. is double entered again this weekend in 7.50 and 6.50 Index. he will move on in both classes with the Sanders/Pirez Racing Mustang.Pat Steele took the win on the tree by a good margin over Vince Costa in 6.50 Index. The 1970 Chevelle has a 509 big Chevy from Scotty Racing Technology and just installed a set of AFCO double adjustable shocks from TRZ Motorsports which calmed the car’s launch considerably.Heather Carter took top qualifier in 5.50 Index earning a first round bye. She put up a 5.524 at 121.Austin Stephens brought out this blown 68 Chevy PU built by NBC Race Cars in Pinellas Park, Florida. He jumped the beam and fouled out but this is the first race for the truck.
Round Two Elimination Results
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We are getting ready to run round two of Outlaw Pro Mod now, just getting the other round results up while I have time.
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Tom Wirth had a single in round two of Open Outlaw after Matt Gilmore could not make the call. He ran a 3.910 at 186 MPH on the solo pass.Melissa Hutson set low ET in eliminations with a 3.789 at 190 earning the round win over Ken Gonyo.Eddie Lykins was dead late in his match with Craig Andrews who put up a 4.20 at 154 while Lykins shut down early.Ricky Smith set low ET this round by just .001 with a 3.911 at 192 taking a win over Chris Patrick’s 4.11 red light start.“The Carolina Kid” Travis Harvey (far lane) is driving for Dobbs Racing this weekend. He faced off with Josh Green in round two coming away with a win with a 3.913 at 190 MPH.
Round Three Elimination Results
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Jimmy Keen (far lane) took the win over Travis Harvey in the semi final of Pro Mod after Harvey was forced to shut it down early. Keen will have lane choice over Ricky Smith in the final.Ricky Smith faced off with number one qualifier Jason Harris who took a big reaction time advantage. Harris clicked it early and slowed to a 4.10 at 149 MPH to Smith’s 3.79 at 190.Adam Flamholc took the semi final Pro Mod B class win in convincing fashion with a 4.04 at 186 over Ruben Tetsoshvili who slowed to a 6.65 at 89.Andrew Handras took his 2004 Cavalier based out of Bethpage, New York to the Pro Mod B Final with a 4.31 at 171.Tom Wirth had an opponent broke bye into the Open Outlaw Final. He laid down a 4.22 at 133.Mark McElwee paired off with Melissa Hutson in the other pair of Open Outlaw. Mark was on the tree but fell off to a 6.45 at 61 MPH while Hutson blasted her way to a 3.76 at 191 for lane choice.Troy Blake has been on a string today in Outlaw 632. His 4.60 at 154 was good for the win over J.R. Atkins and lane choice with James Horvath in the OL 632 final.
Final Results
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Jimmy Keen took another Outlaw Pro Mod win here in Bradenton on a single after Ricky Smith was unable to run the final round. Keen clicked it early to a 4.09 at 148.Adam Flamholc earned the Pro Mod B field win with a fantastic 3.94 at 190 in the final vs. Andrew Handras, who had a game 4.17 at 175, his best run of the day.Tom Wirth took the Open Outlaw win on the tree recording a .021 to Melissa Hutson’s .041. With’s winning 4.78 at 192 was just enough to stay in front of Hutson’s 3.76 at 191.Melissa Hutson, Open Outlaw runner up.Mel Nelson took the Pro Drag Radial win over Frank Meshaw. Nelson is based out of Ft. Myers, Florida and qualified third in class. He left on Meshaw with a.020 reaction and Frank spun the tires early recording a 6.34 at 84 MPH after shutting it down. A 4.61 at 174 was good for the event win. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.Frank Meshaw qualified number one in Pro Drag Radial with his Palm Bay, Florida based 1988 Trans Am. The Nelson Competition, Baskin Truck Sales, TRZ Motorsports, ATF ride has been running well, he is just off a double up win at the Orlando World Street Nationals winning Drag Radial and Heavy Street. Last month here at the Outlaw Drag Race Championships he split with Mel Nelson as both cars could not make the call for the final. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.Troy Blake qualified second in Outlaw 632 with his backhalf 1969 Camaro running a single carb and a plate nitrous system setting low ET of eliminations with a 4.602 in the semi final. He faced off with James Horvath in the final putting up a .004 light and a 4.627 at 155 MPH winning pass. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.Outlaw 632 runner up James Horvath hails from Mirimar, Florida. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.
The Ultra Street final was a battle between number two qualifier Walt Drakeford and number five Eugene Rodriquez. Drakeford put up a .030 reaction going on to run a nice 5.14 at 134 while Rodriquez slowed to a 8.41 shut down run. Real Speed Racing, Induction Solutions and Quick Fuel Technologies in the winner circle again.Dave Marcus Jr. qualified seventh and met with number one man Jim Walter int he final after five rounds of 5.50 Index. His .048 was late at the start but he managed a 5.507 to earn the win. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.Jim Walter, 5.50 Index runner up. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.Troy Pirez Jr. made it another win for 2013 in 6.50 index after meeting up with David Stephens from NBS Race Cars. Troy’s .036 was way ahead of Stephens’ .145 reaction giving him a nice margin to play the stripe winning with a 6.530 at just 100 MPH. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.David Stephens took the 6.50 Index Runner up with his NBS Race Cars built 1967 Chevelle. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.Robert Wilson faced off with number one qualifier Billy Hamilton in 7.50 Index. Wilson and Hamilton are repeat winners here in Bradenton. Wilson was way late virtually handing the win to Hamilton.
The sun is out this weekend and we are looking at potential record high temps here in Bradenton this weekend while much of the country is under snow, ice and cold. There is a whopping 29 Pro Mod cars on the sheet vying for sixteen spots in what is likely going to be a 4.0x field. Oh and we can’t forget the always exciting Jet Jam. Stay tuned to Dragzine.com for the latest updates from Bradenton Motorsports Park.
I caught up with Mike Freeman to get the scoop on his new combination. He has a 430 cubic inch engine from HED topped with Edelbrock SC-1 Glidden heads set up by BES. Jason Gatlin from AFT is doing the engine tuning, trans and converter. The boost is provided by an F1-R Procharger.Cherrissa Smallwood burnt a cylinder last night and the team was changing the cylinder heads this morning. The Nitro and Lace.com team is here for some exhibition runs, one of which will be paired with Melissa Hutson. The Car was built by her father Ron Griffis at his shop ICW Race Cars out of Gainsville, Florida
Round One Qualifying Results
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ODRC runner up Jimmy Keen leads the Outlaw Pro Mod field with a 3.936 at 192 MPH with his 1963 Corvette based out of Parish, Florida.Pittsboro, North Carolina racer Jason Harris sits just behind Keen with a 3.941 at 189 in the Robert Hays built War Bird.Troy Pirez jumped into Outlaw 632 this weekend as the X275 class will not be contested this year. He earned top qualifier after one round with a 4.62 at 157. He said he was bringing the pain to OL 632, so far so good.Multi time event winner Robert Briscoe currently sits in fourth with a 4.67 at 153 in his 1971 Nova based out of Stuart, Florida.The track is sticky today as evidenced by Sherri French losing the sole of her show backing up her husband Dave in their Outlaw 632 Camaro. He sits in fifth with a 4.68 at 153 MPH.Open Outlaw had eight cars show for the first qualifying session with Melissa Hutson leading the pack with a killer 3.767 at 188. She lost the blower belt towards the end of her pass.Mark McElwee sits second with a 3.784 at 196.76 MPH, good for high MPH so far today. Here the crew watches some of the other competitors in class.We have eight cars in Pro Drag Radial this weekend with Frank Meshaw leading after one session with a 4.41 at 176 MPH.Mel Nelson is doing well so far with the suspension upgrades and sits third with high MPH, a 4.537 at 176.78.Scotty G. blew the hood scoop off last night after breaking two rocker arms in testing. He is fourth with a 4.80 at 153 after a soft launch. Scott Husted (far lane) had to shut off early and coasted to a 5.71 for sixth spot.Ultra Street has a nice count with fifteen cars in the class. Gary Price (far lane) leads with a 5.07 at 141 with his 1982 Capri based out of Defuniak Springs, Florida. His 141 MPH pass was good for top speed. Brian Keep sits fifth with a 5.23 at 124 in his flamed out S-10 clicking it early.Repeat winner Walt Drakeford put the Real Speed Racing Mustang in second with a nice 5.11 at 138.
Round Two Qualifying Results
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Billy Glidden has struggled today with his first run getting sideways at the hit. He has yet to make a clean run today.Travis Harvey moved up to second in Outlaw Pro Mod running a 3.94 at 189 in a nice side by side match with Ricky Smith who ran a 3.958, an improvement in ET though he fell one spot to fourth.Scott Braskett made a clean run and moved up to the bump spot with a 4.088 at 179.64Eddie Lykins didn’t make a run in the first session today in Open Outlaw. He moved right into second spot with a 3.783 at 194.80.
Final Qualifying Results
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Jason Harris turned it for the final round of qualifying landing the top qualifier with a 3.84 at 193.59. Looks like the new carbon fiber wheelie bars from MVM are doing their job.Harris was paired with Doug Horween who got loose early and nosed it into the wall, bursting the fuel cell and causing a small fire. He was out quickly and is ok, however the car will need significant work to repair the front end.George Williams is the last car in the fours with a 3.992 at 187.Rob Wells made it in with a 4.03 at 198.76 earning top mile per hour in Outlaw Pro Mod. he just recently switched to alcohol and the big tires and is making some real progress with the changes.It was not a good day for Billy Glidden, he turned left immediately at the hit on his first pass, didn’t get a good run in the second session and this was the result in the final session. It’s rare Glidden goes home this early but it happens to the best of them every now and then.Troy Blake bumped Pirez to third in the final session of Outlaw 632 with a 4.595 at 155.J.R. Atkins is based out of Lakeland, Florida with this stick shifted Mustang in OL 632. He made it to the finals here recently and is qualified sixth with a 4.686 at 149.One car I haven’t seen in a while is this Mustang driven by Tony Lobaldo, he is on the bump with a 4.89.Ryan Thorpe got his car straightened out thanks to Hooked up and Gone Race Cars and the performance of the Fast Forward Race Engines big Chevy is showing with a 4.68 at 152.
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They don't call it the Jet Jam for nothing with Bob Motz, the Larsen Motorsports crew and The Wicked Willys here this weekend for some fine entertainment. The jet cars pack the stands and we had a great turnout today.
While much of the racing world is in full-on hibernation mode and still drifting in and out of a post-Thanksgiving feast food coma, the racing marches on in the sunshine state of Florida, and once again, the Bradenton Motorsports Park is playing host to the annual rite of drag racing passage known as the Snowbird Nationals, featuring Pro Mod, Open Outlaw, Pro Drag Radial, and a whole pile of racing and exhibition categories.
Friday kicks off the Snowbird Nationals with a day of testing. Here Adam Flamholc heats the tires before his first pass since a terrible crash earlier this year at St Louis’ NHRA AAA Insurance Nationals. The Camaro was destroyed int he crash and this is the replacement. Certainly a fine choice. He clicked it early on this run after a very nice 60′ then getting some tire shake.I spoke with Tommy D’April about what’s what for Mel Bush Motorsports and the now sinister black Impala. They are here testing the car in ¼ mile trim and plan to run this car as an NHRA legal Pro Mod next year with the Corvette being set up for Outlaw style events.Robert Abbott is running his 69 Camaro in Pro Mod this weekend with a new Hemi from Todd Tutterow set between the rails. His first run today netted a run in the low 4.0 range in a side by side run with Mike Stavrinos.Randy Auwarter owns this Mustang and is here running Outlaw Drag Radial. Conrad Scarry had tested earlier this year at the NMRA Spring Break Shootout tearing up the right side in a brush with the wall. New fenders, some minor chassis repairs and a fresh coat of paint have it ready to rock. The engine is a 449 cubic inch small block Ford built by Tony Barker and fed by a pair of 88 MM turbos. Mississippi’s own Kyle Magginson will be driving this weekend with power transferred by an ATF glide. Sponsors include Tailsport, ATF and Mickey Thompson. From left to right, Keith Auwarter, Kyle Magginson and Randy Auwarter with Ashton Magginson in front.Jimmy Keen got right down broadway with a clean 3.96 at 190 MPH.Mike Freeman is back at it with a new engine and an F1-R Procharger on board. I caught up with Mike in the pits as Jason Gatlin was on hand assisting on the computer. He is running Pro Drag Radial this weekend, using this event as a test session as the car is set up to run X275.The Witch Doctor altered carried the wheels out a little ways, you don’t see that too often. The car is entered in Open Outlaw this weekend.
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George Williams is fresh off his Pro Street runner up at the Orlando World Street Nationals just a month ago. The team is doing maintenance on the car today and getting it set up for eighth mile.
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Mel Nelson's Pro Drag Radial Camaro is fresh out of Chassis Engineering where Clayton Murphy backhalfed the car and installed a 4-link. The results showed right away as the first hit was a clean 4.53 at 178 MPH. The team has been struggling recently with keeping the car hooked up down track with the stock style suspension, which can be especially finicky.
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Todd Moyer and Lamar Swindall made the trek from Texas to compete in the Pro Mod class which has well over 20 cars this weekend. Todd Moyer shown.Dan Saitz brought his Pro Street/Pro Mod Ford Probe down for some testing and racing. It’s been about three years since he has campaigned this car which is sporting fresh paint and a new big block engine. This is the third or fourth race after completing the upgrades late this year.
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Scotty Gaudagno was on a nice run but a late run backfire blew the scoop into the sky. I'll check on the Jet Blue crew for a damage report later. Scott Queesenberry torched a head on number seven cylinder this evening and the damage is severe enough they are done for the weekend. The head is burnt and welded itself to the head stud negating any efforts to remove it in the car.George Williams made two runs tonight. The last of which was a nice 4.01 making crew chief Mike Hill somewhat happy. Look for Williams to step it upsome in Saturday’s qualifying.Some routine preventative maintenance going on in the Jason Harris pits. fresh bearings, rings and two new pistons are going back in.
