Blue skies and sunshine are the order of the day here for eliminations here in Bradenton Florida. The starting line is on point and the new surface is wearing in as the hours go by with fresh rubber getting put down. Check in through the day for updates of the 2013 Outlaw Drag Racing Championship.
Bob Walsh (near lane) and Denise Sosa are here at their home track with Sosa pulling a nice .044 reaction time and earning the win as Walsh broke out trying to catch up.Number two qualifier in 6.50 Index Troy Pirez met with John Fernandez in round one. Fernandez was .007 early ending his day early. Pirez is running 7.50 Index as well and is moving on to round two in both classes.Charles Hull was half the first pair out in X275 this morning. He put down a 4.74 at 152 MPH to take the win and will need to work on his reaction time as the rounds go on.Eric Kenward launched hard in his match with Billy “Ticket Taker” Driscoll though Driscoll’s car is obscured by the Malibu he went up as well. Driscoll pedaled the car but it bounced high and came down hard near 150 feet out ending his day.Will Stevenson is no joke this weekend in Pro Drag Radial setting low ET in round one eliminations with a fine 4.37 at 173 MPH on his earned single.Frank Meshaw set high MPH running a 4.55 at 173.84 winning his match with Chris Tedeschi. here Kevin Smith (in front) and Eric Kenward get him backed up into the grove.Justin Swanstrom was first out and low ET for round one of Ultra Street putting up a 5.11 at 139.81 on a number one qualifier single.Mike Miller and Jeff Gibbud had the closest race in this round of Ultra Street with Miller getting the win with a 5.26 at 137 to Gibbud’s 5.31 at 134.Brian Keep is helping out and tuning on Cliff Connolly’s Thunderbird this weekend and it’s coming around nicely. Here Keep puts him in the beams for his winning match with Matt Schiano.Dave Boger (far lane) pulled a holeshot upset over Dave French in Outlaw 632 running a 4.82 at 149 after qualifying fourteenth. French was off pace from his qualifying ET running a 4.80 at 147.Rodney Campbell (near lane) made the call this morning and will advance to round two after a win over Ray DeGiovine.Josh Klugger made his first three second pass in Pro Mod today posting a 3.984 at 195.99 taking the round over Chris Russo.Jimmy Keen ripped off low ET in round one of Outlaw Pro Mod with a 3.931 at 195.99 MPH earning the win over Doug Horween who lost the blower belt at the hit.Robert Sellers piloted his Plymouth Fury to a round win over Kenny Burgess running a 4.22 at 181.
Melissa Hutson sat out two rounds of qualifying yesterday and was eighth qualifier in Open Outlaw where she met with Mark McElwee for the first pair out today. Her .016 reaction earned her the win, her 3.803 to McElwee’s quicker 3.750.
Craig Andrews laid down a new personal best 4.177 at 155 in his win over Scott Rini. They will be looking to get into the 4.0’s today.
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Round Two Results
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Chris Patrick (near lane) got the better of Josh Klugger in the Pro Mod semi final after near identical reaction times. Patrick put up a 3.95 to Klugger’s very game 4.008 at 197.10 to earn top MPH of the event.Jimmy Keen and Michael Iania were the other pair left in Outlaw Pro Mod. Keen got the win running a 3.97 at 198 to Iania’s 4.97 at 139 shut down run.
Final Results
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“Superstock” Bob DeMilt (near lane) works the water box here at Bradenton Motorsports Park but was off Saturday and Sunday to compete in 7.50 Index where he met with multi- time Bradneton event winner Robert Wilson. The all Chevy battle had Wilson out first with a .061 light and going on to earn the win. This is Bob’s first final round appearance here at Bradenton.Troy Pirez Jr. waded through three rounds of 7.50 Index before losing and four rounds of 6.50 where he met with Ed Wester who races out of the Real Speed Racing camp. Pirez went .009 on the tree to Wester’s .089 making it easy at the stripe running a 6.52 as Wester broke out with a 6.48. Troy has been racking up wins and final round appearances in the Pirez/Sanders Mustang all year.
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The top two 5.50 Index qualifiers met in the final with Steve Tiona getting the starting line advantage in his 58 Corvette over number one man Carl Mitchell. At the stripe is was Tiona by just .023. Steve Tiona photo courtesy Bryan Epps. The 5.90 index Motorcycle class had nine entries this weekend coming down to the legendary Roy Haggadorn and Mike Mocny on a pair of Suzuki based out of Venice. Florida. Haggadorn (pictured right) went .014 to Mocny’s .028 going on to earn the win by .015. Photo courtesy Byran Epps.
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8.90 Jr Dragster top qualifier Colton Evans met with Raul Meza in the finals going .044 to Meza's .079 reaction. He would go on to win with his 2000 Jegster based out of Myakka, Florida. Photos courtesy Bryan Epps. Ultra Street saw one and two in the final with local rivals Justin Swanstrom (near lane) meeting with Walter Drakeford. They were battling all weekend with Drakeford setting low ET in his round two win over Jams Binns’ s-10 Chevy with a 5.102. In the semi’s they both ran identical 5.109’s with Swanstrom getting lane choice by MPH. Walt went red by just .007 in the final and they both ran it out the back for bragging rights. Swanstrom would come away with the win in “Hand me Down” though Team Fat Boy Racing has some work to do as it burnt up on the pass.The X275 final started well with just .010 separating them on the tree but it soon turned into a pedal fest with Charles Hull recovering first running 5.485 at 145.67 to Eric Kenward’s oh so close 5.511 at 139.66.
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The Pro Drag Radial final was split as both competitors were broken. Frank Meshaw and Will Stevenson swapped low ET through qualifying and eliminations but Meshaw found some broken rockers after round two and Stevenson broke a blower pulley. Rodney Campbell and J.R. Atkins (near lane) met in the final of Outlaw 632 in what is Atkins’ first final round appearance in some time. Unfortunately he was dead late with a .209 reaction allowing Campbell too much room to catch. Campbell earned the win with the holeshot running a 4.786 to Atkins’ quicker 4.748.Melissa Hutson had luck go her way this weekend winding up in the winner circle after qualifying eighth. Severe tire shake in qualifying had the team making repairs the rest of the Saturday but she ran a 3.80 and a 3.81 today making it to the final with Matt Gilmore who could not make the call after breaking a pushrod taking out Bob Bridges with a 4.06 in the semis. She took the tree for the win and shut it down. Photo courtesy Bryan Epps.After just seven runs on the new car Robert Abbott is making progress running a 4.17 ay 177 in a round two loss to Josh Klugger. The team is very pleased with their performance this weekend.The final pair down this weekend would be the top two qualifiers in Outlaw Pro Mod, Jimmy Keen and Chris Patrick in an all nitrous final round. Patrick took the lead early by .005 going on to a 3.972 at 190.88 as Keen shook some early and moved right, slowing to a 4.25 at 173.Chris Patrick was driving for Robert Mathis this weekend and the team took this one home for Kevin Bowen, a long time friend and Pro Nitrous crew chief for Bob Rahaim. Kevin was a big help to this team as well and will be sorely missed by the community. He died in a single car accident coming home for a long weekend at the track near his home in Roxboro, North Carolina earlier this month.
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We have near perfect weather this weekend in Bradenton this weekend after a difficult summer that saw several events here and across the southeast were victimized by inclement weather. Temps should reach near 80 today with three qualifying sessions on the schedule. Stay tuned through the day for the latest updates.
Jeff Gibbud debut his new X275/Ultra Street Mustang this weekend out of the Real Speed shop in Clearwater, Florida. It’s got a small Ford on nitrous from Induction Solutions on board for power adder and has been nearly a four year project for Jeff and Team Real Speed.Team Fat Boy Racing is rolling two cars deep with Justin “Lil Country” Swanstrom pulling double duty in X275 and Ultimate Street with “Hand me Down”. Justin and father Corey just got this one back together after installing a fresh engine Thursday. Today marks the first runs since as Justin also plays high school football and wasn’t able to test here Friday.Team Pirez is here this weekend with it’s own two car threat. Troy Sr. pulled a 4.81 this morning and is working some issues out after some changes late this week. Troy Jr. is running 7.50 and 6.50 index with the Pirez/Sanders Racing fox.Candido Sanchez and crew were making a gear change this morning in the Pro Drag Radial Camaro looking to tame the car down after testing last night.Robert Coady from Catagory 5 Race Cars is featuring new beadlocks this weekend along with his pro style jack system. The beadlocks are a new item from the shop.Charles Hull hails out of Georgia and debut this car just last month at No Mercy IIII. It features a 400 ci Bennett Racing small block Ford tuned by John Kolivas and fed by a large frame 88 Precision turbo and backed by a Keith Neal powerglide. Wade Hopkins’ Southern Speed out of Tupelo Mississippi did the chassis. His best run was last weekend at Holly Springs with a 4.58 at 156 MPH, last night he laid down a 4.74 at 154 and several clean straight runs.
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Don Lamana has been running his new car for a couple of months now out of the Pro Fab Performance Plus shop in New Port Richey, Florida. It has a 430 cubic inch Pro Line Racing small Ford with TFS R heads fed by a mid frame Garrett turbo. The car has been in the 5.0 range in X275 trim. The team swapped the AR housing for this weekend which should allow the engine to build boost sooner. The change earned the team it’s first four second pass with the car in last night’s session.
Round One Qualifying Results
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Sean Knighton broke the rear on his X275 Mustang and was unable to make the call for round one qualifying. Troy Pirez sits number one with a 4.82 at 150.Frank Meshaw was the only car to make a good run in Pro Drag Radial and leads the field with a 4.503 ay 172 MPH.Jason Carlton is here this weekend and is qualified ninth in Outlaw Pro Mod with a 4.37 at 132. He was out of shape down track and the car started to wiggle some and he shut it down safely.Jimmy Keen sits third in Pro Mod with a 4.12 at 194 MPH behind Josh Klugger and top qualifier Chris Patrick.Rob Wells is doing well after a switch to big tires and alcohol. The Ford Speed Racing entry saw some dyno time just last week at the shop, his 4.200 at 178 earned fifth after one session.Mark McElwee put his Port St. Lucie based 2005 Iron Man dragster on the Open Outlaw pole running a 3.74 at 193 MPH.Open Outlaw champion Matt Gilmore put up a 3.86 at 186 for second.Melissa Hutson was one of many racers struggling with a tight starting line today. Her 2010 Spitzer basically shook the tires at the hit.
Round Two Qualifying Results
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Troy Pirez (far lane) paired up with Tony Alm in the second session of X275. Alm’s single turbo small block bumped Pirez to second with a nice 4.775 at 152.41.Charles Hull (far lane) moved up to third running a 4.828 at 151.59 moving up to third, Marasco was unable to improve on his earlier 5.033 this round.Corey Swanstrom is workin out on Walt Drakefords car in preparation for their third round match race with his son Justin next session. They sit one and two in Ultra Street, Swanstrom has the advantage.Cliff Connolly is getting a handle on his 1988 T Bird qualifying fourth with a 5.19 at 134 for the Naples, Florida resident.Will Stevenson landed second in Pro Drag Radial after two rounds with a 4.588 at 168 for the Procharged Steve Morris powered 84 Camaro.Lakeland, Florida based J.R. Atkins was bumped to second by Rob Briscoe in this session of Outlaw 632. Atkins runs a manual trans and as you can see it hits the tire hard.Anthony Masieko sits on the bump with his new and refurbished car which was campaigned most recently by Jesse James in NMCA Super Street 10.5W and several races here. Masieko is starting out in Outlaw 632 and made his first nitrous runs on the car today.Bob Meiring dusted off their 63 Vette and came out to race OL 632. He is qualified eleventh with this stunner classic ChevyChris Patrick sits number one in Outlaw Pro Mod laying down a 3.909 at 193 driving for Robert Mathis this weekend.Robert Sellers swapped out his Avenger for this 58 Fury a while back and is starting to get the bug worked out. His 4.32 was good for eight in class so far.Klugger is chipping away running a 4.006 at 195 this round, just so close to his first three second run.Pro Lite Batteries team mate Ruben Tetsoshvili is running his Pro Mod Camaro this weekend and sits eleventh after two rounds of Pro Mod qualifying.Robert Abbott’s new ride is looking good out there so far. His 4.205 this round puts him sixth of sixteen cars.Troy Blake stayed in Pro Mod despite the small tires to get some testing in. He has not had a full hit today, the car made a move right on this run clicking it to a 5.73.Ken Cruz blew the burst panel on this run but is qualified fourth with a 4.143 from the first session.
Jason Carlton was on a good run till the tires let go near half track. The Celica was out of shape before Carlton could react, crossing the center and nosing into the opposite wall near 800 feet out before coming to a rest just past the quarter mile. He was out of the car quickly and was not injured in the crash. Thanks to Hans Pierre Jr. from Free Life Films for the use of the video.
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Final Qualifying Results
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Troy Pirez turned it up for the final session of X275 setting a new personal best and taking the top position with a 4.657 at 148.73 MPH. Check out the video courtesy of Hans Pierre Jr., the old girl was truckin’ for sure.
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Eric Kenward was struggling this weekend keeping the front down and the rear hooked on his Garrett turbocharged Malibu. He went straight down running a 4.87 at 149 taking over fourth in X275.Billy Driscoll carried out a nice wheelie in the final session though was unable to improve on his earlier 4.92.Carl Mitchell bumped Tiona to second in 5.50 Index running a perfect 5.000 at 126 MPH with his Miami based 1978 Zephyr.Neal Watkins is a crowd pleaser in this full weight El Camino. This one got up there pretty good, he sits tenth with a 5.685 at 122 in 5.50 Index.Drakeford and Swanstrom lined up for a little grudge action in the final session. Drakeford took it on a holeshot, his 5.143 at 134 to Swanstrom’s quicker 5.139 at 139.Will Stevenson took over the top qualifier in Pro Drag Radial running a 4.495 at 172.18 MPH.Rodney Campbell squeaked in under J.R. Atkins running a 4.623 at 146 for top qualifier in Outlaw 632. He paid a price though as the team was replacing a piston in the pits tonight.Jimmy Keen improved to first in Outlaw Pro Mod but suffered the same fate as Campbell and the team went to work after qualifying to make repairs.
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The Outlaw Drag Racing Championships returns to sunny Florida and the Bradenton Motorsports Park, once again featuring a stacked lineup card of racers and racing machines, from Pro Modified to Open Outlaw, Pro Drag Radial to X275, Outlaw 632, and Ultra Street. We’ll be in the house as we do each and every year at this late season heads-up bash to bring you live same day coverage, so check in and check in often!
Bradenton Motorsports Park resurfaced the track recently and it is looking and working well. This is the first major event here since the work which also includes new scoreboards, updated timing system and a fresh look for the staging lanes.Scott Halstead is the crew chief for Robert Abbott and they are will debut a new Pro Mod this weekend using the PSI screw blown big Chevy from the 2002 Outlaw 10.5 Camaro. This 1969 Camaro will make is maiden voyage later this afternoon.Pete Dearmas has purchased this 2002 Pontiac Firebird out of Texas and will be running Outlaw 632 this weekend. The car had been run with a single turbo small block out west and is now fitted with a Reher Morrison 622 with two nitrous systems. Pete will be making his first nitrous runs on the car today.Richard Ness recently finished up this Mustang for his brother Mark. He is running a 421 cubic inch small Chevy purchased from 5.50 Index racer Ryan Thorpe and is also competing in OL 632 this weekend so Mark can get some seat time in the new car. Once the car is dialed in Mark will be running Ultimate Street or X275.Tim Maupin and John Burgess form Florida Performance is vending this weekend and will have nitrous refills, fuel, tools and safety equipment this weekend as well as providing tire service with Mickey Thompson products.Bradenton has adopted Pro Drag Radial under similar rules to the ADRL’s class and regular 10.5 racer Troy Blake has some 29.5 slicks bolted on his Procharged Camaro to give it a shot on the small tires. He is still sporting the sissy bars on the back till they get is worked out and has entered Pro Mod at this time though that may change this evening after testing.Robert Abbott is looking good so far with the new Pro Mod Camaro running a 4.36 at 144 MPH this afternoon on I believe the second or third run.Sean Knighton has some some improvements to his Mustang over the past few months including a new transmission and converter. He has been making clean runs all day with the last one a 5.12. He is running X275 this weekend.Dave French ran well with his OL 632 Camaro this afternoon recording a 4.71 and a 4.67 at 145 on this pass. French runs a Nelson Competition big Chevy with Induction Solutions nitrous systems.Local Outlaw 10.5 racer Rob Wells made some changed to his car and is running Outlaw Pro Mod this weekend sporting some fresh new Pro Mod size tires out back. We will talk with Wells later about any future plans in this configuration. Steve Cooks puts him in the beams here.Kenny Gonyo drives this blown dragster in Open Outlaw putting up some 4.30’s so far today. The team will be looking for more tonight and during qualifying on Saturday.
Archie Marasco is running well since the Procharger swap putting up a 5.01 earlier this afternoon. Team Real Speed has at least four cars here this weekend.Mike Miller runs out of the Ford Speed Racing camp in Ultimate Street with Joe Bonczek crewing.This is Josh Klugger’s first weekend behind the Fiscus/Klugger Racing Pro Modified. His first run in the car last night was a 4.001 at 197 MPH. he ran at least more more in the 4.0’s today and the team is concentrating on clean hits and Josh getting comfortable.Aaron Gramer made some clean hits, then after the session went to work making a converter change on the Tarpon Springs based Mustang.
