Shakedown Nationals Same Day Coverage From Englishtown

 

You’ve heard this before, “We are down for cleanup.” During last ditch X275 qualifying, and we are behind again. We will be lucky to get the day finished before the 7PM curfew, but rest assured the Raceway Park crew is trying their hearts out to get the show in. Cloudy conditions are greeting fans and racers, so records are possible. Jose Gonzalez is one to watch in round1 of Pro Mod along with Mike Maggio in the high mph PM Camaro, and Tim Lynch in 10.5

 

A crewman for Tom Tarsia’s NY Camaro readies for first round. Tarsia took out Chris Cadotte’s Dodge truck in Heavy Street action.

 

Mitch George soloed for a first round victory when his opponent was a no show. George is another past winner here at Shakedown, but also a crash survivor, when he crashed the Monte Carlo after taking the final round several years ago.

Heavy Street round1 saw Tony Bass score a close win over Steve Wolley in a battle of Novas.

Limited Street racer Scotty Guadagno was having problems running in the 4.70 range Saturday. This was taken before the final attempt Sunday morning. Scotty was hoping for 4.40s, but on this pass got into the field at the #4 spot in the 4.50 zone. He parlayed that into a long run Sunday afternoon/ evening, taking home the gold in Limited Street by taking out a no- show Paul Major who suffered a Friday fire and withdrew, Bill Dutka in round 2, Scott Bitzer in the semi-finals, and Ray Royer Jr in the final.

 

 

Scott Bitzer provided one of the biggest upsets of the day, when he finished off a wheelstanding Frank Soldridge in round 2 of Limited Street. Frank went into a giant wheelie at the 300 foot mark, scraping the bump and having to lift, advancing Bitzer. Here he comes out of the water in his semi final round against eventual winner Scotty G.

Limited Street- Scotty Guadagno took his Brooklyn based nitrous powered Camaro to the winner circle, defeating Ray Royer Jr. Scotty G. turned on the win light with a 4.604/162.49 pass, and Royer trailed at 4.690/165.90.

 

It’s day two at the Shakedown Nationals, and business is about to pick up as the remaining categories, headlined by the supercharged, turbocharged, and nitrous-fed Pro Modifieds and Outlaw 10.5. Three qualifying sessions are on tap today under potentially record-setting conditions, which will set the field for tomorrow’s eliminations.

Dave Hance and Bubba Corzine conduct the drivers meeting prior to Saturday morning qualifying sessions. They were going over procedures for the event and class rotation. NHRA Tech is also onsite to conduct chassis certs if needed.

Tim Lynch matched his testing numbers from MIR during the week. He planned a “see what the track takes” pass, and he legged it out to a #1 4.024/192.96 to pace the Outlaw 10.5 field of 27 cars.

 

John Schroeder waits in the lanes before Heavy Street this morning. He made a nice #2 4.469/164 pass with his 2002 Camaro.

 

 

 

The Shakedown Nationals, the brainchild of David Hance of New York Motorsports and one of doorslammer drag racing’s preeminent events, returns to historic Raceway Park in Englishtown for the 10th year, and once again, some of the heaviest hitters in the sport are expected to to be on hand to battle it out. The cool fall air in New Jersey, combined with the bite in the Old Bridge racing surface, makes for record-setting performances year and in and year out at the now world famous Shakedown, and along with some stout competition, the numbers could be jaw-dropping.

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels. For all of your racing and street/strip tire and wheel needs, look no further than Mickey Thompson!

Rich Bruder has his game face on during X275 action Friday. Rich was 4th best at 4.91/152.21 after 2 hits Friday.

Frank Soldridge launches his 2004 Mustang to the #1 spot in Limited Street. He has almost a tenth of a second on the LS field.

Paul Major had a big fire at the end of Friday’s action. He lost control and hit the wall backwards. Once he came to a stop this fire ensued. It’s doubtful he’ll be able to continue to race this weekend.