ADRL “Battle For The Belts” Champions Crowned In Qatar

On Friday, the Arabian Drag Racing League closed the curtain on an exciting and record-breaking second season at the Qatar Racing Club in Doha, Qatar as four drivers were crowned champions in their respective categories in the winner-take-all “Battle For The Belts.”

No one dominated the eight race series quite like Pro Nitrous champion Khalid Al Balooshi, who downed teammate Shannon Jenkins in the championship round with a killer 3.786 at 199.70 miles per hour. With the win, Balooshi earned a $100,000 payday with the win, and combined with the $50,000 for winning the points title and $20,000 bonus for closing out the year with the elapsed time and speed records in hand, walked away with $170,000; the most lucrative win in doorslammer history.

“I want to thank everyone on my team and to Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani for giving me the opportunity to do what I love,” Al-Balooshi said.

Balooshi earned a bye into the semfinals based on his top seed position and opened the second round with a stout 3.783 at 199 miles per hour against Mahanna Al-Naimi. On the other side of the ladder, the “Iceman” laid down a 3.80 against Isaias Rojas, but pulled the trigger too early in the final, handing the win to Balooshi.

Von Smith, who struggled for much of the season, put it all together just when he needed it, finding his way to the Pro Extreme Battle For The Belts final, besting teammate Todd Tutterow with a 3.65 at 209.92 count. Smith and his Barwa Racing team used consistency and hole shots to outwit their competitors – including a 212.83 mile per hour blast  by Matt smith in the opening round – to earn the $100,000 check and the gold belt.

Smith and Tutterow were hardly the favorites in the contest against the crushing performances seen all season from Smith, Alex Hossler, and points champ J.R. Todd. But Tutterow used hole shots to down Frankie Taylor in the opening round and Matt Smith in the semi’s, while Smith bested Joshua Hernandez in round one and used a holshot-aided 3.64 to send Todd packing in the semis.

Following up his initial ADRL success and serving notice to the competition stateside, Extreme 10.5 champ Dan Millen earned a second title to wrap up a dominating season by besting fellow American and 2010 Pro Extreme champion Frankie Taylor. Millen dropped a 3.80-second, 204.29 mile per hour blast on Taylor, who was right there with a game 3.879 in the quickest side-by-side Extreme 10.5 race in history. Millen netted $50,000 for the Belts title that combined with his $25,000 bonus for the points title and $5,000 for his record performances to total an impressive $80,000 for the weekend.

The slowest of Millen’s two eliminations passes was a 3.811 against David Hance that set up the epic battle with Taylor.

Terry Schweigert came into the Battle For The Belts as the top seed in Pro Extreme Motorcycle and did everything he could to earn the Belts title. That is, except leaving the starting line first. Schweigert had the quickest elapsed time in the final (4.137) and speed (173.61) but couldn’t run down the quicker reaction time of Meshal Al-Saber, who captured the $50,000 purse in upset fashion.

Schweigert had posted the low elapsed time of the race in the semifinals with a 4.117 defeat of Matt Smith that placed him in the final, while Al-Saber defeated T.T. Jones and Rob Hunnicut to advance to the championship bout. With the Arabian Drag Racing League series bookended, it’s American racers and teams will pack up and head back stateside, where the 2011 ADRL season kicks off in just over a month at the Royal Purple Raceway in Houston on March 25-26.