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Pro Extreme at Dragpalooza IV
Text by Danny White ~ Photos by Gena White
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| Josh Hernandez won the ADRL Pro Extreme for sponsor National Guard in their first race backing the Dave Wood & Tommy Lipar Rage team. Jim Oddy has taken over the tuning of the car from Harold Moon with help from his son. The team
qualified number four with a 3.9045 192.36. Hernandez ran beat Gaylen Smith with a 3.948 191.89 in the first round. Josh ran his best of the weekend with a 3.906 193.02 to beat Michael Neal. In the semis he took out the Junkyard Willys with a 3.959 190.96. In the finals Hernandez defeated underdog Steve Wiley
3.963 191.57 to the pedaling 4.409 163.95 of Wiley. |
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| Steve Wiley had the best racing weekend of his career. Wiley not only made it to the finals before falling to Josh Hernandez, he ran his best ever times in his short Pro Extreme career. The former Pro Street racer ran his first ever 4.0 with a 4.098 178.02 in qualifying. Wiley ran 4.062 179.32 to beat Wes Johnston in the first round. Wiley caught a break in the second round when Bubba Stanton red lighted. Wiley and Gene Hector got into pedal fest with Wiley's holeshot 5.74 beating the 5.71 of Hector. In the finals Wiley's 4.409 163.93 could not beat the 3.963 191.57 of Josh Hernandez. |
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| Travis Swearingen entered the Dragpalooza VI race with a new screw blower combination. The team ran 4.01 in testing at Northstar Raceway in Denton the week before. The cold track made it tough for the team, Swearingen ran 4.05 178.92. Swearingen got past alternate Shane Davis in the first round and Jason Scruggs in the second round. Swearingen ran 4.002 176.40 to Hernandez's better 3.959 190.46. |
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| Gene Hector made it to the semi-finals at Baytown with the killer small block
Corvette that used to be owned by Jason Scruggs. The black suede Corvette ran
3.980 184.83 to qualify number six. The Brodix built Chevy provided Gene Hector
his first three-second run. Hector ran another three in the first round with a
3.978 183.82 to beat Joe Baker. Hector won the second round in weird non-race, Hugh Scott broke and Hector broke on the burnout not making the runs. Thankfully, he was allowed to continue on. The good luck ran out in the semis when he lost in a pedalfest to Steve Wiley. |
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| Bubba Stanton earned the second spot with a great 3.858 197.88 in Roger Henson's Widowmaker Corvette. Stanton caught a break when Billy Gibson could not start the Headhunter. Stanton red lighted in the second round against Steve Wiley. |
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| Hugh Scott raised eyebrows when he crossed the centerline in the first round of
qualifying on two wheels! Scott came back to run 4.364 132.87 to get into the
field. Scott beat Wesley Jones in the first round but broke on the run leaving him unable to return. |
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| Michael Neal ran his first ever three at Baytown with a 3.98 184.83 run in the
family's Lumina. Despite a major oil leak in the first round to defeat Don Wooton, Neal made it back for the second round. Neal's 4.098 175.23 was beat by
Hernandez in the semis. |
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| Jason Scruggs looked to be the favorite going in to the race at Baytown. The 3.768 205.47 run did little to help the esteem of his fellow racers, much less when he smoked the tires while doing it! In the first round Scruggs easily beat Bill Douchet with a 3.864 203.89 that backed up the earlier run for a speed record. In the second round, Scruggs was upset by Travis Swearingen when he ran an off pace 4.14. |
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| Wes Johnston had an up and down weekend, he was shut off on the first qualifier
against Hugh Scott. He returned to run a 3.999 to get into the field. In the first round Johnston got crossed up getting near the wall. The car was so damaged that it crossed the line at an angle due to a broken 4 link. |
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| Bill Doucet also made his ADRL debut in his black flamed Corvette. The Louisiana based team struggled to run a 4.469 for the final spot. Doucet fell to
Jason Scruggs in the first round with a distant 4.544. |
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| Chris Smith was looking to run his first ever three at Baytown. The Smith Bros.' All Jacked Up team ran an 4.137 187 best at their home track. The team broke the car on the pass and was unable to continue racing. |
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| Gaylen Smith was only in his second race ever with his new Texas Bounty Hunter
Cuda out of the House of Hot Rods. Smith ran a 4.22 150.78 with the car to get the number 13 spot. The team improved to a 4.101 173.90 in the first round. |
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| Thomas Patterson's weekend started well with a 4.001 pass but Patterson ended up in the wall on the big end. The car was damaged too much to continue this weekend. The car is being sent back to Vanishing Point Race Cars for repairs. |
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| Wesley Jones laid down one of the great runs of the event with a 3.943 191.38 in his stock body Camaro. The Vicksburg, Mississippi based racer ran his first ever three at Baytown after running a best of 4.09 at the Baton Rouge Super Chevy Show. The team fell in the first round to Hugh Scott. |
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| Billy Gibson made his ADRL debut in Thomas Patterson's Headhunter Superbird tuned by Bill Barrett. The team was looking to make a full pass with the brand new car. Gibson ran 4.396 132.76 to get the number 15 spot. The team was unable to get the car started in the first round. |
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| Joe Baker's Gotham City Willys made the long trip from Florida to qualify with a 4.137. The popular Willys was beaten by the Circle H Oil Vette of Gene Hector, 3.978 to 4.086. |
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| Jerry Hicks made his first ADRL appearance in a year with his Texas Outlaw Corvette. The nitro powered coupe made strides but a 4.533 landed him as the first alternate in the Baytown field. |
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| Don Wooton debuted his new car at the ADRL race. The Jerry Bickel built car is only 40 inches tall at the roof! The team struggled with a fireball from the
blower on the first run. Times of 5.40 115.98 were the best the team could run for the number twenty spot. |
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| Shawn Davis was running his first ever ADRL race at Baytown. The clean 57 Chevy
was fresh from a minor run in with the Baton Rouge guardrail at the Super Chevy Show. Davis struggled with tire shake at Baytown running a best of 4.469 147.90 run. |
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| Frankie Taylor was barely able to race this weekend. The car was fresh from the
chassis shop of Dave Jeffers following a crah at Baytown earlier this year. The team got the car running Friday night and was able to make the first session
Saturday. The team ran a best of 5.008 150.31 this weekend. |
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