Rain Washes Away Final Saturday Qualifying Session at President’s Cup Nationals

Fields set for Sunday eliminations with Bruce Litton (TF), Dale Creasy Jr. (Nitro Funny Car), Tommy D’Aprile (Pro Modified), Dale Brand (Alcohol Funny Car) and Jeff Dobbins (Pro Stock)#1 qualifiers

Mechanicsville, Md. (June 14, 2008) – Rain washed out the final round of professional qualifying Saturday evening at the Torco President’s Cup Nationals, setting the fields for all professional fields following Saturday’s afternoon session at Maryland International Raceway.

Defending Torco Pro Nitro Funny Car World Champion Dale Creasy Jr. claimed his first #1 qualifying position of the season, clocking a 4.967 during Friday evening qualifying…a number that stood up when all qualifying was said and done. Paul Lee (Wynnewood, Pa.), the winner three weeks ago in Milan, ended up #2 on the ladder while Matt Hagan (Christiansburg, Va.) ended up third and Todd Simpson (Ponder, Tx) fourth to round out the top half of the ladder.

Bruce Litton, the defending Torco Pro Nitro Top Fuel champion from Indianapolis, will start Sunday’s elimination rounds from the #1 qualifying slot. Litton posted a 4.699 Saturday night to claim the top spot on the qualifying sheet. Bobby Lagana Jr. (Scarsdale, N.Y.) qualified #2 while Mike Strasburg (Lindon, Utah) and Kevin Jones (Berea, KY) filled out the top half of the field.

Tommy D’Aprile (Port Charlotte, Fla.) was the #1 qualifier in the Torco Pro Modified class for the first time this season as his Friday 6.042 at 236.13 was good enough to give him the pole position. Kenny Lang (Grande Pointe, Mb) was second on the qualifying sheet by virtue of his 6.079/239.95 pass. Jim Halsey (Street, Md.) and Mike Janis (Lancaster, N.Y.) rounded out the top four.

Dale Brand’s amazing 5.716/247.57 pass in the Saturday afternoon heat put him on top of the Alcohol Funny Car qualifying list. The Sully, Iowa resident drove his ’01 Camaro to the quickest pass of the day to move in front of Larry Dobbs (Welland, Ont.), who finished second on the list. Mark Thomas (Louisville, Ohio) and Rob Atchison (London, Ont.) rounded out the top four.

Jeff Dobbins (Wilmington, N.C.) claimed his third consecutive #1 qualifying position in the Torco Pro Stock class, piloting his ’06 Escort to a 6.358 at 221.56 mph to claim top qualifying honors. Robert Mansfield (Margate, Fla.) was second on the qualifying sheet with a 6.372 while Tommy Lee (Jacksonville, N.C.) and John Montecalvo (Center Moriches, N.Y.) filled out the top half of the ladder.

All Saturday tickets will be honored at the gate Sunday. Showers are expected to move through the area overnight and the weather forecast for Sunday is for partly cloudy skies with no rain expected. Final professional eliminations will begin as scheduled. The first Pro Stock and Pro Modified elimination round will kick off at 11:00am, with the first Alcohol Funny Car, Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car elimination rounds scheduled to commence at noon.

BUDDS CREEK, Md. -- First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the Torco Racing Fuels President's Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, the fourth of 11 events in the 2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Bruce Litton, 4.699 seconds, 287.90 mph vs. 4. Kevin Jones, 5.091, 232.63; 2. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.717, 312.13 vs. 5. Spencer Massey, 5.305, 193.27; 3. Mike Strasburg, 5.048, 234.37 vs. 6. Terry McMillen, 5.433, 185.23.

Nitro Funny Car -- 1. Dale Creasy Jr., Chevy Impala, 4.967, 300.40 vs. 5. Mike Smith, Chevy Camaro, 5.214, 279.90; 2. Paul Lee, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.989, 273.22 vs. 6. Terry Haddock, Dodge Stratus, 5.217, 248.89; 3. Matt Hagan, Monte Carlo, 5.082, 285.77 vs. 7. Andy Kelley, Pontiac Firebird, 5.297, 220.48; 4. Todd Simpson, Camaro, 5.205, 272.94 vs. 8. Steven Macklyn, Monte Carlo, 5.330, 275.11.

Pro Modified -- 1. Tommy D'Aprile, Chevy Bel Air, 6.042, 236.13 vs. 9. Billy Gibson, Plymouth Superbird, 6.146, 231.32; 2. Kenny Lang, Chevy Corvette, 6.079, 239.95 vs. 10. Mark Nielsen, Chevy Camaro, 6.155, 234.33; 3. Jim Halsey, Camaro, 6.094, 232.63 vs. 11. Scott Cannon, Pontiac Firebird, 6.175, 234.86; 4. Mike Janis, Firebird, 6.102, 236.05 vs. 12. Mike Stawicki, Camaro, 6.179, 231.20; 5. Thomas Patterson, Dodge Charger, 6.110, 234.57 vs. 13. Quain Stott, Corvette, 6.187, 236.75; 6. Mike Castellana, Firebird, 6.111, 239.14 vs. 14. Pat Stoken, Camaro, 6.193, 233.08; 7. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 6.118, 235.23 vs. 15. Steve Engel, Corvette, 6.225, 211.86; 8. Jason Hamstra, Camaro, 6.134, 232.23 vs. 16. Burton Auxier, Corvette, 6.244, 227.84.

Alcohol Funny Car -- 1. Dale Brand, Chevy Camaro, 5.716, 247.57 vs. 5. Laurie Cannister, Camaro, 5.827, 243.59; 2. Larry Dobbs, Chevy Corvette, 5.791, 254.14 vs. 6. Paul Noakes, Dodge Avenger, 5.832, 243.72; 3. Mark Thomas, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.814, 246.30 vs. 7. Thomas Carter, Monte Carlo, 5.896, 241.37; 4. Rob Atchison, Monte Carlo, 5.818, 247.47 vs. 8. Terry Munroe, Monte Carlo, 5.923, 239.06.

Pro Stock -- 1. Jeff Dobbins, Ford Escort, 6.358, 221.56 vs. 9. Robert Patrick, Ford Mustang, 6.406, 219.12; 2. Rob Mansfield, Pontiac GTO, 6.372, 220.48 vs. 10. Frank Gugliotta, Mustang, 6.407, 218.37; 3. Tom Lee, Mustang, 6.380, 220.69 vs. 11. Bert Jackson, Chevy Cavalier, 6.426, 216.93; 4. John Montecalvo, Chevy Cobalt, 6.387, 220.12 vs. 12. Richard Freeman, Cobalt, 6.436, 218.48; 5. Jason Collins, Cobalt, 6.389, 219.79 vs. 13. Brian Gahm, Mustang, 6.442, 219.15; 6. Dean Goforth, GTO, 6.392, 219.97 vs. 14. Pete Berner, Pontiac GXP, 6.446, 218.05; 7. Elijah Morton, Mustang, 6.402, 218.90 vs. 15. John Bartunek, Cobalt, 6.449, 218.65; 8. Cary Goforth, Cobalt, 6.405, 220.08 vs. 16. Trevor Eman, Escort, 6.450, 219.08.