Postby draglist » Mon May 08, 2006 8:08 pm
Kalitta, Pedregon, Connolly and Brown Earn Victories at Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals
COMMERCE, Ga. -- Doug Kalitta raced to his second straight Top Fuel victory Sunday by beating season-long series leader Melanie Troxel in the final-round of the 26th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway.
Former Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon, Pro Stock rising star Dave Connolly, and Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran Antron Brown also scored victories in their respective categories at the seventh of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
Kalitta posted a 4.469-second pass at 327.57 mph in his Mac Tools dragster to defeat Troxel, whose Skull Shine/Torco Race Fuels dragster lost traction 100 feet into the race. It was Kalitta's 26th career victory and a carbon copy of last year's sweep of races in Bristol, Tenn. and Atlanta.
"This is still hard to believe, but I'm pretty happy right now," said Kalitta, who defeated David Baca, Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon in earlier rounds. "Two in a row is great and it gives us some good momentum. Melanie's got a strong team over there and we're all trying to catch up to her. They've had a really good start to the year and she's out there quite a bit on all of us."
Troxel's lead in the POWERade standings is now 132 points. She has raced to six of seven finals this year. With his win, Kalitta moved around his teammate Dave Grubnic and into second place in the standings.
A former series champion, Pedregon beat all three of his former teammates -- John Force, Eric Medlen, and final-round opponent Robert Hight -- to win his 30th career Funny Car title. After leaving the line first in the final, his 4.740 at 325.69 mph in his Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo was good enough to hold off Hight's charging Auto Club Ford Mustang, which finished in 4.738 at 321.81 mph.
"If I had any friends left on that team they're probably gone now," said Pedregon, who has now won three times at Atlanta Dragway, including his first career victory in 1996. "I looked at the ladder this morning and I knew it wasn't going to be an easy day. We haven't performed up to our abilities this year and believe me I was thinking about the fact we weren't even in the top 10 at the start of the day. There is no better way to make up for a slow start than to win."
Ron Capps remained in the series lead despite a first-round loss. He now leads Force by 96.
Connolly became the seventh different Pro Stock winner of the season with his sixth career victory and first with new crew chief Tommy Utt. He raced to a final round performance of 6.695 at 205.69 mph in his Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt to defeat Greg Stanfield, whose PiranhaZ Pontiac GTO got out of shape early in the run.
"This is the best race car I've ever had," said Connolly, who outran Jason Line, Allen Johnson and Larry Morgan to advance to his second final round of the season. "I couldn't complain about this thing at all. Tommy saved my butt three out of four races today. It's been a smooth transition, for sure. He's worked with Cagnazzi Racing and we use their motors, so he knew how to put the power together with the chassis, obviously."
Greg Anderson was upset in the first round by Stanfield and exits the race with a 53-point lead over teammate Line. With the victory, Connolly moved to ninth and runner-up Stanfield moved to sixth.
In a classic Suzuki versus Harley final, Brown earned the Pro Stock Motorcycle win over Andrew Hines on a holeshot start. Brown left with a near-perfect reaction time and held on for the win with a 7.098 at 187.44 mph on his U.S. Army Suzuki to Hines' quicker, but losing, 7.089 at 187.94 mph on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
"I needed that .005 light because Andrew was stepping it up every round," Brown said. "The bike bogged at the start but by the time I went into high gear I still didn't see him and I just tucked low and held on. When I saw the win light I was the happiest guy in the world because that's the team to beat. They work hard over there but so do we."
Brown, who defeated Ryan Schnitz, Craig Treble, and Karen Stoffer to advance to the final, moved into the series points lead with the win. He holds a six-point lead over teammate Angelle Sampey, winner of the first two Pro Stock Motorcycle events.
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series continues with the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing, May 18-21 at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.
COMMERCE, Ga. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 26th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway. The $1.5 million race is the seventh of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL: 1. Doug Kalitta; 2. Melanie Troxel; 3. Larry Dixon; 4. Morgan Lucas; 5. Hillary Will; 6. Tony Schumacher; 7. Brandon Bernstein; 8. Rod Fuller; 9. David Grubnic; 10. Clay Millican; 11. Cory McClenathan; 12. Bob Vandergriff; 13. Michael Gunderson; 14. Scott Weis; 15. Doug Herbert; 16. David Baca.
FUNNY CAR: 1. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo; 2. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang; 3. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo; 4. Eric Medlen, Mustang; 5. John Force, Mustang; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 7. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo; 8. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Charger; 9. Whit Bazemore, Charger; 10. Ron Capps, Dodge Stratus; 11. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo; 12. Jim Head, Stratus; 13. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo; 14. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo; 15. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo; 16. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo.
PRO STOCK: 1. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt; 2. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GTO; 3. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus; 4. Jim Yates, GTO; 5. Erica Enders, Cobalt; 6. Mike Edwards, GTO; 7. Allen Johnson, Stratus; 8. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt; 9. Jason Line, GTO; 10. Mike Thomas, Stratus; 11. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 12. Warren Johnson, GTO; 13. V. Gaines, Stratus; 14. Dave Howard, Cobalt; 15. Rickie Smith, GTO; 16. Greg Anderson, GTO.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 1. Antron Brown, Suzuki; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 3. Michael Phillips, Suzuki; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 5. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 6. Marco Andreano; 7. Tom Bradford; 8. Geno Scali, Suzuki; 9. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki; 10. Shawn Gann, Suzuki; 11. Chip Ellis; 12. Ryan Schnitz; 13. Matt Guidera; 14. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki; 15. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson; 16. Matt Smith.
COMMERCE, Ga. -- Sunday's final results from the 26th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway. The $1.5 million race is the seventh of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
Top Fuel -- Doug Kalitta, 4.469 seconds, 327.59 mph def. Melanie Troxel, 7.234 seconds, 133.55 mph.
Funny Car -- Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.740, 325.69 def. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.738, 321.81.
Pro Stock -- Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.695, 205.69 def. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GTO, 7.531, 127.34.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.098, 187.44 def. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.089, 187.94.
Top Alcohol Dragster -- Ashley Force, 5.573, 267.80 def. Karen Stalba, foul.
Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.608, 259.76 def. Steve Harker, Dodge Avenger, 8.460, 106.73.
Competition Eliminator -- Vinny Barone, Chevy Roadster, 30.809, 67.31 def. Sal Biondo, Chevy Beretta, foul.
Super Stock -- Michael Iacono, Chevy Camaro, 9.839, 133.05 def. Don Barber, Chevy Cavalier, 9.604, 126.73.
Stock Eliminator -- Bernie Cunningham, Pontiac Firebird, 10.876, 119.71 def. Scott Helms, Chevy Impala, 13.782, 96.05.
Super Gas -- Gene Norwood, Chevy Corvette, 9.912, 151.27 def. Steven Farrow, Chevy Bel Air, 10.066, 138.36.
Super Street -- David Anspach, Plymouth Duster, 10.863, 132.65 def. Joe Urbino, Chevy Malibu, 10.858, 129.65.
COMMERCE, Ga. -- Final round-by-round results from the 26th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway, the seventh of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE -- Morgan Lucas, 4.715, 272.78 def. Doug Herbert, 6.607, 125.83; Tony Schumacher, 4.448, 331.28 def. Cory McClenathan, 4.561, 330.39; Larry Dixon, 4.532, 329.34 def. David Grubnic, 4.545, 322.34; Melanie Troxel, 4.513, 326.63 def. Bob Vandergriff, 4.602, 318.77; Rod Fuller, 4.504, 329.26 def. Clay Millican, 4.554, 318.99; Hillary Will, 4.538, 325.37 def. Scott Weis, 4.943, 260.46; Doug Kalitta, 4.550, 324.20 def. David Baca, 8.009, 96.71; Brandon Bernstein, 4.528, 330.63 def. Michael Gunderson, 4.684, 321.12; QUARTERFINALS -- Lucas, 4.858, 245.23 def. Bernstein, broke; Troxel, 4.496, 331.04 def. Will, 4.507, 324.98; Dixon, 4.762, 282.19 def. Fuller, foul; Kalitta, 4.473, 325.37 def. Schumacher, 6.952, 130.35; SEMIFINALS -- Troxel, 4.514, 318.54 def. Lucas, 7.773, 109.74; Kalitta, 4.483, 328.70 def. Dixon, 4.556, 328.78; FINAL -- Kalitta, 4.469, 327.59 def. Troxel, 7.234, 133.55.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE -- Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.765, 326.56 def. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.774, 320.05; Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.753, 326.87 def. Ron Capps, Dodge Stratus, 4.792, 321.96; Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.850, no speed def. Jim Head, Stratus, 4.921, 268.71; Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.700, 327.35 def. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.965, 297.48; John Force, Mustang, 4.761, 327.66 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 7.103, 122.59; Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.907, 257.63 def. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 5.375, 208.23; Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.709, 326.40 def. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 10.049, 84.86; Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.753, 320.66 def. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.838, 320.05; QUARTERFINALS -- T. Pedregon, 4.735, 322.73 def. Force, 4.715, 329.18; Worsham, 4.785, 320.66 def. Densham, 4.818, 317.72; Hight, 4.680, no speed def. C. Pedregon, 4.809, 317.94; Medlen, broke def. Scelzi, foul; SEMIFINALS -- T. Pedregon, 4.739, 327.98 def. Medlen, 5.083, 232.43; Hight, 4.752, 324.05 def. Worsham, 4.825, 319.52; FINAL -- T. Pedregon, 4.740, 325.69 def. Hight, 4.738, 321.81.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE -- Mike Edwards, Pontiac GTO, 6.776, 203.86 def. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, 6.723, 201.64; Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.727, 205.47 def. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.716, 206.20; Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.719, 205.41 def. Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.735, 205.79; Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.693, 205.72 def. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.726, 206.20; Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.702, 205.85 def. Jason Line, GTO, 6.690, 206.23; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.719, 205.76 def. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.715, 204.98; Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.714, 205.47 def. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.749, 205.44; Jim Yates, GTO, 6.718, 205.32 def. Mike Thomas, Stratus, 6.714, 205.35; QUARTERFINALS -- Morgan, 6.712, 204.76 def. K. Johnson, 6.908, 171.64; Stanfield, 6.728, 204.35 def. Edwards, 6.765, 200.59; Connolly, 6.716, 205.04 def. A. Johnson, 6.766, 204.29; Yates, 6.716, 204.98 def. Enders, foul; SEMIFINALS -- Stanfield, 6.725, 204.88 def. Yates, 6.728, 204.76; Connolly, 6.696, 205.76 def. Morgan, 6.705, 205.44; FINAL -- Connolly, 6.695, 205.69 def. Stanfield, 7.531, 127.34.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
ROUND ONE -- Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.082, 188.86 def. Matt Guidera, Buell, foul; Marco Andreano, Buell, 7.110, 186.15 def. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.087, 183.37; Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.232, 192.77 def. Matt Smith, Buell, foul; Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.075, 189.90 def. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.060, 187.70; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.123, 188.46 def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.170, 186.18; Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.045, 188.75 def. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.126, 184.70; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.105, 188.62 def. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.205, 186.48; Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.148, 184.17 def. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.071, 188.83; QUARTERFINALS -- Phillips, 7.182, 188.44 def. Andreano, foul; Hines, 7.077, 189.50 def. Bradford, 7.160, 182.40; Brown, 7.065, 188.81 def. Treble, 7.106, 188.44; Stoffer, 7.110, 184.07 def. Scali, 7.244, 189.26;
SEMIFINALS -- Hines, 7.057, 188.81 def. Phillips, 7.172, 187.63; Brown, 7.060, 189.31 def. Stoffer, 14.847, 51.79; FINAL -- Brown, 7.098, 187.44 def. Hines, 7.089, 187.94.
COMMERCE, Ga. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 26th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway, the seventh of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -
Top Fuel
1. Melanie Troxel, 636; 2. Doug Kalitta, 504; 3. David Grubnic, 434; 4. Rod Fuller, 416; 5.(tie) Brandon Bernstein, 403; Larry Dixon, 403; 7. Morgan Lucas, 394; 8. Tony Schumacher, 373; 9. Doug Herbert, 327; 10. Hillary Will, 297.
Funny Car
1. Ron Capps, 634; 2. John Force, 538; 3. Robert Hight, 416; 4. Eric Medlen, 409; 5. Del Worsham, 376; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 373; 7. Cruz Pedregon, 368; 8. Phil Burkart, 344; 9. Tony Pedregon, 328; 10. Whit Bazemore, 317.
Pro Stock
1. Greg Anderson, 504; 2. Jason Line, 451; 3. Erica Enders, 425; 4. Mike Edwards, 414; 5. Jim Yates, 392; 6. Greg Stanfield, 388; 7. Larry Morgan, 370; 8. Kurt Johnson, 349; 9. Dave Connolly, 338; 10. Warren Johnson, 336.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Antron Brown, 272; 2. Angelle Sampey, 266; 3. Andrew Hines, 265; 4. Chip Ellis, 164; 5. Karen Stoffer, 160; 6. Geno Scali, 156; 7. Ryan Schnitz, 143; 8. Shawn Gann, 141; 9. GT Tonglet, 134; 10. Tom Bradford, 120.