Volume IX, Issue 2, Page 92

ADRL Dragpalooza III at Houston

The Rest Of The Story
Same Day Coverage

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Words and photos by Ian Tocher

ADRL SETS HMP ATTENDANCE RECORD

Mar 04, 07 | 7:43 am

Huge crowds on both Friday and Saturday greeted the ADRL's best at Houston Motorsports Park. Though an official count was not yet available, estimates ranged as high as 12,000 to 14,000 attendees over the two-day event and several track workers confirmed it was the biggest crowd they'd ever seen at the dragstrip and surely would give all future events a new record to shoot for. Scroll down for complete coverage of ADRL's RacingJunk.com Dragpalooza III. (Ian Tocher photo)

PRO EXTREME - FINAL ROUND

Mar 04, 07 | 7:30 am

Driver Mike Bell (top left) and car owner Roy Hill were all smiles after scoring their first ADRL Pro Extreme victory. Bell had an easy ride to the win when John Lynam went red in the final round. Lynam (far lane) explained his engine pushed a head gasket out in the third qualifying round and his Johnny McGrady-led team had been struggling with oil leaks throughout eliminations. He said his front brake rotors were not completely clean of residual oil and just couldn't hold the car back as he prepared for the start. "I felt it rolling forward and there was nothing I could do about but hope for the green to come on quick, but it just rolled through the beam." (Ian Tocher photos)

PRO NITROUS - FINAL ROUND

Mar 04, 07 | 7:17 am

Pro Mod pioneer Charles Carpenter (top) made a solo pass in the final round with his '55 Chevy to take the Pro Nitrous win at Houston. Carpenter got the free pass after Thomas "Tom Slick" Myers popped the burst panel on his motor during the burnout. Carpenter said it was his first major race win since the 2000 season. (Ian Tocher photos)

EXTREME 10.5 - FINAL ROUND

Mar 04, 07 | 7:12 am

Florida's Rodney Rosenstiel (far lane) outran Marcus Birt at Dragpalooza III to become the ADRL's first Extreme 10.5 race winner. (Ian Tocher photos)

PRO EXTREME - SEMI FINALS

Mar 04, 07 | 6:55 am

South Carolina's John Lynam, who experienced this huge wheelstand in round two of qualifying, had a bye in the semis after both Bubba Stanton and Jason Scruggs broke in round two and were unable to advance to face him. (Ian Tocher photo)

PRO NITROUS - SEMI FINALS

Mar 04, 07 | 6:46 am

The devastating tornados that killed eight people sheltered at an Enterprise, AL, high school Feb. 1, narrowly missed semi-finalist Johnny Pilcher's nearby race shop and home. Pilcher's wife picked up their 15-year-old daughter from the school just half an hour before the twister arrived, Pilcher said, and his niece wasn't at school that day, so he was grateful for their safety. "I always say a prayer before every pass I make," he said. "This time all I could think about was all those people who lost someone in the storm. It really makes you realize that how you do in a race really isn't anything compared to losing a heart like that."

HERNANDEZ RUNS CAREER-BEST; SETS NEW TRACK RECORDS

Mar 04, 07 | 6:30 am

With this solo pass in round two after B. Booth was unable to to answer the call, local Pro Extreme star Joshua Hernandez drove Tommy Lipar's '57 Chevy to a career-best 3.869 at 194.55 mph, resetting both ends of the HMP track records in the process. The incrementals on the record run were: 60' = .974; 330' = 2.586; 1/8-mile = 3.869/194.55. (Ian Tocher photos)

PRO EXTREME - 2nd ROUND ELIMINATIONS

Mar 04, 07 | 6:12 am

A redlight start in round two cost Steve Engel the chance to advance and negated his best E.T. of the weekend. (Ian Tocher photo)

PRO NITROUS - 2nd ROUND ELIMINATIONS

Mar 04, 07 | 6:03 am

Doug Reisterer blew the scoop of his Camaro sky high at the end of a 3.99-secs run in his first-round win over Billy Harper's Viper. He was able to return for round two, but fell to Johnny Pilcher after both got loose downtrack. (Ian tocher photo)

EXTREME 10.5 - 2nd ROUND ELIMINATIONS

Mar 04, 07 | 5:54 am

With Joey Martin (right) calling the shots at Houston, Marcus Birt (left) made it all the way to the Extreme 10.5 final. Birt said he thinks the ADRL's new Extreme 10.5 class has great potential, but admitted true Outlaw 10.5 cars like his are really too heavy to be consistently competitive. (Ian Tocher photo)

LATE ARRIVAL

Mar 04, 07 | 5:23 am

Mopar man Chip King showed up Saturday morning with Dave Weitz' 1969 Charger, rebuilt by Alan Pittman from the remains of the Superbird-bodied car King crashed last year at Milan, MI. Weitz stressed, however, that "it's all new, from front to rear." Traction trouble prevented King from getting into the show with what he called "one of the Duke boys' Chargers that got driven under a tractor trailer." (Ian Tocher photo)

PRO EXTREME - 1st ROUND ELIMINATIONS

Mar 04, 07 | 5:19 am

Father-and-son competitors Mike Neal (right) and Michael Neal Jr. were paired up in the second round of qualifying, but both fell in the opening round of eliminations later in the day. (Ian Tocher photo)

PRO NITROUS - 1st ROUND ELIMINATIONS

Mar 04, 07 | 5:08 am

Harold Martin (shown) won the ADRL season opener last year at Valdosta, GA, but wasn't so fortunate this year at Houston where he lost in round one to Shannon Jenkins. (Ian Tocher photo)

EXTREME 10.5 - 1st ROUND ELIMINATIONS

Mar 04, 07 | 4:37 am

On Friday, Michelle Wilson (shown) had the distinction of appearing in the ADRL's first-ever Extreme 10.5 qualifying pair, then made up half of the first-ever elimination round on Saturday, but unfortunately redlighted away her chance against Marcus Birt. (Ian Tocher photos)

WHITE NOT QUITE RIGHT

Mar 04, 07 | 4:15 am

After arriving straight from disembarking a Caribbean cruise Saturday morning, Stan Allen (left) had two shots at qualifying the Bankston Boyz' Camaro, but failed to crack the Pro Nitrous field. He later went 4.08 in a late-night test pass. Meanwhile, Bubba Stanton, the 2006 ADRL Battle of the Belts Pro Extreme champion, also had his '63 Vette on hand to drive in Pro Nitrous action, but a nitrous malfunction in the opening round of qualifying sidelined his effort. (Ian Tocher photos)

PRO EXTREME - FINAL QUALIFYING ORDER

Mar 04, 07 | 4:01 am

The ADRL barely missed setting its first all-three-second Pro Extreme field when Herman Sheppard (shown) secured the 16th position with a 4.006-secs pass. Later, the youngster earned a spot on the latest NHL highlight reel with an incredible save after his '67 Camaro got WAY out of shape at the top end of his first-round match against Todd Tutterow. (Ian tocher photo)

PRO NITROUS - FINAL QUALIFYING ORDER

Mar 04, 07 | 3:56 am

With his last qualifying attempt, New Yorker Mike Castellana (shown) bumped teammate Shannon Jenkins from the number-one starting slot in Pro Nitrous. (Ian tocher photo)

EXTREME 10.5 - FINAL QUALIFYING ORDER

Mar 04, 07 | 3:49 am

Mary Baltzell (shown) qualified number two in the ADRL's inaugural Extreme 10.5 field and lasted until the semi-finals where she fell to Rodney Rosenstiel. (Ian Tocher photo)

BANDISH BASHES BOTH BARRIERS

Mar 03, 07 | 2:06 am

In practice before the opening round of qualifying, Dan Bandish got loose after popping his chutes and wound up bouncing his '63 Pro Extreme Vette off both walls in the shutdown area. Fortunately, Pro Nitrous competitor Mike Castellana had to shut off early in the left lane and was able to avoid Bandish. (Ian Tocher photos)

NEW MUSTANG FOR MAUNEY

Mar 03, 07 | 1:58 am

Ace chassis man Tommy Mauney was in Houston behind the wheel of a new 2006 Mustang owned by Terry Leggett. (Ian tocher photo)

TWO PRO NITROUS CAR DEBUTS

Mar 03, 07 | 1:34 am

Both Shannon Jenkins (left) and Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Billy Harper brought out new cars to compete in Pro Nitrous at Dragpalooza III. Jenkins struggled with his '06 GTO, however, not yet completing a full eighth-mile pass under power, while Harper also had trouble in the opening round of qualifying with his '98 Dodge Viper. (Ian Tocher photos)

KUHLMAN CRASHES IN QUALIFYING

Mar 03, 07 | 1:05 am

Veteran Missouri racer Bill Kuhlman showed up at HMP with a brand-new paint job on his nitro-fueled Corvette, but in his first qualifying attempt Kuhlman lost control of the car and sideswiped the left wall very hard near the finish line then careened across the track and hit the right wall. Fortunately, Kuhlman was uninjured in the accident, but his car was seriously damaged. (Ian Tocher photo)

BIRTH OF A RACING CLASS

Mar 03, 07 | 12:52 am

Chad Wilson (near lane) and Michelle Wilson (no relation) paired off to qualify in the very first official pass in Extreme 10.5 history. (Ian Tocher photo)

PRO EXTREME - 1st ROUND QUALIFYING

Mar 03, 07 | 12:22 am

North Carolina's Todd Tutterow was the only Pro Extreme driver to run in the 4.80s with his '41 Willys in the opening round of qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

POSITION NAME E.T. MPH
1 TODD TUTTEROW 3.8970 184.80
2 BOBBY BOOTH 3.9285 184.43
3 BIL CLANTON 3.9427 162.85
4 TROY CRITCHLEY 3.9786 183.37
5 STEVE ENGEL 3.9846 187.97
6 BRIAN DANIELS 4.0336 179.00
7 KELLY MARTIN 4.0372 179.07
8 JOSHUA HERNANDEZ 4.0550 184.80
9 HERMAN SHEPPARD 4.2477 162.57
10 HUGH SCOTT 4.2522 158.23
11 BUBA STANTON 4.2578 131.69
12 JASON SCRUGGS 4.2598 152.49
13 JEFF BALTON 4.3514 155.82
14 DWAYNE WATKINS 4.4756 105.98
15 MIKE NEAL 4.5938 121.16
16 JOE BAKER 5.0388 95.66
17 TOMMY MAUNEY 5.3488 87.21
18 MIKE BELL 5.4420 86.11
19 TOM ASHLEY 5.9756 74.99
20 WES JOHNSTON 7.5538 68.94
21 TRAVIS SWEARINGEN 8.4260 63.41
22 GAYLEN SMITH 8.7851 51.45
23 STEVE WILEY 8.9032 45.67
24 JERRY HICK 11.1118 61.03
25 MICHAEL NEAL CCL
26 BILL KUHLMAN CRASH
27 BRANDON PESZ CRASH
28 JOHN LYNAM CCL
29 FRANKIE TAYLOR CCL
30 BENNIE MCDONALD JR. NO TIME
31 DAN BANDISH NO TIME
32 CHRIS SMITH NO TIME
33 DON WOOTON NO TIME

PRO NITROUS - 1st ROUND QUALIFYING

Mar 03, 07 | 12:11 am

Doug Riesterer, number-one qualifier at Rockingham, NC last fall, proved that effort was no fluke by leading after one round at Houston Motorsports Park. (Ian Tocher photo)

POSITION NAME E.T. MPH
1 DOUG RIESTERER 4.0413 179.00
2 JOHNNY PILCHER 4.0563 181.52
3 RICKIE SMITH 4.0654 180.43
4 BURTON AUXIER 4.0668 173.88
5 KEITH BAKER 4.0689 181.89
6 RANDY WEATHERFORD 4.0966 178.22
7 MIKE CASTELLANA 4.1106 167.47
8 THOMAS MYERS 4.1183 175.78
9 TERRY HOUSLEY 4.1380 173.95
10 ROD HOUCK 4.1423 177.10
11 JAMIE HANCOCK 4.1456 173.48
12 CHARLES CARPENTER 4.5743 118.05
13 HAROLD MARTIN 4.9613 117.83
14 BILLY HARPER 5.4832 84.10
15 SHANNON JENKINS 6.0270 89.70
16 TERRY MURPHY 6.3249 73.71
17 STEVE VICK 7.2422 72.62
18 REX KELLEY NO TIME
19 STAN ALLEN NO TIME
20 DENNIS RADFORD NO TIME
21 BUBBA STANTON NO TIME

EXTREME 10.5 - 1st ROUND QUALIFYING

Mar 03, 07 | 12:00 am

Monroe, GA's Steve Kirk seized the number-one spot in Extreme 10.5 with his Fulton 762-powered '63 Corvette. (Ian Tocher photo)

POSITION NAME E.T. MPH
1 STEVEKIRK JR. 4.3259 167.29
2 MARY BALTZELL 4.3853 164.96
3 MICHELLE WILSON 4.5510 155.76
4 MARCUS BIRT 4.8131 148.27
5 CHAD WILSON 4.8507 149.30
6 RODNEY ROSENSTIEL NO TIME
7 TODD TUTTEROW NO TIME
8 BILL JEWETT NO TIME
9 LARRY WEBB NO TIME

HOUSTON HOSTS ADRL OPENER THIS WEEKEND

Feb 28, 07 | 3:50 pm

Mississippi's Bubba Stanton will begin his 2006 Pro Extreme title defense at the ADRL's RacingJunk.com Dragpalooza Feb. 2-3, at Houston Motorsports Park. (Ian Tocher photo)

It’ll be a good ol’ Texas shootout this weekend when the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) opens its eight-race 2007 season with the RacingJunk.com Dragpalooza III at Houston Motorsports Park.

Led by 2006 champion Bubba Stanton, the supercharged Pro Extreme class also will feature outlaw racing stars Joshua Hernandez, Troy Critchley, Jason Scruggs, Bil Clanton John Lynam and Joey Martin, who raced to the win last year at Houston.

The Pro Nitrous class will see Keith Baker begin the defense of his 2006 championship against such heavy hitters as Shannon Jenkins, Johnny Pilcher, Billy Harper, Dennis Radford and Charles Carpenter. Mike Castellana is the defending event winner.

Dragpalooza III also marks the debut of ADRL’s Extreme 10.5 class, featuring doorslammers with no minimum weight or maximum cubic-inch restrictions burning alcohol, methanol, or racing gasoline, and competing on tires with a maximum 12-inch width (with a switch to an 11.5-inch maximum on June 1). With entrants including the likes of defending ORSCA Outlaw 10.5 champion Steve Kirk, Todd Tutterow of “Big Dog” fame, and Chad Wilson as a teammate to Pro Extreme’s Critchley, this promises to be a hotly contested and wild class of racing.

The Houston Motorsports Park doors open at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2, with open time trials going from 1-7 p.m., before the first round of qualifying for all three classes begins at 8 p.m. Saturday’s action will begin with round two of qualifying at noon, followed by a third and final qualifying session at 2 p.m. with eliminations starting at 4 p.m. DragRacingOnline.com will be on-site to provide same-day qualifying and eliminations results and photos beginning Friday afternoon.

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