Daniel Bandish's Melbourne, FL-based '63 Vette qualified number two at 6.366/228.77, while Quain Stott's '63 Vette from Columbus, NC, went 6.381 seconds at 231.48 mph to grab the number three qualifying spot. Scott Braskett, from Galena, OH, made it an all Corvette top half with a 6.413/213.27 trip in his '53, securing the forth position. Curt Steinbach, Frank Cerosimo, Brad Bowen IV and Kenny Voss made up the bottom half of the eight-car field, with a 6.836 second run by Voss establishing the bump.
Curt Steinbach, Stott, Bandish and D'Aprile advanced into round two. Defending event runner-up Bandish saw red with an -.048 light against Stott, who ran 6.170 seconds at 233.48 mph, while D'Aprile's near-perfect .006 reaction time added to a pass of 6.221 seconds at 233.52 mph was more than Steinbach could muster.
(Adam Cranmer photo)
Teammates Stott and D'Aprile matched up in the final round and were almost dead even off of the line. Stott (far lane) blistered a 6.039 ET at 238.22 mph to defeat D'Aprile's 6.442/224.32.
OPEN OUTLAW
The Open Outlaw class, designated by altereds, front engine dragsters, rear engine dragsters with a torque converter, or funny cars only, is always comprised of an exciting mix of cars competing head-to-head.
Defending event champion Brandon Booher, from Urbana, IL, won the top qualifying spot in his dragster with 6.020/223.21 pass. The Daytona, FL-based alcohol funny car of Charlie Gambino placed second with a 6.128/231.89 run.
John Alberigi, from Fort Lauderdale, FL, went a career best 6.136/220.42 in his T-Bird flopper to rank third. (Adam Cranmer photo)
2005 event winner Matthew Gilmore established the number seven spot with a 6.346/220.26-mph blast in his blown '32 Bantam altered. (Adam Cranmer photo)
Don Marks, Alberigi, Gambino, Gilmore, Ron Logan, Brad Kerry, Larry Dripps and Booher advanced to round two. Logan defeated Alberigi with a 6.532 sec at 218.07 mph run, after Alberigi's funny car shook the tires at the hit of the throttle and ended up sharing lanes with Logan who was already heading for the win.
