Kresto Pro Drag
Kresto Pro Drag No. 3 qualifier “Curly” Jim Fontaine engineered an upset win in the final’s iof Pro Drag defeating number one seed Rick Moore. The victory brought the “Curly” Jim fan club, consisting of his friends and relatives, to its feet.
“This is my first ever win and it feels wonderful,” Fontaine said. “We had a lot of luck on our side.”
“I had a lot of problems this weekend. I’m racing a whole new set-up for 2007, so without getting any qualifying in we just didn’t know where we were,” Fontaine said. “I have new heads, a new clutch, and a new (rear) tire, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I’ve never been in a situation like that before.” Fontaine, who lives in Orange City, Fla, says being able to win it in front of a hometown crowd was most gratifying.
Fontaine is now energized to follow the 2007 AHDRA circuit in hopes of capturing his first
ever No. 1 plate.
“We are going to try to make it to every single race now,” Fontaine said. “I think if we keep heading in the right direction we will have a great shot.”
Samson Pro Modified
The new Samson Pro Mod class, has rules similar to last year’s X-Mod category. The premiere event for the new class featured one of the closest final rounds of the day. Randy Borho took the win by the narrowest of margins coupling a .035 light with a 8.86 ET to ease by Greg Krenik’s game .038 and 8.87 effort.
No. 1 qualifier and 2006 X-Mod champion Stephen Galati was defeated in the semis by Krenik, who ran 8.65 to Galati’s 8.68. It appears this year’s Pro Mod class may be more competitive than ever.
S&S Cycle Pro Stock
Junior Pippin may be in a new class for 2007, but his performance is still the same as it’s always been – dominant.
The 53-year-old Pippin has become one of the most successful AHDRA racers of the new millennium winning five championships in the last seven years and had won the Pro Modified points chase for the last three consecutive seasons.
Now competing in the revamped Pro Stock class, which has rules very similar to last year’s Pro Mod, Pippin qualified on the pole (via his 06 point’s standing) and went on to defeat Mark Venia in the final with a 7.97 to Venia’s 8.08. the performance was not only good enough for the win but it set the national record mark in Pro Stock.
Rush Performance Exhaust Pro Gas
The last time NHRA Pro Stock racer Chip Ellis showed up at an AHDRA event was at the 2006 Bikeweek Nationals where he re-set the Pro Gas record with a stellar 7.06. Ellis, racing an NHRA-legal set-up put on quite the encore with an unbelievable run of 6.92, just one hundredth off his 6.91 all-time best in Sonoma last season. Ellis defeated a red-lighting Rick Moore in the final with a 7.02.
"The bike was running so strong this weekend," Ellis said. "This is very exciting and gives us a lot of momentum heading into the Gatornationals.""It was awesome," G-Squared co owner George Bryce said. "The bike was fast and conditions were just great. Anytime you have 600 feet of corrected altitude and a tailwind you are going to go fast."