 Chris Karamesines |
Dale Creasy Jr., Beecher, Ill., began the defense of his 2006 Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Funny Car world championship in grand style by knocking off the defending Texas Nationals champion, No. 1 qualifier Gary Densham. Creasy almost was not around to race Sunday as he needed the final qualifying shot Saturday night to bump into the field. He took advantage, knocking off Del Worsham in the first round and Jack Wyatt, who finished a mere five points behind him in the points chase last year, in the semifinals.
Creasy then carded a 3.407 in the final round against a lifting Densham.
“We had the new car and we were struggling with it,” said Creasy Jr. “I almost brought out the old car because I knew it could go down the race track. But we have so much invested in it, time and money, and if we want to step forward we have to have this car so we stuck with it and it worked.”
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Ed Hoover, Gilbert, S.C., had a successful return to San Antonio Raceway, the site of his 2005 victory over Shannon Jenkins at the Texas Nationals. Hoover finished outside the top ten in IHRA points standings last season, but an early win has him thinking things have turned around a bit. Hoover stopped Danny Rowe in the final with a 4.031 ET.
“This is great. We struggled all year last year, and now we’ve got a new car and this win is really big for us,” said Hoover. “We’re leaving here with a lot of momentum and we’re going to work real hard the rest of the season.
“This winter Al (Billes) spent 300 hours R&D and dyno time working on the car. He helped make the difference today. This is a professional class. If you’re not working, you’re not going to win.”
Robert Patrick, Fredericksburg, Va., drove his ’07 Shelby Cobra to the Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Stock Ironman defeating John Montecalvo, Center Moriches, N.Y., in the final round. Patrick, one of the preseason favorites to contend for the 2007 championship, proved to be worthy of such attention by carding a 4.156 at 173.29 mph to knock off Montecalvo’s 4.171 at 172.63 mph. Both drivers had identical 0.046 reaction times.
“The biggest thing I wanted to accomplish here was coming out with a win,” said Patrick. “Last year I qualified on the pole a number of times, had the fastest car in eliminations and got beat a few times on hole-shots and that kept me out of the championship chase. So I wanted to kind of redeem myself here.
“We got the win and I just couldn’t be happier for my team,” he added.
Terry Munroe, Beaver, Pa., finally broke through in Alcohol Funny Car, stopping defending world champion Mark Thomas, Louisville, Ohio, in the final round with a 3.893 ET to claim his first-ever Ironman. Munroe finished fourth in the points standings last year, but could not get a win at either of his two finals last season.
“We’ve been doing Funny Car racing for five years. This is my fifth final round and I finally won one,” said Munroe. “This year, we put it in our minds that we are going to be serious about this. We are still looking for sponsors…we could be dangerous with the right funding.”
The Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam™ will make its second stop of the season in Rockingham Dragway April 20-22 for the IHRA Spring Nationals presented by Advance Auto Parts and Castrol.
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