ADRL FINALS PART 2
Bill Glidden, Mike Castellana star at ’Plex
Fans treated to historic racing in Pro Nitrous and Extreme Ten-Five classes
If there were any doubt in anyone’s mind that the ADRL’s Extreme 10.5 and Pro Nitrous classes represent the epitome of fast doorslammer racing, that doubt was erased by the performance of those cars and drivers at the Texas Motorplex.
Performing in front of the largest crowd (a packed 30,000 seat grandstand) that any of them had before in their careers, the stars of the ADRL Pro Nitrous and Extreme Ten-Five classes put on an exhibition of racing and performance that will make this World Finals an important race in the history of the sport.
Remember these names: Bill Glidden, Mike Castellana, Billy Harper, and Gary White. Those racers gave fans of both classes an exhibition of racing unmatched in recent history.
Let me just give you a few examples. Take for instance Extreme 10.5 racer Bill Glidden. He proved at this event that he is every bit the equal as a driver, tuner, and engine builder of his famous father, Bob Glidden. In the increasing popular ADRL Extreme 10.5 class, where the cars use the widest variety of engines and body styles in all of doorslammer racing and the racheting up of performance by the racers in the class on a race to race basis has only been equaled in the history of the sport by nitro classes of the NHRA, Bill Glidden has emerged as the dominant figure. He won both the ADRL 2008 championship Battle for the Belts race on Friday using both his tuning and driving skills, and he did it by beating a field of cars and drivers who are currently at their absolute peak. He beat the best in the sport and did it convincingly. Glidden’s act, as they say in the theater, was a tour de force.
The same can be said of the Pro Nitrous class racers. Billy Harper, who has already had a great year, capped it off with convincing win of the Battle of the Belts race on Friday to determine the ADRL 2008 Pro Nitrous World Champion. Harper rattled off seemingly effortless sub-four-second passes taking it to Shannon Jenkins in the semis and then Rickie Smith in the finals.
And then there was Jim Halsey, driver of the first nitrous car to record a five-second lap in the quarter mile. All but two of his eighth-mile passes over the weekend were in the three-second range and he went to the finals on Saturday.
Shannon Jenkins padded his ADRL career stats, including what may be the quickest-ever ADRL nitrous pass at 3.930. There also is Mike Castellana, who won the first race of the 2009 season on Saturday. And the topper was four Pro Nitrous cars qualified under 3.950!