PHOTOS : JOE MCHUGH , ROGER RICHARDS |
race in Indy .
“ It feels really nice to finish the day on top ,” Wulcan said . “ We ’ ve struggled to get here . We need to be No . 1 qualifier ; that ’ s what we ’ re aiming for this weekend . The whole team has done a lot of work on the car to get to where we are today . We ’ re really proud of ourselves . This is our dream to come over here and run with these guys .”
Two-time event winner Mike Recchia was second in his Agrow Fresh ’ 69 Camaro with a 3.635 at 201.22 , while Australia ’ s John Zappia qualified third in the Noonan Race Engineering ‘ 69Camaro with a 3.695 at 205.07 .
PRO NITROUS West Virginia coal mining executive Jim Laurita sat atop the Pro Nitrous field for the first time this season , using a 3.757 at 200.92 in his clutchequipped ’ 69 Camaro to grab the top spot . The effort is viewed as a sign of what ’ s to come for Laurita , who passed on credit for the run to his crew , led by Brandon Switzer .
|
“ Brandon and Melissa ( Switzer ) and the whole Switzer Dynamics team back in Mooresville ( NC ), they just do a fantastic job ,” Laurita said . “ I also have the Pickett brothers , Kevin and Rod , working with us . Brandon gives us the power with his tune-ups , Rod takes care of the engine at the track , Dan freshens the engine when we go back to the shop , Kevin takes care of the clutch , Melissa handles the nitrous , and I just do a little bit of everything else – and I get the fun part : driving . It ’ s the whole team effort and everything is working right now . We think we can run headto-head with these guys ( in Pro Nitrous ), it just took a little while .”
Following closely in second was Lizzy Musi in the Pat Musi-powered “ King Kong ” ’ 15 Dart with a 3.764 at 202.03 . Randy Weatherford , also utilizing a Musi engine in his WS Construction ’ 69 Camaro , qualified third with a 3.774 at 199.26 .
PRO BOOST Points leader Jose Gonzales found his way back to the top spot in Pro Boost , posting a 3.73 at 212.33 in his Pro Line-powered El General / Q80 Racing ’ 67 Mustang . It was his third low qualifier award of the season .
“ It feels good to have the car back to running low-qualifier performances ,” said Pro Line co-owner and tuner Eric Dillard . “ We had a few races there where it was just racing that bit us . You go out and run decent , but you have this part fail or that part fail . We have two cars and a big crew with a lot of people all learning together . It ’ s
|
just racing . We went through some struggles in the middle of the year . Hopefully we got all that out of our system and we can rock and roll now .”
Darlington winner Melanie Salemi finished second in her Strange Engineering-backed “ Purple Reign ” ’ 68 Firebird with a 3.75 at 197.39 , while recent first-time winner Ty Tutterow ended up third with a 3.76 at 197.71 in the GALOT Motorsports “ Tomcat ” ’ 69 Camaro
EXTREME PRO STOCK Doorslammer drag racing veteran John DeFlorian Jr . drove his Amsoil / Black Diamond ’ 16 Camaro to a 4.108 at 175.59 to hold the No . 1 spot for the first time in two years . It was a surprising performance for DeFlorian , who serves as the shop foreman at Jerry Haas Race Cars .
“ To be honest , we ’ ve had a hard , tough year ,” DeFlorian said . “ When the car left the starting line there , it felt really good and smooth . The light came on , I made the shift and the shift lights were just going on and off , real smooth . I watched a couple cars ahead of me go 4.14 or 4.15 and I was just hoping to run somewhere around there . I went through the finish line , saw the scoreboard and started screaming and carrying on in the car like a lunatic . I was so happy , I couldn ’ t believe it went that fast . Didn ’ t expect that at all . I figured the guys behind me were going to pick up and run faster – and I would have been fine with that . Just to go down the track , use all the gears and throw the ‘ chutes is a thrill .
|
“ We ’ re really happy about that run ,” DeFlorian continued . “ The Amsoil Camaro has been through some trials . I feel like we ’ ve battled through , all because of the people behind me : my great crew and my sponsor , Amsoil . We ’ ll see what tomorrow brings , but it ’ s a great Friday night .”
Chasing DeFlorian in second was Extreme Pro Stock points leader Cary Goforth with a 4.113 at 175.43 in his Dean ’ s Casing Service / Dewayne Higgins Trucking ’ 14 Camaro . John Montecalvo
|
was third in his new Haas-built ’ 17 Camaro with a 4.121 at 175.52
PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE Longtime Pro Extreme Motorcycle rider Terry Schweigert jumped to the top of the qualifying order during the second session , recording a 4.042 at 174.66 aboard his Canadian flag-themed ’ 12 Suzuki . The Abbottsford , BC , resident earned his first low qualifier award of the season .
“ It ’ s a nice way to go to sleep , being No . 1 ,” Schweigert said . “ We ’ ve been struggling a bit this year , so it ’ s nice to be on top for the day . We ’ re going to bed as the low qualifiers , but there ’ s one more round of qualifying tomorrow . I think it ’ s going to take lower than a 4.04 to hold the top spot by the time qualifying is over .”
Indy No . 1 qualifier Chris Garner-Jones tailed Schweigert in second with his 4.047 at 173.27 on his T . T . Jones Racing ’ 15 Hayabusa . Three-time and defending world champion Eric McKinney wasn ’ t far behind in third on his McKinney Motorsports entry with a 4.063 at 176.10 .
TOP SPORTSMAN Engine builder Billy “ The Kid ” Albert drove Stan Nance ’ s ’ 17 Camaro to a 3.967 at 192.63 to hold the No . 1 spot in Top Sportsman after three qualifying sessions . Fellow Virginian Randy Perkinson was second with a 4.046 at 182.26 in his ’ 16 Camaro , followed by Barry Daniluk ’ s naturally aspirated ’ 68 Camaro in third with a 4.079 at 178.90 .
TOP DRAGSTER With a fairly new ProCharger-equipped combination from Pro Line Racing , Jimmy Sackuvich rocketed to the lead in Top Dragster with a 3.90 at 188.52 . North Carolina hog farmer Chaz Silance qualified second with a 3.905 at 186.23 , while Oklahoma ’ s own Wade Pennington was third with a 3.921 at 185.36 .
|
|||
PDRA660 . com 97 |