Drag Illustrated Issue 129, January / February 2018 | Page 96

THE
CHAMPIONS
ISSUE
JESSIE WILSON
RICKY PENNINGTON
DOUG DUELL
ANDY WARREN
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
NHRA NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR RYAN HODGSON
96 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 129
showcase Detroit-made muscle, Scott Libersher
qualified in the third position with an 8.31 in his
COPO Camaro, and even though he exited com-
petition in the semifinal, he pulled off the class
championship with just 205 points more than
Chuck Watson, Sr. The Illinois-based driver also
earned wins at the events in Georgia, Kentucky
and Illinois.
“It was a battle all season,” Libersher asserts.
“There are a lot of good competitors in the class,
and if you look at the qualifying and elimination
sheets, you’ll see that everyone was running very
close. It’s funny because we all get along and have
good camaraderie away from the track, but it
was every man for himself on the starting line.”
Jesse Wilson wheeled Kelly Pierce’s Camaro
to a 10.25 to lead Chevrolet Performance Stock
presented by Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center qual-
ifying, and he made it to the final round, where
he achieved a runner-up finish and cemented the
class championship. The Indiana-based driver,
who won at the events in Kentucky, Illinois and
Ohio, doubled-up on the deed as he also cap-
tured the Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series
Chevrolet Performance Stock championship.
Another driver competing in more than one
class is Ricky Pennington, who was equally fo-
cused on FSC Stock/Super Stock Combo and
MagnaFuel Open Comp. In FSC Stock/Super
Stock Combo, he qualified in the second spot
in his Mustang Cobra Jet, advanced to the third
round and collected the class championship with
just 50 points more than Doug Duell. In Mag-
naFuel Open Comp in his other car, a Chevelle,
he won and wound up with the class champion-
ship. Alabama-based Pennington, who made his
NMCA debut this year, also earned wins in Open
Comp at the events in Florida and Illinois, and
a runner-up finish in Stock/Super Stock Combo
at the event in Ohio.
“Between the two classes and the two different
cars, I was racing opposite ends of the spectrum,
and it was very unpredictable, but also very excit-
ing,” Pennington says. “The day after the race, all
my dad, Rick, and I could think about was how
everything worked out, and how we had won two
championships. It was amazing.”
In ATI Nostalgia Super Stock, Doug Duell
went five rounds in his Fury wagon, and that was
enough for him to earn his fifth championship in
the class. Indiana-based Duell also earned wins
at the events in Florida, Georgia and Illinois.
“Every year, you wonder if you still got it, and
to find out that you do is very satisfying,” Duell
admits. “I race with a great group of racers who
really study racing and practice. They’re very, very
hard to beat, and they keep me sharp.”
Despite losing in the second round in Detroit
TrueTrac Nostalgia Muscle Car, Andy Warren
wheeled his Caprice to his sixth championship in
the class. Kentucky-based Warren also earned a
runner-up at the event in Kentucky and wins at
the events in Illinois and Ohio. - MIKE GALIMI
DI DI DI