DOHA, QATAR (January 14, 2011) – After qualifying in the top spot for the second straight race in the Arabian Drag Racing League, Alex Hossler was eager to finish the job this time.
That it took some good luck in the finals was of no concern to the Pro Extreme standout who had suffered his share of mishaps through the first half of the eight-race season.
The second half of the year is quickly proving to be a different story as Hossler was the top driver on both days in Round Five at Qatar Racing Club (QRC), finishing the job on Friday with a fortune-filled win in the finals against Von Smith.
Hossler went 4.09 to beat Smith, who struggled to a 7.94.
"We had some good runs and turned those into rounds wins and then in the finals, we got lucky," Hossler said. "We had a lot of luck in the bank from the first three rounds and we made a withdrawal for this one."
Other winners on Friday included Khalid Al-Balooshi in Pro Nitrous, giving him three victories in five races, 2010 American Drag Racing League (ADRL) PX World Champion Frankie Taylor in Extreme 10.5 and Mohd Borashid in Pro Extreme Motorcycle.
Race by race, Hossler had gotten closer to a finish like Friday, but the end result produced a sigh of relief from the Al-Anabi Racing driver. That he was able to win in a field that had a qualifying bump of 3.72 and featured numerous runs in the 3.6s left him even more satisfied.
After qualifying in the top spot with a blistering and career-best 3.62 at 210 miles per hour, Hossler went 3.65 in a first-round win against Bader Ali.
That set up a meeting with teammate and points leader J.R. Todd, and, in a thrilling drag race, Hossler's 3.65 at 208 mph beat Todd's 3.66 and 207 mph.
The racing wasn't as memorable in the final, but Hossler figured he was more than due.
After red-lighting in the semifinals of Round Four against Smith last week, Hossler pulled out a remarkable .001 reaction time, doing just enough the rest of the way to get the win.
"We were just able to pedal it down and we got lucky that Von had a little more trouble than we did," Hossler said.
Taylor wasn't celebrating his narrow first-round loss to Matt Smith in Pro Extreme (3.63 to 3.65), but he made up for it with a red-light win against 2010 ADRL World Champion Dan Millen in the finals of Extreme 10.5.
Millen went an incredible 3.84 at 202 mph, but his quick start gave the win to Taylor, who went 3.93 at 194 mph while pulling double-duty in Round Five.
"It's pretty cool to win the first (Extreme) 10.5 class race outside of the states," Taylor said. "I saw someone red-light and just hoped it wasn't me.
"It turns out we also had a flat tire at the finish line. We were dropping down at the finish line, but this is a pretty exciting deal."
Taylor went 3.96 in his first-round win, knocking off David Hance with another 3.96 at 194 mph in the semifinals. The "Madman" stepped it up in the finals, but also conceded that Millen remains the favorite in the four-race XTF season.
"It's coming around pretty good," Taylor said. "I think the next race we could get in the mid-80s, but Millen is the man to beat right now. We got lucky and he gave us one."
Al-Balooshi's points lead in Pro Nitrous will only balloon after another strong performance at QRC.
A day after he set the PN record with a 3.80 in qualifying, Al-Balooshi and the Speedtech team pulled out another 3.80 in a first-round win. He followed with a 3.82 in the semifinals before going 3.83 in a holeshot victory against Shannon Jenkins.
"He's really been running well. They unloaded with a good combination and they're racing well," Jenkins said. "(Al-Balooshi) is driving well and he's doing a super job."
Jenkins saw some positive signs on Friday, going 3.81 in the finals as the Al-Anabi Racing driver seems to be putting things together.
"It was good. We should be better when we come back," Jenkins said. "We're slowly dialing it in."
Round Six and the start of the three-race session in February that closes out the 2010-2011 season begins with qualifying on February 3.
DOHA, Qatar -- Friday's final results from the Round Five at Qatar Racing Club. The race is the Fifth of Eight in the Arabian Drag Racing League:
Pro Extreme -- Alex Hossler, Camaro, 4.094, 155.97 def. Von Smith, Camaro, 7.942, 55.16.
Pro Nitrous -- Khalid Al-balooshi, Camaro, 3.836, 196.33 def. Shannon Jenkins, Camaro, 3.819, 197.10.
Pro Extreme Motorcycle -- Mohd Borashid, Hayabuza, 4.187, 161.50 def. Meshal Al-saber, Suz, foul.
Extreme 10.5 -- Frankie Taylor, Corvette, 3.932, 194.27 def. Dan Millen, Mustang, 3.842, 202.00.
Outlaw 10.5 -- Mike Hill, Corvette, 5.984, 81.21 def. Chad Morgan, Firebird, foul.
Top Sportsman -- Mustafa Atat, Mustang, 3.979, 195.03 def. Saoud Al-shafi, Willys, broke.
Outlaw 6 Cylinder SS -- Saad Almaran, Sky, 6.410, 129.69 def. Mohamed Haji, Sky, broke.
Outlaw 8 Cylinder SS -- Ali Almarri, Mustang, 4.807, 155.01 def. Talal Ben Eidan, Mustang, 5.997, 129.18.
Superstreet Bike -- Mashari Al-turki, Suzuki, 4.838, 151.73 def. Hattan Al-abbadi, Hayabusa, 5.183, 144.74.
Street Bike -- Khalid Al-dusari, Hayabusa, 5.583, 134.48 def. Bader Beneidan, Hayabusa, 5.867, 134.28.
Al Anabi Dragsters -- Skyler Johnston, Mullis, 4.827, 139.41 def. A.rahman Alnaemi, Mullis, 5.155, 104.74.
4.50 Index Class -- Hisham Al-Mulla, Pontiac, 9.572, 85.52 def. Bader Khorshed, Willis, broke.
