Gallen bests Prostalgia record to pick up fourth win of season
Litton, Bennett, Manners and Turner all visit victory lane
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (April 1, 2011) – It appears Nitro Jam’s newest rivalry has been born.
For the fourth time in the last five finals Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car competitors Peter Gallen and Mike McIntire met in the final of the eight-car Funny Car class and for the fourth time this season Gallen took home the win needing a new Nitro Jam best run to lay claim to his 11th career Ironman trophy Friday at the San Antonio Nitro Jam in Texas.
“Mike and those guys are a world class group and it is an honor to get a chance to race them for the win,” Gallen said. “Those guys are giving it their all so we knew we needed to match that intensity to take home this trophy. We also had to fight a rapidly cooling track which these guys did an awesome job of keeping up with. This was a big win for us and we look forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow.”
Gallen ran a Nitro Jam best 5.770 elapsed time at 252.10 miles per hour to pick up the win as the fastest Prostalgia car on the east coast continued his reign of dominance in the new class. Other pro winners from the opening night of the San Antonio Nitro Jam were Bruce Litton in Top Fuel, Michael Manners in Pro Fuel, Chris Bennett in Nostalgia Fuel Altered and Jay Turner in Nitro Harley.
And Gallen and the “Poverty Stricken” team needed every bit of that record run to get around McIntire who has been steadily been improving as the season has progressed. McIntire had the “McAttack” Camaro tuned for a great race, but couldn’t keep up with the Purple Vega’s blistering pace, running a 5.910, 235.11 in the runner-up finish.
“That was one hell of a lap we put down out there,” Gallen said. “We weren’t really trying anything too radical, these guys kept it pretty consistent from the first run, but it really hooked up and got after it. Tomorrow I think we will play it pretty conservative in the first round, but if we are able to avoid any incidents we will really go after this thing and try to back it up.”
Gallen needs to run within one percent of Friday’s numbers on Saturday to officially claim the new Nitro Jam Prostalgia elapsed time and speed records.
In Friday’s Prostalgia consolation rounds Jon Capps in the “Jungle Jim” Camaro got round Mark Sanders, Mike Smith defeated Greg Jacobsmeyer and John Dunn beat Rick Krafft.
Despite not getting the win, McIntire did produce the fastest lap of round one to reach the final. In the opening tilt McIntire posted a class-leading 5.893, 237.59 to advance to the final to face Gallen who edged Rick Krafft and the “Chicago Fire” team by a little over a hundredth of a second.
Another tremendous race during Friday’s San Antonio Nitro Jam opener was produced in Top Fuel as Bruce Litton won the battle of the “Lucas Oil” cars for the second time this season with a weekend-best 4.774, 301.41 to drive around Bobby Lagana Jr. Lagana ran a 4.923, 275.23 in the runner-up effort as his two-race win streak came to a halt.
“This track owes me one and that is the way I look at it every time we pull into the lanes,” said Litton, who suffered a major wreck at the track back in 2004. “This track got me once so it is always nice to even the score a little. The car ran great tonight and I just want to thank Lucas Oil for giving me this opportunity and for helping us be out here and have the success we have had.”
Another driver on a hot streak as of late is Chris Bennett in the “Pure Heaven” Fuel Altered. Bennett won his third straight and fifth of the season as he downed Jim Maroney in Friday’s Nostalgia Fuel Altered final. Bennett ran a 6.334, 210.77 in the winning run.
“It is awful to say, but the car has like ‘Pure Heaven’ out there,” Bennett said. “The thing is running great and we haven’t had to do much to it to accomplish that. We have that thing set up to put on a good show for the fans and in turn it has been rewarding us with a few trophies. It has certainly been a nice start to the year.”
Despite picking up the win, Bennett actually didn’t own the fastest lap of the night. That honor went to his final round opponent Jim Maroney in “Blind Faith” who ran a 6.328, 203.80 in the opening round to qualify first on the charts. Unfortunately Maroney wasn’t able to back up those numbers as his car suffered a few problems during the final round pass.
In the consolation pairing Jason Richey in the “Pure Hell” entry defeated Ron Maroney in “Nanook”.
One class that returned to Nitro Jam competition after a one-race hiatus was the stars of Nitro Jam’s Pro Fuel Dragster class. And in that return it was Michael Manners in the “Shredder” turning on the win light in a victory over Robin Samsel.
Manners ran a 5.456, 261.78 in the solo victory as Samsel’s car lost fire just after the burnout. Manners also had low ET of round one with a 5.481, 263.93 proving that he is back and on the hunt. In the Pro Fuel consolation round Bill Evans ran low ET of the night in a win over Cherissa Smallwood, a very quick 5.390, 271.90.
Wrapping up Friday’s action was the Nitro Harley division as Jay Turner rebounded from a poor opening round effort to pick up his second win of the year.
Turner received a free pass into the final when his opening round opponent didn’t show, but Turner wasn’t able to take advantage of the free test session as his bike sputtered off the line and lost power near halftrack.
But whatever was plaguing Turner did not carry over into the final as he fired off a solid 6.494, 202.61 in a victory over Randal Andras who had to shut it off early when his machine began to get out of shape a few hundred feet into the run.
In the consolation round Mike Scott defeated Steve Dorn.
Friday’s opening night was brought to a close with a thrilling bout between the “Queen of Diamonds” and “Jersey Thunder” jet dragsters in addition to a showdown between the Grave Digger monster truck and the “Shockwave” jet semi, the “Airborne Express” wheelstander and many of the top sportsman drivers in the nation.
The San Antonio Nitro Jam will continue on Saturday with a huge finale as all of the classes run once more for a chance at victory. Gates open at 9 a.m. with sportsman racing throughout the afternoon followed by two more rounds of Nitro Jam beginning at 7 p.m.
SAN ANTONIO -- Friday's final results from the IHRA San Antonio Nitro Jam at San Antonio Raceway. The race is the fourth of 10 in the 2011 Nitro Jam Series:
TOP FUEL DRAGSTER DAY ONE
Bruce Litton, Indianapolis, Ind., 4.774 seconds, 301.41 mph def. Bobby Lagana Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y., 4.923 seconds, 275.23 mph.
PRO FUEL DRAGSTER DAY ONE
Michael Manners, Willis, Texas, dragster, 5.456, 261.78 def. Robin Samsel, Marion, Ind., dragster, broke.
PROSTALGIA FUNNY CAR DAY ONE
Peter Gallen, Broomall, Pa., '74 Vega, 5.770, 252.10 def. Mike McIntire, Chesterland, Ohio, '69 Camaro, 5.910, 235.11.
NITRO HARLEY DAY ONE
Jay Turner, Julian, N.C., 6.494, 202.61 def. Randal Andras, Amelia, La., 11.549, 80.26.
FUEL ALTERED DAY ONE
Chris Bennett, N. Las Vegas, Nev., '32 Bantam, 6.334, 210.77 def. Jim Maroney, Gilbert, Ariz. , '32 Bantam, broke.
SAN ANTONIO -- Final round-by-round results from the IHRA San Antonio Nitro Jam at San Antonio Raceway, the fourth of 10 events in the 2011 Nitro Jam Series:
TOP FUEL DRAGSTER DAY ONE:
ROUND ONE -- Bruce Litton, 4.941, 284.81 def. Bobby Lagana Jr., 5.674, 170.84;
FINAL -- B. Litton, 4.774, 301.41 def. B. Lagana Jr., 4.923, 275.23.
PRO FUEL DRAGSTER DAY ONE:
ROUND ONE -- Robin Samsel, Dragster, 5.727, 236.10 def. Cherissa Smallwood, Innovative, 6.328, 231.48; Michael Manners, Spitzer, 5.481, 263.93 def. Bill Evans, Spitzer, 5.789, 260.27;
CONSOLATION -- Evans, 5.390, 271.90 def. Smallwood, 9.053, 100.58;
FINAL -- Manners, 5.456, 261.78 def. Samsel, broke.
PROSTALGIA FUNNY CAR DAY ONE:
ROUND ONE -- Peter Gallen, Chevy Vega, 6.012, 246.58 def. Mark Sanders, Chevy Nova, 6.067, 238.85; Greg Jacobsmeyer, Dodge Challenger, 6.215, 220.80 def. Mike Smith, Ford Mustang, 6.415, 206.14; Mike McIntire, Chevy Camaro, 5.893, 237.59 def. Jon Capps, Camaro, 6.088, 209.99; Rick Krafft, Chevy Corvette, 6.038, 218.13 def. John Dunn, Plymouth Duster, 7.648, 132.24;
CONSOLATION -- Capps, 6.032, 235.97 def. Sanders, foul; Smith, 6.111, 214.29 def. Jacobsmeyer, 6.332, 219.60; Dunn, 7.923, 136.78 def. Krafft, 17.606, 77.27;
FINAL -- Gallen, 5.770, 252.10 def. McIntire, 5.910, 235.11.
NITRO HARLEY DAY ONE:
ROUND ONE -- Randal Andras, 6.776, 169.75 def. Mike Scott, 6.813, 188.84; Jay Turner, 13.050, 78.55 was unopposed;
CONSOLATION -- Scott, 6.995, 179.71 def. Dorn, 6.959, 192.06;
FINAL -- Turner, 6.494, 202.61 def. Andras, 11.549, 80.26.
FUEL ALTERED DAY ONE:
ROUND ONE -- Jim Maroney, 6.328, 203.80 def. Jason Richey, 6.406, 218.34; Chris Bennett, Austin Bantam, 6.369, 203.80 def. Ron W. Maroney, '-T Ford, 6.544, 219.51;
CONSOLATION -- Richey, 6.564, 211.64 def. R. Maroney, 6.541, 216.66;
FINAL -- Bennett, 6.334, 210.77 def. J. Maroney, broke.
