Smallwood shows up the boys on opening night
Boychuk, Maroney, Pelrine take Ironman Friday at Arizona Nitro Jam
TUCSON, Ariz. (March 23, 2012) – You couldn't have scripted it any better.
It
took Cherissa Smallwood seven months to pick up her first career Nitro
Jam victory at the 2011 season finale and now, another seven months
later, Smallwood is back in victory lane with two straight – albeit
rather far apart – victories coming in front of a packed house at the
2012 Arizona Nitro Jam presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports at
Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Ariz.
Cherissa Smallwood defeated Bill Evans in the Pro Fuel final
Smallwood
bested former champion Bill Evans in the "Black Pearl" to pick up her
second career Nitro Jam victory in the Pro Fuel Dragster class, while
Tim Boychuk drove his "Troy Lee Designs" Firebird to a victory in AMSOIL
Prostalgia™ Nitro Funny Car over Mike Savage in "Candies and Hughes."
Also picking up wins at the 2012 Nitro Jam season opener was Ron Maroney
in Fuel Altered and Devin Pelrine in Nitro Harley.
Smallwood
had two consistent passes and saved the best for last with a career
best elapsed time to defeat Evans in the final. Smallwood pushed her
"Nitro and Lace" dragster to a 5.553, 245.76 in the final to Evans'
5.645, 258.22.
"We
had it loaded and ready to fire," Smallwood said. "We were very
optimistic going into this weekend, but we remained cautious because you
never know what is going to happen. After round one we felt really good
about the car and our chances and then we fired off a great run in the
final to pick up our second Ironman.
Smallwood won her second Ironman in a row on Friday
"To
win is incredible, but to do it against a guy like Bill makes it that
much sweeter. These guys are such great competitors and that only adds
to the joy of picking up a win."
Smallwood
advanced to the final with a solid pass against Robin Samsel in round
one. Johnny Ahten, making his second career Nitro Jam start, finished
with a consolation round win over Samsel.
Tim
Boychuk was the other noisemaker on Friday in what proved to be a wild
night in the AMSOIL Prostalgia™ Nitro Funny Car class. Defending world
champion Pete Gallen opened the 2012 season with a major breakage on his
brand new "Poverty Stricken" car, opening the door for one of the
remaining competitors to step into the final and gain some valuable
early season points.
Mike
Savage filled the first spot with a solid run right down broadway while
Boychuk advanced to fill the second spot with a holeshot victory over
James Day. Boychuk then went to work, blasting past Mike Savage in the
"Candies and Hughes" machine to collect his fifth career Ironman.
Boychuk ran a 5.826, 247.61 in the final to Savage's 7.249, 220.15.
Tim Boychuk defeated Mike Savage in the Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car final
In
the consolation round Day got around Gallen in the closest drag race of
the entire night, a 5.855, 236.34 to a 5.884, 245.09 as Gallen opened
the new season with two round losses after recording just four all of
last season.
Nostalgia
Fuel Altered also provided a wild night of racing as the two winners
from round one were unable to get make the call leaving the two
remaining cars to battle it out for the win. Jason Richey and rookie
Kyle Hough were slated to meet in the Fuel Altered final, but issues
propelled Ron Maroney and Randy Bradford into the deciding tilt with
Maroney getting the slight edge.
Maroney
had all kinds of issues in his first pass of the night, but righted a
few wrongs in the final with a solid 6.237, 225.60 to drive around
Bradford who wiggled all the way down the track for the second
consecutive run.
Wrapping
up the pro rounds was the Nitro Harley class as Devin Pelrine, all the
way from Alberta, Canada, bested fellow Canadian Mike Scott in the
final. Neither car had their best runs as Pelrine crossed the line first
with a 7.072, 202.03 as Scott went red by the smallest of margins.
Les
Shockley's Super Shockwave jet truck brought the evening to a close,
along with the side-by-side battle of the jet trains and Ed "The Outlaw"
Jones and his wild wheelstander.
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Saturday's final results from the IHRA Arizona Nitro Jam Day One at Southwestern International Raceway. The race is the first of eight in the 2012 Nitro Jam Series:
PROSTALGIA FUNNY CAR
Tim Boychuk, Edmonton, Alb., '77 Firebird, 5.826, 247.61 def. Mike Savage, Tucson, Ariz., '70 Barracuda, 7.249, 220.15.
PRO FUEL DRAGSTER
Cherissa Smallwood, Gainesville, Fla., dragster, 5.553, 245.76 def. Bill Evans, Miramar, Fla., dragster, 5.654, 258.22.
NOSTALGIA FUEL ALTERED
Jim Maroney, Gilbert, Ariz., '32 Bantam, 6.237, 225.60 def. Randy Bradford, Camano, Wash., '37 Topolino, 7.037, 206.83.
NITRO HARLEY
Devin Pelrine, Lamont, Alb., 7.072, 202.03 def. Mike Scott, Blind Bay, B.C., foul.
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Final round-by-round results from the IHRA Arizona Nitro Jam Day One at Southwestern International Raceway, the first of eight events in the 2012 Nitro Jam Series:
PROSTALGIA FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE -- Mike Savage, Plymouth Barracuda, 5.907, 232.75 def. Peter Gallen, Chevy Monza, broke; Tim Boychuk, Pontiac Firebird, 6.027, 237.71 def. James Day, Pontiac Trans Am, 6.000, 233.48;
CONSOLATION -- J. Day, 5.855, 236.34 def. P. Gallen, 5.884, 245.09;
FINAL -- T. Boychuk, 5.826, 247.61 def. M. Savage, 7.249, 220.15.
PRO FUEL DRAGSTER:
ROUND ONE -- Bill Evans, Spitzer, 5.624, 215.75 def. Johnny Ahten, Uyehara, 8.598, 96.99; Cherissa Smallwood, Innovative, 5.740, 251.95 def. Robin Samsel, Dragster, 6.406, 204.76;
CONSOLATION -- J. Ahten, 5.463, 247.07 def. R. Samsel, 6.374, 187.16;
FINAL -- C. Smallwood, 5.553, 245.76 def. B. Evans, 5.654, 258.22.
NOSTALGIA FUEL ALTERED:
ROUND ONE -- Jason Richey, Bantam, 6.865, 207.50 def. Jim Maroney, Bantam, 10.318, 85.37; Kyle Hough, '23-T Ford, 8.710, 162.74 def. Randy Bradford, Fiat Topolino, 10.243, 96.69;
FINAL -- J. Maroney, 6.237, 225.60 def. R. Bradford, 7.037, 206.83.
NITRO HARLEY:
ROUND ONE -- Devin Pelrine, no time def. Mike Pelrine, DQ; Mike Scott, 7.457, 183.27 was unopposed;
CONSOLATION -- M. Pelrine, 7.376, 188.75 was unopposed;
FINAL -- D. Pelrine, 7.072, 202.03 def. M. Scott, foul.
