SHIELDS, VENEY WIN AT VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK
PETERSBURG, Va. – At the Eastern Region Lucas Oil Drag Racing Season opener at Virginia Motorsports Park, reigning Top Alcohol Dragster world champ Duane Shields put a disastrous start to his title defense behind him, outlasting a giant field for his first victory of the season. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Todd Veney drove Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream Impala to a close final-round win over D.J. Cox, 5.66 seconds to 5.69.
Shields, who had gone up in smoke right off the line in the first round in each of his four previous starts this year, qualified No. 3 and ran down Jackie Fricke and Mike Kosky in the preliminary rounds and Rich McPhillips, who had dominated all weekend, in the final.
"The car has run well at every track we’ve been to this year – just not in eliminations," Shields said. "It’s kind of hard to tune the thing when it only goes five feet, but we got it calmed down this weekend and finally got a win."
Fricke, who won a national event at this track as a Super Comp driver, got the jump in round one, but Shields ran her down, 5.40 to 5.47. In the semi’s, Kosky, who closed 2011 with his first national event win since 1999, was off like a shot and seemingly had the race in hand when his fuel tank ruptured and Shields slipped past him, 5.41, 268 mph to 5.61, 253.
"I saw him almost all the way," Shields said. "My car usually makes a charge at the top end, but I was already thinking, ‘I don’t know about this…’ because he was so far out there. Then he just disappeared and I shot by him."
The final was over early when McPhillips, who ran quicker on his worst qualifying run (5.33) than any other driver did on his best, went up in smoke a few hundred feet off the line. After qualifying No. 1 with a 5.31, McPhillips had low e.t. of the opening round with a 5.37 against two-time Division 1 champ John Finke and low e.t. of the semifinals with a 5.34 opposite Doug Foley’s close 5.39. He slipped to a 6.98 in the final while Shields streaked to a 5.38, his quickest run of eliminations.
"It really left hard that time," Shields said. "I dropped a cylinder pretty early in the run and still ran a .38. McPhillips had been running so well all weekend that when I felt it drop that cylinder I was sure he was going to come around me, but he never did."
Seventeen drivers attempted to qualify, and several "name" drivers missed the cut, including Chase Copeland, Dan Page, and 2011 Division 1 champion Karen Stalba, who broke behind the line on her final qualifying attempt.
In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Veney qualified No. 1 and set low e.t. and top speed with a 5.60 at 258.07 mph. "It’s great to win a race this early in the season," he said. "I really owe Jay, tuner Tommy Howell, and our whole team for having this car set up perfectly all weekend. We overcame some problems and won some close ones – especially the semi’s and the final. Eric Lourie and I always seem to have good races, and D.J. is someone I have a lot of respect for. He’s really a good driver – most people just don’t know about him yet."
Cox ran a strong 5.66 on his only qualifying run, which was his first run anywhere all year. He took out the automatic-transmission-equipped car of Wayne Morris in round one, 5.72 to 5.78, and recent Charlotte runner-up Dan Pomponio in the semifinals, 5.70 to 5.75, and left first in every round.
Former NHRA Lucas Oil Comp Champion Frank Aragona, Freehold, N.J., grabbed the win in Comp Eliminator defeating Steve Szupka, Willow Grove, Pa., as both drivers suffered mechanical problems in the final round while Lincoln Morehead held off the hard charging Byron Worner in Super Stock. Morehead, Marlboro, N.Y., drove his ’87 Camaro to a 10.136 second, 129.83 mph pass to Worner’s 9.915, 133.42 out of Duncannon, Pa.
A pair of home state racers made trips to the winners circle with Kevin Maupin, Stuarts Draft, Va., winning in Super Gas and Mark Payne, Waynesboro, Va., in the Division’s MXI/Magnaflux Top Sportsman class. Maupin beat second generation driver Mike Sawyer in his ’93 Beretta with a perfect reaction time coupled with a 9.892 second, 149.71 mph lap. Payne clocked in at 192.22 mph in 7.026 seconds for the win over John Taylor, Naples, Fla.
Other winners in Petersburg were Donald Pires, Somerset, Mass., in Stock; Tom Cable, Hughesville, Md., in Super Comp; Brian Lee Baker, Asheboro, N.C., in Super Street and Bill Russell, Russell, Mass., in Top Dragster.
Running in conjunction with the Lucas Oil event this weekend was Pro Stock Snowmobile with Scott Marsh, Highland, N.Y., taking out the No. 1 qualifier Ed Armstrong in the final round. Marsh went 8.360, 152.02 mph to Armstrong’s 8.426, 154.05.
Northeast Division racers head to Maple Grove Raceway for the next NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, May 25-27.
The following are the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Virginia Motorsports Park:
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER:
Round 1
2) Duane Shields, Boulder City, Nev., 5.406, 267.22 def. 7) Jackie Fricke, Flemington, N.J., 5.472, 263.51
4) Doug Foley, Statesville, N.C., 5.394, 241.32 def. 5) Aaron Tatum, Oklahoma City, 5.531, 261.88
3) Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa., 5.387, 260.86 def. 6) Dan Mercier, LaPrairie, Quebec, 5.392, 265.69
1) Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville, Pa., 5.377, 271.68 def. 8) John Finke, Selkirk, N.Y., 15.005, 68.67
Semifinals
Shields, 5.414, 268.28 def. Kosky, 5.619, 253.28
McPhillips, 5.345, 272.56 def. Foley, 5.396, 264.39
Final
Shields, 5.380, 265.12 def. McPhillips, 6.982, 143.93
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR:
Round 1
2) Dan Pomponio, Berlin, N.J., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.701, 254.71 def. 7) Fred Tigges, Holbrook, Mass.,
'01 Avenger, foul
5) Eric Lourie, Terryville, Conn., '02 Camaro, 5.991, 248.16 def. 4) John Anderika, Wyoming, Pa.,
'06 Monte Carlo, 11.816, 61.55
3) DJ Cox Jr., Whiteford, Md., '09 Monte Carlo, 5.720, 251.95 def. 6) Wayne Morris, Lincoln Univ., Pa., '09 Mustang, 5.780, 248.29
1) Todd Veney, Indianapolis, '10 Impala SS, 5.658, 256.02 def. 8) Melinda Green-King, Norfolk, Va., '09 Mustang, 5.804, 245.72
Semifinals
Cox Jr., 5.707, 252.66 def. Pomponio, 5.750, 252.80
Veney, 5.712, 253.28 def. Lourie, 5.749, 250.83
Final
Veney, 5.667, 253.99 def. Cox Jr., 5.697, 253.66
COMP ELIMINATOR
Frank Aragona, Freehold, N.J., dragster, F/ED, broke def. Steve Szupka, Willow Grove, Pa., '32 Bantam, G/EA, broke
SUPER STOCK
Lincoln Morehead, Marlboro, N.Y., '89 Camaro, GT/GA, 10.136, 129.83 def. Byron Worner, Duncannon, Pa., '96 Camaro, SS/IA, 9.915, 133.42
STOCK ELIMINATOR
Don Pires Jr, Somerset, Mass., '72 Nova, H/SA, 11.915, 97.26 def. Sterling Simmons, Chesterfield, Va., '98 Camaro, D/SA, foul
SUPER COMP
Tom Cable, Hughesville, Md., dragster, 8.915, 173.09 def. Ken Griffiths, Eden Prairie, Minn., dragster, 8.920, 168.56
SUPER GAS
Kevin Maupin, Stuarts Draft, Va., '93 Beretta, 9.892, 149.71 def. Mike Sawyer, Leominster, Mass.,
'03 Cavalier, 9.890, 157.03
SUPER STREET
Brian Lee Baker, Asheboro, N.C., '71 Comet, 10.910, 140.02 def. James Neville, Franklinville, N.J., '79 Camaro, 10.884, 127.81
TOP SPORTSMAN
Mark Payne, Waynesboro, Va., '06 Cavalier, 7.026, 192.22 def. John Taylor, Naples, Fla., '99 Dakota, 7.543, 178.07
TOP DRAGSTER
Bill Russell, Chester, Mass., dragster, 6.786, 197.13 def. Jason Hoff, Littlestown, Pa., dragster, 6.885, 194.52
PRO STOCK SNOWMOBILE
Scott Marsh, Highland, N.Y., '05 Ski Doo, 8.360, 152.02 def. Ed Armstrong, Westfield, Mass., '03 Ski Doo, 8.426, 154.05
