Evans, Turner headline Friday Mardi Gras Nitro Jam winners
BATON ROUGE, La. (May 4, 2012) – Through four races Ron Maroney was darn near unbeatable.
That is, until he met Mike Hilsabeck.
In
Hlsabeck's Nitro Jam debut the Fuel Altered racer out of Phoenix, Ariz.
upset undefeated Maroney in an exciting final that saw the driver of
the "Arizona Thunder" win in a pedal fest to bring the opening night of
the Mardi Gras Nitro Jam presented by Domino's Pizza at State Capitol
Raceway to a close.
Fuel Altered winner Mike Hilsabeck
Hilsabeck
was joined by winners Bill Evans in Pro Fuel and Jay Turner in Nitro
Harley on the first night of action at the Louisiana track. Nitro Jam's
AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car class was cut short of its final due
to moisture on the track.
Hilsabeck,
a longtime legend in the Fuel Altered category, produced two strong
rounds to drive around Kyle Hough in Nanook in round one before meeting
Maroney in the final. With the exciting – and rather late – evening
crossing over into a new day, Hilsabeck and Maroney engaged in a pedal
fest that saw Hilsabeck clock a 9.072, 156.73 behind the wheel of his
'23 Roadster to Maroney's 10.250, 146.17.
In the consolation round Hough drove around Tom Padilla in "Nasty Benjamin" to pick up the round win.
Nitro Harley winner Jay Turner
In Nitro Harley North Carolina native Jay Turner continued his undefeated streak to move to 6-0 in rounds won with a victory over Canadian Mike Scott. Turner defeated Louisiana's own Randal Andras in the opening tilt before matching up with Scott in the final. Turner ran a 6.852, 156.16 in the final to pick up his third Ironman trophy of the year.
Defending champion Steve Dorn defeated Andras in the consolation pairing.
Evans
wrapped up Friday's professional categories with two strong runs
beginning with an opening round win over Robin Samsel. Evans was
scheduled to lock horns with Cherissa Smallwood in the final, but
Smallwood failed to fire and Evans was able to power down the track in
an easy win to pick up his 10th career Nitro Jam victory.
Pro Fuel winner Bill Evans
Nitro Jam's most recent race winner Kristen Dennis recorded the consolation round win over Samsel.
Brad
Thompson and James Day, driving Louisiana's famous Candies & Hughes
machine, were scheduled to meet in the AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny
Car final, but moisture on the track prevented the pair from competing
their final runs.
Friday's
Mardi Gras Nitro Jam opener also featured a round of Outlaw Pro
Modified racing as Denham Springs, La. native Al Suggs rocketed to the
top of the qualifying charts with a blistering 3.981, 181.48 run in the
1/8 mile, light-years ahead of the rest of the competition. Last year's
winner Joe Palmisano was second on the charts with a 4.239, 173.14
followed by Joseph Mohana, Bill Doucet and Delaney Weaver.
Outlaw Pro Mod top qualifier Al Suggs Jr.
In
the final pass of the evening the world famous Grave Digger piloted by
Randy Brown took two round wins over Joey Parnell in Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtle.
The
Mardi Gras Nitro Jam presented by Domino's Pizza will continue on
Saturday with the final day of professional competition in Pro Fuel
Dragster, AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car, Nitro Harley and Fuel
Altered in addition to two more rounds of Outlaw Pro Modified qualifying
and hundreds of sportsman racers in competition. Saturday's Mardi Gras
finale will also include jet dragsters, jet funny cars, the Chevy
Rebellion wheelstander and the monster truck showdown between Grave
Digger and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in addition to all the nitro
action.
Gates open at 2 p.m. with FanFest scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and two more rounds of Nitro Jam at 8 p.m.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Saturday's final results from the IHRA Mardi Gras Nitro Jam presented by Domino's Pizza, Day One at State Capitol Raceway. The race is the third of eight in the 2012 Nitro Jam Series:
PRO FUEL DRAGSTER
Bill Evans, Miramar, Fla., dragster, 8.445, 108.40 def. Cherissa Smallwood, Gainesville, Fla., dragster, broke.
NOSTALGIA FUEL ALTERED
Mike Hilsabeck, Phoenix, Ariz., '23 roadster, 9.072, 156.73 def. Ron Maroney, Gilbert, Ariz., '32 Bantam, 10.250, 146.17.
NITRO HARLEY
Jay Turner, Julian, N.C., 6.852, 156.16 def. Mike Scott, Blind Bay, B.C., 8.902, 105.41.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Final round-by-round results from the IHRA Mardi Gras Nitro Jam presented by Domino's Pizza, Day One at State Capitol Raceway, the third of eight events in the 2012 Nitro Jam Series:
NITRO HARLEY:
ROUND ONE -- Mike Scott, 6.490, 218.34 def. Steve Dorn, DQ; Jay Turner, 6.479, 200.57 def. Randal Andras, 9.158, 95.05;
SEMIFINALS -- S. Dorn, 8.041, 139.90 def. R. Andras, 9.165, 95.65;
FINAL -- J. Turner, 6.852, 156.16 def. M. Scott, 8.902, 105.41.
PROSTALGIA NITRO FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE -- Brad Thompson, Chevy Nova, 6.052, 217.54 def. James Day, Plymouth Barracuda, 11.032, 76.94;
FINAL -- Cancelled because of moisture on the track.
PRO FUEL DRAGSTER:
ROUND ONE -- Cherissa Smallwood, Innovative, 8.643, 128.24 def. Kristen Dennis, Monden, 14.051, 73.69; Bill Evans, Spitzer, 5.992, 241.02 def. Robin Samsel, Dragster, 6.845, 149.00;
SEMIFINALS -- K. Dennis, 7.565, 123.83 def. R. Samsel, 20.990, 34.20;
FINAL -- B. Evans, 8.445, 108.40 def. C. Smallwood, broke.
NOSTALGIA FUEL ALTERED:
ROUND ONE -- Ron Maroney, Bantam, 6.870, 180.14 def. Tom Padilla, '23-T Ford, 9.998, 81.35; Mike Hilsabeck, '23-T Ford, 7.656, 138.54 def. Kyle Hough, '23-T Ford, 8.098, 159.63;
SEMIFINALS -- K. Hough, 9.033, 122.23 def. T. Padilla, 10.855, 78.17;
FINAL -- M. Hilsabeck, 9.072, 156.73 def. R. Maroney, 10.250, 146.17.
