O’FALLON, MO (Aug. 18, 2009) — When the 2009 National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Tour opened at Houston in March, practically every team present dreamed of championship glory after surviving a grueling points chase and prevailing in the National Guard ADRL’s unique, end-of-season shootout that’s slated for Dallas this October.
Now, with only two opportunities left to accumulate points toward qualifying for the Speedtech Battle for the Belts, those still in contention, or still hoping to be, will be keeping their calculators as close by as their wrenches during the Aug. 21-22, Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags III at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio. The Ohio event will be followed by the National Guard ADRL’s Flowmaster Dragstock VI at Rockingham (NC) Dragway next month, and then it’s on to Texas for the championship-deciding Battles.
The Speedtech Battle for the Belts will pit the top eight points earners in each of the ADRL’s five professional racing classes against each other in Friday-night eliminations during the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals V at the Texas Motorplex. Points earned in Saturday’s National Guard ADRL race at Dallas will actually count toward the 2010 championship chase.
Everyone who makes at least one qualifying attempt at a National Guard ADRL event receives 25 points and qualifying on top of a 16-car field earns another 16 points (15 for 2nd, 14 for 3rd, and so on). With each elimination-round win paying 100 points (500 going to the event winner) and 50-point bonuses for setting official elapsed time and speed records, each event offers the potential for 641 points. Plus, a 50-point bonus goes to every driver who attends all events in a single season.
Heading into Hebron, only the points leaders in Pro Extreme (PX), Pro Nitrous (PN), Pro Extreme Motorcycle (PXM) and Extreme Pro Stock (XPS) have clinched positions for the 2009 Speedtech Battle for the Belts, while the top three in Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 (XTF) have also guaranteed their inclusion.
Back-to-back reigning world champion Jason Scruggs leads the way in Pro Extreme with a more-than-four-rounds advantage over second-place man Quain Stott and more than seven rounds on Mike Janis in third. Also currently in the top eight are Todd Tutterow, National Guard driver Joshua Hernandez, 2006 series champ Bubba Stanton, Cody Barklage and Frankie Taylor.
The PX Battle field is far from set, however, as Barklage and especially Taylor are well within striking distance of challengers that include Ohio’s own Brian Daniels and youngster Jason Hamstra, both less than 30 points out of contention. With a solid outing in the next two events, along with perhaps a little faltering by those ahead of him, Tommy D’Aprile also could make a run at qualifying, with outside chances also available to Joey Martin, Wes Johnston and Travis Swearingen in the second National Guard entry.
In Pro Nitrous, Jim Halsey, a three-time event winner this season, enjoys a nearly 1,000-point lead over the Al-Anabi Racing triumvirate of rookie Khalid Al-Balooshi, Shannon Jenkins and Mike Castellana. The second half of the current PN Belts contenders includes Johnny Pilcher, Stan Allen, Steve Vick and Halsey teammate Pat Stoken.
Burton Auxier in a fourth Al-Anabi car is next on the list, just 56 points behind Stoken and exactly one round behind Vick. Realistically, only Auxier has a significant chance at breaking into the Belts race, as 10th-place Tim Savell is more than four rounds out of contention, followed by Thomas Myers and John DeFlorian Jr.
Not only has defending Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 World Champion Billy Glidden guaranteed his 2009 Speedtech Battle for the Belts appearance; he’s clinched the number-one seed with a 1,418-point advantage over Gary White, who currently sits just 23 markers up on Jeff Naiser.
Beyond that it’s a big 485-point drop to Todd Moyer in fourth place, with Jake Carlton and Jeff Paulk tied behind him and Chuck Ulsch and Spiro Pappas rounding out the eight-car field. And with more than five rounds separating ninth-place Randy Matlock from Pappas, it appears very likely the 2009 Flowmaster XTF championship contenders have already been established.
Scott Gray is carrying a comfortable 659-point lead over Ashley Owens into the Ohio Drags, but the Pro Extreme Motorcycle class tightens up considerably after that. Brothers Matt and Charlie Prophit are presently third and fourth, with Eric McKinney, Ronald Procopio, Travis Davis and Casey Stemper placed fifth through eighth, respectively.
It remains close among the current non-qualifiers, too, with Jack Young, T.T. Jones and Mantez Thompson all within 40 points of Stemper and it takes looking all the way down to defending two-time PXM champion Billy Vose in 16th place to find the first rider more than four rounds beyond Belts contention.
Four-time event winner Brian Gahm of Lucasville, Ohio, has a nearly insurmountable grip on first place in the inaugural year of the Extreme Pro Stock class with a 1,255-point advantage over John Montecalvo. Doug Kirk is next, with Jason Collins, Elijah Morton, Matt Hartford, Cary Goforth and Robert Patrick Jr. following.
Jeff Dobbins would need to overcome a 105-point deficit to oust Patrick from the Belts race, with Dean Goforth (Cary’s father) just over two rounds outside the field.
The National Guard ADRL has been attracting record crowds throughout 2009 with the quickest, fastest, wildest eighth-mile show in the world, but with so much now riding on the outcome of the Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags III, fans in the Buckeye State are also guaranteed to witness pivotal moments in the 2009 Speedtech Battle for the Belts points chase.
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