O’FALLON, MO (Sep. 2, 2009) — With just one last chance at gaining points toward finishing in the top eight and qualifying for the post-season 2009 Speedtech Battle for the Belts, every point gained—or missed—Sep. 11-12, at Flowmaster Dragstock VI in Rockingham, NC, could define the outcome for certain National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) teams.
The Speedtech Battle for the Belts will pit the top eight points earners in each of the National Guard ADRL’s five professional classes—Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Flowmaster Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Extreme Pro Stock—against each other in a unique, championship-deciding, elimination-rounds playoff during qualifying on the first day of the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals V, Oct. 23-24, at the Texas Motorplex, near Dallas.
National Guard ADRL competitors will actually begin accumulating points toward the 2010 Speedtech Battle for the Belts during LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals V racing on Saturday in Texas, just as this year’s first points-paying event was last October at the Motorplex.
New for this year, however, is a first-round bye granted to each points leader heading into their respective Speedtech Battle. This also means the seventh- and eighth-place Belts qualifiers in each class will race against each other first, during round two of qualifying, with the winner taking on the number-two contender in the quarter-finals round. Meanwhile, number three will take on number six and four will race five, just as in a traditional eight-car eliminations ladder.
So, to win a 2009 National Guard ADRL World Championship, a points leader would have to win only two rounds of head-to-head racing, the numbers two through six qualifiers would need to win three times, while number-seven and number-eight starters will face four rounds of potential elimination.
Additionally, each 2009 season points leader will receive a monetary reward and plaque recognizing their pre-Battle supremacy, with the Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous leaders each receiving $5,000; the Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 and Extreme Pro Stock leaders each receiving $2,500; and the Pro Extreme Motorcycle leader earning a $1,000 bonus.
With a potential 641 points available for any racer who qualifies number one, sets both ends of the official National Guard ADRL records and wins at Flowmaster Dragstock VI, plus a 50-point bonus available if the driver has attended all 10 events counting toward the 2009 season, only reigning back-to-back Pro Extreme World Champion Jason Scruggs has not yet cemented his position as the number-one seed heading into this year’s Speedtech Battle for the Belts.
Heading into Rockingham Dragway, Jim Halsey has secured the top qualifier spot in Pro Nitrous; current champ Billy Glidden will remain number one in Flowmaster Extreme 10.5; Scott Gray has wrapped up the Pro Extreme Motorcycle lead; and Brian Gahm already knows he will receive the first-round bye in Extreme Pro Stock.
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