HOOL WINS FUNNY CAR; ADCOCK DOUBLES AT LUCAS OIL EVENT
Wyoming's Kris Hool collected the first regional win of 2012 on Saturday, stopping perennial championship contender Mickey Ferro in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final at the rain-plagued NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Eastern Regional event at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville. Top Alcohol Dragster remains undecided; rain and high winds kept Rich McPhillips and Mark Taliaferro from meeting in the final, which will be contested next month in Gainesville during qualifying for the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.
Hool drove his and brother Kevin's Gripper Hand Cleaner Monte Carlo to a 5.71 second lap at 253 mph to stop Ferro, the reigning Gatornationals champion, whose Ryco-sponsored entry trailed with a close 5.78 at 251 mph. "It was a great race between two of the top 10 cars in the country last year," said Hool, who scored for the third time in his career, including his national event victory last season in Brainerd and a divisional win in Bradenton, Fla.
With a telepathic .002 reaction time, Hool had the lead from start to finish. "I didn't mean to cut it that close," he said. "It was totally dark when we ran the final, and everybody sees the Tree better at night. I study drivers, and Mickey's definitely one of the best leavers out there. He's usually in the .030s or .040s, so I knew I had to be on it. We both probably should have run a lot better. Last year, the track here was slippery and no one was getting down it, but this year the track was excellent. Kevin said that we definitely could have run in the .60s, but a .71 was enough to get the job done."
In Top Alcohol Dragster, Taliaferro and McPhillips were just two of numerous drivers to run in the 5.30s. Semifinalist Sidnei Frigo never ran slower than 5.36 all weekend and barely lost to Taliaferro, the No. 1 qualifier, in the semifinals, 5.32 to 5.34. McPhillips topped former Division 1 champion Dan Mercier in the other semifinal match, 5.35 to 5.38, and killed the Tree all weekend with a .003 reaction time in the opening round and a .019 against Mercier.
Defending national champ Duane Shields is off to a frustrating start in defense of his title. After smoking the tires right off the line at the season-opening Winternationals, he did the same here opposite Frigo.
Racing continued on Sunday with Sherman Adcock picking up a rare double win posting victories in both the Super Comp and the Super Gas classes. Due to high winds and in the interest of safety, the race distance was reduced to 1/8 mile in order to complete the race on Sunday.
The Fortson, Ga., resident Adcock first meet up with Mia Tedesco , Murrysville, Pa., in the Super Comp Final running a 5.721 second lap at 143.34 mph to Tedesco’s 5.724, 145.53. Adcock returned to the starting line a few minutes later to face off against Sergio Santovenis, Boca Raton, Fla., who fouled out with a red-light start handing the double win to Adcock.
Three more Georgia racers took home wins as Grant Lewis, Jesup, Ga., captured the Comp Eliminator trophy winning over Glen Treadwell, Sorrento, Fla., running 5.583 seconds in his ’05 Grand Am. Jeffrey Barker, Warner Robins, Ga., won in the Davis Golf Carts Top Sportsman class and Gaines Hickman, Barnesville, Ga., ran down Mike Desio, Seminole, Fla., in Super Street.
The Hickory Enclosed Trailer Sales Top Dragster saw Melissa Hutson, Lady Lake, Fla., take home the trophy in 3.988 seconds at 173.67 mph to beat Luc Angers, Laval, Quebec, and Gary Richards, Bay Shore, N.Y., drove his P.C. Richard and Son ‘10 Mustang to the win in Super Stock defeating Jeff Strickland, Red Bay, Ala.
Rounding out the winners were Jeff Taylor, Sellersburg, Ind., in Stock, Eliminator; John Rollins, High Springs, Fla., in 10.00 Index; Bob George, Satellite Beach, Fla., in 11.00 Index and Shane Williams, Knoxville, Tenn., in 12.00 Index.
Southeast Division racers head to South Georgia Motorsports Park for their next Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, March 2-4
The following are Sunday's final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Southeast Division event at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville:
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER:
Round 1
2) Dan Mercier, LaPrairie, Quebec, 5.690, 254.18 def. 7) Douglas Foley, Statesville, N.C., 6.460, 169.15;
4) Sidnei Frigo, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 5.357, 265.33 def. 5) Duane Shields, Boulder City, Nev., 16.588, 59.10;
3) Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville, Pa., 5.402, 266.69 def. 6) Dan Page, Hampstead, N.H., 5.449, 263.15;
1) Mark Taliaferro, Odessa, Texas, 5.407, 272.67 def. 8) Aaron Tatum, Oklahoma City, 5.435, 264.29;
Semifinals
McPhillips, 5.357, 265.53 def. Mercier, 5.386, 255.34; Taliaferro, 5.323, 275.62 def. Frigo, 5.344, 265.64;
(Final round will be run at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals)
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR:
Final
2) Kris Hool, Casper, Wyo., '10 Monte Carlo, 5.714, 253.37 def. 1) Mickey Ferro, Stamford, Conn., '12 Monte Carlo, 5.780, 251.30.
COMP ELIMINATOR
Grant Lewis, Jesup, Ga., '05 Grand Am, H/SMA, 5.583, 126.33 def. Glen Treadwell, Sorrento, Fla., '00 dragster, G/ED, 5.088, 138.30.
SUPER STOCK
Gary Richard, Bay Shore, N.Y., '10 Mustang, GT/AA, 5.788, 118.69 def. Jeff Strickland, Red Bay, Ala., '95 Camaro, SS/JA, 6.715,
98.85.
STOCK ELIMINATOR
Jeff Taylor, Sellersburg, Ind., '10 Challenger, A/SA, 6.422, 90.77 def. Bill Feist, Maple Grove, Minn., '69 Mustang, A/S, 6.747,
82.63.
SUPER COMP
Sherman Adcock, Fortson, Ga., dragster, 5.721, 143.34 def. Mia Tedesco, Murrysville, Pa., dragster, 5.724, 145.53.
SUPER GAS
Sherman Adcock, Fortson, Ga., '02 Trans Am, 15.649, 31.14 def. Sergio Santovenia, Boca Raton, Fla., '69 AMX, foul.
SUPER STREET
Gaines Hickman, Barnesville, Ga., '65 Malibu Wagon, 6.917, 115.31 def. Mike Desio, Seminole, Fla., '67 Chevy II, 6.905, 112.78.
TOP SPORTSMAN
Jeffrey Barker, Warner Robins, Ga., '02 Camaro, 7.637, 57.04 def. John Taylor, Naples, Fla., '99 Dakota, foul.
TOP DRAGSTER
Melissa Hutson, Lady Lake, Fla., dragster, 3.988, 173.67 def. Luc Angers, Laval, Quebec, '11 Page, 4.654, 150.45.
10.00 INDEX
John Rollins, High Springs, Fla., '72 Nova, 6.445, 99.57 def. Kirk Hum, Beverly Hills, Fla., '67 Corvette, 6.329, 102.52.
11.00 INDEX
Bob George, Satellite Beach, Fla., '67 Camaro, 6.949, 99.23 def. Derek Putnam, Gainesville, Fla., '70 Nova, foul.
12.00 INDEX
Shane Williams, Knoxville, Tenn., '98 Mustang, 7.524, 88.76 def. Chris Stephenson, Tipton, Ind., '74 Apollo, 7.505, 89.74.
