Competitors entered the weekend events in the following classes: Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Hot Rod and Junior Dragster. Full results are available here: http://dragstory.com/forum/index.php/board,306.0.html; a weekend recap of the Piedmont action is below:
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Top Dragster: T.G. Paschal from McLeansville, N.C., won on a holeshot against Chris Ferguson from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in a Top Dragster final which both drivers matched their dial-in times. Paschal matched his 4.77-second dial-in perfectly at 143.40 mph and combined it with a .005 reaction time. Ferguson matched his 4.53 perfectly at 152.33 mph and posted a .015 reaction time.
Top Sportsman: Racers from the Tar Heel State battled it out in the Top Sportsman final with Jut Crumpler from Elm City winning when Asheville driver Tim West red-lighted. Crumpler made a 5.097-second pass at 137.36 mph on a 5.10 dial-in, along with a .034 reaction time. West went 4.878 seconds against a 4.88 dial-in at 144.55 mph, but was .005 too quick at the start.
Quick Rod: Mitchell Harkey from China Grove, N.C., matched his dial-in time to edge IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship points leader Randal Langley from Naples, Fla., in the Quick Rod final. Harkey went down the track in 5.704 seconds against a 5.70 dial-in at 132.74 mph and had a .027 reaction time. Langley finished with a 5.689-second elapsed time at 138.73 mph against a 5.70 dial-in, combined with a .053 reaction time.
Super Rod: Fastest qualifier Steve Furr from Harrisburg, N.C., won on a holeshot to deny Justen Moser from Portland, Ind., a chance to repeat his Super Rod win at US 131. Furr had a .009 reaction time and posted a 6.410-second pass at 128.66 mph. Moser had a 6.401-second run at 134.10 mph, but was a little slower at the tree with a .028 reaction time.
Hot Rod: David Lincoln from Charleston, S.C., won a closely contested Hot Rod final against Glenn Ferguson Jr. from Greensboro, N.C. as both drivers tried to hit a seven-second dial-in. Lincoln came closer with a 6.985-second pass at 109.07 mph. Ferguson had a slightly quicker reaction time, .010 to .013, but lost by a scant margin after his pass of 6.979 seconds at 105.88 mph.
Super Stock: Mark Nowicki from Holmes Beach, Fla., extended his Super Stock winning streak to three races after sweeping action at US 131 Motorsports Park two weeks ago. Nowicki posted a 6.127-second elapsed time at 110.61 mph, along with a .044 reaction time. Brian Oakes from Taylorsville, N.C, red-lighted, but went on down the track in 6.343 seconds at 106.88 mph.
Stock: In another Florida versus North Carolina final, Myron Piatek from Holly Hill, Fla., won over local driver Kevin Locklear with a 7.218-second pass at 92.95 mph on a 7.18 dial-in. Locklear, from nearby Sanford, N.C., went down the track in 6.958 seconds at 93.41 mph against a 6.91 dial-in. Piatek also held a slight edge .023 to .030 in reaction time.
Junior Dragster: Trent Horton from Callahan, Fla., captured the Junior Dragster victory when final-round opponent, Blaine Parrish from Clayton, N.C., red-lighted. With a .075 reaction time, Horton hurried down the track in 8.925 seconds at 70.76 mph against an 8.94 dial-in. Parrish finished in 9.708 seconds at 49.88 mph with a 7.94 dial-in.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Top Dragster: In a battle of North Carolina drivers, Robert Volger III from Lewisville matched his dial-in time with a 4.999-second run at 150.93 mph to best Tony Meltvedt from Concord in the final. Volger was slightly quicker at the tree .020 to .022, while Meltvedt’s final numbers bore out a 4.694-second effort on a 4.68 dial-in at 146.22 mph.
Top Sportsman: Stacy Hall from Chesnee, S.C., edged Jim Cairnes from Hendersonville, N.C., in a close race for Top Sportsman honors. Hall had a 4.552-second pass at 150.88 mph against a 4.53 dial-in and combined with a .038 reaction time. Cairnes was quicker at the line with a .020 start, but came up just shy overall with a 4.855 at 141.06 on a 4.86 dial-in.
Quick Rod: Frank Altilio from Apopka, Fla., followed up his nearly perfect No. 1 qualifying effort by blitzing through eliminations in Quick Rod. Altilio finished with a 5.673-second run at 144.69 mph, following a .023 reaction time. His final round opponent, Corey Manuel from Winston-Salem, N.C., red-lighted at the start before going down the track at 5.724 seconds and 127.13 mph.
Super Rod: Paul Brown made the trek from Cass City, Mich., pay off with the Super Rod victory. Brown ended with a 6.412 elapsed time at 129.68 mph, combined with a .024 reaction time. Steve Furr from Harrisburg, N.C., red-lighted at the start and then coasted down the track in 11.899 seconds.
Hot Rod: Another No. 1 qualifier took top honors in Hot Rod with Chris Dean from Sanford, N.C., winning on a holeshot. Dean had the almost perfect .001 start and ran 6.989 seconds at 111.09 mph. Runner-up David Owen from Callahan, Fla., had a .011 start and matched Dean’s time at 6.989 seconds at 104.54 mph.
Super Stock: Emory Pierpoint from Cartersville, Ga., captured the Super Stock title with a 6.714-second pass at 98.65 mph against a 6.70 dial-in. Pierpoint won the battle at the start as well, with a .071 reaction to .167 for runner-up Ed Longhany from Wade, N.C. Longhany scooted down the track in 6.654 seconds against a 6.61 dial-in at 101.01 mph.
Stock: Myron Piatek from Holly Hill, Fla., scored the weekend sweep in Stock against a strong 35-car field. Piatek ran 7.142 seconds at 94.41 mph against a 7.12 dial-in and posted a .032 reaction time. Fastest qualifier Clay Bullard of Camden, S.C., was runner-up after going 6.522 seconds at 102.43 mph against a 6.51 dial-in, along with a .078 start.
Junior Dragster: Top qualifier Nicole Zuccarelli from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base was the quickest on land, winning the Junior Dragster final on a holeshot. Her .005 reaction time put her ahead of Morgan Carroll from Olar, S.C., who posted a .108 at the start. Zuccarelli posted a 7.928 elapsed time at 80.70 mph against a 7.90 dial-in. Carroll finished with an 8.098-second pass at 80.84 mph against an 8.10 dial-in.
