Competitors entered the weekend events in the following classes: Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod, Super Stock, Stock and Junior Dragster. Full results are available here: http://dragstory.com/forum/index.php/board,316.0.html; a weekend recap of Memphis action is below.
Race 1
Top Dragster: Chase Murray from Orange, Texas scored the Top Dragster win over John Barclay with a 6.532-second pass at 207.46 mph against a 6.52 dial-in. Barclay was a little quicker at the start, .010 to .023, before rolling down the track at 7.141 seconds and 188.23 mph against a 7.15 dial-in.
Top Sportsman: In a battle of drivers from the Lone Star State, Marlon Goates from Troy, Texas beat points leader Marty Blair from Spicewood, Texas in the Top Sportsman final. Goates finished with a 7.260 run at 192.14 mph against a 7.25 dial-in. Blair went down the track at 7.611 seconds and 182.01 mph against a 7.62 dial-in. Goates had a slightly better reaction time, .023 to .029.
Quick Rod: Michael Steen from Amarillo, Texas posted a winning run of 8.908 seconds and 178.35 mph in the Quick Rod final. Kevin Howe of Oklahoma City finished in 8.881 seconds at 173.25 mph, although he had the advantage at the tree with .023 to .048 reaction times.,
Super Rod: Another Lone Star driver was out front in Super Rod with Charlie Stewart from Azle, Texas speeding down the track at 9.894 seconds and 159.51 mph. Carl Watts of Alabaster, Ala., was slightly behind at 9.888 seconds and 159.80 mph. Stewart had a little quicker start, a .031 to .034 advantage in reaction time.
Hot Rod: Marvin Allemand from Raceland, La., put together a winning effort in Hot Rod with a 10.929-second run at 124.40 mph. Steve Wilson, from nearby Collierville, Tenn., had the quicker reaction time .006 to .019, before making a run of 10.984 seconds at 121.87 mph.
Super Stock: Rick Pennington from Mt. Olive, Ala., captured the Super Stock title when final-round opponent Burlin Taylor of Hammond, La., red-lighted. Pennington’s numbers showed an elapsed time of 10.964 seconds at 117.77 mph against a 10.98 dial-in, along with a .034 reaction time. After the fouled start, Taylor coasted down the track in 23.494 seconds at 39.55 mph.
Stock: After coming in second to his father in Stock qualifying, Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. from Donaldsonville, La., blasted through eliminations. He posted a final-round pass of 10.870 seconds at 110.04 mph against a 10.86 dial-in. Scott Stallings from Floyd Knobs, Ind., had the better reaction time .029 to .033, before going down the track in 10.514 seconds at 119.24 mph against a 10.52 dial-in.
Junior Dragster: Hometown racer Brianna Moore from Millington, Tenn., won on a holeshot against Nicole Leo of Palmersville, Tenn., in the Junior Dragster final. Moore had the .031 to .072 advantage at the tree, and then made a 7.916-second pass at 80.49 mph. Leo finished in 7.913 seconds at 82.83 mph.
Race 2
Top Dragster: A perfect start propelled Jake Levatino from LaPlace, La., to the Top Dragster victory against Jeff Bobo of Walnut, Miss. Levatino completed his winning effort by going down the track in 7.479 seconds at 174.73 mph against a 7.46 dial-in. Bobo, who had a .027 reaction time, finished with a run of 7.592 seconds at 189.02 mph against a 7.60 dial-in.
Top Sportsman: Monte Weaver from Spicewood, Texas won on a holeshot to deny Marlon Goates of Troy, Texas the Top Sportsman weekend sweep. Weaver had a .025 reaction time to .090 for Goates. Weaver then ran 6.489 seconds at 213.81 mph against a 6.46 dial-in, to beat Goates, who matched his dial-in with a 7.238-second pass at 192.33 mph.
Quick Rod: Vernon Rowland from Blanchard, Okla., captured the Quick Rod victory with a .004 reaction time and an 8.874-second pass. Rusty Cook from Cynthiana, Ky., took runner-up honors with a .034 start and an 8.854-second run. The margin was a razor thin .0009 at the finish line.
Super Rod: Rowland scored his second class win of the day with a holeshot victory against Jack Ellison from Kaufman, Texas in Super Rod. Rowland had a .027 reaction time to .098 for Ellison. It was plenty to go with Rowland’s 9.949-second run at 153.14 mph. Ellison posted a 9.887-second elapsed time with a speed of 153.39 mph.
Hot Rod: Another competitive final between Texas drivers highlighted Hot Rod eliminations. Jarrod Ross from Longview finished with a 10.943-second pass at 145.28 mph. Dennis Clark was the fast driver from Pasadena, grabbing the holeshot .013 to .038, but it didn’t stand up on the top end with a 10.968-second effort and 143.63 mph.
Super Stock: In the Super Stock final, Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. from Donaldsville, La., had an all-around effort of a .014 reaction time and a 9.939-second effort at 128.52 mph to match his dial-in time. Emory Pierpont of Cartersville, Ga., had a 10.753-second elapsed time at 123.25 mph against a 10.77 dial-in with a .041 reaction time.
Stock: Wes Neely from Florence, Miss., kept Hidalgo from a second victory in the closest race of the day. Both drivers matched their dial-in times, Neely going 11.824 seconds at 108.60 mph. Hidalgo went 10.867 seconds and 122.70 mph, while posting a slightly quicker reaction time .017 to .020.
Junior Dragster: Bryce Granier from Labadieville, La., captured top honors in the JR Race Cars Junior Dragsters. Grainer scooted down the strip in 7.952 seconds and 76.23 mph against a 7.90 dial-in, along with a .042 reaction time. Tara Taylor of Somerville, Tenn., posted an 8.144-second run at 78.50 mph against a 7.98 dial-in with a .035 reaction time.
