 LAKEVILLE,
IN (May 20) -- Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. had another strong weekend in
the drag racing ranks in both NHRA National and Divisional events. The
NHRA National event was held in Englishtown, New Jersey, at the 32nd
annual Matco Tools SuperNationals. In Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series
action, three Division races were held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in
Sacramento, California and in Reynolds, Georgia.
NHRA MATCO TOOLS SUPERNATIONALS
At the 32nd annual Matco Tools SuperNationals in Englishtown, New
Jersey, five Hoosier-shod drivers made it to the final round Sunday
afternoon.
In Federal-Mogul Dragster action, Cliff Bozzelli took his
second national event win. Bozzelli had a .486 second reaction time
and a 5.536 elapsed time (ET) to best his opponent. Bozzelli's speed
was 253.61 mph.
In Stock competition, it was an "all-Hoosier"
final as Ralph Conte and Todd Bednaz went head-to-head to determine
the winner. At the stripe, Conte used a -.002 time to Bednaz's -.017
to take the win. Conte's RT was .546 seconds to Bednaz's .512 seconds.
The dial for Conte was 10.79 as Conte ran an ET of 10.788 seconds to
Bednaz's dial of 11.41 with an ET of 11.393 seconds. This was Conte's
first National win.
Other Hoosier drivers taking the runner-up position in the national
event were: Kent Hanley in Super Comp, Scott Woodington in
Federal-Mogul Funny Car and Raymond Balian in Super Street action.
Next stop for the NHRA National competitors is this weekend's
Advance Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Topeka, Kansas.
DIVISION 2
In Division 2 action at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds,
Georgia, it was rookie Jason Cannon, aboard his Hoosier-shod dragster,
taking the victory. Cannon posted an ET of 5.632 seconds (258.37 mph)
to take the win.
In Federal-Mogul Funny Car action, it was a pair of
drivers selecting the Hoosier brand in their attempts to take the win.
Jay Payne met Von Smith in the final. Payne, after having been
defeated by Smith in the three previous events, would not be denied a
fourth time. Payne posted an ET of 5.909 seconds in his 2001 Chevrolet
Camaro to Smith's 6.044 second run aboard his 2001 Pontiac Firebird.
Payne's speed was 240.94 mph to Smith's 236.22 mph.
DIVISION 3
There were 674 competitors in Division 3 action held at
Indianapolis Raceway Park in Clermont, Indiana, it was Bill Reichert
giving Hoosier it's first A/F injected nitro win EVER in the Federal-Mogul
Dragster class! Reichert posted an ET of 5.505 seconds with a
speed of 246.77 mph to take the win.
In Funny Car racing, it was Chuck Cheeseman in
his 2000 Pontiac posting an ET of 6.081 seconds with a speed of 241.35
mph in the final to take the victory.
A pair of drivers riding Hoosier tires made it to the
finals in Super Comp action. Dave Fields defeated Steve Eckard
by 32 hundredths of a second. Tim Gillespie took the win in Super
Gas in his 1933 Ford with a time of 9.923 seconds.
Nick Folk was runner-up in Stock Eliminator.
DIVISION 7
Division 7 made a trip to Sacramento, California at Sacramento
Raceway Park. While strong at all events this weekend, Hoosier had
it's best drag racing results in Division 7 competition.
Rick Santos took his first divisional event win of the
2001 season in Federal-Mogul Dragster competition. Santos met
fellow Hoosier-shod driver Darren Nicholson in the finals. Santos
posted an ET of 5.619 seconds (256.07 mph) to Nicholson's 5.713
seconds, (248.58 mph) to take the win.
In Funny Car competition, two Hoosier cars made
it to the final round as Steve Gasparrelli in his 1999 Firebird bested
Doug Gordon with an ET of 5.930 seconds at 242.88 mph.
In Super Gas, for the third time in the weekend
it was an "all-Hoosier" final once again, as Eric Reyes in
his 1962 Corvette met Rich Takahashi in his 1999 Pontiac, with Reyes
taking the win.
In Super Eliminator, Dean Hall took the win
with a time of 7.948 seconds or 158.84 mph.
In Super Comp action, it was Rick Beckstrom in
his 2000 dragster taking the win after posting an ET of 8.893 seconds
or 169.15 mph.
In Stock Eliminator, Jesse Adams was runner-up
to John Hennessay.
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. would like to thank and
congratulate all competitors particularly those who trusted the
Hoosier brand during the competition.
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