 POMONA,
CA (July 5-7) -- A total of nine drivers using Hoosier drag tires made
it into the final round at the Inaugural Pep Boys NHRA 50th
Anniversary Nationals presented by American Racing Wheels at Pomona
Raceway. Brian Hough and Rick Santos met in Federal-Mogul Dragster in
the first of four "all-Hoosier" finals. Bucky Austin met
Steve Gasparrelli in Federal Mogul Funny Car. Jody Lang made it into
the final round in Stock competition, while Rod Fuller met Jerry
Denton in the final in Super Comp. And in the fourth and final
"all-Hoosier" final round, John Peterson met Troy Moyle in
Super Gas.
FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
In the first of four finals in which both competitors rode on
USA-made Hoosier drag tires, Brian Hough in the Hadman-BAE dragster
met Rick Santos in the Oakwood Homes dragster. It was Hough getting
the jump at the light with a .429 RT to Santos' .518 RT. Santos had
the faster ET at 5.414 seconds to (261.02 mph) Hough's 5.500 ET
(257.87 mph), but it wasn't enough to take the win as Hough crossed
the line a mere 14 inches ahead of the defending world champion. Both
competitors were riding Hoosier's 34.5/17.0-16 C06 drag tire.
FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
In the second "all-Hoosier" final, Bucky Austin, in the
Snap-On '01 Camaro, met Steve Gasparrelli, in the Prisms Unlimited '99
Firebird, in the FM Funny Car final. Gasparrelli gets the slight edge
at the light posting a .500 RT to Austin's .503 RT. With both
competitors running side-by-side, Gasparrelli shuts down early as
Austin takes his 3rd national event win of the year. As in the FM
Dragster final, both competitors were running Hoosier 34.5/17.0-16 C06
drag tires.
SUPER COMP
The third "all-Hoosier" class final pit the Valvoline
sponsored, Rod Fuller, against Jerry Denton. "Hot Rod"
Fuller had the quicker light, as he had a .415 RT to Denton's .420 RT.
At the finish, it was Fuller with an ET of 8.891 to Denton's 8.883,
placing both drivers under the 8.90 index, as Fuller took the win with
a -.009 index to Denton's -.017 index. Rod Fuller took the win using
Hoosier's 33.0/16.5-15S C07 drag tire.
SUPER GAS
The Super Gas final provided the fourth and final
"all-Hoosier" contest. Both John Peterson and Troy Moyle
were aboard Hoosier's 33.0/16.0-15 D05 drag tires. Both Hoosier's
"bite" hard and go red with Peterson being the lesser
offender and getting the win. Peterson posted a .393 RT to Moyle's
.384 RT.
Jody Lang was the other Hoosier-shod driver making it to the final
round, as Lang met Ken Etter to determine the Stock class overall
winner. Etter had a .502 RT and an 11.822 ET on an 11.82 dial while
Lang had an .514 RT and a 12.827 ET on a 12.83 dial. Etter's total
package of .004 was too much for Lang and his Hoosier 30/9.0-15 Radial
C07 drag tires, as Lang garnered the runner-up slot.
Next stop on the NHRA circuit is July 19-22, in Denver, for the
22nd annual Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals. |
