Sunday
Avenal Sand Drags played host to an excellent day of eliminations on Sunday. David Morton ran a stellar 2.52 to take the Top Alcohol title over Jeff Hitchman. Paul Taylor made some head way in the points race by defeating point leader Billy Morris in the final round of Top Eliminator, which was decided by just four-thousandths of a second. Dennis Rieck continued testing his Hammer Down Hemi Top Fuel Dragster and made some great progress on Sunday as well as taking the TF win. Arend Schouten backed up his big Saturday Pro Gambler win with the Pro 3 Sunday victory. Keith Ahart extended his Pro 1 point lead with a big final round win over Oregon’s Alan Harland. An all-white Jeep Pro 2 final saw Brian Chapman take a close win over Steve Foster Jr. Mark Ratliff pulled off the big win in the Motorcycle Pro 1 class. Other big winners on the day included Troy McFarlin (Pro 4), David Palacios (Motorcycle Pro 2), and Ray Pantoja (Junior Dragster). *All Run Sheets are now posted.*
Top Fuel
1st-Dennis Rieck
Top Fuel Sunday Eliminations Video
Top Fuel Qualifying & Eliminations Run Sheet
Final Round (Driver ET RT)
Dennis Rieck (W) 2.729/128.39 .092 Bye
Top Alcohol
1st-David Morton
2nd-Jeff Hitchman
Top Alcohol Sunday Eliminations Video
Top Alcohol Qualifying & Eliminations Run Sheet
Final Round (Driver ET RT)
David Morton (W) 2.529/138.28 .086 def. Jeff Hitchman 2.706/116.11 -.059
Top Eliminator
1st-Paul Taylor
2nd-Billy Morris
3rd-Jim Rossi
3rd-Carey Mahoney
Top Eliminator Sunday Eliminations Video
Top Eliminator Qualifying & Eliminations Run Sheet
Round One Eliminations (Driver ET RT)
Billy Morris (W) 2.949 .117 def. Frank Prock NT-Broke
Carey Mahoney (W) 3.009 .123 def. Ron D’Artenay 3.011 .151
Paul Taylor (W) 3.035 .164 def. Adam Wimberly 3.264 .280
Jim Rossi (W) 3.024 .211 def. Bob Gill 3.457 .101
Round Two Eliminations
Billy Morris (W) 3.020 .102 def. Carey Mahoney 2.918 .070
Paul Taylor (W) 3.029 .151 def. Jim Rossi 3.094 .156
Final Round
Paul Taylor (W) 3.020 .160 def. Billy Morris 3.028 .156
Pro 1
1st-Keith Ahart
2nd-Alan Harland
3rd-Jerry Watson
3rd-Robert Garnas
Pro 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Pro 2
1st-Brian Chapman
2nd-Steve Foster Jr.
3rd-Shawn Banducci
Pro 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Pro 3
1st-Arend Schouten
2nd-Chris Pintor
3rd-Richard Ross
Pro 3 Eliminations Run Sheet
Pro 4
1st-Troy McFarlin
2nd-William Adams Jr.
3rd-Westley Adams
Pro 4 Eliminations Run Sheet
Motorcycle Pro 1
1st-Mark Ratliff
2nd-Mark Managhan
3rd-Sid Payne
3rd-Heather Taylor
Motorcycle Pro 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Motorcycle Pro 2
1st-David Palacios
2nd-Phillip Astumian
3rd-Jack Vandigriff
Motorcycle Pro 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Junior Dragster
1st-Ray Pantoja
2nd-Austin Pugh
3rd-Christina Harrison
Junior Dragster Eliminations Run Sheet
Juniors 1
1st-Cole Canfield
2nd-Rori Montgomery
Juniors 2
1st-Joshua Young
2nd-Breanna Canfield
Saturday
Day one was filled with excitement at the Avenal Sand Drags Spring race in Avenal, CA. A stellar Top Eliminator field made the trip to Avenal with it taking a 2.99 just to make it in the Top 5. Point leader Billy Morris led the pack in qualifying with a 2.981, just one-thousandth of a second ahead of Paul Taylor’s 2.982. Dennis Rieck’s Hammer Down team was the only Top Fuel entry this weekend, and has been in testing mode with the new Hemi. Dennis had a nice 1.04 60’ time on a clean half-track shutoff pass early in the day. David Morton ran a great 2.46 to lead the pack in Top Alcohol. The bracket classes put on an excellent show on Saturday. The Pro Gambler final was an epic duel between two of the west coast’s best bracket racers. In the end, Las Vegas’ Arend Schouten took the win over Phoenix racer Keith Ahart. Other big winners on the day included Jennifer Smith (Sportsman 1), Mike Williams (Sportsman 2), Lee Martin (Sportsman 3), Mark Managhan (Motorcycle Sportsman 1), Cole Foy (Motorcycle Sportsman 2), and Austin Pugh (Junior Dragster).
Top Fuel
Final Qualifying Order
1. Dennis Rieck 3.193/73.76
Saturday TF Highlight Video
Top Alcohol
Final Qualifying Order
1. David Morton 2.467/142.52
2. Jeff Hitchman 2.606/121.87
Saturday TA Highlight Video
Top Eliminator
Final Qualifying Order
1. Billy Morris 2.981
2. Paul Taylor 2.982
3. Bob Gill 2.984
4. Ron D’Artenay 2.984
5. Carey Mahoney 2.991
6. Jim Rossi 3.040
7. Adam Wimberly 3.199
8. Frank Prock 3.842
Saturday TE Highlight Video
Pro Gambler
1st-Arend Schouten
2nd-Keith Ahart
3rd-Alan Harland
3rd-Jim Smith
Pro Gambler Eliminations Run Sheet
Sportsman 1
1st-Jennifer Smith
2nd-Robert Garnas
3rd-Gary Sakaguchi
Sportsman 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Sportsman 2
1st-Mike Williams
2nd-Nick Young
3rd-Richard Ross
Sportsman 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Sportsman 3
1st-Lee Martin
2nd-Troy McFarlin
Motorcycle Sportsman 1
1st-Mark Managhan
2nd-Heather Taylor
3rd-Stephen Chase
3rd-Taylor Holmes
Motorcycle Sportsman 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Motorcycle Sportsman 2
1st-Cole Foy
2nd-Matthew Ortiz
3rd-Jaime Pena
Motorcycle Sportsman 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Junior Dragster
1st-Austin Pugh
2nd-Ray Pantoja
Juniors 1
1st-Cole Canfield
2nd-Rori Montgomery
Juniors 2
1st-Jordan Wallis
2nd-J. Young
Preview
NSDN is making our first trip to Avenal Sand Drags in Avenal, CA as they host the third event for the 2012 NSRA Quality Aircraft Care point series. We will have our normal results, news, and videos each night after racing action is complete from this event. Also, keep an eye on the “Race Updates” live update side bar on the left side of the main page for updates, photos, and video from the event as it happens. This NSDN Daily Race Coverage is brought to you by Hammer Down Racing, Heavy Metal/2 Dolla' Bill Racing, and Avenal Sand Drags. Racing action kicks off on Saturday with Sportsman bracket action as well as Heads-Up qualifying. For any questions throughout the race weekend or to inquire about future Daily Race Coverage sponsorship opportunities, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..