Heads-Up Classes
The Top Alcohol class was filled with excellent action in Qualifying on Saturday. Gary Mink took the top spot in Q3 with an excellent 2.47/139MPH blast. Gary’s pass jumped above Jake Morton’s strong Q1 pass of 2.49/133MPH. Not to be left out of the action, Jim Hammond was right with those guys recording a 2.51/136MPH blast. That is certainly a competitive and fast Top Alcohol class with the field separated by just. 04. When eliminations continue, Mink will have the bye while Morton and Hammond will face off.
Gary Mink - Top Alcohol #1 Qualifier 2.47
Top Eliminator Qualifying was once again led by Paul Taylor in the “Outta Control” dragster. Paul certainly has the tune up dialed in for Avenal as he recorded a dead-on 2.954 on the 2.95 class index to earn the #1 qualifying position. Jim Rossi’s “Bad Toy” Dragster earned the #2 spot with a 3.010 followed by Marc Whitmore’s 3.018 and Ron D’Artenay’s 3.13. Taylor and D’Artenay will face off in round one while Rossi and Whitmore will do battle.
Paul Taylor - Top Eliminator #1 Qualifier 2.954
Pro Bracket Classes
Round one eliminations were completed on Sunday morning in all Pro Bracket classes before the wind storm rolled in to Avenal. A full rundown of racers still in competition is listed on the event’s NSDN Daily Race Coverage page. The biggest class still left is Pro 3 with 13 racers remaining heading into Round Two.
Gambler, Sportsman & Junior Classes
Readers of NSDN may think I copy and paste the Pro Gambler class recaps with Charlie Johnson typically in the final round, and this race was no exception as he faced off with Chris Adamson’s “Bounty Hunter” to see who would take home the cash. The “Ultimate Gambler” Johnson let go .001 and ran 4.608 (4.58) to take the money home with him to Southern California. This was the second Gambler win of the weekend for Johnson as he also took the Friday class win defeating Steve Foster with a .019 RT and 4.593 (4.55) for a margin of victory totaling just .029.
Charlie Johnson - Friday & Saturday Pro Gambler Winner
Kevin Williams was up on the wheel in Saturday’s Sportsman 1 class, and it showed in the final as he was .004 on the tree running a 4.037 (3.99) for the win over Kenny Hayes. Stacy Bolton swept the Sportsman 2 class at 2016 Avenal Sand Drags events taking this race’s victory over John Chapman with a 4.662 (4.54). Fan favorite Bob Glass got the job done in Sportsman 1 defeating Eric Ramsey in the final round. Motorcycle Sportsman 1 saw Tim Wilson put his four-stroke powered entry in the Winner’s Circle running a 4.347 (4.30) to defeat Jared Azevedo. Wilson nearly doubled up in Motorcycle Sportsman 2 as he broke out with a 4.457 (4.49) giving Blake Maness the win with a .089 RT & 4.795 (4.78).
Kevin Williams - Sportsman 1 Winner
Stacy Bolton - Sportsman 2 Winner
Bob Glass - Sportsman 3 Winner
Tim Wilson - Motorcycle Sportsman 1 Winner
Blake Maness - Motorcycle Sportsman 2 Winner
Drake Montgomery once again took the Junior class win in his Rhino defeating the always tough Levi Suggs in the final round. Connor Stumbaugh go the job done in the Intermediate class getting around Adieson Glass in the final. Benrly McReynolds ended up victorious in the Peewees class over Sky Chaffin.
Drake Montgomery - Juniors Winner
Event Photo Gallery - Courtesy NSDN
- Chris Calafiore Chris Calafiore
- Stephen Chase Stephen Chase
- Chris Helmuth Chris Helmuth
- Sportsman 3 Sportsman 3
- David Markle David Markle
- Tom Gagnon Tom Gagnon
- Cole Tschacher Cole Tschacher
- Jonathan Marquez Jonathan Marquez
- Tim Wilson Tim Wilson
- Mark Doty Mark Doty
- Wyatt Bohard Wyatt Bohard
- Jayden Pena Jayden Pena
- Clint Piere Clint Piere
- Leon Wilmot Leon Wilmot
- Bob Glass Bob Glass
- Chris Adamson Chris Adamson
- Levi Suggs Levi Suggs
- Chaylene Pintor Chaylene Pintor
- Cole Tschacher Cole Tschacher
- Blaine Denunzio Blaine Denunzio
- Leissy Pena Leissy Pena
- Brandon Montgomery Brandon Montgomery
- Stacy Bolton Stacy Bolton
- Nick Beaudoin Nick Beaudoin
- Kevin Williams Kevin Williams
- Ron D'Artenay Ron D'Artenay
- Jim Rossi Jim Rossi
- Gary Mink Gary Mink
- Jim Hammond Jim Hammond
- Marc Whitmore Marc Whitmore
- Marc Whitmore Marc Whitmore
- Paul Taylor Paul Taylor
- Jake Morton Jake Morton
- Brent Bohard Brent Bohard
- Brian Phillips Brian Phillips
- Joshua Stumbaugh Joshua Stumbaugh
- Bill Meaney Bill Meaney
- Dennis Rieck Dennis Rieck
- Steve Foster Steve Foster
- John Chapman John Chapman
- Sady Cass Sady Cass
- Nick Shiffrar Nick Shiffrar
- Christopher Wamhof Christopher Wamhof
- Ron Hess Ron Hess
- Stacy Bolton Stacy Bolton
- Blake Maness Blake Maness
- Ron D'Artenay Ron D'Artenay
- Gary Mink Gary Mink
- Marc Whitmore Marc Whitmore
- Paul Taylor Paul Taylor
- Jake Morton Jake Morton
- Avenal Sand Drags Avenal Sand Drags
- Avenal Sand Drags Avenal Sand Drags
- Jim Rossi Jim Rossi
- Charlie Johnson Charlie Johnson
- Steve Foster Steve Foster
- Nick Beaudoin Nick Beaudoin
- Kenny Hayes Kenny Hayes
- Gary Menefee Gary Menefee
- Ken Bryant Ken Bryant
- April Soares April Soares
- Jerry Watson Jerry Watson
- Jerry Watson Jerry Watson
- Dave Harrell Dave Harrell
- Avenal Sand Drags Avenal Sand Drags
- Jared Azevedo Jared Azevedo
- Heather Taylor Heather Taylor
- Sonny Fricia Sonny Fricia
- Tony Soares Tony Soares
- Wes Johnson Wes Johnson
- Eric Moran Eric Moran
- Ron Hess Ron Hess
- Leon Wilmot Leon Wilmot
- Brent Bohard Brent Bohard
- Bob Schlicht Bob Schlicht
- Cameron Schlicht Cameron Schlicht
- Carl Parkhill Carl Parkhill
- Tim Wilson Tim Wilson
- Gerrit Willard Gerrit Willard
- Nikki Bailey Nikki Bailey
- DJ Noerr DJ Noerr
- Jeff Coale Jeff Coale
- Ron Garnas Ron Garnas
- Joey Weaver Joey Weaver
- Joey Weaver Joey Weaver
- Justin Adamson Justin Adamson
- Brett Neal-Cook Brett Neal-Cook
- Kevin Ruiz Kevin Ruiz
- David Markle David Markle
- Bert Boatman Bert Boatman
- Jack Vandigriff Jack Vandigriff
- Taylor Holmes Taylor Holmes
- Brock Rushing Brock Rushing
- Jared Azevedo Jared Azevedo
- Ron Moran Ron Moran
- Mike Williams Sr. Mike Williams Sr.
- Kevin Williams Kevin Williams
- Lance Freerksen Lance Freerksen
- Richard Ross Richard Ross
- Wes Johnson Wes Johnson
- Clark Harris Clark Harris
- Tyler Ross Tyler Ross
- Blake Adamson Blake Adamson
- Drake Montgomery Drake Montgomery
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://nsdn.us/index.php?Itemid=61&catid=137&id=942%3Aavenal-fall-nats-oct-16-race-recap&option=com_content&view=article#sigProIdaa1f978ff1
https://nsdn.us/index.php?Itemid=61&catid=137&id=942%3Aavenal-fall-nats-oct-16-race-recap&option=com_content&view=article#sigProIdaa1f978ff1