Presented By:
Sunday
The final day of racing at the 2014 Avenal Sand Drags Fall Nationals in Avenal, CA was unpredictable with close racing all day long and some different faces in the Winner’s Circle. The Top Alcohol class was a dog fight all weekend long with Gary Mink having the performance edge, including Low ET with a 2.462 in Round One. But it would be Jim Hammond taking home the class win recording a 2.60 while Mink left too soon with a .010 Red Light. The Top Eliminator class came down to a Veteran versus Rookie final round with Carey Mahoney who is no stranger to TE finals against Christian Payne in his first TE final round. This one would go to the Washington racer as Mahoney turned a 2.97 to Christian’s solid 3.11 effort. The A/Fuel final round was anti-climatic as Top Qualifier Robert Skidmore was unable to make the call setting the stage for Art Cronin in the Cronin Racing Meltdown Dragster to take the class win with a 2.94 on the single run. The Northwest racers were on fire in the Pro Bracket classes on Sunday. Chris Wells backed up his Saturday Sportsman 1 class win with Sunday’s Pro 1 victory defeating the always tough Craig Durning in the final round. The second car out of the Burris stable in victory lane would be Scoty Burris wheeling the team’s Dragster to the Pro 2 win over Brian Chapman. The next Northwest racer to score today would be Kevin Tennison on the Palmer Racing entry as he took the Motorcycle Pro 1 victory over Robert Garnas. This was the Palmer team’s second win of the weekend as Budy Palmer won the Motorcycle Sportsman 1 class on Saturday. Other winners on the day included April Soares (Pro 3), Craig Wright (Motorcycle Pro 2), Ryan Rodriguez (Junior Dragster), Rori Montgomery (Kids), and Axel May (Youth). *Run Sheets are now posted!!!*
Top Alcohol
1st-Jim Hammond
2nd-Gary Mink
3rd-Craig Mark
3rd-Jeff Hitchman
Top Alcohol Eliminations Run Sheet & Qualifying Data Log
Top Alcohol Sunday Eliminations Video
Round One Eliminations (Driver ET RT)
Gary Mink (W) 2.462/141.93 .083 Bye
Jeff Hitchman (W) 2.973/101.20 .025 def. Pedro Villa 2.881/84.25 .407
Jim Hammond (W) 2.616/131.22 .085 Bye
Craig Mark (W) 3.131/101.80 .096 Bye
Round Two
Gary Mink (W) 2.507/141.51 .100 def. Jeff Hitchman 3.060/NS -.400
Jim Hammond (W) 2.573/131.71 .050 def. Craig Mark 2.648/138.34 .109
Final Round
Jim Hammond (W) 2.600/NS .030 def. Gary Mink 2.629/129.97 -.010
Top Eliminator
1st-Carey Mahoney
2nd-Christian Payne
3rd-Ron d’Artenay
3rd-Jim Rossi
Top Eliminator Eliminations Run Sheet & Qualifying Data Log
Top Eliminator Sunday Eliminations Video
Round One Eliminations (Driver ET RT)
Ron d’Artenay (W) 3.065 .180 def. Marc Whitmore NT-No Show
Christian Payne (W) 3.496 .453 def. Billy Morris NT-No Show
Carey Mahoney (W) 3.097 .056 def. Adam Ross 3.209 .055
Jim Rossi (W) 2.975 .102 def. Sid Payne 3.055 .134
Round Two
Christian Payne (W) 3.174 .029 def. Ron d’Arteany 3.153 .102
Carey Mahoney (W) 2.953 .031 def. Jim Rossi 2.961 .129
Final Round
Carey Mahoney (W) 2.974 .037 def. Christian Payne 3.117 .109
A/Fuel - Fast Fours
1st-Art Cronin
2nd-Robert Skidmore
3rd-John Cronin
A/Fuel Eliminations Run Sheet & Qualifying Data Log
A/Fuel Sunday Eliminations Video
Round One Eliminations (Driver ET RT)
Robert Skidmore (W) NT Bye
Art Cronin (W) 2.899/112.95 .204 def. John Cronin 3.211/NS .178
Final Round
Art Cronin (W) 2.944/104.43 .361 def. Robert Skidmore NT-No Show
Pro 1
1st-Chris Wells
2nd-Craig Durning
3rd-Bill Meaney
3rd-Gary Sakaguchi
Pro 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Pro 2
1st-Scoty Burris
2nd-Brian Chapman
3rd-Chris Adamson
Pro 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Pro 3
1st-April Soares
2nd-Jack Weddle
3rd-Dean Bailey
Pro 3 Eliminations Run Sheet
Motorcycle Pro 1
1st-Kevin Tennison
2nd-Robert Garnas
3rd-Jason Sanchez
Motorcycle Pro 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Motorcycle Pro 2
1st-Craig Wright
2nd-Nikki Bailey
3rd-Jack Vandigriff
3rd-Austin Thomas
Motorcycle Pro 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Junior Dragster
1st-Ryan Rodriguez
2nd-Troy Adamson
Kids
1st-Rori Montgomery
2nd-Brody May
Youth
1st-Axel May
2nd-Rowdy May
Saturday
The second day of racing at the Avenal Sand Drags Fall Nationals was full of great sand drag action from start to finish. Gary Mink set the bench mark in the Top Alcohol class running a pair of 2.49’s to lead an extremely tough field of racers into Eliminations. Ron d’Artenay stole the top spot away in Top Eliminator with a great 2.958 on the 2.95 Index in the Red Warrior Dragster. Robert Skidmore continued to throw down big time numbers as he recorded a strong 2.76/114MPH blast to earn the #1 qualifying position in A/Fuel. The bracket classes put on a great show throughout the day at Avenal. Washington’s Chris Wells fought through fuel pump problems & a converter change in the middle of Eliminations to score the Sportsman 1 class victory over Fern McKinney. Mike Williams jumped behind the wheel of Kenny Hayes’ popular Flirtin’ With Disaster Jeep and promptly put it in the Sportsman 2 class Winner’s Circle defeating Dave Parker in the final round. Oregon’s Budy Palmer scored another win for the Northwest as he won Motorcycle Sportsman 1 over Jason Sanchez. Austin Thomas added yet another trophy to his impressive collection from this season as he took the Motorcycle Sportsman 2 class win over ATVDragRacer.com’s Brett Sanderson on the Bracket Hustler. Barbara Ervin once again scored a Sportsman 3 class win with her great running Truck. Eliminations for Heads-Up categories, Pro Bracket classes, and the Juniors start early Sunday morning. Stay tuned to NSDN for all the latest.
Top Alcohol
Final Qualifying Order
1. Gary Mink 2.490/139.24
2. Jim Hammond 2.594/132.86
3. Craig Mark 2.602/132.94
4. Jeff Hitchman 2.770/NS
5. Pedro Villa 2.841/91.80
Saturday TA Highlight Video
Top Eliminator
Final Qualifying Order
1. Ron d’Artenay 2.958
2. Carey Mahoney 2.969
3. Jim Rossi 2.990
4. Billy Morris 3.047
5. Christian Payne 3.074
6. Sid Payne 3.120
7. Adam Ross 3.300
8. Marc Whitmore 3.509
9. Clark Harris 3.733
Saturday TE Highlight Video
A/Fuel - Fast Fours
Final Qualifying Order
1. Robert Skidmore 2.765/114.85
2. Art Cronin 2.898/107.89
3. John Cronin 3.191/93.66
Saturday A/Fuel Highlight Video
Sportsman 1
1st-Chris Wells
2nd-Fern McKinney
3rd-Kevin Williams
Sportsman 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Sportsman 2
1st-Mike Williams
2nd-Dave Parker
3rd-Karlin Anthony
Sportsman 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Sportsman 3
1st-Barbara Ervin
2nd-B. Bowers
3rd-B. Reinke
Motorcycle Sportsman 1
1st-Budy Palmer
2nd-Jason Sanchez
3rd-Jeff Coale
3rd-Bryce Deaton
Motorcycle Sportsman 1 Eliminations Run Sheet
Motorcycle Sportsman 2
1st-Austin Thomas
2nd-Brett Sanderson
3rd-Grant Hutchinson
Motorcycle Sportsman 2 Eliminations Run Sheet
Friday
The Avenal Sand Drags Fall Nationals kicked off on Friday with early round Heads-Up Qualifying along with Gambler class bracket eliminations. Craig Mark and the Eruption team laid down the early bench mark in Top Alcohol with a 2.61 blast in Q2. Washington’s Carey Mahoney brought the ole White Dragster back out for Top Eliminator competition for the first time in several years and didn’t miss a beat as he ran a stellar 2.969 on the 2.95 Index to lead Qualifying after two sessions. Three of the top A/Fuel (Fast Fours) cars are in competition this weekend at Avenal. Robert Skidmore leads the A/Fuel field after two sessions with a solid 2.82 at only 91MPH. Michael Abatti scored the big upset win in an extremely tough Pro Gambler field. Abatti used Consistent ET’s to score the victory with his nice looking Chevy Blazer. Tim Wilson got the job done in the Motorcycle Pro Gambler class defeating the always tough Austin Thomas in the final round. The Sportsman Gambler (Cars) class saw Kevin Williams drive his Larry Minor Motorsports Jeep to the class win defeating Dave Parker in the final round. Saturday will see the conclusion of Heads-Up class Qualifying as well as Eliminations in the Sportsman bracket categories. Stick with NSDN for all the latest from Avenal, CA.
Top Alcohol
Qualifying Order (After 2 of 4 Sessions)
1. Craig Mark 2.618/130.04
2. Jeff Hitchman 2.821/63.67
Friday TA Highlight Video
Top Eliminator
Qualifying Order (After 2 of 4 Sessions)
1. Carey Mahoney 2.969
2. Ron d’Artenay 3.031
3. Jim Rossi 3.038
4. Billy Morris 3.050
5. Christian Payne 3.208
6. Sid Payne 3.227
7. Marc Whitmore 3.509
Friday TE Highlight Video
A/Fuel - Fast Fours
Qualifying Order (After 2 of 4 Sessions)
1. Robert Skidmore 2.825/91.48
2. Art Cronin 3.018/105.82
3. John Cronin 3.219/94.02
Friday A/Fuel Highlight Video
Pro Gambler
1st-Michael Abatti
2nd-Jim Smith
3rd-Keith Ahart
3rd-Tony Soares
Pro Gambler Eliminations Run Sheet
Motorcycle Pro Gambler
1st-Tim Wilson
2nd-Austin Thomas
3rd-Craig Wright
Motorcycle Pro Gambler Eliminations Run Sheet
Sport Gambler
1st-Kevin Williams
2nd-Dave Parker
3rd-Perry Stumbaugh
3rd-Scoty Burris
Sportsman Gambler Eliminations Run Sheet
Preview
National Sand Drag News is heading to Avenal, CA for the Avenal Sand Drags Fall Nationals on October 10-12. NSDN will have our normal race coverage including all the stats, results, news, and videos each night after racing action is complete. Be sure to check our Twitter Feed at the top of the each page or visit the Twitter Feed directly at www.Twitter.com/NSDN. Also, we will be updating the NSDN Facebook page throughout the event at www.Facebook.com/NationalSandDragNews. This NSDN Daily Race Coverage is brought to you by Whitmore Speed & Custom, ATVDragRacer.com, Shearer Brothers Racing, Morris Family Racing, Avenal Sand Drags & d'Artenay Motorsports/Red Warrior Racing. Racing action kicks off on Friday with Heads-Up Qualifying as well as Sportsman/Pro Gambler Eliminations. 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..