The 19th annual Advance Auto Parts NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway roared to a conclusion with several top guns continuing their hot streaks in the Pro classes. Gary Scelzi won his second of the year and was joined in the winner's circle by Team Winston teammate Angelle Seeling, who won her second straight.
Gary Scelzi |
John Force won his fifth title in seven outings this year and Warren Johnson won his third of the year, as both claimed their 75th career victories.
Winston champ Scelzi won his second title of the season when Doug Kalitta fouled in the final round to cap a wild day of upsets. Kalitta had narrowly avoided a crashing Kenny Bernstein in round one, only because he had smoked the tires, then recovered to beat Bruce Sarver with a 4.85 and Eddie Hill with a 4.81.
Scelzi was solidly in the 4.60s, running 4.68 against Terry Mullins' red-light in round one, a 4.65 to beat Joe Amato's 4.74, then a 4.70 to hold off points leader Mike Dunn's 4.72 in the semi's.
Top Fuel results
Force had run 4.996 to beat Frank Pedregon's 5.141, 4.97 to oust Del Worsham's 5.30, and a dazzling 4.929 to beat teammate Tony Pedregon before making the final.
Bazemore, meanwhile, had opened eliminations by beating Chevy teammate Ron Capps with a 5.1, then ran 5.097to beat another Chevy, the Corvette of Jim Epler. In the semi's, Bazemore cut short the bid of Scotty Cannon, who had won his first two rounds of the season but fell on a holeshot, 5.20 to 5.18, to Bazemore.
The final was slower, but closer, as Force nipped his longtime rival, 5,14 to 5.18, to claim his 75th career win.
Funny Car results
Warren Johnson |
Warren Johnson won his third title of the year and the 75th of his career when Riche Stevens red-lighted in the Pro Stock final.
Johnson was awesome with runs of 6.906, 201.01; 6.936 200.83; and 6.946 200.71 to beat Tom Martino, Mark Pawuk, and Jim Yates (Pont Firebird in the first three rounds.
Stevens had run 6.938 and 6.999 to beat Mike Trumble and Steve Schmidt , then got a break when Mike Thomas fouled; Stevens had trouble negotiating the track and slowed to a 10-second pace.
Knowing he was outgunned, Stevens tried for one of his patented holeshots, but came up red with a .365 light. W.J. was vulnerable, though, as he ran just 6.99 to Stevens' 7.02.
Pro Stock results
Angelle Seeling, who struggled early in qualifying, came on strong in the end and took her second straight title of the season, defeating Matt Hines in the money run. Seeling ran 7.286 and 7.284 to beat Chris Reuter and Steve Johnson, then put away Tony Mullen, 7.30 to 7.39 in the semi's.
Hines was sharp on the lights, cutting a .403 light in round one against Fred Camarena and winning easily, 7.29 to 7.51 then defeated longtime rival David Schultz in round two, 7.32 to 7.41, and strapped a perfect .400 on John Smith in a 7.29 to 7.35 win.
Hines could not improve on perfection though, and red-lighted in the final round to hand Seeling the win.
Pro Stock Bike results
Winternationals Pro Stock Truck champ Randy Daniels ran 7.64 in the final round to defeat points leader and two-time '99 winner Mark Osborne, who shut off early in the run.
Osborne had beaten teammate Tim Freeman in the semifinals on a holeshot, 7.71 to 7.69, while Daniels had ousted the Dodge of Craig Eaton, 7.66 to 7.49.
Pro Stock Truck results
Rick Santos, who stunned everyone with a 5.39 in qualifying, won the Federal-Mogul Dragster title easily with a 5.50 when Keith Stark broke the rear end and had to shut off.
Bob Newberry won his first Federal-Mogul Funny car title when he defeated two-time 1999 winner Todd Paton, 5.75 to 5.77 in the final round. Paton's loss was made even worse by a late parachute that put him into the sand trap; the car suffered only minimal damage.
Federal-Mogul Dragster results
Bob Newberry won his first Federal-Mogul Funny car title when he defeated two-time 1999 winner Todd Paton, 5.75 to 5.77 in the final round. Paton's loss was made even worse by a late parachute that put him into the sand trap; the car suffered only minimal damage.
Federal-Mogul Funny Car results
A pair of six-cylinder machines settled the Comp eliminator honors with the honors going to low qualifier Brian Browell's V-6 machine over Steve Ambrose's straight-six Ford machine.
Comp results
Scotty Richardson became the first driver to record wins in Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street when he defeated Tim Cole in the Super Stock final. Richardson took the win with a 10.22 on a 10.21dial as Cole broke out by three-thousandths, 9.057 on a 9.06. It was Richardson's 29th career win and his second straight following his Super Comp win at the Pennzoil nationals two weeks ago.
Super Stock results
Former Winston champ Al Corda showed he still has the heart of a champion as he outduled Greg Gay in a close all-Mopar final round by just .002-second 10.60.
Stock results
Rod Fuller took Super Comp honors when Jeff Strickland red-lighted by just .001-second with a .399 reaction time. Both drivers ran 8.902 on the pass, Fuller with a 2 and Strickland with a 4 in the thousandths column.
Super Comp results
Ed Richardson and Steve Cohen, two drivers better known for their prowess in Super Comp, faced off in the Super Gas final, which went to Richardson with a 9.912 to Cohen's 9.88 breakout.
Super Gas results
In Super Street, David Miller, of nearby Savannah, Ga., won the 10.90 title when Division 4 champ Bob Krummel red-lighted after rolling the beams.
Super Street results
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