FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bybee, Bartone are unstoppable in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. - Billy Bybee and Tony Bartone were the winners at Orlando Speed World Dragway, site of this weekend's NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event. Bybee, the No. 2 qualifier, defeated Bill McCornack for the Federal-Mogul Dragster title; pole-sitter Bartone drove past Mark Billington for the Federal-Mogul Funny Car victory.

Bybee, of McLean, Texas, recorded an erratic sequence of runs in reaching the winner's circle. He ran as quick as 5.67 seconds in the first round of eliminations, and as slow as 6.51 seconds in the semifinals, both runs being quick enough to get to the finish line ahead of his opponents. A 5.83-second lap was enough to beat McCornack in the final round.

Conversely, Bartone of Manhasset, NY, was a picture of consistency in claiming his second victory of the 2000 NHRA season, recording three runs between 5.78 seconds and 5.69 seconds, the latter a new Orlando Speed World Dragway track record.

"It's taken a while to get the car dialed in to its new combination; we've got new tires (Hoosiers), a new fuel system, and more weight, and it took some time to get all those new pieces working together," explained Bartone.

"When we were here last year we ran a 5.70, but the track was a lot better, the air was better, so who knows what that [5.69] would have been on a good track."

A 5.70-second run in the final was more than enough to handle Apopka, Fla.'s Billington, who slowed to a 6.30-second lap.

The following are the final results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Orlando Speed World Dragway:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
First round
8) Dan Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 6.456 seconds, 204.40 mph def. 
1) Art Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 22.012, 43.21

4) Bill McCornack, Lexington, Ky., 6.697, 221.13 def. 
5) Jeanie Booz, Blooming Glen, Pa., 7.264, 128.95

2) Billy Bybee, McLean, Texas, 5.672, 253.09 def. 
7) Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 6.062, 224.43

3) Bob Bears, Clearwater, Fla., 5.644, 233.58 def. 
6) Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., 10.261, 81.16

Semifinals
McCornack, 5.903, 240.77 def. Fiorelli, 6.995, 152.51
Bybee, 6.517, 177.58 def. Bears, 8.130, 107.44

Final
Bybee, 5.830, 248.82 def. McCornack, 5.942, 245.96


FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
First round
1) Tony Bartone, Manhasset, NY, '99 Camaro, 5.785 seconds, 253.30 mph def.
6) Mikael Kagered, Linkoping, Sweden, '99 Avenger, 6.623, 183.44

2) Jay Payne, Upland, Calif., '00 Camaro, 7.603, 188.08 def. 
5) Bobby Martin, Beaver Falls, Pa., '00 Avenger, no time recorded

3) Mark Billington, Apopka, Fla., '95 Achieva, 6.607, 219.67 def. 
4) Lynn Engles, Watertown, SD, '00 Camaro, 10.176, 75.98

Semifinals
Bartone, 5.693, 255.53, bye run
Billington, 6.057, 229.59 def. Payne, 6.323, 204.40

Final
Bartone, 5.700, 254.88 def. Billington, 6.303, 213.42


COMPETITION
Mike Saye,Johnston, SC, F/A '92 Cutlass, 8.56, 157.50 def. 
Jeff Taylor, Lumberton, NC, C/A '00 Camaro, 7.64, 176.74

SUPER STOCK
Lincoln Morehead, Newburgh, NY, GT/EA '90 Camaro, 10.07, 125.01 def. 
Dan Larson, St. Paul, Minn., SS/KA '85 Camaro, 10.65, 126.12

STOCK
Mark Wilson, Waldo, Fla., A/SA '64 Dodge, 10.51, 127.46 def. 
Edmond Richardson, Goodlettsville, Tenn., E/SA '94 Camaro, 11.22, 108.84 (broke out)

SUPER COMP
David Rampy, Piedmont, Ala., dragster, 8.89, 171.29 def. 
Edmond Richardson, Goodlettsville, Tenn., dragster, 9.78, 102.29 (red light)

SUPER GAS
Ed Richardson, Bradenton, Fla., '63 Corvette, 9.87, 156.03 def. 
Michael Corry, Lake Worth, Fla., '85 Corvette, 9.91, 135.37 (red light)

SUPER STREET
Dwight Limbaugh, Decherd, Tenn., '67 Chevelle, 10.98, 124.06 def.
Tim Timmerman, Clinton, SC, '86 Firebird, 11.00, 124.51

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gallant, Bartone pace field in Orlando
ORLANDO, Fla. - Arthur Gallant of Boxboro, Mass., and Manhasset, N.Y.'s Tony Bartone are the No. 1 qualifiers in Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul Funny Car, respectively, at Orlando Speed World Dragway.

Chasing event titles at the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series race, Gallant paced the dragsters with a 5.45-second run at 248.96 miles per hour, both track records.

Bartone, Friday's early qualifying leader with a 5.77-second run, consolidated his hold on the pole position with a 5.72-second run at a new track-record speed of 253.23 miles per hour.

Qualifying runs in Federal-Mogul Funny Car were punctuated by a spectacular one-car spill involving Vern Moats of Des Moines, Iowa. Moats' Camaro went out of control at mid-track and turned hard right into the guardrail, the errant racer eventually slithering to a halt at the finish line.

After Moats was helped from his car, he walked to the ambulance under his own power and acknowledged the generous applause of the crowd; his injuries were confined to a cut on his left hand.

The following are Saturday's final qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Orlando Speed World Dragway:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
 1. Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 5.459, 248.96 mph
 2. Billy Bybee, McLean, Texas, 5.71, 240.51
 3. Bob Bears, Clearwater, Fla., 5.762, 234.74
 4. Bill McCornack, Lexington, Ky., 5.804, 242.52
 5. Jeanie Booz, Blooming Glen, Pa., 5.862, 238.66
 6. Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., 6.166, 244.23
 7. Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 6.302, 221.13
 8. Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 6.379, 171.10

Did Not Qualify
 9. Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville, Fla., 6.966, 192.59
10. Dan Lucas, Cumming, Ga., 7.061, 187.53

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
 1. Tony Bartone, Manhasset, NY, '99 Camaro, 5.727, 253.23 mph
 2. Jay Payne, Upland, Calif., '00 Camaro, 5.744, 250.76
 3. Mark Billington, Apopka, Fla., '95 Achieva, 6.117, 228.19
 4. Lynn Engels, Watertown, SD, '00 Camaro, 6.134, 233.10
 5. Bobby Martin, Beaver Falls, Pa., '00 Avenger, 6.377, 236.84
 6. Mikael Kagered, Linkoping, Sweden, '99 Avenger, 7.469, 154.32
 7. Vern Moats, Des Moines, Iowa, '00 Corvette, DQ

COMPETITION
 1. John Powers, Naples, Fla., AA/A '63 Corvette, 7.033 (-.717)
 2. Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Ind., E/SM '98 Grand Am, 8.293 (-0.657)
 3. Charlie Westcott, Parma, Mich., F/SM '98 Pontiac, 9.223 (-0.657)
 4. Larry Mayes, Greenwood, Ind., D/SM '96 Achieva, 8.189 (-0.641)
 5. Tom Haueter, Chardon, Ohio, D/ED dragster, 7.638 (-0.562)
 6. Glen Treadwell, Sorrento, Fla., A/EA '23-T Ford, 7.569 (-0.561)
 7. Rick Young, Murtreesboro, Ind., F/SM '92 Firebird, 9.322 (-0.558)
 8. David Rampy, Piedmont, Ala., B/ED dragster, 7.043 (-0.557)
 9. Arnie Martel, Wilmington, Mass., B/ED dragster, 7.066 (-0.534)
10. Michael Hardee, Wilmington, NC, D/EA '97 Firebird, 8.564 (-0.526)

SUPER STOCK
 1. Joe Skinner, Columbia Station, Ohio, GT/DA '94 Cavalier, 9.578 (-1.22)
 2. Bob Dennis, Shorter, Ala., GT/MA '97 Firehawk, 10.877 (-1.173)
 3. Jim Boburka, Coraopolis, Pa., GT/DA '99 Firebird, 9.668 (-1.132)
 4. Don O'Malley, Decatur, Ill., SS/KA '64 Corvette, 10.461 (-1.089)
 5. Butch Williams, Cherokee, NC, SS/CA '71 Corvette, 9.296 (-1.054)
 6. Johnny Fogle, Norway, SC, SS/HA '67 Camaro, 9.849 (-1.051)
 7. Donald Smith, Maggie, NC, GT/GA '92 Firebird, 10.161 (-1.039)
 8. David Thomas, West Chester, Pa., SS/BA '69 Corvette, 9.162 (-1.038)
 9. Arnie Martel, Tewksbury, Mass., SS/BM '98 Grand Am, 8.672 (-1.028)
10. Ray Scardelli, Manalapan, NJ, GT/H '97 Probe, 10.122 (-1.028)

STOCK
 1. Joey Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, F/SA '99 Firebird, 10.981 (-1.169)
 2. Brandon Wood, Meigs, Ga., M/SA '85 Camaro, 12.068 (-1.082)
 3. Joe Russell, East Sparta, Ohio, K/S '95 Mustang, 11.776 (-1.074)
 4. Bob Dennis, Shorter, Ala., U/SA '82 Cutlass, 14.093 (-1.057)
 5. Don Martin, Dimondale, Mich., U/SA '82 Cutlass, 14.118 (-1.032)
 6. Randy Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, C/SA '99 Firebird, 10.676 (-1.024)
 7. Gary Russell, East Sparta, Ohio, L/S '94 Mustang, 11.993 (-1.007)
 8. Lee Tuttle, Albany, Ga., T/SA '66 Chevrolet, 13.797 (-1.003)
 9. Tom Baird, Blue Point, NY, A/S '69 Camaro, 10.258 (-0.992)
10. Jim Roberts, Portsmouth, RI, I/S '69 Camaro, 11.532 (-0.968)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

It's an East-West battle in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando Speed World Dragway, host to the NHRA Southeast Division Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series this weekend, will witness a battle between two of NHRA drag racing's better Federal-Mogul Funny Car drivers: Tony Bartone of Long Island, NY, and Upland, Calif.'s Jay Payne.

With one of three scheduled qualifying rounds completed, Bartone, driving his Roger Dean Racing/Quaker State Camaro Funny Car leads the Valvoline-sponsored Camaro of Payne by a mere 0.008-second.

"It [the 5.77-second lap] wasn't too bad and I think we can get down to a 5.75 by the end of qualifying," said Bartone of the run. "We ran a 5.70 here last year, but I'm not sure the track is as good this year. You can try and run quicker than a 5.75, but you'd be risking smoking the tires."

Payne, likewise, is taking a cautious approach. "I think we can squeeze a little more performance out of the car, but I'm not sure how much," said Payne. "We had the car set very soft for that [5.78-second] run; if we start to get aggressive with the tune up we'll risk not being able to get the car downtrack at all."

Qualifying continues Saturday with the Federal-Mogul Dragsters and Funny Cars receiving two more laps, at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Orlando Speed World Dragway:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
 1. Jeanie Booz, Blooming Glen, Pa., 5.862, 238.66
 2. Bob Bears, Clearwater, Fla., 5.929, 227.04
 3. Billy Bybee, McLean, Texas, 5.990, 243.24
 4. Bill McCornack, Lexington, Ky., 6.166, 227.27
 5. Artie Allen, Jacksonville, Fla., 6.302, 221.13
 6. Michael Gunderson, Middleburg, Fla., 7.361, 140.36
 7. Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville, Fla., 14.601, 50.92
 8. Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay, Fla., 16.977, 40.69

Did Not Qualify
 9. Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 18.698, 45.30


FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
 1. Tony Bartone, Manhasset, NY, '99 Camaro, 5.778, 251.81
 2. Jay Payne, Upland, Calif., '00 Camaro, 5.785, 248.75
 3. Lynn Engels, Watertown, SD, '00 Camaro, 6.134, 233.10
 4. Bobby Martin, Beaver Falls, Pa., '00 Avenger, 18.590, 39.82
 5. Mikael Kagered, Linkoping, Sweden, '99 Avenger, DQ
 6. Vern Moats, Des Moines, Iowa, '00 Corvette, DQ


COMPETITION
 1. John Powers, Naples, Fla., AA/A '63 Corvette, 7.033 (-.717)
 2. Charlie Westcott, Parma, Mich., F/SM '98 Pontiac, 9.305 (-0.575)
 3. Larry Pritchett, Clarkrange, Ind., E/SM '98 Grand Am, 8.387 (-0.563)
 4. Rick Young, Murtreesboro, Ind., F/SM '92 Firebird, 9.322 (-0.558)
 5. David Rampy, Piedmont, Ala., B/ED dragster, 7.043 (-0.557)
 6. Larry Mayes, Greenwood, Ind., D/SM '96 Achieva, 8.290 (-0.540)
 7. Michael Hardee, Wilmington, NC, D/EA '97 Firebird, 8.564 (-0.526)
 8. Doug Stewart, Edwardsburg, Mich., B/ED dragster, 7.078 (-0.522)
 9. Jeff Taylor, Lumberton, NC, C/A '00 Camaro, 7.747 (-0.503)
10. Tom Haueter, Chardon, Ohio, D/ED dragster, 7.707 (-0.493)

SUPER STOCK
 1. Joe Skinner, Columbia Station, Ohio, GT/DA '94 Cavalier, 9.581 (-1.219)
 2. Bob Dennis, Shorter, Ala., GT/MA '97 Firehawk, 10.877 (-1.173)
 3. Jim Boburka, Coraopolis, Pa., GT/DA '99 Firebird, 9.668 (-1.132)
 4. Don O'Malley, Decatur, Ill., SS/KA '64 Corvette, 10.461 (-1.089)
 5. Butch Williams, Cherokee, NC, SS/CA '71 Corvette, 9.296 (-1.054)
 6. Donald Smith, Maggie, NC, GT/GA '92 Firebird, 10.161 (-1.039)
 7. David Thomas, West Chester, Pa., SS/BA '69 Corvette, 9.162 (-1.038)
 8. Arnie Martel, Tewksbury, Mass., SS/BM '98 Grand Am, 8.672 (-1.028)
 9. Ray Scardelli, Manalapan, NJ, GT/H '97 Probe, 10.122 (-1.028)
10. Randy Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, GT/GA '92 Camaro, 10.181 (-1.019)

Others include:
69. Eddie Diaz, Casselberry, Fla., SS/IA '68 Camaro, 10.725 (-0.275)
71. Bill Brooks, Kissimmee, Fla., SS/AA '68 Barracuda, 9.954 (-0.046)


STOCK
 1. Joey Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, F/SA '99 Firebird, 10.981 (-1.169)
 2. Joe Russell, East Sparta, Ohio, K/S '95 Mustang, 11.776 (-1.074)
 3. Bob Dennis, Shorter, Ala., U/SA '82 Cutlass, 14.093 (-1.057)
 4. Brandon Wood, Meigs, Ga., M/SA '85 Camaro, 12.096 (-1.054)
 5. Don Martin, Dimondale, Mich., U/SA '82 Cutlass, 14.118 (-1.032)
 6. Gary Russell, East Sparta, Ohio, L/S '94 Mustang, 11.993 (-1.007)
 7. Lee Tuttle, Albany, Ga., T/SA '66 Chevrolet, 13.797 (-1.003)
 8. Tom Baird, Blue Point, NY, A/S '69 Camaro, 10.258 (-0.992)
 9. Randy Wilkes, Zanesville, Ohio, C/SA '99 Firebird, 10.724 (-0.976)
10. Jerry Newsome, Mayfield, Ky., B/SA '70 Challenger, 10.586 (-0.964)

Others include:
16. Jim Woods, Kissimmee, Fla., M/SA '77 Oldsmobile, 12.261 (-0.889)
42. Tom Trippy, Oviedo, Fla., J/SA '85 Camaro, 12.082 (-0.668)