FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fuentes and Kinsley get first wins at State Capitol Dragway

BATON ROUGE, La. - Rookie drivers Joe Fuentes of Leander, Texas, and Kebin Kinsley of Kennedale, Texas, claimed their first-ever event wins at State Capitol Dragway today. Both drivers began competing in the South Central Division last season and this is only Kinsley's sixth race in his Federal Mogul Funny Car.

Fuentes, who ran consistent times all weekend, never ran slower than a 5.575 second pass showing why he is a contender for the Federal-Mogul Dragster championship for the South Central division. Fuentes defeated Troy Buff of Spring, Texas, before ever leaving the line when Buff left early with a foul start.

"We felt confident going into this weekend with how we did in Dallas a few weeks ago," said an ecstatic Fuentes. "We overcame the small mistakes that have haunted us over the past races. The team is really coming together with the tuning of Ora Vasquez, and Tony Rosillo's hard work. They make my job that much easier."

Former drag boat racer Kinsley made the transition from water to land drag racing last year and hasn't looked back since. Kinsley, who's engine is actually from his former boat, proved that his runner-up finish in Dallas earlier last month.

"We've been running really consistent since the start of the season and it finally paid off today," said Kinsley. "We shook the tires in low gear and I kept my foot in it. When I crossed the line and saw the win light I couldn't believe it. This is phenomenal."

Others earning victories today were Bill Kent in Comp Eliminator, Jeffrey Miller in Super Stock, Rodney Costlow in Super Comp, Mike Lingo in Super Gas, Jimmy Arabie Jr. in Super Street, Justin Cardwell in Stock, and Robert Sanders in Sportsman Motorcycle.

The following are the final results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at State Capitol Dragway:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER 
Round 1 
1. Joe Fuentes, Leander, Texas, 5.525 seconds, 254.09 mph def. 
8. Erica Walsh, Lafayette, La., 6.199, 231.42 

7. Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., 5.605, 244.83 def. 
2. Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.774, 245.46 

3. Troy Buff, Spring, Texas, 6.344, 157.89 def. 
6. Gene Snow, Fort Worth, Texas, 12.683, 59.44 (Foul Start) 

4. Lee Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.754, 249.72 def. 
5. Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., 5.985, 237.02 

Semifinals 

1. Fuentes, 5.575, 254.59 def. 4. Callaway, 5.661, 255.10 
3. Buff, 5.636, 252.24 def. Cannon, 5.614, 253.44 

Final Round 
1. Fuentes, 5.567, 253.87 def. Buff, 7.431, 120.62 

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 
Round 1 
1. Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla.,'00 Camaro, 6.061 seconds,  234.31 mph def. 
8. E.J. Johnson, Violet, La., '98 Achieva, 7.243, 211.71 

2. Kebin Kinsley, Kennedale, Texas, '98 Achieva, 6.109, 230.59 def 
7. Richard Shaver, San Antonio, Texas, '99 Camaro, 6.401, 235.60 

3. Jimmy Jones, Cleburne, Texas, '98 Camaro, 6.144, 223.21 def. 
6. Todd Simpson, Ponder, Texas, '99 Avenger, 6.728, 144.99 

4. Warren Dauzat, Baton Rouge, La., '96 Achieva, 6.222, 231.36 def. 
5. Steve Burck, Corpus Christi, Texas, '98 Avenger, No Time recorded DQ 

Semifinals 

1. Stidham, 5.967, 240.12 def. 4. Dauzat, 6.246, 223.71 
2. Kinsley, 6.663, 232.13 def. 3. Jones, 11.647, 47.51 

Final Round 
2. Kinsley, 6.049, 233.70 def. 1. Stidham, 6.343, 181.08 

COMP ELIMINATOR 
Bill Kent, Midland, Texas, C/D '00 Dragster, 7.067 def. 
Ray Goodman, Beorne, Texas, A/EA '98 Dragster, 7.649 

SUPER STOCK 
Jeffrey Miller, Pearland, Texas, GT/AA '97 Firebird, 10.344 def.
Mike Trumble, Pasadena, Texas, GT/LA '00 Cougar, 15.613 

STOCK ELIMINATOR 
Justin Cardwell, Debach, La., K/SA '85 Camaro, 12.082 def. 
Kevin Stubbs, Searcy, Ark., A/SA '71 Chevrolet, 10.851 

SUPER COMP 
Rodney Costlow, Dallas, '99 Dragster, 8.898  def. 
Samuel Esch, Boyle, Miss., '99 Dragster, 8.892 Breakout 

SUPER GAS 
Mike Lingo, Oak Grove, La., '90 Camaro, 9.883 def. 
Jesse Serna, El Paso, Texas, '87 Monte Carlo, (Foul Start) 

SUPER STREET 
Jimmy Arabie Jr., Baytown, Texas, '77 Vega, 10.864 def. 
Robert Pearson, Beaumont, Texas, '63 Corvette, (Foul Start) 

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE 
Robert Sanders, Houston, Texas, '89 Kawasaki, 8.226  def. 
Shane Eperjesi, Lake Dallas, Texas, 93' Suzuki, 9.495 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fuentes, Stidham take the lead at State Capitol Dragway

BATON ROUGE, La. - Rookie Federal-Mogul Dragster driver Joe Fuentes of Leander, Texas, set a track record for speed as well as elapsed time today at State Capitol Dragway with a pass of 5.478 seconds at 258.39 mph. Meanwhile, in the Federal-Mogul Funny Car category, Jackie Stidham of Chickasaw, Okla., took the number one spot with his pass of 5.818 seconds at 245.76 mph.

Fuentes' pass was solid from start to finish. As he crossed the stripe and the time and speed were posted, the crowd of over 3000 stood and cheered as they had just witnessed history here at the dragway.

"I actually thought it was an average pass until they told me after getting out of the car," said an excited Fuentes. "Ora Vasquez has turned this team around with his ability to set the car up so well. That, combined with the team gelling together so well are the real reason why we are in this spot today."

Stidham is setting his sights on his third consecutive event win of the season in only three events. Stidham clearly made the smoothest pass of the day showing why he is the man to beat in the South Central Division.

"We were real optimistic on that first pass of the day," said Stidham. "We saw some of the guys in Comp do real well ahead of us and we set the car up the same way we did for the Dallas race. The track was in great condition and everything else just fell right into place."

In Comp Eliminator competition, Bill Kent of Midland, Texas, posted the quickest time ever on his C/D dragster with a 6.995 second pass (0.705 seconds under index)

Drivers making the most of their two qualifying attempts to take home the Sealed-Power Low Qualifier award totaling $2500 were: Joe Fuentes, Federal Mogul Dragster; Jackie Stidham, Federal-Mogul Funny Car; Bill Kent, Comp Eliminator; Scooter Anderson, Super Stock and Jeff Swanson in Stock.

Gates to State Capitol Dragway open at 8 a.m. with eliminations in all categories scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

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

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER 
1. Joe Fuentes, Leander, Texas, 5.478 seconds, 258.39 mph vs. 
8. Erica Walsh, Lafayette, La., 6.073, 252.10 

2. Shelly Howard, Tulsa, Okla., 5.518, 257.51 vs. 
7. Jason Cannon, Middleburg, Fla., 5.847, 201.43 

3. Troy Buff, Spring, Texas, 5.533, 257.73 vs. 
6. Gene Snow, Fort Worth, Texas, 5.788, 225.28 

4. Lee Callaway, Channelview, Texas, 5.754, 240.32 vs. 
5. Marty Thacker, Robinson, Ill., 5,768, 240.96 

Did Not Qualify 
9. Karl Brunkowski, Magnolia, Texas, 6.661, 203.29 

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 
1. Jackie Stidham, Chickasha, Okla.,'00 Camaro, 5.818 seconds, 245.76 mph vs. 
8. E.J. Johnson, Violet, La., '98 Achieva, 7.865, 200.21 

2. Kebin Kinsley, Kennedale, Texas, '98 Achieva, 5.981, 233.34 vs. 
7. Richard Shaver, San Antonio, Texas, '99 Camaro, 7.126, 163.60 

3. Jimmy Jones, Cleburne, Texas, '98 Camaro, 6.137, 235.47 vs. 
6. Todd Simpson, Ponder, Texas, '99 Avenger, 6.625, 156.49 

4. Warren Dauzat, Baton Rouge, La., '96 Achieva, 6.271, 230.06 vs. 
5. Steve Burck, Corpus Christi, Texas, '98 Avenger, 6.401, 214.79 

COMP ELIMINATOR 
1. Bill Kent, Midland, Texas, C/D '00 Dragster, 6.995 seconds (0.705-second under index) 
2. Dean Howerton, Lake Havasu, Ariz., C/D '01 Dragster, 7.025,(-0.675) 
3. Joe Swindoll, La Porte, Texas, B/AA '63 Corvette, 7.267, (-0.653) 
4. Scott Benham, La Grande, Texas, D/AA '96 Lumina, 7.919, (-0.641) 
5. Joey Tanksley, Greenwell Springs, La., B/ED '91 Dragster, 6.974, (-0.636) 
6. Greg Williams, Carthage, Texas, E/SM '01 Grand Am, 8.361, (-0.609) 
7. Alan Swindoll, Houston, Texas, B/AA '98 Firebird, 7.331, (-0.589) 
8. Charlie Watson, Humble, Texas, F/A '96 Lumina, 8.673, (-0.547) 
9. Donald Baskin, Brighton, Tenn., F/A '98 Cutlass, 8.725, (-0.495) 
10. Bill Morse, Richardson, Texas, D/AA '99 Pontiac, 8.067, (-0.493) 

SUPER STOCK 
1. Scooter Anderson, Bartlett, Tenn., SS/G '67 Chevy II, 9.557 seconds, (1.193-second under index) 
2. Brent Johnson, Lecompte, La., SS/NA '66 Impala, 11.306, (-1.144) 
3. Terry Emmons, Pasadena, Texas, SS/JA '96 Firebird, 10.264,(-1.036) 
4. Joe Teuton, Gray, La., SS/AA '68 Barracuda, 8.967, (-1.033) 
5. John Clegg, Victoria, Texas, SS/AM '73 Firebird, 8.544, (-1.006) 
6. Ronnie Cardwell, Ruston, La., GT/HA '95 Achieva, 10.383, (-0.967) 
7. Jeffrey Miller, Pearland, Texas, GT/AA '97 Firebird, 9.482,(-0.918) 
8. Bobby Cassard, Donaldsville, La., SS/KA '87 Firebird,10.635,(-0.915) 
9. Elisha Boyd, Sumrall, Miss., GT/BA '99 S-10, 9.654, (-0.896) 
10. Buz Post, Arlington, Texas, SS/CM '98 Grand Am, 9.016, (-0.884) 

STOCK ELIMINATOR 
1. Jeff Swanson, Arlington, Tenn., K/S '93 Mustang,11.533 seconds, (1.317-second under index) 
2. Ronnie Cardwell, Ruston, La., K/SA '90 Firebird, 11.720,(-1.230) 
3. George Cox, Memphis, Tenn., E/SA '97 Pontiac, 10.771,(-1.229) 
4. Verne Buchanan, Conway, Ark., T/SA '73 Mustang, 11.443,(-1.157) 
5. Dan Sniesak, Wales, Mich., GT/SA '97 Ram, 12.795, (-1.155) 
6. Jim Cimarolli, Sulphur Springs, Texas, C/SA '70 Nova,10.555,(-1.145) 
7. Jimmy Hidalgo, Donaldsville, La., E/SA '97 Camaro, 10.875,(-1.125) 
8. Kent La Porte, New Iberia, La., M/SA '85 Camaro, 12.037,(-1.113) 
9. Andy Thornburg, Wilmer Ala., J/SA '79 Aspen, 11.661, (-1.089) 
10. Billy Lynn, Searcy, Ark., GT/SA '95 S-10, 12.879, (-1.071) 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rain-soaked dragway eliminates qualifying for today

BATON ROUGE, La. - State Capitol Dragway received over two inches of rain overnight adding to the six inches of rainfall received over the past weekend. Racers were greeted with a myriad of mud and standing water covering the pit area leaving those who had not parked yet searching for higher ground along the newly paved staging lanes.

"With the large volume of rain that we received overnight, we couldn't park the teams with all the standing water in the pits," said South Central Director Craig Hutchinson. "We're going to try and start parking around 4 p.m. and hopefully some of this water will have soaked in by then."

With dry weather forecasted for Saturday, gates to State Capitol Dragway will open at 8 a.m. with qualifying in all categories slated to begin at 9 a.m. with Federal-Mogul Dragster and Funny Car scheduled at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.