FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Santos, Gasparrelli finish in winner's circle

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - NHRA's Pacific Division completed its fourth Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series of the 2001 season. In the end, Rick Santos in Federal-Mogul Dragster and Steve Gasparrelli in Federal-Mogul Funny Car were in the winner's circle. They were joined there by Adam Bowdish, Bill Blakeney, John Hennessay, Rick Beckstrom, Eric Reyes, Dave Whooley, Dean Hall, and Greg Liskey.

Santos, who this season claims his points in the Northwest Division, had not even planned to attend the event. But the Oakwood Homes FM Dragster team decided they needed to get the car on the track as much as possible while figuring out a new combination. The change in plans paid off, as Santos, of Brentwood, Calif., knocked off Mission Viejo, Calif., resident Darren Nicholson in the final round with a 5.619-second, 256.07 mph run to Nicholson's 5.713-second, 248.58 mph effort. This is Santos' first divisional event win of the season.

In FM Funny Car, Gasparrelli, of West Covina, Calif., claimed his second win of the season, moving him ahead of Hanford, Calif., resident John Weaver in the divisional points standings. Gasparrelli faced Paso Robles, Calif.'s, Doug Gordon in the final round. Gasparrelli put down a 5.930-second, 242.88 mph pass and Gordon ran 8.271 seconds at 96.54 mph. Bowdish, of Lake Oswego, Ore., won in Comp Eliminator; Blakney, of Bell, Calif., won in Super Stock; Hennessay, a Los Angeles resident won in Stock; Beckstrom, of Novato, Calif., took the win in Super Comp; Reyes, of Oakland, Calif., was the Super Gas winner; Whooley, of Fallon, Nev., took the crown in Super Street; the Super Eliminator winner was Hall, a Guerneville, Calif., resident; and Liskey, of Salinas, Calif., took the win in Sportsman Motorcycle.

The following are the final results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Sacramento Raceway Park:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
Semifinals
Darren Nicholson, Mission Viejo, Calif., 5.651 seconds, 251.57 mph 
def. BYE

Rick Santos, Brentwood, Calif., 5.566, 256.80 def. 
Mike Strasburg, Lindon, Utah, 5.699, 247.77

Final Round
Santos, 5.619, 256.07 def. Nicholson, 5.713, 248.58

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 
Final Round*
Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., '99 Firebird, 5.930, 242.88 def.
Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '00 Camaro, 8.271, 96.56

*all other rounds were completed Saturday.

COMP ELIMINATOR
Adam Bowdish, Lake Oswego, Ore., C/SM, '89 Firebird, 9.158, 147.60 def. 
Ed Sigmon, Chatsworth, Calif., C/SR, '34 roadster, 8.857, 147.53

SUPER STOCK
Bill Blakeney, Bell, Calif., SS/HA, '68 Camaro, 10.226, 116.34 def. 
Gary Williams, Mariposa, Calif., SS/MA, '64 Comet, 11.190, 119.39

STOCK ELIMINATOR
John Hennessay, Los Angeles, H/SA, '69 Camaro, 11.503, 112.97 def. 
Jesse Adams, West Sacramento, Calif., H/SA, '67 Camaro, 11.928, 110.00

SUPER COMP
Rick Beckstrom, Novato, Calif., '00 dragster, 8.893, 169.15 def. 
Keith Downing, Glendale, Ariz., '96 dragster, 8.879, 160.50

SUPER GAS
Eric Reyes, Oakland, Calif., '62 Corvette, 9.991, 127.88 def. 
Rich Takahashi, Pasadena, Calif., '99 Pontiac, 10.052, 143.66

SUPER STREET
Dave Whooley, Fallon, Nev., '82 Camaro, 10.904, 132.09 def. 
David Adams, Livermore, Calif., '70 Maverick, 10.903, 134.71

SUPER ELIMINATOR
Dean Hall, Guerneville, Calif., '91 dragster, 7.948, 158.84 def. 
Jeff Murdock, Downey, Calif., '00 dragster, 8.313, 141.70 - red light

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
Greg Liskey, Salinas, Calif., '95 Suzuki, 9.411, 140.71 def. 
Ramond Clemons, Antelope, Calif., '87 GSXR, 10.088, 110.31 - red light 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Western States Championships continue at Sacramento Raceway

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series continued today at Sacramento Raceway Park. While most of the racing categories finished time trials and qualifying in the heat of the day, Federal-Mogul Dragster and Funny Car competitors each completed two rounds of eliminations under the lights.

During the first rounds of eliminations in the alcohol-powered classes, the sun was still beating down and there were no spectacular runs. But in the second rounds, which started at about 9 p.m., there was outstanding side-by-side competition.

In FM Dragster the most exciting race came when the veteran national champion, Rick Santos, took on Brandon Bernstein, the rookie driver whose father is the drag racing legend, Kenny Bernstein. In the end, Santos' blown alcohol engine completely overpowered the injected nitro-burning machine of Bernstein 5.500 seconds at 259.05 mph to 5.875 seconds at 247.28 mph.

In what could be the upset of the weekend in FM Funny Car, in the second round of eliminations, Doug Gordon took out his good friend John Weaver who is currently tied in the division points standings with Steve Gasparrelli. Gordon made a 5.929-second, 243.53 mph pass to Weaver's 6.052-second, 226.23 mph effort. Gasparrelli will take the points lead this weekend as he bested Ed Marx in round two, 5.830 seconds at 244.76 mph to 6.091 seconds at 234.88.

Low qualifiers of the event are Darren Nicholson in FM Dragster, Gasparrelli in FM Funny Car, Andy Manna Jr. in Comp Eliminator, Don Studley in Super Stock and Tom Roberts in Stock.

Eliminations continue Sunday at Sacramento Raceway Park. Gates open at 8 a.m. and racing begins at 9 a.m. Tickets are $25 for adults. Children 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paid adult. For more information call the track, (916) 363-2653.

The following are Saturday's final qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Sacramento Raceway Park:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER

FINAL QUALIFYING
1. Darren Nicholson, Mission Viejo, Calif.
2. Mike Strasburg, Lindon, Utah
3. Brandon Bernstein, Lake Forest, Calif.
4. Rick Santos, Brentwood, Calif.
5. David Baca, Brentwood, Calif.
6. Don Hudson, Stockton, Calif.
7. Paul Jones, Stockton, Calif.
8. Matthew Seltzer, Brea, Calif.
9. Tony Meredyk, Cypress, Calif.
10. Larry Miersch, Fallbrook, Calif.
11. Darryl Hitchman, Hanford, Calif.
12. Brandon Henkelman, San Jose, Calif.

ELIMINATIONS, ROUND 1
Nicholson, 5.703 seconds, 248.73 mph def. Henkelman, 19.713, 37.56
Strasburg, 5.707, 250.22 def. Hitchman, 6.288, 180.16
Bernstein, 5.816, 251.13 def., Miersch, 15.627, 68.59
Santos, 5.593, 254.29 def. Meredyk, 7.649, 117.39
Baca, 5.892, 254.29 def. Seltzer, no show
Paul Jones, 5.636, 247.39 def. Hudson, 6.834, 

ELIMINATIONS, ROUND 2
Nicholson, 5.655, 237.55 def. Jones, 5.651, 244.82
Strasburg, 5.606, 252.72 def. Baca, 5.730, 248.20
Santos, 5.500, 259.05 def. Bernstein, 5.875, 247.28

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 

FINAL QUALIFYING
1. Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., 5.955 seconds, 237.86 mph
2. John Weaver, Hanford, Calif., 6.004, 241.70
3. Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., 6.018, 242.43
4. Ed Marx, Discovery Bay, Calif., 6.073, 239.93
5. Mert Littlefield, Garden Grove, Calif., 6.086, 236.04
6. Mike Drake, Glendora, Calif.
7. Mark Woznichak, Ontario, Calif., 6.209, 228.59  
8. Bret Williamson, Campbell, Calif.

ELIMINATIONS, ROUND 1
Gasparrelli, 5.974 seconds, 235.46 mph def. Williamson, 6.098, 221.47
Weaver, 6.014, 242.78 def. Woznichak, no show
Gordon, 5.966, 243.83 def. Drake, 7.318, 126.56
Marx, 6.140, 234.56 def. Littlefield, 6.961, 144.87

ELIMINATIONS, ROUND 2
Gordon, 5.929, 243.53 def. Weaver, 6.088, 226.23
Gasparrelli, 5.830, 244.76 def. Marx, 5.830, 244.76

COMP ELIMINATOR
1. Andy Manna Jr., Covina, Calif., D/EA, 8.436 seconds, 157.96 mph,  -0.594 under index
2. Adam Bowdish, Lake Oswego, Ore., C/SM, 9.062, 152.54, -0.578
3. Ed Sigmon, Chatsworth, Calif., C/SR, 8.795, 148.22, -0.555
4. Jeff Lion, Fresno, Calif., E/A, 8.351, 162.39, -0.549
5. Todd Movius, Long Beach, Calif., A/ND, 7.463, 181.50, -0.537
6. John Edwards, Claremont, Calif., C/EA, 8.402, 159.61, -0.528
7. Fred Gross, La Crecenta, Calif., E/A, 8.377, 161.69, -0.523
8. Jim Kennedy, San Jose, Calif., A/T, 7.719, 177.25, -0.511 
9. Alan Freese, Monterey, Calif., E/AA, 8.489, 159.77, -0.451
10. Maureen Jondahl, Battle Ground, Wash., G/AA, 9.141, 148.68, -0.449

SUPER STOCK
1. Don Studley, Orange, Calif., GT/TC, 10.294 seconds, 127.99 mph, -1.156 under index
2. Gary Williams, Mariposa, Calif., SS/MA, 11.065, 118.63, -1.085
3. Bill Bennett, Mountain View, Calif., GT/EA, 9.989, 134.63, -0.961
4. Dave Raybourn, Modesto, Calif., SS/AA, 9.047, 147.38, -0.953
5. Howard Thomson, Wildomar, Calif., 10.035, 132.91, -0.915
6. Frank Grossi, Upland, Calif., 9.638, 137.91, -0.912
7. John Borden, Redlands, Calif., SS/HA, 9.996, 131.38, -0.904
8. Tony Hewes, Reno, Nev., SS/GA, 9.950, 134.88, -0.900
9. Jim Grossi, Gustine, Calif., 9.531, 141.29, -0.869
10. Tony DeFrank, Torrance, Calif., 10.231, 129.08, -0.869

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1. Tom Roberts, Mira Loma, Calif., J/SA, 11.461 seconds, 115.32 mph, -1.289 under index
2. Gary Harper, San Jose, Calif., ET/SA, 12.211, 107.36 mph, -1.139
3. Steve Wann, Modesto, Calif., C/SA, 10.609, 123.111, -1.091
4. Ken Etter, Riverside, Calif., J/SA, 11.700,112.78, -1.050
5. Gene Buell, Hesperia, Calif., D/SA, 10.807, 122.00, -1.043
6. Danny Missbrenner, San Ramon, Calif., E/SA, 10.967, 119.36, -1.033
7. Darren Smith, Palmdale, Calif., DT/SA, 12.119, 107.77, -1.031
8. Clark Holroyd, Chino, Calif., 10.526, 125.97, -1.024
9. John Hennessay, Los Angeles, H/SA, 11.488, 113.79, -0.962
10. Dave Bridgewater, Devore, Calif., E/SA, 11.068, 120.17, -0.932

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series rolls through Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The first rounds of qualifying at the Western States Championships at Sacramento Raceway Park were completed under blue skies with hot temperatures. However, by the time the alcohol-powered Federal-Mogul Dragsters and Funny Cars took the track in the early evening, the track temperature did not seem to affect the cars, particularly, FM Dragster low qualifier Darren Nicholson and Steve Gasparrelli, low qualifier in FM Funny Car,

Nicholson of Mission Viejo, Calif., laid down a 5.598-second, 251.27 mph pass and Gaparrelli, a resident of West Covina, Calif., made a pass of 5.955 seconds at 237.86 mph.

Low qualifiers in other classes were Andy Manna Jr., Covina, Calif., in Comp Eliminator; Don Studley, Orange, Calif., in Super Stock; and Gary Harper, San Jose, Calif., in Stock.

The NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series continues Saturday at Sacramento Raceway Park. Gates open at 8 a.m. and qualifying and time trials continue at 10 a.m. FM Dragsters and Funny Cars will get two more qualifying runs before the 16-car fields run two rounds of eliminations at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $15 and a ticket with a pit pass is $25. A two-day pit pass is $35. Children 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paid adult. For more information call Sacramento Raceway Park, (916) 363-2653.

The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at The Western States Championships at Sacramento Raceway Park:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
1. Darren Nicholson, Mission Viejo, Calif., 5.598 seconds, 251.27 mph
2. Brandon Bernstein, Lake Forest, Calif., 5.612, 247.89
3. Mike Strasburg, Lindon, Utah, 5,619, 252.27
4. Don Hudson, Stockton, Calif., 5.726, 247.00
5. David Baca, Brentwood, Calif., 5.818, 238.61
6. Paul Jones, Stockton, Calif., 5.898, 185.98
7. Larry Miersch, Fallbrook, Calif., 6.488, 198.40
8. Matthew Seltzer, Brea, Calif., 6.489,200.42
9. Darryl Hitchman, Haford, Calif., 6.729, 168.48
10. Rick Santos, Brentwood, Calif., 7.040, 131.25
11. Brandon Henkelman, San Jose, Calif., 10.580, 70.76

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 
1. Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., 5.955 seconds, 237.86 mph
2. John Weaver, Hanford, Calif., 6.004, 241.70
3. Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., 6.018, 242.43
4. Ed Marx, Discovery Bay, Calif., 6.073, 239.93
5. Mert Littlefield, Garden Grove, Calif., 6.086, 236.04
6. Mark Woznichak, Ontario, Calif., 6.209, 228.59  

COMP ELIMINATOR
1. Andy Manna Jr., Covina, Calif., D/EA, 8.436 seconds, 157.96 mph,  -0.594 under index
2. Adam Bowdish, Lake Oswego, Ore., C/SM, 9.062, 152.54, -0.578
3. Jeff Lion, Fresno, Calif., E/A, 8.351, 162.39, -0.549
4. Todd Movius, Long Beach, Calif., A/ND, 7.463, 181.50, -0.537
5. John Edwards, Claremont, Calif., C/EA, 8.402, 159.61, -0.528
6. Fred Gross, La Crecenta, Calif., E/A, 8.377, 161.69, -0.523
7. Jim Kennedy, San Jose, Calif., A/T, 7.719, 177.25, -0.511
8. Ed Sigmon, Chatsworth, Calif., C/SR, 8.864, 147.66, -0.486
9. Alan Freese, Monterey, Calif., E/AA, 8.489, 159.77, -0.451
10. Tommy Brown, Westminster, Calif., 8.562, 152.03, -0.448

SUPER STOCK
1. Don Studley, Orange, Calif., GT/TC, 10.294 seconds, 127.99 mph,  -1.156 under index
2. Gary Williams, Mariposa, Calif., SS/MA, 11.065, 118.63, -1.085
3. Bill Bennett, Mountain View, Calif., GT/EA, 9.989, 134.63, -0.961
4. Dave Raybourn, Modesto, Calif., SS/AA, 9.047, 147.38, -0.953
5. John Borden, Redlands, Calif., SS/HA, 9.996, 131.38, -0.904
6. Tony Hewes, Reno, Nev., SS/GA, 9.950, 134.88, -0.900
7. Howard Thomson, Wildomar, Calif., 10.054, 133.06, -0.896
8. Jim Grossi, Gustine, Calif., 9.531, 141.29, -0.869
9. Tony DeFrank, Torrance, Calif., 10.231, 129.08, -0.869
10. Frank Grossi, Upland, Calif., 9.695, 136.92, -0.855

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1. Gary Harper, San Jose, Calif., ET/SA, 12.211 seconds, 107.36 mph,  -1.139 under index
2. Steve Wann, Modesto, Calif., C/SA, 10.618, 123.72, -1.082
3. Ken Etter, Riverside, Calif., J/SA, 11.700,112.78, -1.050
4. Danny Missbrenner, San Ramon,Calif., E/SA, 10.967, 119.36, -1.033
5. Gene Buell, Hesperia, Calif., D/SA, 10.819, 118.19, -1.031
6. Darren Smith, Palmdale, Calif., DT/SA, 12.119, 107.77, -1.031
7. Tom Roberts, Mira Loma, Calif., J/SA, 11.720, 111.56, -1.030
8. Clark Holroyd, Chino, Calif., 10.526, 125.97, -1.024
9. John Hennessay, Los Angeles, H/SA, 11.488, 113.79, -0.926
10. Don Little, Westley, Calif., A/SA, 10.370, 127.97, -0.930