Rain stops first weekend of US 13 Open

NE
ORTH
AST
IVISION NEWS
366 Easton Road, Warrington, Pa.
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D
Issue 2, 2003
Rain stops first weekend of U.S. 13 Open
Competition Photos photos
(Above) George Cottell
showed his patriotism with
his race car. (Left) Pete
“Lucky” Luciano showed
off his new paint job.
National records
Bob Kemp reset the national record in his E/S ’71 Ford.
Pepsi First State
National Open
U.S. 13 Dragway;
Delmar, Del.
T
he first of four races in the Northeast Division Open Series,
scheduled for March 29-30, was
rained out — no big surprise because
the forecast for the East Coast was
poor and fewer racers than normal ventured to Delaware. As of Sunday
morning, The Weather Channel showed
rain and some snow from Florida to
Maine and no relief in sight. The event
was run Friday, June 6, in conjunction
with the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
event. Thanks to all those who
attended.
However, there was some action
before the rain hit. Saturday morning
began sunny and bright but with a
strong headwind. Nearly 100 NHRA
Sportsman racers attempted to set
national records in Stock and Super
Stock. As the day progressed, the temperature dropped and the sky got
cloudy. Conditions were better Friday,
when three of the five Stock records
and the only Super Stock record were
set (see accompanying boxes). Due to
the rain threat, racing began early and
there was time for plenty of runs.
National records
Super Stock
Larry Eagle, GT/B ’91 Olds Calais
Quartermile e.t.
9.27
QuarterEighth- Eighthmile speed mile e.t. mile speed
142.47
5.85
115.71
Stock
Cecil Frazier, G/FIA ’91 Camaro
Bob Kemp, E/S ’71 Ford
Dennis Martins, N/SA ’79 Chevy
Tony Curcio, H/SA’ 71 Chevy
Cecil Frazier, F/FIA ’92 Camaro
Quartermile e.t.
11.95
10.92
12.34
11.85
11.87
Quartermile speed
110.18
121.01
105.32
110.53
110.67
Eighthmile e.t.
7.52
6.89
7.73
7.44
7.55
Eighthmile speed
89.05
98.59
86.08
90.28
89.86
U.S. 13 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Schedule
Below is the schedule for Friday’s portion of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
event at U.S. 13 Dragway. Qualifying will count toward both events in Stock and
Super Stock. The first round, as at all Northeast Division NHRA Open Series
events, will be randomly paired.
Friday, June 6
Gates Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 a.m.
NHRA Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Time Trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Run Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SST, Stk, SC, SS, SG
(Time Trials will be in two sessions; one run per session. Two runs total.)
SS & Stk Record Runs: First two sessions only
Comp Qualifying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 p.m.
TAFC & TAD Qualifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 & 9 p.m.
Supercharged Warriors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6:30, 8:15 & 9:15 p.m.
National Open Eliminations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 p.m.
Competition Photos photos
Schonberger, Jewell, Harrington, Smulligan, Garbinski,
Muller score at Meissner Chevrolet NHRA Open
Low qualifier Doug Harris, near lane, and No. 2 Jonathan Aloisio battled in Comp.
G
ray skies and warm temperatures greeted the NED racers
who made the trek to Atco, N.J.,
April 11-13 for what was scheduled to be
the second of four National Opens in the
Northeast Division in 2003. With the
Delmar event postponed due to rain two
weeks earlier, the Atco race became the
first event for division racers to earn
points toward a 2003 Division 1 NHRA
Open title.
The 10 cars in Comp put on a good
show. Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals
runner-up Doug Harris qualified low in his
PST/A Chevy S-10. He ran .578 under his
8.30 index to grab the No. 1 spot. The
B/SM ’98 Grand Am of Jonathan Aloisio
was right behind with a .522-under 8.318
to take the second spot.
However, neither driver advanced past
the first round. Harris lost to the B/AA of
Val Smeland after a .116 light, and
Aloisio lost to the C/ED of Greg Horrocks. Harris, who had run a 7.72 during
qualifying, slowed to a 7.79 in eliminations to lose to the Jeff Lawrence-tuned
Pontiac of Smeland, who ran a 7.314 on
a 7.81 index.
Aloisio apparently rolled the car
through the staging beams as the Tree
was coming down and received a redlight. Horrocks’ new unpainted dragster
suffered severe vibrations during his solo
run, and he elected not to return for the
second round.
The final pitted longtime NED racers
Richard Schonberger in the Philadelphia
Racing Engines I/SM Firebird against the
F/A ’92 Ford Probe of Erich and Herb
Bollman from Newark, Del. Both drivers
had nearly identical reaction times, and it
was anyone’s race at the top end.
Schonberger’s V-6 Firebird pulled out the
win with a 9.247 on a 9.76 index to an
8.384, 161.71 for Bollman on the F/A
index of 8.85. The difference was just
.027-second at the stripe.
Schonberger said after the race,
“Today is my birthday, and to win here at
Atco today is so cool. We got lucky today
after smoking our good clutch during
qualifying and having to go to the backup
unit. But thanks to my dad, Jules, and my
brother, Jay, we got it done.”
Schonberger, who turned 27 Sunday,
was also quick to thank his mother, Barbara, and his fiancée, Kimberly Reale,
for their support.
Super Stock featured a good turnout:
More than 30 cars vied for a spot in
Sunday’s eliminations. The low qualifier
was the GT/HA ’95 Grand Am of Vito
Savino at a 1.154-under 10.196. Right
behind was the SS/GA ’67 Camaro of
Bob Hertline with a 1.026-under 9.824.
As in Comp, the top qualifiers weren’t
around for the final, which pitted the
wheelstanding Firebird of Angelo DiTocco
against the red-hot ’67 Corvette of Larry
Jewell. Both drivers got off the line quick;
Jewell recorded a.024 r.t. to DiTocco’s
.039. At the stripe, it was close. Jewell
took the win with a 9.565 on his 9.54 to
beat DiTocco’s just breaking-out 9.988 on
a 9.99.
The Stock final showcased a battle of
braking Camaros. “Happy Harry” a.k.a.
Jim Harrington avoided the breakout in
his F/FIA ’91 Camaro, running .017 over
to page 4
(Above left) MDC winner Ken Schafroth. (Above right) MDC winner Chuck Eldridge. (Below left) MDC winner David
DeLong. (Below right) MDC winner Ed Johnson.
from page 3
his 12.30 dial at 99.91 mph to defeat the
G/SA ’68 Camaro of Stan Giermanski.
The low qualifier in Stock was the
C/FIA ’98 Trans Am of Jack Matyas with
a 1.296-under 10.704. The ’73 Buick of
Lee Zane was second with a 1.264under 11.686.
Super Gas winner Jim Smulligan, who
parked his trusty Chevy Beretta after
nearly six years of racing, showed with a
brand-new Worthy-built Corvette roadster and put the car in the winner’s circle
the first time out. Late in 2002, Smulligan
decided to get some new iron for the
2003 season and wanted a turnkey deal.
He knew that Ben Worthy Race Cars in
Palmetto, Fla., had built cars for Jeg’s
Racing and Jason Lynch, and he liked
what he saw. So after the NED season,
Smulligan dropped off his big-block
Chevy and trans at the Florida chassis
builder and told Worthy to call him when
it was ready to go. In addition to assembling the entire Corvette, Worthy had the
car painted by GT Custom & Graphics
with a design that Smulligan and the
painter created together. The results are
truly stunning.
In the final, Smulligan faced longtime
NED racer Ray Sawyer. Sawyer had run
a 9.925 in the semifinals, and Sawyer
to page 6
Larry Jewell took on Angelo DiTocco in the Super Stock final and won.
Don Garbinski defeated Matt Schurman in the Super Street final round.
Jim Harrington took the Stock title against Stan Giermanski.
National records
Quartermile e.t.
Joe Carnasciale, E/SM ’92 Camaro 8.85
Vito Savino, GT/HA ’95 Grand Am 10.19
Joe Mendillo, GT/G ’90 Camaro
10.09
Keith Ohanesian, F/FIA ’85 Camaro 11.82
Jack Matyas, C/FIA ’98 Camaro
10.70
Bob Horgan, I/SA ’85 Camaro
11.41
Quartermile speed
147.31
130.20
133.47
111.23
123.98
115.62
Eighthmile e.t.
5.62
6.44
6.42
7.43
6.74
Eighthmile speed
121.78
105.29
106.78
89.92
99.68
from page 4
and his crew chief and son, Mike,
decided with the dropping temperatures
not to touch anything for the final. They
should have; Sawyer slowed, and Smulligan’s new ’Vette took a narrow win,
9.912 to 9.935.
Earlier, Smulligan took out Ray
Fordyce in the first round and defeated
Fordyce’s son, Jim, in the second.
Sawyer defeated NED hitters Ken
Bowers and John Martin to get to the
final.
After the race, Smulligan, who builds
his own transmissions and engines,
thanked Lyle Essick from Motorsport
Trailers in Morgantown for the assistance
with the trailer. He also said that his new
bride, Kathy, and puppy, Digger the Dog,
had a lot to do with his win at Atco.
Don Garbinski, the 2002 Open Series
champion, began the year well by
defeating Matt Schurman in the Super
Street final. Garbinski had a nearly perfect .004 reaction time in his ’71 Dodge
Challenger and committed the lesser of
the two breakouts on the top end with a
10.873. Schurman wasn’t too far off with
a .019 reaction time in his small-blockpowered ’68 Camaro but was under the
10.90 standard with a 10.844.
From a heavy field of 56 in Super Comp,
Frank Richichi snagged the No. 1 qualifier
spot with an 8.90. But David Muller
defeated Jim Morrison to take the Super
(Above) Richard
Schonberger won
Comp on his birthday,
defeating Erich
Bollman in the final.
(Left) Jim Smulligan
debuted a new car
and won Super Gas
by defeating Ray
Sawyer in the final.
to page 8
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