NDRA Drag Race Summary - Phoenix, AZ March 17-18 2007
Round 1 Qualifying
Pro Stock:
Things started out with a couple of great sub 10 second runs, when Bisi Ezerioha and Norris Prayoonto lined up their Honda Insights side by side. Jack Sacchette had troubles on the line and had to be pushed back into the staging lanes, and was never able to return.
Pro 4-Cylinder: Last year's series champion Chuck Seitsinger made his first NDRA appearance this weekend and showed everyone that he was the "champ" as he topped the pole after round 1.
Pro Street Tire: Chris Anderson tuned up his car for the weekend and over powered the track as he spun the tires through every gear. Yamil Widy never made a first round pass after blowing the safety valve on his nitrous system while purging it in the staging lanes.
Pro Outlaw RWD: Jim Blair made his first run after winning the champion last week at the Texas Motorplex, and started things off right where he left off.
Pro Compact: After nearly a year and a half, Manny Cruz is back with his Mercury Cougar. After running his back-up Nissan Sentra for most of last season and the first race of the NDRA it's nice to see him back behind the wheel of that car. His first pass looked really strong, but he got off the throttle around the 1000ft. marker.
Round 2 Qualifying
Pro Stock: Saul Salceda made his first qualifying run in round 2 and managed to do the same thing he did in Dallas, make it to #1 qualifier.
Pro 4-Cylinder: Michael Blackwell bogged at the line, and Chuck Seitsinger spun the tires off the start, and died before the 60ft.
Pro Street Tire: Chris Anderson was unable to make a pass in round 2 after blowing an oil line off the car. Ian Polan had a great pass and managed to knock Chris off the #1 spot by .001 seconds. That lasted for one pass as Yamil Widy fixed his nitrous problem, and shot down the track and took the #1 spot for himself.
Pro Outlaw FWD: Jason Hun was the lone contender is this class. He lined up and showed no mercy on car and parts as he complete a 7.49 run at 195 mph.
Pro Outlaw RWD: Traction problems became an issue as the track heated up in the middle of the day for both Dan Millen and Jim Blair.
Pro Compact: This round belonged to John Mihovetz as top the pole with a 6.941 @ 211.06 mph.
Round 3 Qualifying
Pro Stock: Bisi Ezerioha wanted to split things up between the 2 Clutch Master cars and worked into the #2 position with a 9.884 @ 136.90 mph.
Pro 4-Cylinder: Pailden Hepler is still having problems getting down the track. Chuck Seitsinger managed to burn out first gear in round 2 and had to start off the line in 2nd, which didn't slow him down by much. Dan Bajalis rolled through the staging beams, and when he decided to take off anyway, he broke a drive shaft on his car. Michael Blackwell is still having some problems and bogging off the line.
Pro Street Tire: Dave Zientara, who does chassis work for the AAP Motorsports team make his first pro run with the NDRA.
Pro Outlaw RWD: Tom Shanbaugh is keeping up with the bigger engines in his Eco-tek powered 4 cylinder. Dan Millen grabbed some great traction as the track temperature cooled, keeping the front wheels off the ground until the 1/8th mile. He lifted after that as his car started getting too close to the wall. Jim Blair is still running strong, and looks to be the favorite after running a 7.187 at 195 mph.
Pro Compact: Manny Cruz is still having problems getting the car going after his round 1 pass. John Mihovetz must have taken some tuning tips from Dan Millen, as he also stood his car up until the 1/8th, and lifted after taking out a timing light on the track.
Pro Extreme: As bad weather delayed most air travel from the east coast, Don Nase Jr. managed to get to the track at the last possible moment. His competitor Brian Fitzpatrick displayed an awesome display of sportsmanship as he waited until Don Nase Jr. made it to the track before he ran his first qualifying run.
Eliminations
For overall results refer to the NOPI website
Pro Stock: Norris Prayoonto takes out Bisi in round 1 with a 9.751. Saul has to make his bye run with a bad transmission. Later in the finals Saul's transmission does not hold up as he breaks at the 300ft maker and hands the win to teammate Norris.
Pro 4-Cylinder: Branson Ruiz got ahead of Michael Blackwell off the line in round 1, but lifted and gave the win to Blackwell who ran a 10.547 @ 149.58 mph. Chuck Seitsinger squares off against Pailden Hepler in round one with no 1st gear in his car. After spinning the tires for nearly 60ft. he manages to score a win with a 9.052 @ 169.51. Nick Riley takes out Bok Mounlachack by 0.28 seconds. Dan Bajalis wins over Jose Mendoza with his best run of the weekend 9.272 @ 156.99 mph. In round 2 Nick Riley takes out Chuck Seitsinger after his transmission finally gave up, and Dan Bajalis takes the win over Michael Blackwell who ran a 9.532 pass and did not get disqualified since he finished the requirements for the proper racing license. In the finals, Dan Bajalis wins overall after taking out Nick Riley with a 9.517 @ 154.60 to Nick's 10.606 @ 107.15.
Pro Street Tire: Dave Zintara broke after round 3 qualifying and was unable to make it to the finals. Chris Anderson broke in the water box and gave a bye run to Ian Polan and set him up against teammate Yamil Widy in the finals. Both Ian and Yamil had some traction problem in the finals, but Yamil came out on top by .021 seconds with a 9.232 @ 164.89 to Ian's 9.451 @162.74.
Pro Outlaw FWD: Jason Hunt was the only competitor, and still blistered the track with a 7.631 @ 197.33 mph.
Pro Outlaw RWD: Dan Millen blew a head gasket and damaged a cylinder after round 3 qualifying. His team worked on the car through the night until 6am and fixed the problem before eliminations. He ended up running a 7.201 @ 206.23 mph against Tom Shanbaugh and surpassed the current NDRA speed record for his class. That put Dan against Jim Blair in the finals. Dan was unable to back up the speed record and lost to Jim Blair by .050 who ran a 7.188 @ 198.83 mph.
Pro Compact: Manny Cruz lined up against John Mihovetz in the finals, and still had car trouble as he only ran a 10.435 @ 85.99 mph to Mihovtz's 6.678 @ 213.03 mph.
Pro Extreme: In the finals Don Nase Jr. bogged at the line, then gunned until the 1/8th, and lifted to coast across the line for the win over Brian Fitzpatrick who had to lift due to tire shake.
