<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/ADRLOfficialLogo.jpg" alt="ADRLOfficialLogo" align="right"borders="0"/>Martin Wins 1-2 Battle, Jenkins Repeats, Records Fall at DRAGSTOCK III
(9-17-2006) ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - The fans at a jam-packed and completely sold out Rockingham Dragway played witness to a day full of action Saturday at the FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing League's Eastern Race Fuels DRAGSTOCK III, which ended with records being set and fields being determined for next month's ADRL Battle for the Belts championships.
The day's big winners were Joey Martin, who won the Pro Extreme title to become the first double-event-winner of the 2006 season; Jason Scruggs, who continued his personal assault on the ADRL record book by setting both ends of the Pro Extreme record; and Shannon Jenkins, who won his second consecutive Pro Nitrous title at the ADRL's oldest and largest event.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/martin_rockingham.jpg" alt="martin_rockingham" align="left"borders="0"/>Martin, driving the TARE/Tindle Enterprises Mustang, won from the No. 1 spot, defeating No. 2 qualifier Herman Sheppard in the Pro Extreme final, 3.92 to 3.98. The win was Martin's second of the 2006 ADRL season (he also claimed the Houston title), making him the only driver in either Pro Extreme or Pro Nitrous to win two events this season.
After qualifying on top of the typically large DRAGSTOCK field with a 3.931 - more than three-hundredths better than Sheppard - Martin and tuner Chuck Ford combined for four strong eliminations passes on Saturday. Martin opened with a stout 3.908 to eliminate bump qualifier Joshua Hernandez, followed with a 3.93 to easily get past an off-pace run by Bennie McDonald, and then posted a 3.909 to oust Jason Scruggs in a pivotal semifinal matchup and secure a spot in the final.
With his DRAGSTOCK III win, Martin jumped from seventh to third in the final Pro Extreme points standings, easily securing a place in next month's ADRL Battle for the Belts world championship eliminator.
Before finally losing to Martin in the semi's, Scruggs had the capacity crowd at The Rock buzzing with a series of otherworldly runs and added to what is beginning to seem like a personal grudge against the ADRL record book. Scruggs entered the event with both ends of the ADRL Pro Extreme record already in hand - having run 3.872 at 194.63 mph in Madison, Ill. - but quickly made a mockery of those figures in eliminations. He opened with a galactic 3.813 at 198.44 to leave Todd Tutterow behind, and one round later, both ends of the record were re-set when Scruggs posted an almost perfect backup run of 3.823 at 198.06 to beat Travis Swearingen, who had the odd distinction of running a solid 3.97 and getting crushed.
The semifinal finish and the 200 bonus points for his record-setting exploits were enough to push Scruggs past Mike Neal for the top position in the final Pro Extreme points standings. Scruggs finished with 1,882 points to Neal's 1,674.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/SJRockinghamwin.jpg" alt="SJRockinghamwin" align="right"borders="0"/>In Pro Nitrous, Shannon Jenkins and the SpeedTech Camaro picked up from where they left off at last season's DRAGSTOCK II event. Jenkins qualified No. 5 out of a deep, solid field, then avoided the string up upsets that saw many of the event's top qualifiers fall by the wayside. With the top four qualifiers each losing in the second round, Jenkins skated through to the final with bracket-like runs of 4.031, 4.013, and 4.016 to set up a race against James Hancock III for the event title.
Jenkins won that race, 4.01 to 4.05, to back up his Pro Nitrous title from the 2005 DRAGSTOCK event. In fact, with the class not having competed as a separate eliminator at the 2004 event, Jenkins is the only driver to ever win a Pro Nitrous title at a DRAGSTOCK event.
DRAGSTOCK III was the final event for ADRL drivers to earn points toward qualifying for next month's ADRL Battle for the Belts world finals in Kennedale, Texas. Although the standings were shuffled around a bit in Rockingham, the 16 drivers who entered DRAGSTOCK III in the top eight of their respective classes emerged as the same 16 drivers to qualify for the Belts run-offs. Pending final approval of the 2006 points standings by the ADRL offices, the qualifiers in Pro Extreme are: Scruggs, Neal, Martin, John Lynam, Bil Clanton, Hernandez, Quain Stott, and Tutterow; in Pro Nitrous, the qualified drivers are: Keith Baker, Terry Housley, Burton Auxier, Johnny Pilcher, Jenkins, Hancock, Rex Kelley, and Tutterow, the only driver to place in the top eight of both categories.
DRAGSTOCK III also featured an eight-car eliminator for the Pro 10.5 class, with Nos. 1 and 2 qualifiers Steve Kirk and Marcus Birt eventually meeting in the final round. Kirk claimed the DRAGSTOCK title in a close 4.46 to 4.49 race.
The Pro 10.5 category is slated to become a full ADRL point-earning competition in 2007.
(final, pending ADRL approval; top 8 qualified)
PRO EXTREME
1. Jason Scruggs 1,882
2. Mike Neal 1,674
3. Joey Martin 1,567
4. John Lynam 1,539
5. Bil Clanton 1,473
6. Josh Hernandez 1,255
7. Quain Stott 1,244
8. Todd Tutterow 840
9. Troy Critchley 822
10. Bubba Stanton 722
11. Herman Sheppard 721
12. Thomas Patterson 719
13. Todd Bauknecht 620
14. Toney Russell 619
15. Brian Daniels 607
PRO NITROUS
1. Keith Baker 1,660
2. Terry Housley 1,437
3. Johnny Pilcher 1,362
Burton Auxier 1,362
5. Shannon Jenkins 1,353
6. James Hancock 1,249
7. Rex Kelley 851
8. Todd Tutterow 836
9. R. Weatherford 757
10. Mike Castellana 736
11. Harold Martin 728
12. Rickie Smith 718
13. Ken Thomas 715
14. Steve Vick 622
15. Pat Stoken 436
Photo courtesy of CompetitionPlus.com
(9-17-2006) ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - The fans at a jam-packed and completely sold out Rockingham Dragway played witness to a day full of action Saturday at the FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing League's Eastern Race Fuels DRAGSTOCK III, which ended with records being set and fields being determined for next month's ADRL Battle for the Belts championships.
The day's big winners were Joey Martin, who won the Pro Extreme title to become the first double-event-winner of the 2006 season; Jason Scruggs, who continued his personal assault on the ADRL record book by setting both ends of the Pro Extreme record; and Shannon Jenkins, who won his second consecutive Pro Nitrous title at the ADRL's oldest and largest event.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/martin_rockingham.jpg" alt="martin_rockingham" align="left"borders="0"/>Martin, driving the TARE/Tindle Enterprises Mustang, won from the No. 1 spot, defeating No. 2 qualifier Herman Sheppard in the Pro Extreme final, 3.92 to 3.98. The win was Martin's second of the 2006 ADRL season (he also claimed the Houston title), making him the only driver in either Pro Extreme or Pro Nitrous to win two events this season.
After qualifying on top of the typically large DRAGSTOCK field with a 3.931 - more than three-hundredths better than Sheppard - Martin and tuner Chuck Ford combined for four strong eliminations passes on Saturday. Martin opened with a stout 3.908 to eliminate bump qualifier Joshua Hernandez, followed with a 3.93 to easily get past an off-pace run by Bennie McDonald, and then posted a 3.909 to oust Jason Scruggs in a pivotal semifinal matchup and secure a spot in the final.
With his DRAGSTOCK III win, Martin jumped from seventh to third in the final Pro Extreme points standings, easily securing a place in next month's ADRL Battle for the Belts world championship eliminator.
Before finally losing to Martin in the semi's, Scruggs had the capacity crowd at The Rock buzzing with a series of otherworldly runs and added to what is beginning to seem like a personal grudge against the ADRL record book. Scruggs entered the event with both ends of the ADRL Pro Extreme record already in hand - having run 3.872 at 194.63 mph in Madison, Ill. - but quickly made a mockery of those figures in eliminations. He opened with a galactic 3.813 at 198.44 to leave Todd Tutterow behind, and one round later, both ends of the record were re-set when Scruggs posted an almost perfect backup run of 3.823 at 198.06 to beat Travis Swearingen, who had the odd distinction of running a solid 3.97 and getting crushed.
The semifinal finish and the 200 bonus points for his record-setting exploits were enough to push Scruggs past Mike Neal for the top position in the final Pro Extreme points standings. Scruggs finished with 1,882 points to Neal's 1,674.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/SJRockinghamwin.jpg" alt="SJRockinghamwin" align="right"borders="0"/>In Pro Nitrous, Shannon Jenkins and the SpeedTech Camaro picked up from where they left off at last season's DRAGSTOCK II event. Jenkins qualified No. 5 out of a deep, solid field, then avoided the string up upsets that saw many of the event's top qualifiers fall by the wayside. With the top four qualifiers each losing in the second round, Jenkins skated through to the final with bracket-like runs of 4.031, 4.013, and 4.016 to set up a race against James Hancock III for the event title.
Jenkins won that race, 4.01 to 4.05, to back up his Pro Nitrous title from the 2005 DRAGSTOCK event. In fact, with the class not having competed as a separate eliminator at the 2004 event, Jenkins is the only driver to ever win a Pro Nitrous title at a DRAGSTOCK event.
DRAGSTOCK III was the final event for ADRL drivers to earn points toward qualifying for next month's ADRL Battle for the Belts world finals in Kennedale, Texas. Although the standings were shuffled around a bit in Rockingham, the 16 drivers who entered DRAGSTOCK III in the top eight of their respective classes emerged as the same 16 drivers to qualify for the Belts run-offs. Pending final approval of the 2006 points standings by the ADRL offices, the qualifiers in Pro Extreme are: Scruggs, Neal, Martin, John Lynam, Bil Clanton, Hernandez, Quain Stott, and Tutterow; in Pro Nitrous, the qualified drivers are: Keith Baker, Terry Housley, Burton Auxier, Johnny Pilcher, Jenkins, Hancock, Rex Kelley, and Tutterow, the only driver to place in the top eight of both categories.
DRAGSTOCK III also featured an eight-car eliminator for the Pro 10.5 class, with Nos. 1 and 2 qualifiers Steve Kirk and Marcus Birt eventually meeting in the final round. Kirk claimed the DRAGSTOCK title in a close 4.46 to 4.49 race.
The Pro 10.5 category is slated to become a full ADRL point-earning competition in 2007.
(final, pending ADRL approval; top 8 qualified)
PRO EXTREME
1. Jason Scruggs 1,882
2. Mike Neal 1,674
3. Joey Martin 1,567
4. John Lynam 1,539
5. Bil Clanton 1,473
6. Josh Hernandez 1,255
7. Quain Stott 1,244
8. Todd Tutterow 840
9. Troy Critchley 822
10. Bubba Stanton 722
11. Herman Sheppard 721
12. Thomas Patterson 719
13. Todd Bauknecht 620
14. Toney Russell 619
15. Brian Daniels 607
PRO NITROUS
1. Keith Baker 1,660
2. Terry Housley 1,437
3. Johnny Pilcher 1,362
Burton Auxier 1,362
5. Shannon Jenkins 1,353
6. James Hancock 1,249
7. Rex Kelley 851
8. Todd Tutterow 836
9. R. Weatherford 757
10. Mike Castellana 736
11. Harold Martin 728
12. Rickie Smith 718
13. Ken Thomas 715
14. Steve Vick 622
15. Pat Stoken 436
Photo courtesy of CompetitionPlus.com
