ADRL Veterans Victorious in Ohio
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<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Gatorz_winners1.jpg" alt="Gatorz_winners1" />
<br><font color="Navy">(L-R) Frankie Taylor, Shannon Jenkins, David Janes and Billy Vose enjoy the victory lane accolades after winning in the ADRL’s 2nd annual Gatorz Ohio Drags at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk , Ohio .</font>
<P> NORWALK, OH (Aug. 23, 2008) — Thousands of American Drag Racing League (ADRL) fans swarmed the starting-line area at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for a raucous celebration of winners Frankie Taylor, Shannon Jenkins, David Janes and Billy Vose in the 2nd annual ADRL Gatorz Ohio Drags.
Though winning for the first time with the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard, longtime Pro Extreme pilot Taylor headlined the quartet of veteran racers in victory lane, which climaxed with series president Kenny Nowling personally handing out ADRL memorabilia to every single fan who remained when the interviews and photo sessions were over.
“It’s just our way of saying thank you for being part of a truly remarkable event,” Nowling stated. “We enjoyed a record-setting day here in Norwalk and I just wanted to cap it off by sending a little bit of the ADRL home with everyone here.”
Jenkins drove his “Black Ice” 1968 Camaro to a record fifth Pro Nitrous event title while setting a new speed record of 192.91 mph over the eighth-mile course in his final-round win over points leader Billy Harper. Janes successfully defended his 2007 Extreme 10.5 event win against surprise finalist H.T. Wilson and Vose became the first repeat winner in the Pro Extreme Motorcycle category since it joined the ADRL’s raceday mix last season.
Taylor, known as the “Mad Man” back home in Dickinson, Texas, qualified his supercharged 2005 Corvette fourth in the 16-car Pro Extreme field, then beat Dwayne Watkins and Brian Daniels before receiving a pass to the final when top qualifier and defending series champ Jason Scruggs was unable to stage for the semis after suffering engine damage in round two.
Waiting for Taylor was Bubba Stanton, the 2006 class champion, who made it past Todd Robertson, Mike Stawicki and points leader Joshua Hernandez after qualifying his 1963 split-window Corvette second. Stanton , however, lost traction off the start while Taylor streaked to the Gatorz Ohio Drags title in 3.90 seconds at 195.90 mph.
“It took a while, but it was worth it,” said Taylor, who has been part of the ADRL since its inception in October 2004. “They say the first one is the hardest to win, so maybe I can get a couple more now. I sure hope so; I could get used to this!”
Jenkins, from Tuscaloosa , Alabama , was the class of the Pro Nitrous camp all weekend, qualifying first with a 3.92 at a then-record 191.35 mph, then remaining at the top of the elapsed time and speed charts throughout eliminations in wins over John DeCerbo, Steve Vick, and a redlighting Dennis Radford in the semis.
Harper, meanwhile, started third and made it past Teddy Smith, Ed Burnley and Harold Martin to reach the final round. His three-time, race-winning 2001 Viper got out of shape off the launch against Jenkins, however, and sideswiped the left wall while Jenkins posted a 3.93-seconds pass and the new speed record en route to tying Hernandez for the most ADRL wins ever. Harper was uninjured in the accident, which caused “mostly cosmetic” damage to the car, he said.
Janes, a Missouri chassis builder who actually created Jenkins’ car earlier this year, started eighth and beat points leader Mike Hill in the opening round. He then seized a big starting-line advantage over Billy Glidden in round two that allowed his 4.36 at 164.51 to beat the much quicker and faster 4.25/171.47 put together by Glidden. Janes repeated with another holeshot victory over Todd Moyer in the semis, which also saw Moyer set a new class speed record of 181.79 mph in his Pasadena, Texas-based, twin-turbocharged 2000 Firebird.
Wilson, who usually concentrates on tuning his wife, Michelle’s, championship-contending 2000 Firebird, steered his outdated 1989 Camaro to a 14th-place start before scoring surprising wins over Steve Kirk Jr., class newcomer Kevin McCurdy and Gary White to reach his career-first final. Wilson got the jump on Janes in the final round by .037, but that’s where his luck ran out as Janes went on to remain the only winner for the XTF crowd in Ohio with a career-best 4.30 at 165.01 mph combination.
Vose, the reigning Pro Extreme Motorcycle champion from Buck Mountain, Pennsylvania, qualified first on his 2000 Suzuki, then went to the final after wins over Monte Campbell, Ronnie Procopio and Nikie Corley, winner of the previous event in Budds Creek , Maryland . In the final round he met number-four qualifier Matt Prophit, who advanced through T.T. Jones, Scott Gray and Robert Hunnicutt in the preliminaries.
Vose left with a huge .065 advantage off the start, which allowed his 4.32 at 164.55 mph to beat Prophit’s 4.28/166.42 combo by just inches at the finish line.
The ADRL returns to action Sep. 12-13, with its Hushpower Dragstock V at Rockingham (NC) Dragway. The series concludes its eight-race season Oct. 24-25, at the Texas Motorplex, in Dallas .
<p style="width:300px;float:left;font-weight:bold;padding-right:0px;">
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Gatorz_winners1.jpg" alt="Gatorz_winners1" />
<br><font color="Navy">(L-R) Frankie Taylor, Shannon Jenkins, David Janes and Billy Vose enjoy the victory lane accolades after winning in the ADRL’s 2nd annual Gatorz Ohio Drags at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk , Ohio .</font>
<P> NORWALK, OH (Aug. 23, 2008) — Thousands of American Drag Racing League (ADRL) fans swarmed the starting-line area at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for a raucous celebration of winners Frankie Taylor, Shannon Jenkins, David Janes and Billy Vose in the 2nd annual ADRL Gatorz Ohio Drags.
Though winning for the first time with the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League (ADRL) presented by the National Guard, longtime Pro Extreme pilot Taylor headlined the quartet of veteran racers in victory lane, which climaxed with series president Kenny Nowling personally handing out ADRL memorabilia to every single fan who remained when the interviews and photo sessions were over.
“It’s just our way of saying thank you for being part of a truly remarkable event,” Nowling stated. “We enjoyed a record-setting day here in Norwalk and I just wanted to cap it off by sending a little bit of the ADRL home with everyone here.”
Jenkins drove his “Black Ice” 1968 Camaro to a record fifth Pro Nitrous event title while setting a new speed record of 192.91 mph over the eighth-mile course in his final-round win over points leader Billy Harper. Janes successfully defended his 2007 Extreme 10.5 event win against surprise finalist H.T. Wilson and Vose became the first repeat winner in the Pro Extreme Motorcycle category since it joined the ADRL’s raceday mix last season.
Taylor, known as the “Mad Man” back home in Dickinson, Texas, qualified his supercharged 2005 Corvette fourth in the 16-car Pro Extreme field, then beat Dwayne Watkins and Brian Daniels before receiving a pass to the final when top qualifier and defending series champ Jason Scruggs was unable to stage for the semis after suffering engine damage in round two.
Waiting for Taylor was Bubba Stanton, the 2006 class champion, who made it past Todd Robertson, Mike Stawicki and points leader Joshua Hernandez after qualifying his 1963 split-window Corvette second. Stanton , however, lost traction off the start while Taylor streaked to the Gatorz Ohio Drags title in 3.90 seconds at 195.90 mph.
“It took a while, but it was worth it,” said Taylor, who has been part of the ADRL since its inception in October 2004. “They say the first one is the hardest to win, so maybe I can get a couple more now. I sure hope so; I could get used to this!”
Jenkins, from Tuscaloosa , Alabama , was the class of the Pro Nitrous camp all weekend, qualifying first with a 3.92 at a then-record 191.35 mph, then remaining at the top of the elapsed time and speed charts throughout eliminations in wins over John DeCerbo, Steve Vick, and a redlighting Dennis Radford in the semis.
Harper, meanwhile, started third and made it past Teddy Smith, Ed Burnley and Harold Martin to reach the final round. His three-time, race-winning 2001 Viper got out of shape off the launch against Jenkins, however, and sideswiped the left wall while Jenkins posted a 3.93-seconds pass and the new speed record en route to tying Hernandez for the most ADRL wins ever. Harper was uninjured in the accident, which caused “mostly cosmetic” damage to the car, he said.
Janes, a Missouri chassis builder who actually created Jenkins’ car earlier this year, started eighth and beat points leader Mike Hill in the opening round. He then seized a big starting-line advantage over Billy Glidden in round two that allowed his 4.36 at 164.51 to beat the much quicker and faster 4.25/171.47 put together by Glidden. Janes repeated with another holeshot victory over Todd Moyer in the semis, which also saw Moyer set a new class speed record of 181.79 mph in his Pasadena, Texas-based, twin-turbocharged 2000 Firebird.
Wilson, who usually concentrates on tuning his wife, Michelle’s, championship-contending 2000 Firebird, steered his outdated 1989 Camaro to a 14th-place start before scoring surprising wins over Steve Kirk Jr., class newcomer Kevin McCurdy and Gary White to reach his career-first final. Wilson got the jump on Janes in the final round by .037, but that’s where his luck ran out as Janes went on to remain the only winner for the XTF crowd in Ohio with a career-best 4.30 at 165.01 mph combination.
Vose, the reigning Pro Extreme Motorcycle champion from Buck Mountain, Pennsylvania, qualified first on his 2000 Suzuki, then went to the final after wins over Monte Campbell, Ronnie Procopio and Nikie Corley, winner of the previous event in Budds Creek , Maryland . In the final round he met number-four qualifier Matt Prophit, who advanced through T.T. Jones, Scott Gray and Robert Hunnicutt in the preliminaries.
Vose left with a huge .065 advantage off the start, which allowed his 4.32 at 164.55 mph to beat Prophit’s 4.28/166.42 combo by just inches at the finish line.
The ADRL returns to action Sep. 12-13, with its Hushpower Dragstock V at Rockingham (NC) Dragway. The series concludes its eight-race season Oct. 24-25, at the Texas Motorplex, in Dallas .
