(10-20-08)Rockingham, NC –With rain washing out Friday's qualifying sessions teams were forced into only having two chances to crack a field full of heavy hitters. Lucky for Mel Bush Motorsports driver, Tommy D'Aprile, he had one of those heavy hitters in his corner. "When you talk about the top tuners and engine builders in Pro Mod there's maybe five that can be considered elite. I'd put Mike Janis right near the top of that list," said D'Aprile.
On his first run D'Aprile showed why he'd put Janis near the top of that list as he wheeled the Mel Bush owned '62 Bel Air to a 5.996 pass at just over 235 miles per hour, but this team wasn't finished just yet. As the cool nighttime air started to settle in it came down to the blown entry of D'Aprile and the nitrous assisted entry of stand out, Jim Halsey. With Halsey holding the number one spot D'Aprile needed a near career run in order to snag the top spot away from Halsey. When the scoreboards flashed, D'Aprile took the win light with a 5.971 to Halsey's 5.988. Although it was just qualifying the win light signified D'Aprile would grab his second Last Man Standing bonus of the season as well as the number one spot heading into Sunday's eliminations.
"This is just great," exclaimed D'Aprile. I'm truly blessed to be a part of this team. Mel and Johanne along with my guys and Mike's team from Jan-Cen. I've got the best people in the business at my side," said an elated D'Aprile.
In round one action D'Aprile squared off with his friend and former mentor, Quain Stott. Stott at the wheel of his Lee Boy Sponsored entry qualified in the number nine spot. Stott left the line first but couldn't hold off D'Aprile and his hard charging Jan-Cen powered entry. D'Aprile took the stripe posting a 5.975 on the scoreboard.
The win over Stott paired D'Aprile with recently crowned 2008 IHRA Pro Mod Champ, Kenny Lang. Lang at the wheel of his Al Billes tuned entry locked up this year's title in round one. Knowing that Billes is capable of tuning his cars to a good number, D'Aprile knew he had to be focused on his job. As the tree came down, it was D'Aprile off the line first by a significant margin, but just after the 60'ft mark D'Aprile's ride made a hard turn towards the centerline. D'Aprile corrected and came back across his lane almost tagging the guardrail. At this point D'Aprile was still ahead of a Lang, who also had his hands full, but as D'Aprile lifted to avoid contact with the guardrail he went to put his foot back on the accelerator but there was no response. Lang then went on for the win.
"I hit the throttle but nothing happened. It turns out that on the last correction the car must have shaken so bad it actually loosened the fuel pump and pulled the shaft out, said a dejected D'Aprile. "That aside we've had a great race this weekend. And I'm so proud to be associated with this team. Mel (Bush) and Mike (Janis) are two great guys to work with and they have my utmost respect. My crew, Mike, Frank, Ron and Jimmy has worked hard all year and we've all learned a lot from Mike Janis, Mike Jr. Kevin and Steve. Those Jan-Cen guys impressed me over and over this season with their work ethic and precision. I'm excited about what the future holds for us."
D'Aprile and the Mel Bush Motorsports team finished the IHRA season fourth in points but still have one race left on their '08 schedule. Look for further news to come from Mel Bush Motorsports in the coming months.
For More Information on Team Driver Tommy D'Aprile check out: Sir Thomas Inc.
On his first run D'Aprile showed why he'd put Janis near the top of that list as he wheeled the Mel Bush owned '62 Bel Air to a 5.996 pass at just over 235 miles per hour, but this team wasn't finished just yet. As the cool nighttime air started to settle in it came down to the blown entry of D'Aprile and the nitrous assisted entry of stand out, Jim Halsey. With Halsey holding the number one spot D'Aprile needed a near career run in order to snag the top spot away from Halsey. When the scoreboards flashed, D'Aprile took the win light with a 5.971 to Halsey's 5.988. Although it was just qualifying the win light signified D'Aprile would grab his second Last Man Standing bonus of the season as well as the number one spot heading into Sunday's eliminations.
"This is just great," exclaimed D'Aprile. I'm truly blessed to be a part of this team. Mel and Johanne along with my guys and Mike's team from Jan-Cen. I've got the best people in the business at my side," said an elated D'Aprile.
In round one action D'Aprile squared off with his friend and former mentor, Quain Stott. Stott at the wheel of his Lee Boy Sponsored entry qualified in the number nine spot. Stott left the line first but couldn't hold off D'Aprile and his hard charging Jan-Cen powered entry. D'Aprile took the stripe posting a 5.975 on the scoreboard.
The win over Stott paired D'Aprile with recently crowned 2008 IHRA Pro Mod Champ, Kenny Lang. Lang at the wheel of his Al Billes tuned entry locked up this year's title in round one. Knowing that Billes is capable of tuning his cars to a good number, D'Aprile knew he had to be focused on his job. As the tree came down, it was D'Aprile off the line first by a significant margin, but just after the 60'ft mark D'Aprile's ride made a hard turn towards the centerline. D'Aprile corrected and came back across his lane almost tagging the guardrail. At this point D'Aprile was still ahead of a Lang, who also had his hands full, but as D'Aprile lifted to avoid contact with the guardrail he went to put his foot back on the accelerator but there was no response. Lang then went on for the win.
"I hit the throttle but nothing happened. It turns out that on the last correction the car must have shaken so bad it actually loosened the fuel pump and pulled the shaft out, said a dejected D'Aprile. "That aside we've had a great race this weekend. And I'm so proud to be associated with this team. Mel (Bush) and Mike (Janis) are two great guys to work with and they have my utmost respect. My crew, Mike, Frank, Ron and Jimmy has worked hard all year and we've all learned a lot from Mike Janis, Mike Jr. Kevin and Steve. Those Jan-Cen guys impressed me over and over this season with their work ethic and precision. I'm excited about what the future holds for us."
D'Aprile and the Mel Bush Motorsports team finished the IHRA season fourth in points but still have one race left on their '08 schedule. Look for further news to come from Mel Bush Motorsports in the coming months.
For More Information on Team Driver Tommy D'Aprile check out: Sir Thomas Inc.
