Deby
Nitro Member
[coverattach=1]MARTIN, MI (June 5, 2009) — Reigning National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) world champions Jason Scruggs in Pro Extreme and Billy Glidden in Flowmaster Extreme 10.5 scored final-round wins for the rain-postponed Quarter-Max Memphis Drags, run Friday night during the Ford Drive One Summer Drags V at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. Joining them in victory lane were Brian Gahm in Extreme Pro Stock and Ashley Owens with his career-first Pro Extreme Motorcycle title.
The Pro Nitrous semi-finals and final round were held over to Saturday, as series officials and fellow racers agreed to wait for one of the semi-finalists, who had a family event to attend on Friday evening.
Scruggs, who defeated Mike Neal and Joey Martin two weeks earlier in Memphis, took out Todd Tutterow before reaching the Memphis Drags final and posting a winning 3.84-seconds run at 178.96 miles per hour down the Martin eighth mile against a traction-challenged Quain Stott.
“The mile an hour dropped off because we popped the burst panel on the blower about three-quarters of the way down the track,” Scruggs explained. “I was waiting for him (Stott) to come back around me, but I guess he had more trouble than I did.”
[coverattach=2]Glidden’s fifth-consecutive event win, dating back to last August, came after wins over Danny Shemwell and Todd Moyer in Memphis, followed by a pair of 4.09-second passes against Gary White and final-round rival Jeff Naiser in Michigan. Glidden gave credit for his latest triumph to Brandon Switzer of Speedtech and said the final represented the strongest pass his small-block, Ford-powered 2006 GTO has ever made.
“If we had the same (ambient air) conditions we had in Memphis, that would’ve been an .03,” Glidden stated. “But that’s the end of that motor; you can see it all over my windows.”
[coverattach=3]Gahm advanced his ’07 Mustang to the postponed semis after a first-round bye and win over Jason Collins in Memphis, then beat Michigan racer Bob Bertsch to meet John Montecalvo in the Extreme Pro Stock final. Gahm led stripe-to-stripe over Montecalvo with a 4.10 at 175.63 mph combination to earn his second-straight race title and solidify his points lead.
“We had to change (the gearing in) our transmission before the final because the weather changed a lot while we were waiting,” Gahm said of running the Memphis semis for all classes before the initial round of Summer Drags qualifying, then running all the finals together at the end of the night. “I have to thank my guys for all their hard work and congratulate them on making the right calls tonight. This is their win.”
Owens, aboard the 2005 Suzuki owned by fellow rider T.T. Jones, got past Monte Campbell and Travis Davis in Memphis, and then ran a record-setting 4.20 seconds in his semi-final win over Jack Young. In the final round, Owens officially backed up the record within the required one percent with a 4.24-seconds pass at 174.13 mph over Eric McKinney.
“Eric and I and his dad, Scott, we’re all such good friends that I really didn’t feel any pressure going into the final,” Owens said. “I would’ve been happy no matter who won, but I’m glad to give this win to T.T. (Jones); it’s a real pleasure for me to ride his bike.”
Provisional number one qualifiers after Friday night’s lone qualifying session include Scruggs at 3.77 and 201.24 mph; Qatar’s Khalid Al-Balooshi at 3.89 seconds and 192.06 in Pro Nitrous; Glidden with his 4.09 at 176.15 mph; Extreme Pro Stock’s Gahm at 4.10 and 176.25; and Owens new record 4.20 at 176.31 mph leads the Pro Extreme Motorcycle field.
The Pro Nitrous semi-finals and final round were held over to Saturday, as series officials and fellow racers agreed to wait for one of the semi-finalists, who had a family event to attend on Friday evening.
Scruggs, who defeated Mike Neal and Joey Martin two weeks earlier in Memphis, took out Todd Tutterow before reaching the Memphis Drags final and posting a winning 3.84-seconds run at 178.96 miles per hour down the Martin eighth mile against a traction-challenged Quain Stott.
“The mile an hour dropped off because we popped the burst panel on the blower about three-quarters of the way down the track,” Scruggs explained. “I was waiting for him (Stott) to come back around me, but I guess he had more trouble than I did.”
[coverattach=2]Glidden’s fifth-consecutive event win, dating back to last August, came after wins over Danny Shemwell and Todd Moyer in Memphis, followed by a pair of 4.09-second passes against Gary White and final-round rival Jeff Naiser in Michigan. Glidden gave credit for his latest triumph to Brandon Switzer of Speedtech and said the final represented the strongest pass his small-block, Ford-powered 2006 GTO has ever made.
“If we had the same (ambient air) conditions we had in Memphis, that would’ve been an .03,” Glidden stated. “But that’s the end of that motor; you can see it all over my windows.”
[coverattach=3]Gahm advanced his ’07 Mustang to the postponed semis after a first-round bye and win over Jason Collins in Memphis, then beat Michigan racer Bob Bertsch to meet John Montecalvo in the Extreme Pro Stock final. Gahm led stripe-to-stripe over Montecalvo with a 4.10 at 175.63 mph combination to earn his second-straight race title and solidify his points lead.
“We had to change (the gearing in) our transmission before the final because the weather changed a lot while we were waiting,” Gahm said of running the Memphis semis for all classes before the initial round of Summer Drags qualifying, then running all the finals together at the end of the night. “I have to thank my guys for all their hard work and congratulate them on making the right calls tonight. This is their win.”
Owens, aboard the 2005 Suzuki owned by fellow rider T.T. Jones, got past Monte Campbell and Travis Davis in Memphis, and then ran a record-setting 4.20 seconds in his semi-final win over Jack Young. In the final round, Owens officially backed up the record within the required one percent with a 4.24-seconds pass at 174.13 mph over Eric McKinney.
“Eric and I and his dad, Scott, we’re all such good friends that I really didn’t feel any pressure going into the final,” Owens said. “I would’ve been happy no matter who won, but I’m glad to give this win to T.T. (Jones); it’s a real pleasure for me to ride his bike.”
Provisional number one qualifiers after Friday night’s lone qualifying session include Scruggs at 3.77 and 201.24 mph; Qatar’s Khalid Al-Balooshi at 3.89 seconds and 192.06 in Pro Nitrous; Glidden with his 4.09 at 176.15 mph; Extreme Pro Stock’s Gahm at 4.10 and 176.25; and Owens new record 4.20 at 176.31 mph leads the Pro Extreme Motorcycle field.
