NE: Series Rising Sun Saturday summary

Manzo Grabs No.1 Qualifier at Cecil County Dragway

RISING SUN, Md. (August 29, 2009) -- It was another battle with the rain at Cecil County Dragway, but NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series qualifying was able to get underway. Top Alcohol Funny Car ace Frank Manzo of Morganville, N.J., once again picked up the No.1 qualifying position. Due to water seeping up through the track, Top Alcohol Dragster will not finish qualifying until tomorrow morning.

Manzo has grabbed all four Northeast division No.1 qualifiers to go along with his two victories. His lap of 5.763 seconds at 250.97 mph was just enough to keep him ahead of No.2 qualifier, Frank Schuster out of Chesterfield N.J.

After one round of qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster, Darren Nicholson, Mission Viejo, Calif., sits at the top of the class. He currently holds the No.3 spot in the overall standings, coming off a huge win in the last divisional held at Lebanon Valley Dragway.

Other top qualifiers at Cecil County Dragway included Dave Yediny, Nazareth, Pa., in Comp Eliminator; Gary Ewing of Bel Air, Md., in Super Stock; and Gene Monahan from Brockton, Mass., in Stock Eliminator.

Racing continues Sunday with general admission only $18 on Sunday. Children 11 and under are admitted free. For more information please call Cecil County Dragway, (410) 287-6280, or visit www.CecilCountryDragway.com.

The following are Saturday's final qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Northeast Division LODRS 1-5 at Cecil County Dragway:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - NOT FINAL
1) Darren Nicholson, Mission Viejo, Calif., 5.508 seconds, 258.27 mph
2) John Finke, Selkirk, N.Y., 5.545, 263.10
3) Bill Evans, Hialeah, Fla., 5.593, 240.72
4) Dan Mercier, Montreal, Quebec, 5.606, 253.99
5) Arthur Gallant, Boxboro, Mass., 5.628, 258.86
6) Duane Shields, Boulder City, Nev., 5.656, 224.28
7) Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville, Pa., 5.661, 245.72
8) Bruce Horner, Bergenfield, N.J., 5.686, 241.76 Not Qualified
9) Brandon Greco, Roscoe, Pa., 5.788, 249.26
10) Richard Bourke, Old Tappan, N.J., 5.830, 247.52
11) Ken Winward, Wilmington, Del., 7.095, 129.49

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
1) Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.763 seconds, 250.97 mph
2) Frank Schuster, Chesterfield, N.J., '02 Firebird, 5.767, 248.39
3) Dan Pomponio, Berlin, N.J., '08 Monte Carlo, 5.856, 248.84
4) Paul Gill, Brockton, Mass., '08 Mustang, 5.856, 228.42
5) Darrel Cox, Whiteford, Md., '02 Firebird, 5.859, 242.58
6) Scott McNiece, Brick, N.J., '08 Mustang, 5.892, 243.19
7) Wayne Morris, Lincoln Univ, Pa., '09 Mustang, 5.947, 238.98
8) John Anderika, Pittson, Pa., '02 Camaro, 6.290, 161.87

First round TAFC pairings
1) Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.763 seconds, 7 250.9 mph vs. 8) John Anderika, Pittson, Pa., '02 Camaro, 6.290, 161.8 7

2) Frank Schuster, Chesterfield, N.J., '02 Firebird, 5.767, 248.39 vs. 7) Wayne Morris, Lincoln Univ, Pa., '09 Mustang, 5.947, 238.98

3) Dan Pomponio, Berlin, N.J., '08 Monte Carlo, 5.856, 248.84 vs. 6) Scott McNiece, Brick, N.J., '08 Mustang, 5.892, 243.19

4) Paul Gill, Brockton, Mass., '08 Mustang, 5.856, 228.42 vs. 5) Darrel Cox, Whiteford, Md., '02 Firebird, 5.859, 242.58

COMP ELIMINATOR
1) Dave Yediny, Nazareth, Pa., '71 Opel GT, L/A, 8.771 seconds, -0.719 (under index)
2) Charlie Greco, Paoli, Pa., '06 GTO, D/AA, 7.695, -0.555
3) Gerry Russo, Saddle River, N.J., '05 Cavalier, C/SMA, 8.267, -0.543
4) Brian Darcy, Newburgh, N.Y., dragster, A/ND, 6.931, -0.529
5) Frank Aragona Jr., Freehold, N.J., '34 Bantam, G/EA, 8.368, -0.512
6) Dan Fletcher, Churchville, N.Y., '08 Cobalt, C/EA, 8.123, -0.507
7) Vinny Barone, Dix Hills, N.Y., '34 Chevrolet, A/SR, 7.901, -0.499
8) Joe Carnasciale, Cranston, R.I., '92 Camaro, I/SM, 9.193, -0.477
9) Kevin Robb, Denver, Pa., dragster, D/ED, 7.480, -0.460
10) Michele Costa, Freehold, N.J., dragster, G/D, 9.194, -0.446

SUPER STOCK
1) Gary Ewing, Bel Air, Md., '69 Camaro, SS/JA, 10.171 seconds, -1.129 (under index)
2) Byron Worner, Duncannon, Pa., '96 Camaro, SS/IA, 9.877, -1.123
3) Norm Hall, Waldorf, Md., '05 Cavalier, GT/CA, 9.579, -1.121
4) Kent Hanley, Newtown, Conn., '94 Cavalier, GT/BA, 9.439, -1.111
5) Bob Cupp, Alexandria, Va., '65 Chevelle, SS/KA, 10.471, -1.079
6) Bob Bagley, Fredricksburg, Va., '02 Camaro, GT/GA, 10.166, -1.034
7) David Thomas, West Chester, Pa., '69 Corvette, SS/BA, 9.213, -0.987
8) Bob Hochrun, Colonia, N.J., '87 Camaro, GT/DA, 9.826, -0.974
9) Brian Van Poppel, Perry Hall, Md., '85 Camaro, SS/KA, 10.580, -0.970
10) Howard Barsky, Levittown, Pa., '57 Chevy, SS/NA, 11.484, -0.966

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1) Gene Monahan, Brockton, Mass., '90 Formula, K/SA, 11.672 seconds, -1.278 (under index)
2) James Conte, Pearl River, N.Y., '69 Mustang, C/SA, 10.525, -1.175
3) Dustan Lowell, Kensington, N.H., '72 Duster, F/SA, 10.987, -1.163
4) Lenny Williams, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., '71 Gran Sport, F/SA, 11.010, -1.140
5) Wayne Totaro, Essex, Md., '02 Firebird, B/SA, 10.446, -1.104
6) Steve Szupka, Willow Grove, Pa., '85 Camaro, J/SA, 11.653, -1.097
7) Tim Bishop, Queenstown, Md., '97 Firebird, B/S, 10.405, -1.095
8) Jack Matyas, Bethlehem, Pa., '00 Trans Am, B/SA, 10.456, -1.094
9) Donnie Carroll, Hopewell Junction, N.Y., '98 Formula, C/SA, 10.607, -1.093
10) Ed Horensky, Sugarloaf, Pa., '68 Mustang, A/SA, 10.209, -1.091

-credit: nhra