Norwalk: Post race notes

NHRA POWERADE SERIES POST RACE NOTES: INAUGURAL SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS
July 1, 2007, Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park

TOP FUEL

* After struggling in qualifying, Tony Schumacher earned his second win of the season and the 37th of his career when he drove his U.S. Army dragster to a 4.537 at 322.04 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

* Rod Fuller finished second, coasting to a 7.087 at 114.49 in his David Powers Homes dragster.

* No.13-seed Doug Kalitta upset No. 4 Larry Dixon -- who won two events in a row coming into Norwalk - in the first round. Kalitta advanced to the semifinals, where he was defeated by Fuller.

* Fuller earned the Technicoat Top Fuel Shootout award for qualifying No. 1 with a 4.533 at 323.50. It was his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and the fifth of his career.

* DNQ's included Morgan Lucas and Alan Bradshaw.

* Brandon Bernstein's Budweiser dragster crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship award.

FUNNY CAR

* Mike Ashley won his second race of 2007 and the second of his career, driving his Torco/Skull Gear Dodge Charger to a 4.823 at 321.88. Kenny Bernstein saw his best performance since his return from retirement, but rolled to a 12.080 at 80.40 for a second-place finish.

* Cruz Pedregon, who qualified No. 13, surprised No. 4 Tommy Johnson Jr., who was fresh off of a miracle win in Englishtown, to advance to the second round. Pedregon was defeated by the eventual race winner, Ashley, in the semifinals.

* Robert Hight earned the Skoal Showdown award for qualifying No. 1 in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. It was his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 19th of his career.

* DNQ's included Gary Scelzi, Jerry Toliver and Scott Kalitta.

* Jack Beckman's Mail Terminal Services crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship award.

PRO STOCK

* Dave Connolly of Elyria, Ohio earned his second win of the season and the 11th of his career in front of his hometown crowd when he drove his Torco Chevy Cobalt to a 6.660 at 207.11, defeating another Ohio driver, Newark, Ohio's Larry Morgan, in the final round.

* Connolly also earned the Motel 6 "Who Got the Light" award for defeating Greg Stanfield by a .0121-second margin of victory in the quarterfinal round of Pro Stock eliminations.

* Anderson made headlines when he was timed out in his first-round match-up with Erica Enders in the first round after struggling during weekend qualifying. Anderson did not stage in regulation time and therefore Enders moved to the second round unopposed.

* DNQ's included Mike Edwards, Kenny Koretsky, Ron Krisher, Ben Watson, Tony Rizzo, Craig Hankinson, Bob Benza, Larry Nance and Jim Cunningham.

* Anderson earned the K&N Horsepower Challenge award for qualifying No. 1 at 6.654 at 207.59

* Richie Stevens' Mopar Dodge Stratus crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Challenge award.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

* Andrew Hines picked up his second win of the season and the 10th of his career when he rode his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a 6.988 at 190.46 to best Matt Smith's 10.961 at 70.13 on his Torco Racing Fuels Buell.

* Smith earned his seventh career No. 1 qualifier for the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle award, with a 6.965 at 189.60.

* DNQ's included Tom Bradford, Barry Henson, Mike Berry, Shawn Gann, Scott Lewis, Joe DeSantis, Wes Wells, Brian DeLong and Dean Frantz.

* Hines' Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship award.

POWERade FAN NATIONALS

* Codey Deal, 18, of North Lima, Ohio, beat out hundreds of local fans to win the POWERade Fan Nationals event title. At every event, local fans compete against each other to win a trip to the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. in November. With the win, Deal was able to stand in the POWERade Series winner's circle with the professional winners of the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

-credit: nhra