PAC: Tucson Friday summary

ARIZONA RACERS AMONG BEST QUALIFIERS AT LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES EVENT

TUCSON, Ariz. (March 6, 2009) -- In the first rounds of qualifying at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event presented by Budweiser at Southwestern Int'l Raceway, Mike De Palma of Glendale, Ariz., sits atop the Comp Eliminator field and Peoria, Ariz., racer Tibor Kadar leads in Super Stock. Tucson residents Lance Samson and Tom Patterson are the No. 1 and 2 qualifiers in Sportsman Motorcycle presented by Harley Davidson. The race kicked off Friday and will wrap up on Saturday.

De Palma, wheeling his '98 Firebird, covered the quarter-mile in 8.261 seconds, just enough to put him ahead of No. 2 qualifier Dean Carter, also a resident of Glendale. Tucson's Jeff Sams is currently the No. 10 qualifier in the category.

Kadar drove his '92 Camaro to the top of the Super Stock field with a 9.618-second pass. No. 2 qualifier Frank Grossi of Upland, Calif., and No. 3 qualifier Eric Bell of Chandler, Ariz., are just off the pace.

The Sportsman Motorcycle class is qualified based on reaction time (R/T), with .000 seconds R/T being perfect. Both of the best qualifiers today had a .009 R/T. Samson was aboard his '95 Suzuki and Patterson rode his '94 Kawasaki. Another Tucson resident, Tom Lannie, qualified in the top 10 in the category. He came in seventh place with a .044-second R/T.

In Stock Eliminator, Brad Burton of Golden, Colo., outran his father, Scott Burton, also of Golden, for the top spot. Brad wheels a '72 Formula and Scott drives a '71 Formula. Graeg Lair, Canyon, Texas leads the Top Sportsman class in his '04 Grand Am while Denny Hills, Gilbert, Ariz., is No. 1 in Top Dragster.

In qualifying for the Pro Mod exhibition, Dennis Radford of Baker City, Ore., took his '50 Duster to the top spot with a 6.200-second, 226.96 mph pass. It was just enough to put him ahead of second place qualifier Joe Delehay of Calgary, Alb., who ran his '68 Z-28 6.232 seconds at 231.36 mph. Marty Palbkin of Vail is the No. 6 qualifier in Pro Mod in his '70 GTO.

Racing continues Saturday at Southwestern Int'l Raceway. Final qualifying and time trials are slated from 8 to 11 a.m. Eliminations will begin immediately with Top Dragster, Comp Eliminator and Top Sportsman. Pro Mod will run first round at 3 p.m.

Tickets for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Southwestern Int'l Raceway are $20. Coupons for $2 off general admission are available at all Quick Mart Stores while supplies last. Military personnel and Senior Citizens may receive a $5 discount each day.

Southwestern Int'l Raceway is located 15 miles east of Downtown Tucson. From I-10 take Houghton Road exit (#275) south and then turn right on to Dawn Road. Follow Dawn Road to track entrance. For more information, call the track, (520) 762-9700, or visit www. SIRace.com.

The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event presented by Budweiser at Southwestern Int'l Raceway:

COMP ELIMINATOR
1) Mike DePalma, Glendale, Ariz., '98 Firebird, I/A, 8.261 seconds, -0.759 (under index)
2) Dean Carter, Glendale, Ariz., dragster, B/ND, 7.037, -0.743
3) Todd Hoerner, Deer Park, Wash., '09 GXP, A/AA, 6.715, -0.655
4) Steve Holloway, Lakewood, Colo., '06 GTO, A/AA, 6.718, -0.652
5) Art Hodges, Simi Valley, Calif., '06 Stratus, A/PM, 6.531, -0.639
6) Pat Byron, Hoquiam, Wash., dragster, C/D, 7.095, -0.615
7) Dan Fletcher, Churchville, N.Y., '08 Cobalt, C/EA, 8.285, -0.595
8) Jon Rowley, Amado, Ariz., dragster, A/ND, 7.157, -0.513
9) Steve Graham, S. San Francisco, Calif., '04 Grand Am, D/A, 8.052, -0.438
10) Jeff Sams, Tucson, Ariz., '06 GTO, A/PM, 6.869, -0.401

SUPER STOCK
1) Tibor Kadar, Peoria, Ariz., '92 Camaro, SS/BX, 9.618 seconds, -1.632 (under index)
2) Frank Grossi, Upland, Calif., '05 Sunfire, GT/BA, 9.364, -1.576
3) Eric Bell, Chandler, Ariz., '70 Challenger, SS/FA, 9.619, -1.531
4) Larry Schmidt, Grand Island, Neb., '55 BelAir, SS/PA, 12.004, -1.426
5) Kip Martin, Phoenix, '64 Mustang, SS/L, 10.582, -1.398
6) Steve Wann, Modesto, Calif., '69 Barracuda, SS/IA, 10.016, -1.394
7) Gary McGlasson, Los Lunas, N.M., '69 Camaro, SS/GA, 9.896, -1.354
8) Jimmy DeFrank, Thousand Oaks, Calif., '09 Cobalt, SS/BS, 9.046, -1.274
9) Don Keen, Palmdale, Calif., '65 Mustang, SS/LA, 10.916, -1.274
10) Ryan McClanahan, Alta Loma, Calif., '08 Cobalt, SS/BM, 8.745, -1.265

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1) Brad Burton, Golden, Colo., '72 Formula, E/SA, 10.867 seconds, -1.583 (under index)
2) Scott Burton, Golden, Colo., '71 Formula, D/SA, 10.786, -1.504
3) Jack Foshee, Taylor, Ariz., '80 D-150, J/SA, 11.824, -1.406
4) Stephen Hagberg, Berthoud, Colo., '64 Savoy, A/SA, 10.351, -1.369
5) Paula Cotten, Broken Arrow, Okla., '73 Duster, G/SA, 11.396, -1.364
6) Brian McClanahan, Alta Loma, Calif., '02 Pontiac, A/SA, 10.373, -1.347
7) Wesley Libby, Mead, Wash., '71 Challenger, A/SA, 10.404, -1.316
8) Andy Kimball, Henderson, Nev., '66 Fairlane, E/S, 11.090, -1.310
9) Les Norton, South Jordan, Utah, '65 Belvedere, A/SA, 10.415, -1.305
10) Richie Pauley, Saugus, Calif., '68 Mustang, C/SA, 10.853, -1.287

TOP SPORTSMAN
1) Greg Lair, Canyon, Texas, '04 Grand Am, 6.854 seconds, 203.98 mph
2) Mike Strickland, Moses Lake, Wash., '07 Mustang, 7.076, 196.93
3) J Wayne Silvia, Upland, Calif., '04 Cavalier, 7.117, 192.63
4) Ted Carli, Temecula, Calif., '05 Cavilier, 7.131, 192.03
5) Brad Wagner, Henderson, Nev., '97 Cutlass, 7.151, 194.46
6) Joe Roubicek, Westlake Village, Calif., '63 Corvette, 7.176, 191.70
7) Raul Perez, La Mirada, Calif., '01 Grand Am, 7.429, 185.00
8) Craig Olsen, Camino Island, Wash., '07 Stratus, 7.464, 183.44
9) Larry Scarth, Manhattan Beach, Calif., '04 Cavalier, 7.497, 183.97
10) John Taylor Sr., Queens Creek, Ariz., '48 Pickup, 7.514, 183.22

TOP DRAGSTER
1) Denny Hills, Gilbert, Ariz., dragster, 6.068 seconds, 222.62 mph
2) Jim Luttrell, Apache Junction, Ariz., dragster, 6.160, 230.69
3) Lyle Burnham, Henderson, Nev., dragster, 6.584, 204.29
4) Paul Gladden, Tracy, Calif., dragster, 6.722, 201.46
5) Chip Rumis, Romona, Calif., dragster, 6.797, 197.97
6) Don Steed, Fallbrook, Calif., dragster, 6.858, 200.50
7) Tony Jardino, San Dimas, Calif., dragster, 6.910, 195.56
8) Joe Roubicek, Westlake Village, Calif., dragster, 6.917, 194.97
9) Carolyn Hills, Gilbert, Ariz., dragster, 6.965, 193.38
10) Dan Rusk, Tucson, Ariz., dragster, 7.040, 189.47

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
1) Lance Samson, Tucson, Ariz., '95 Suzuki, 0.009 seconds reaction time
2) Tom Patterson, Tucson, Ariz., '94 Kawasaki, 0.009
3) Gary Moreno, La Verne, Calif., '06 H-D, 0.017
4) John Deck, Henderson, Nev., '00 Suzuki, 0.017
5) Rick Newport, West Valley, Utah, '95 Suzuki, 0.023
6) Sean Conner, Boulder City, Nev., '78 Kawasaki, 0.042
7) Tom Lannie, Tucson, Ariz., '94 Suzuki, 0.044
8) John Widmann, Garberville, Calif., '97 Kawasaki, 0.051
9) Pete Miclette, Garberville, Calif., '97 GSXR, 0.053
10) Danny Lee Patridge, Kennewick, Wash., '90 GSXR, 0.061

PRO MODIFIED
1) Dennis Radford, Baker City, Ore., '70 Duster, 6.200 seconds, 226.96 mph
2) Joe Delehay, Calgary, Alb., '68 Z-28, 6.232, 231.36
3) Rod Pearce, Granite Bay, Calif., '63 Corvette, 6.419, 215.82
4) Vern Milla, Missoula, Mont., '55 BelAir, 6.451, 212.03
5) Tommy Johanns, Franktown, Calif., '53 Corvette, 6.794, 218.37
6) Marty Palbkin, Vail, Ariz., '70 GTO, 6.816, 213.74
7) Perry Thyr, Drayton Valley, Alb., '02 Camaro, 6.843, 203.31
8) Chad Ahnstedt, Loveland, Colo., '57 BelAir, 6.969, 201.07
9) Perry Krinitt, Belgrade, Mont., '52 Chevrolet, 7.130, 202.73

-credit: nhra