SC: Series Belle Rose Friday summary

MANNERS, BARTONE EARLY LEADERS AT NO PROBLEM RACEWAY

BELLE ROSE, La. (September 18, 2009) -- In the first rounds of qualifying at No Problem Raceway and the Cajun Sportsman Challenge NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Michael Manners, Willis, Texas, and Top Alcohol Funny Car pilot Tony Bartone, Long Island City, N.Y. took the No. 1 qualifying positions in their classes.

Manners outran the field with a pass of 5.356 seconds at 269.56 mph to lead the class by more than a tenth of a second. Manners is looking for his first win of the year having three final round appearances in his last three outings. Darryl Hitchman, Greenville, Texas, and Brandon Pierce, Moore, Okla., are 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Bartone made a 5.672-second, 252.76 mph run to take the pole in his '09 Mustang and is followed by Gainesville, Ga., racer Steve Harker. Bartone is currently fifth in the national point's standings while Harker sits in third and is leading the South Central Division points.

Home state Louisiana racers lead in three other classes with Joey Tanksley of Greenwell Springs, La., on top in Comp Eliminator. Bourg, La., resident Joseph Mohana is No. 1 in the Sunset RaceCraft Top Sportsman class with Keith Haney, Broken Arrow, Okla. in second and Keith Raftery, Lake Charles, La., in third. And Michel Kile, Westlake, La., and Brandon Chauvin, Gonzales, La., are one and two in the TCI Comp Cams Top Dragster category.

Top qualifiers in other classes are Jeff Colvert, Arkadelphia, Ark., in Super Stock, ,David Buckner, New Waverly, Texas, in Stock and Robert Sanders, Katy, Texas in Sportsman Motorcycle presented by Harley Davidson

Racing continues Saturday and Sunday at No Problem Raceway. Gates open at 8 a.m. with racing set to begin at 9 a.m. Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars make their final qualifying runs at 2 and 6 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for Saturday or Sunday and children 11 and under are free with a paid adult. For more information, call No Problem Raceway (985) 329-3692 or visit www.NoProblemRaceway.com.

The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Cajun Sportsman event at No Problem Raceway:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
1) Michael Manners, Willis, Texas, 5.356 seconds, 269.56 mph
2) Darryl Hitchman, Greenville, Texas, 5.473, 258.37
3) Brandon Pierce, Moore, Okla., 5.512, 272.17
4) Ryan Copeland, Gainesville, Texas, 5.535, 217.67
5) Malcolm Wahle, Claremore, Okla., 5.590, 256.75
6) David Brounkowski, Cypress, Texas, 5.772, 214.72
7) Vitali Kazakevich, Houston, 6.006, 237.63
8) Carl Magee, Victoria, Texas, 6.429, 192.60

Not Qualified
9) Brandon Lewis, Broken Arrow, Okla., 9.400, 92.95

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
1) Tony Bartone, Long Island City, N.Y., '09 Mustang, 5.672 seconds, 252.76 mph
2) Steve Harker, Gainesville, Ga., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.694, 249.03
3) Burl Brown, Gainesville, Texas, '09 Mustang, 5.909, 236.71
4) John Sullivan, Pike Road City, Ala., '08 Mustang, 6.097, 231.00
5) Chris Foster, Davenport, Iowa, '07 Monte Carlo, 9.590, 90.18
6) Kebin Kinsley, Arlington, Texas, '03 Camaro, 17.647, 41.54

COMP ELIMINATOR
1) Joey Tanksley, Greenwell Springs, La., dragster, C/D, 6.833 seconds, -0.617 (under index)
2) Ernest Watson, Humble, Texas, '05 Cavalier, A/SMA, 8.022, -0.538
3) Scott Cashio, Ventress, La., '07 Cobalt, B/SMA, 8.202, -0.498
4) Adam Hickey, Hammond, La., '06 Cobalt, C/SMA, 8.305, -0.485
5) Shane Gray, Artesia, N.M., '06 Stratus, B/A, 7.082, -0.478
6) Stephen Rosen, Harahan, La., dragster, G/ED, 8.075, -0.475
7) Mike Trumble, Pasadena, Texas, '08 Cobalt, A/SMA, 8.120, -0.440
8) Bruno Massel, Woodbridge, Ill., '08 Cobalt, DD/AT, 7.392, -0.438
9) Charles Watson, Humble, Texas, '07 Cobalt, D/SM, 8.584, -0.396
10) Dick Maris, Montgomery, Texas, dragster, C/DA, 7.267, -0.303

SUPER STOCK
1) Jeff Colvert, Arkadelphia, Ark., '69 Mustang, SS/G, 9.580 seconds, -1.170 (under index)
2) James Caro, Houma, La., '78 Plymouth, SS/JA, 10.163, -1.137
3) J.W. Hames, Madison, Miss., '89 Daytona, GT/IA, 10.366, -1.134
4) Jeff Dona, Gordonville, Mo., '69 Camaro, SS/HA, 9.789, -1.111
5) Jonathan Womack, Houston, '07 Cavalier, SS/BS, 8.880, -1.070
6) Sid Bonnecarrere, Gray, La., '70 Duster, GT/FA, 10.036, -1.064
7) Jeff Taylor, Sellersburg, Ind., '09 Cobalt, SS/DM, 8.996, -1.054
8) Byron Latino, Donaldson, La., '09 G5, SS/BS, 8.905, -1.045
9) Jerry Emmons, Pasadena, Texas, '05 Cavalier, GT/CA, 9.657, -1.043
10) Dick Lux, San Antonio, Texas, '64 Comet, SS/M, 10.865, -1.035

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1) David Buckner, New Waverly, Texas, '72 Duster, F/SA, 10.953 seconds, -1.197 (under index)
2) Kent LaPorte, Lafayette, La., '91 Camaro, J/SA, 11.563, -1.187
3) John Duzac, Covington, La., '67 Camaro, D/S, 10.671, -1.129
4) Sammy Pizzolato, Houma, La., '69 Corvette, B/SA, 10.440, -1.110
5) Gary Emmons, Friendswood, Texas, '98 Firebird, C/SA, 10.597, -1.103
6) Bill McClister, Shoreacres, Texas, '72 Mustang, E/SA, 10.949, -1.051
7) Sam Pourciau, Walker, La., '02 Camaro, B/SA, 10.501, -1.049
8) Jerry Davis, Santa Fe, Texas, '72 Duster, G/SA, 11.261, -1.039
9) Dean Oliver, Stuttgart, Ark., '79 Malibu, K/SA, 11.939, -1.011
10) Patrick Courts, New Iberia, La., '87 Firebird, N/SA, 12.324, -0.976

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
1) Robert Sanders, Katy, Texas, '04 Kawasaki, ETMX, 0.004 seconds reaction time
2) James Enloe, Prairieville, La., '86 Sportster, ETMX, 0.006
3) David LeBlanc, Prairieville, La., '91 Suzuki, ETMX, 0.011
4) Rob Bennett, Lucas, Texas, '07 Suzuki, ETMX, 0.018
5) David Latino, Donaldsonville, La., '05 Hayabusa, ETMX, 0.018
6) Jerry Pomilla, Conroe, Texas, '85 Suzuki, ETMX, 0.025
7) Randal Guitreau, Prarieville, La., '94 Kawasaki, ETMX, 0.026
8) Michael Nash, Texarkana, Texas, '83 Honda, ETMX, 0.048
9) Ricky Leblanc, Prairieville, La., '80 Suzuki, ETMX, 0.054
10) Ben Brown, Irving, Texas, '05 Suzuki, ETMX, 0.137

TOP SPORTSMAN
1) Joseph Mohana, Bourg, La., '57 Chevy, 6.732 seconds, 203.77 mph
2) Keith Haney, Broken Arrow, Okla., '09 GXP, 6.765, 204.54
3) Keith Raftery, Lake Charles, La., '07 GTO, 6.820, 201.79
4) Jerry Holt, Collinsville, Okla., '08 GTO, 6.842, 201.73
5) Greg Lair, Canyon, Texas, '04 Grand Am, 6.887, 203.34
6) Allen Firestone, Velma, Okla., '01 S-10, 6.997, 195.59
7) Bob Gulitti, Tomball, Texas, '88 Firebird, 7.244, 190.00
8) Kyle Firestone, Duncan, Okla., '73 Colt, 7.286, 187.21
9) Keith Daniels, Ft. Worth, Texas, '03 Cavalier, 7.333, 188.99
10) Lonnie Sumner, Austin, Texas, '97 Cutlass, 7.387, 176.03

TOP DRAGSTER
1) Michael Kile, Westlake, La., dragster, 6.150 seconds, 221.78 mph
2) Brandon Chauvin, Gonzales, La., dragster, 6.593, 204.11
3) Howard Mc Cullar, McAlester, Okla., dragster, 6.646, 200.68
4) Todd Schumert, LaPlace, La., dragster, 6.765, 200.80
5) Mark Jones, Marrero, La., dragster, 6.818, 200.23
6) Mario Buesch, Kenner, La., dragster, 6.842, 198.38
7) Loretta Eckert, Calhoun, La., dragster, 6.885, 197.45
8) Jerry Holt, Collinsville, Okla., dragster, 6.893, 195.53
9) David Strain, Kenner, La., dragster, 6.901, 192.08
10) P.J. Vicari, Crown Point, La., dragster, 6.915, 193.40

-credit: nhra