Series Englishtown summary

MANZO WINS SECOND RACE IN A ROW FOR NO. 81 AT SUMMERNATIONALS

GLENDORA, Calif. (June 15, 2009) -- NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car champion Frank Manzo raced at his home track, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., this weekend during the United Association NHRA SummerNationals. The Morganville, N.J., resident notched win No. 81 and extended his lead for most NHRA national event wins for sportsman racers. The next closest racer, David Rampy, has 70 NHRA national event wins.

Manzo, who has now won three out of the four national events he has attended including one week ago in Joliet, Ill., took on the event's No. 1 qualifier, Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., in the final round. Although Manzo qualified in the No. 2 spot, he effectively outran Payne throughout eliminations and as if to put an exclamation point on it, Manzo peeled off the quickest and fastest TAFC run of the weekend in the final. He laid down a 5.493-second, 253.20 mph pass to Payne's 5.667-second, 260.76 mph effort. Payne's runner-up finish was his best of the season to date.

In an anticlimactic win in Top Alcohol Dragster John Finke notched his first win of the season. Although the Selkirk, N.Y., racer ran consistently all weekend and laid down both the quickest run of the event and the fastest, Finke's win was less than exciting. His opponent, Mike Kosky of Cuddy, Pa., broke in the semifinals and was unable to make repairs in time for the finals. However, due to time constraints caused by the weather, NHRA officials declared Finke the winner without making him stage the car.

Dan Fletcher's win in Comp Eliminator was national event win No. 60 for the Churchville, N.Y., racer. It was his seventh in Comp Eliminator, which he just started racing in 2008. He also has national event wins in Super Stock, Stock Eliminator and Super Gas. In the final in Englishtown he beat Erich Bollman of Newark, Del.

In Super Stock, Peter Biondo, Maspeth, N.Y., earned his 36th NHRA national event win. He beat another racer from Maspeth, Donald Sabin, to get the trophy. Biondo has also logged wins in Stock Eliminator and Super Comp. Don Pires, Jr., Dighton, Mass., racked up the win in Stock Eliminator beating veteran racer Scotty Richardson, Barbourville, Tenn., in the final. Beaver Springs, Pa., racer John DiBartolomeo beat Michael Daymude of Hedgesville, W.V., in the Super Comp final and the win in Super Street went to Jim Schreiner, Brick, N.J., when he ousted Peter Sance, Hamden, Conn., in the final round.

-credit: nhra