Blog
Car count in Topeka & Bristol
By our count there are 79 pro cars here in Topeka for the ADRL Independence Drags V, and 75 pro cars in Bristol for the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Just a fun and interesting tidbit…
A few photos from Thursday/Friday at ADRL/Topeka!
Mahana Al-Naemi - Pro Nitrous
Lamar Swindoll - Extreme 10.5
Eric Stubbs - Extreme 10.5
Mick Snyder - Pro Extreme
Mel Eaves & Roger Richards
Aaron Hodges - Pro Nitrous
Josh Hernandez - Pro Extreme
Chad Rodgers - Extreme 10.5
Sheikh Khalid Al Thani & Todd Tutterow
Cary Goforth - Extreme Pro Stock
Photos courtesy of IAN TOCHER
Two rounds down…
Well, we’ve got two full rounds of qualifying under our belts here at the ADRL Independence Drags V in Topeka, and it’s been pretty interesting. We didn’t see any record breaking runs, and we didn’t expect to, either, but we did see some very noteworthy passes.
For starters, Cary Goforth and Pete Berner both laid up some impressive numbers side-by-side in the first round of Extreme Pro Stock going 4.15 and 4.16. For cars that are absolutely at the mercy of the local weather conditions, which aren’t favorable for the gas-burning, naturally aspirated Pro Stockers, that is incredibly impressive. As the sun goes down, don’t be surprised if we see some of the EPS class’ top-tier guys dip well into the “four-ohs”.
We also saw the one-and-only Tony Gillig go 4.16, and if the Chicago-based wheelman has a car that’ll run the number – he’s very difficult to bet against. Gillig is going to make a big splash in the ADRL’s mountain motor Pro Stock division in 2011 – just wait.
In Extreme 10.5, we saw Lamar Swindoll go 4.03 and Frankie Taylor go 4.09, but I think it’s safe to say that Billy Glidden’s 4.04 at 176mph is the best run of XTF action thus far. With less than 500ci of Ford power under the hood and three-stages of spray, Glidden is a master of doing the most with the least. In these hot weather conditions when the track gets tricky, it’s hard to deny that BG is better suited for victory than anyone in the class – perhaps anyone on the property.
Pro Nitrous, as usual, is where most the action is. Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s newest resident (joke) Mahana Al-Naemi is at the top of the heap with a ridiculous 3.87-second, 193.71mph blast in his Shannon “Iceman” Jenkins-tuned ’69 Camaro. Burton Auxier threw down the gauntlet, too, with an eighty-eight at just over 193 in his Camaro, which in the interest of fair reporting (Brian Olson voice) doesn’t have a sponsor name on the side.
Noticably absent from the PN field is Jim Halsey and the “Big Red Machine” ’68 Camaro out of Maryland. We figure it’s about 1,200 miles one-way for the gang from Cecil County, so it might just have been more of a tow than they wanted to endure for a race in the heat of summer – especially when their program isn’t quite where they want it performance-wise.
We’ve also got just 16 cars for Pro Nitrous, so the field is basically set now with Blake Housley rounding things out with a 4.73 at about 45 miles per hour over the posted speed limit out on 470 West towards Topeka.
Pro Extreme is looking serious – as usual. We’re more than likely going to have a 3-second field, but these days that is a bit of an afterthought. A year ago we were predicting entire 3.7-second fields. That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen quite as soon as we thought originally.
Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor is out in front of the 16-car eliminator in his Texas-based C5 Corvette with a 3.734-second, 201.22mph lap. The Sheikh is in the No. 2 spot with a -75 and Aaron Wells is 16th with a 4-flat. Despite rumors to the contrary, Alex Hossler, Todd Tutterow, JR Todd, and Von Smith are all here, and all fielding entries with the Al-Anabi logo on the door.
Stay tuned for a little more insight/information as the day wears on. If Heartland Park Topeka wasn’t so spread out (not complaining, just observing) and golf carts weren’t rare as purple elephants, we’d be able to provide a little more action from the pits. Till then, please bear with us!
Glidden goes 4.04
Wow! Billy Glidden dives right into the thick of things with what is easily the most impressive pass of the weekend so far. 4.04 at 179.
To the top!
The last two cars to make qualifying passes in this first round of Extreme Pro Stock – Cary Goforth in his Chevy Cobalt and Pete Berner in his Pontiac GXP – go straight to the top of the qualifying sheets with a 4.15 and a 4.16, respectively. Very impressive performances here in Topeka at virtually high noon.
Conditions…
For those of you that could easily be defined as “hardcore” enthusiasts or are racers yourself (we know there are plenty), the conditions here are fairly typical for Topeka, Kansas – hot, humid, etc…
The real digits are as follows:
Temp: 86 degrees
Barometer: 29.68in
Humidity: 90.7% (sweet! LOL!)
Relative Air Density: 94.3%
Effective Altitude: 3,323 feet
Hot, humid, whatever… The skies are CLEAR and that’s good for the ADRL.
We’re on the ground @ ADRL Topeka!
The Drag Illustrated crew is here on the grounds at Heartland Park Topeka for the ADRL Independence Drags V!
Check the DragIllustrated.com BLOG today and tomorrow for updates, info, and pics from this weekend’s event. While we won’t be providing “live” coverage with the small team here on the grounds, we will do our best to keep everyone updated of the happenings here at the track and some insight/info you might not find anywhere else.
Oh, and we are officially under way here at HPT. The first pair of Extreme Pro Stockers have already blitzed the outlaw eighth-mile and it appears that we’re in for a great weekend of racing.
Stay tuned!
Preparing to go live!
The new DragIllustrated.com web portal is set to go live today, January 28th, 2011 at 5:00 PM CST.
Everyone at Drag Illustrated is extremely happy to present the site to the world, and we’re confident that our new portal will serve both our readers and our advertisers extremely well. Our goal has always been to build and promote the positive growth of the sport of drag racing and the all-new DragIllustrated.com – we anticipate – will be a big step in the right direction.
We have to take our hats off to the fine folks at HRB Ideas for their superb work and incredible efforts in making the DI web portal a reality.
Be sure to peruse the website and check out all the different sections. In our photo galleries, keep in mind that you can click the photos and see the images in much higher resolution and a larger size. Also, make sure and check out OUR TEAM and get a glimpse of all the people that are involved in bringing DI to life every month.
Stay tuned because the best is yet to come!
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We invite you to look around our new site
We are certainly excited for our new website launch. There’s too many changes to list off all at once so we invite you to look around the site some. Be sure to check back to know for sure you aren’t missing out our latest news & updates.
