Bubba Stanton
Bubba Stanton and Doug Riesterer had good Fridays as both were No. 1 qualifiers at the Summer Drags VIII at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. Their Saturdays got off to an excellent start as well.
Both maintained their No. 1 qualifier spots heading into eliminations after two superb passes on Saturday. Stanton’s came after Frankie Taylor momentarily took over the No. 1 spot with a 3.666. Stanton, though, responded with a 3.663 at 205.17 mph in the third qualifying session to take back the No. 1 spot heading into eliminations.
The two qualifying sessions were simply brilliant, as nine drivers went in the 3.60s and the qualifying bump was a remarkable 3.814 (Duane Rister).
Mick Snyder jumped into the field after being not qualified on Friday. He is currently No. 7 after running 3.687 and will meet No. 10 qualifier Terry Leggett. Snyder will certainly have his work cut out for him in hopes of becoming the first driver in Pro Extreme history to win four straight races.
Other marquee matchups include Alex Hossler meeting Dan Millen, Jason Scruggs taking on Quain Stott and Von Smith racing Tim Tindle in a star-studded field.
Riesterer continued to amaze in Pro Nitrous, finishing as the No. 1 qualifier with a 3.792 at 195 mph.
Jim Laurita’s 3.843 has him in second and Bob Rahaim is right behind with a 3.846. Amazingly, nitrous legend Shannon Jenkins did not make the field for the second straight race.
In a great first-round matchup, Stan Allen, the No. 6 qualifier, will meet No. 11 Ed Burnley.
In Mickey Thompson Extreme 10.5, Billy Glidden delivered in his final qualifying pass, running an impressive 3.925 at 188.85 mph. Glidden struggled in his first two passes, but he ended up running the only 3-second pass of qualifying in the class.
The reward is a bye run to the finals of the 8-car field should he get past Nick Jackson in the first round.
With Casey Stemper sitting out the final round of qualifying, Eric McKinney stole the show and ended up as the No. 1 qualifier by running 4.100 to nip Stemper’s 4.102.
McKinney will get T.T. Jones in the first round of the eight-car field.
There were no major moves in Extreme Pro Stock, but there are plenty of juicy matchups for the first round of eliminations.
John Pluchino and John Montecalvo will face off, as will No. 4 qualifier John DeFlorian and Dean Goforth. Elijah Morton meets Pete Berner, while the most recent winner in the class, Richie Stevens, qualified No. 7 and will take on Matt Bertsch, which is a rematch of the semifinals at the U.S. Drags V last month in Virginia.
Mike Castellana stayed on top in Aeromotive Fuel Systems Pro Modified as well. Jeff Naiser stayed No. 2 and will meet Pat Musi in the first round of eliminations.
Bob Gulitti didn’t back up his 4.05 from Friday to set a new world E.T. record in Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman, but he did stay the No. 1 qualifier to snap Chuck Mohn’s five-race streak.
Guilitti will meet previous event winner Aaron Glaser in the first round.
Another great first-round matchup features William Brown III and Ronnie Davis.
Eric McKinney
