Frankie Taylor
But the “Madman” made up for it Saturday morning at Dragstock IX.
Taylor put together a brilliant run in the third qualifying session, running a 3.665 at 209.01 mph to slip past Jason Scruggs, who went 3.68 in the final qualifying session, but couldn’t improve on his 3.677.
The run was a welcome sign for Taylor, the 2010 PX champ who hasn’t had much luck on his side in 2012.
Taylor is looking to change that this weekend at zMAX Dragway and will face Richard Holt in the first round. Mick Snyder, who qualified No. 6, meets No. 11 Von Smith in a huge first-round matchup, while Scruggs gets Alex Hossler, who slipped into the field on his final qualifying attempt.
In Pro Nitrous, Shannon Jenkins figured out his ails and ended up as the No. 1 qualifier in the class, running a 3.879 at 195.17 mph. Jenkins didn’t qualify last month at the Summer Drags VIII, but he looks to have reversed course this weekend.
It took until the last qualifying session for Rickie Jones to get in, but he slipped in at No. 14 with a pedestrian – for him – run of 4.04. His reward is a meeting with points leader Bob Rahaim in a huge first-round matchup.
Rahaim leads Jones by a mere 9 points in the championship hunt. Another premier first-round race is Robert Mathis, who qualified with a 3.906, and Doug Riesterer, who improved to a 3.97 on his final qualifying pass.
Billy Glidden momentarily took the No. 1 spot in Mickey Thompson Extreme 10.5, running a 3.955, but Alan Pittman took it right back during the morning session with an outstanding 3.945 at 196.90 mph. Brad Brand and Chuck Ulsch both ran 3.98s to get into the 3-second zone.
In Aeromotive Fuel Systems Pro Modified, Adam Flamholc held onto his No. 1 spot with a 3.89, giving him his first official No. 1 qualifier spot in his ADRL career. The other big news is that points leader Mike Castellana, who already had four wins this year, did not qualify.
Eric McKinney turned in an incredible 4.074 at 175.82 mph to keep his No. 1 qualifying spot in Pro Extreme Motorcycle. Casey Stemper nearly had it, running a 4.09, but McKinney topped him during the morning session.
It also ended up being the second-quickest qualifying field in PXM history, as Rob Hunnicutt slipped in at No. 16 with a 4.204. The remarkable first-round matchups include Travis Davis-Kim Morrell, Scott Gray-Japel Heard, Dave Vantine-Terry Schweigert, and Ron Procopio-Billy Vose.
Richard Penland kept his No. 1 qualifier in Extreme Pro Stock, officially giving him his first ADRL No. 1 spot.
There wasn’t much movement when it came to qualifying spots, but Kevin Bealko slipped in at No. 16 with a 4.161.
Shannon Jenkins
(Photos by ADRL/Richards)
