TJ Pruitt
Racing kicked off Friday for the NHRA JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals and the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at National Trial Raceway with Tom Elliott and Lester Johnson leading the charge.
Elliott, out of Brooks, Ky., grabbed the top spot in the Top Dragster field with a pass of 6.259 seconds at 219.33 mph. Ohio racer Bryan Keller and Dan Morris of Brighton, Mich., are two and three clocking in at 6.286 and 6.294 respectively. Johnson put his ’55 Belair on top with a run of 6.510 at 214.04 mph and is followed by Dylan Stott and the national point’s leader Jeffery Barker. Stott, Columbus, N.C., went 6.601 in his ’67 Mustang and Barker, Kathleen, Ga., covered the quarter mile in 6.683 seconds in his ’06 Cobalt. Local runner Mike Coughlin, Delaware, Ohio, put his JEGS sponsored ’13 Camaro in the No. 4 spot at 6.803, 205.79.
Chuck Haubiel is on top in Comp Eliminator with his ’10 Cobalt.
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Tom Elliot Top Dragster is No. 1 qualifier at 6.259, 219.33.
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In Comp Eliminator it was Chuck Haubiel taking the No. 1 spot for opening day. The Gahanna, Ohio, resident drove his ‘10 Cobalt to an 8.267 second lap. Todd Frantz, Louisville, Ky., and Terry Smith, Liberty Township, Ohio, are second and third.
Grove City, Ohio, racer Kevin Skinner put his ’13 Cobra Jet on top in Stock Eliminator joined by Wes Leopold, Bethel Park, Pa., in Super Stock. Skinner went 1.061 seconds under his index followed by Paul Wong of Las Vegas. Leopold tripped the clocks in 8.537 second in his ’05 Stratus with Jim Evanuik and Paul Hellenberg close behind.
The day got under way with the annual Ford Dealers of Ohio Youth Career Day with more than 1500 young adults spending the day at National Trail Raceway and learning about the various careers in motorsports and the automotive industry. Guest speakers included representatives from Ford, Columbus State Community College, JEGS, Columbus Career Tech Education and NHRA.
Racing continues on Saturday at 8 a.m. with final qualifying and time trials. The day’s action is highlighted by the Moser Sportsman Shootout, heads-up class racing in Stock and Super Stock and the RFC Super Shootouts presented by Moser Engineering. Class racing gets underway at 8:30 a.m. followed by round 1 of the Moser Shootout at 1 p.m. Top Dragster, Top Sportsman and Comp each have a pair of qualifying runs set for 1:30 and 4 p.m.
The following are Friday’s results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals at National Trail Raceway:
COMP ELIMINATOR
1. Chuck Haubiel, Gahanna, Ohio, ’10 Cobalt, 8.267, -0.483
2. Todd Frantz, Louisville, Ky, ’08 Pontiac, 8.410, -0.470
3. Terry Smith, Liberty Township, Ohio, ’15 dragster, 6.618, -0.452
4. Ed Bennett III, Carleton, Mich., ’10 dragster, 6.489, -0.451
5. Todd Gardner, Tonawanda, N.Y., ’98 dragster, 9.326, -0.244
6. Scott Chamness, Kankakee, Ill., ’01 dragster, 7.010, -0.170
7. Jake Savani, McKeesport, Pa., ’95 Cutlass, 8.087, -0.163
8. Greg Tabler, Columbus, Ohio, ’97 dragster, 7.335, -0.025
9. Brian Seibenick, Toledo, Ohio, ’96 dragster, 8.942, 0.272
10. Rudd Kelly, Westerville, Ohio, ’04 Neon, 8.450, 0.890
SUPER STOCK
1. Wes Leopold, Bethel Park, Pa., ’05 Stratus, 8.537, -1.063
2. Jim Evanuik, North Versailles, Pa., ’98 Escort, 9.012, -0.988
3. Paul Hellenberg, Dry Ridge, Ky., ’05 Cavalier, 9.439, -0.961
4. Ray Paquet, Holt, Mich., ’64 Thunderbolt, 8.712, -0.938
5. Jerry Silveus, Van Buren, Ohio, ’05 Cavalier, 9.312, -0.938
6. Dan Kyle, Lawrenceburg, Ind., ’87 Firebird, 9.979, -0.921
7. Dave Dupps, Germantown, Ohio, ’08 Cobalt, 9.740, -0.910
8. Bill Rink, Naperville, Ill., ’74 Pontiac, 10.541, -0.909
9. Dan Jacobs, Elizabeth, Ind., ’05 Cavalier, 9.853, -0.897
10. Garrett Ghezzi, Dolton, Ill., ’69 AMX, 10.554, -0.896
STOCK ELIMINATOR
1. Kevin Skinner, Grove City, Ohio, ’13 Cobra Jet, 8.629, -1.061
2. Paul Wong, Las Vegas, Nev., ’86 Chevy, 12.618, -1.032
3. Steve Sullivan, West Chester, Ohio, ’88 Mustang, 11.849, -1.001
4. George Yago, Jefferson Hills, Pa., ’15 COPO Camaro, 10.214, -0.986
5. Nick Reiter, Warminster, Pa., ’71 Charger, 10.589, -0.961
6. Caleb McFarland, Manchester, Ohio, ’01 Formula, 9.996, -0.954
7. Jim Boburka, Coraoplois, Pa., ’15 COPO, 9.357, -0.943
8. Steve Novsel, Troy, Mich., ’15 COPO, 9.672, -0.928
9. Bob Michael, Lebanon, Ohio, ’77 Grand LeMans, 12.226, -0.924
10. George Antrobius, Bellbrook, Ohio, ’89 Camaro, 11.229, -0.921
TOP SPORTSMAN
1. Lester Johnson, Cynthiana, Ky., ’55 Belair, 6.510, 214.04
2. Dylan Stott, Columbus, N.C., ’67 Mustang, 6.601, 208.71
3. Jeffrey Barker, Kathleen, Ga., ’06 Cobalt, 6.683, 208.55
4. Mike Coughlin, Delaware, Ohio, ’13 Camaro, 6.803, 205.79
5. Marco Abruzzi, Warren, Ohio, ’68 Camaro, 6.822, 203.09
6. Mark McDonald, Boonville, Ind., ’67 Mustang, 6.976, 197.54
7. Jeff Sexton, Fairborn, Ohio, ’03 Cavalier, 6.994, 198.61
8. Kenny Snoops, Lost Creek, W.V., ’03 Grand Am, 7.418, 186.00
9. Tim Irwin, Portland, Ind., ’98 Lumina, 8.756, 161.23
TOP DRAGSTER
1. Tom Elliott, Brooks, Ky., 6.259, 219.33
2. Bryan Keller, Macedonia, Ohio, 6.268, 230.37
3. Dan Norris, Brighton, Mich., 6.294, 222.91
4. Justin Kirk, Lenore, W.V., 6.314, 221.20
5. Ashley Tidrick, Cynthiana, Ky., 6.323, 218.16
6. Lindsey Barker, Kathleen, Ga., 6.406, 210.14
7. Jim Prevo, Mundelein, Ill., 6.407, 209.98
8. Marco Abruzzi, Warren, Ohio, 6.429, 215.55
9. Tom Martino, Youngstown, Ohio, 6.472, 209.56
10. Mark Harmon, Sunman, Ind., 6.508, 211.86
