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The
Speed Unlimited 1/8 mile ET Series
got started June 12 in both Mod and
Top ET. The new format of having a
1/4 mile and a 1/8 mile series in
one season, gives racers in Top and
Mod two shots at a points
championship. Some racers who may
have considered themselves “out of
it” in the 1/4 mile series got a
fresh start, and several racers made
the most of it. The 1/8 mile season
kicked off with a $5K Double Header
in Top ET. Another solid field of
124 racers made the call in Top
between the two races. Racing was on
a fast and furious pace when Mother
Nature stepped in and delivered a
thunder shower that completely
soaked the track. But the crew at
MIR wouldn’t be deterred, the track
drying began even as the rain still
came down, and the crew had the
majority of the standing water off
the track when the last raindrops
fell. The rain lasted nearly an
hour, but the track was dry in just
over two from the time the rain
started. With eliminations not yet
complete in any class, racing picked
back up at a frantic pace to try to
get all racing in.
After the rain was over, the first
race in Top ET picked back up in
round 6 with 8 cars remaining. Three
quick rounds later, Mickey Nelson
was the race winner in ’05 Racecraft
dragster. Mickey used some
consistent lights in the late rounds
to make his charge to the winner’s
circle. He had a .012 light average
in the last 5 rounds of the race,
including a .011 in the finals
against Dennis King. King, who was
.024 on the tree, wasn’t able to run
down Nelson, when both racers went 2
over their dials. Charles Link and
Wesley Washington Jr. were the semi
finalists.
The second race got started late in
the night, and racers knew it was
going to be tough to finish. The
racing went into the early morning,
but the second race was only able to
complete the 5th round. Five racers
made it through including Todd
Nebel, Kevin Roof, Duane Allen,
Charles Link, and EJ Parker. At the
end of the day the chase for the
Mean 15 in Top is very congested
with 13 racers tied for 10th place
with 100 points. Of the 22 racers
currently in or tied for the top 15,
only 3 are also in the mean 15 in
the 1/4 mile series including, EJ
Parker, Kevin Roof and Mike Nelson
Jr. Included in the new comers to
top 15 is Charles Link, who on his
two deep runs into eliminations is
the points leader. Link currently
sits 34th in points in the 1/4mile
series. Second and third place are
anchored down by Mickey Nelson, who
sits in a tie for 19th in the ¼ mile
series and Dennis King who sits tied
for 65th in the ¼ mile series. All
three guys made a big move in the
opening weekend, hopefully getting
them a shot at a championship that
may have been out of reach in the ¼
mile series.
Mod ET also started their second
season June 12th. Steve Witherow
from Sumerduck, VA picked up the win
over Bart Spicer giving him the
early season points lead. Witherow
had some great lights in the final
rounds to get himself to the
winner’s circle in his trusty Vega.
Witherow had a .032, .013, and .016
light in the quarter’s, semi’s and
finals respectively. It was the
light that made the difference in
the finals, as both Witherow and
Spicer both ran dead-on in the
final. Witherow got the advantage
with his .016 to Spicer’s .028 and
was able to take just .005 stripe
picking up the win over Spicer’s
dead-on with a 1 run. The win gave
Witherow a head start in the points
and may make him a regular at MIR as
he also sits in that tie for 10th in
Top. Nicole Talbert and Joe Goldey
were the semi-finalists also giving
them a boost to start the series
off. With just one race in the
books, the points are still very
tight, with 13 guys tied for the all
important 15th position in points.
Unlike Top and Mod, Junior Dragster
and Motorcycle will run just one
continuous points series for the
entire season. Junior Dragster
points are really starting to take
shape. Robert Estevez has stretched
his lead to just over 3 rounds over
Reese Masiello. Jason Parker and
Heather Schneider are tied for 3rd
and 7 rounds behind the leader.
Jacob Mattera started the day on the
bubble in 15th place in points but 6
rounds later he was in the final
against Ray Snoots. Mattera got the
holeshot with a stellar .016 to
Snoots’ .082. Snoots got to the
stripe first by just .001 but broke
out .002 to do it, handing the win
to Mattera, moving Jacob into 10th.
Josh Phelps and David Saunders were
the semi-finalists. Good showings
for them really helped them in the
points. Phelps jumped from 13th to
11th and Saunders got back into the
Mean 15, moving from 17th to 15th,
knocking Blair Buckler 1 round out
of the 15th position. Tony Buckler
came away with the win in Motorcycle
over points leader Shayne Proctor.
Buckler made a nice jump in the
points moving from 5th to 3rd with
his win. The bikes switched to the
1/8th mile after the rain. In the
final Buckler got the holeshot, .040
to .095 forcing Proctor to break out
by just .001, 5.639 on 5.64 dial,
getting to the stripe first.
The 1/8th mile Speed Unlimited ET
Series picks up again on July 3 with
normal ET Series event. Then back to
¼ mile series on July 24th, during
the East Coast Door Warz. July wraps
up with a non points event Jimmy
Jones Memorial 10K on Wednesday July
28 and finally July 31 with the Mod
ET 2K Double Header which will count
towards the 1/8th mile points
series.
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