Taylor Tops PX Qualifying with Record Run

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PETERSBURG, VA (May 21, 2010)—Chalk one up for the little guy. Or at least for the littler guy, as Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor made the quickest run in “doorslammer” history to lead Pro Extreme qualifying after the first day of the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III at Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP).Taylor, an automotive repair shop owner from Dickinson, Texas, covered the VMP eighth mile with his supercharged 2005 Corvette in 3.60 seconds at 208.71 mph to edge the 3.64 at 210.97 combination by His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar for the top spot. Also carrying number-one status into Saturday morning’s fourth and final qualifying session were Shannon Jenkins in Pro Nitrous, Gary White in Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle’s Ashley Owens and Bob Bertsch in Extreme Pro Stock.Taylor (above) said he knew as soon as he left the starting line that he was on a good pass, but after drifting close to the right guardwall and actually shutting down a little early he was shocked to see 3.60 flash across his scoreboard.“I actually thought it said 3.68, which was still pretty good because it would’ve backed up (within the required one percent) my earlier 3.65 for the record, but then my eyes focused a little better and I could see that zero on the end,” Taylor said. “That was sweet!”Former two-time Pro Extreme champion Jason Scruggs placed third at 3.66 seconds, with Taylor’s teammate “Wild Wes” Johnston fourth after making a 3.67 pass at a potential record 211.69 mph (if he also can back it up with another run within one percent of that speed). Joshua Hernandez in the debut of a new Fight Me MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) sponsorship rounded out the top five with a 3.69-seconds effort. It was all Al-Anabi Racing at the head of the Pro Nitrous list, with teammates Jenkins (above), Burton Auxier and Mike Castellana earning the top three positions. Jenkins, who also was celebrating his 56th birthday at the track, said his ’68 Camaro’s 3.87-seconds pass at 193.79 mph was all the track would give him today as a present.“It was a good day; any day you qualify number one is a good day,” the Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based veteran said. “We could’ve been better, but sometimes you’ve just got to be happy with what you’re given.”New Market, Alabama’s White (above), who also led Extreme 10.5 qualifying at the ADRL’s previous race last Month in Georgia, made his 4.00 seconds at 186.23-mph run of record in the opening round of qualifying Friday morning with his turbocharged, inline-six-cylinder 2007 Scion. The nitrous oxide-boosted ’02 Grand Am of Houston, Texas racer Jeff Naiser was second at 4.07, with Florida’s Michael Neal third after three sessions at 4.13 seconds in his supercharged, Hemi-powered ‘67 Chevy II.After opening with a class-leading 4.14-seconds blast, Owens sat out Friday’s second go round in the heat of the day, but returned with a 4.11 at 175.39 mph on his Fast by Gast Suzuki in the evening Pro Extreme Motorcycle show.“Riding for Paul (Gast) makes everything easier on me,” said Owens, who won the Georgia event in May in record-setting fashion. “It’s a new bike making a lot of horsepower, so everything is just clicking for us right now.”Canadian Terry Schweigert stepped up to place second with a 4.12 pass on his 2009 Suzuki, while Kim Morrell from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, became the ADRL’s quickest and fastest woman on two wheels with a 4.15-seconds run at 173.81 mph.Bertsch proved the racing surface was in good shape from the start as he rolled out of the trailer for round one and qualified with an Extreme Pro Stock track record 4.06 at 177.53 mph that stood up throughout the day. Following the Willis, Michigan-based driver and his ’07 Mustang were Elijah Morton at 4.07 and 176.86 mph and fellow North Carolinian Jeff Dobbins with a 4.08 at 176.33-mph pass.“We came out thinking we were conservative today,” Bertsch admitted later. “We just wanted to get a good run in and have something to work with and we hit it right on.”In the Pro Jr. Dragster class for eight- to 17-year-old drivers, in which qualifying is determined by reaction times, Manchester Kentucky’s Tyler Allen was one-thousandth of a second away from perfect with a .001 light to earn the provisional pole.The fourth and final qualifying session for all classes at the ADRL Speedtech U.S. Drags III is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday (May 22), with eliminations to follow.(ADRL/Richards photos)

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