Rickie Jones Makes Impressive XPS Debut

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Rickie Jones didn’t waste any time making an impact in Extreme Pro Stock.In his first run on Friday at ADRL Simpson Dragstock VII - which came in the second qualifying session - Jones went 179.59 miles per hour, making it the fastest run in XPS history.He hasn’t been able to back it up yet to set a world speed record in XPS, but Jones, a former Pro Stock driver, certainly impressed with that run.“That’s the first run I’ve ever made in a big-motor car,” Jones said. “I was just holding on and having fun.”Heading into eliminations of Dragstock VII, which were postponed last weekend due to rain, the 23-year-old Jones is the No. 14 qualifier and will have a difficult matchup with Cary Goforth in the first round.That elimination matchup is scheduled to come at the Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags IV on Sept. 24-25, where Jones will also have the chance to back up his speed to get the record.Jones was driving Mark Martino’s Titan Motorsports XPS car and he enjoyed the opportunity to do so.But Martino will likely be back in his car at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH for the Ohio Drags since Martino currently sits in fifth place in the points standings and will want to maintain his position for the “Battle For The Belts.”Nonetheless, Jones was impressed with the XPS class in ADRL.Brian Gahm is the No. 1 qualifier heading into eliminations for Dragstock, running a 4.062. Pete Berner is right behind at 4.064 and Cary Goforth follows with a 4.074.On Jones’ blistering 179.59 mph run, the Galesburg, IL native went 4.164.“These guys (in the ADRL) are really squeezing almost everything out of these cars,” Rickie said. “These guys are out here running 4.07 and 4.08s. I could have done a little bit better job shifting and hopefully I will improve on that. We had something left in the run, so I think we can run with them.”It was a whirlwind turn of events for Jones, who flew out last Friday morning and was rushed to the track to get in the car for the second qualifying session.But Jones, who spent the last three years racing in Pro Stock, will likely become a more permanent fixture on the ADRL scene.Rickie’s father, Rick, has indicated he plans to start an ADRL team in the near future.He didn’t indicate whether it would be in XPS or another ADRL class, but that is another interesting development looking ahead to 2011.

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