Taylor’s Standout Day Leads Lists Of Qualifiers at CarSafe Dragpalooza

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BAYTOWN, TEXAS (March 25, 2011) - Frankie Taylor’s 2010 season in the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) ended in remarkable championship fashion.His 2011 season in the ADRL is off to a good start as well.Racing at his hometown track, Taylor, the 2010 World Champion in Pro Extreme, picked up right where he left off last October, going 3.674 at 206.76 miles per hour at Royal Purple Raceway to grab the top qualifying spot in a star-studded Pro Extreme field at ADRL CarSafe Dragpalooza VII presented by LenMar Motorsports.“To get that No. 1, we’re pretty excited,” said Taylor, who also won a race at RPR in 2010. “To go back-to-back here would be great, and to win here in front of friends and family, it would be really special again.“But this car has a lot more in it.”Taylor certainly grabbed everyone’s attention at the first race of the 2011 ADRL Tour, but he wasn’t alone.In Pro Nitrous, Jim Halsey was the best during an incredible third qualifying session under the lights, going 3.83 to go to No. 1. Dan Millen righted the ship on his third attempt in Extreme 10.5, as his 3.87 bumped him to No. 1.Ashley Owens is currently No. 1 in Pro Extreme Motorcycle with a 4.07, while Pete Berner’s 4.06 leads Extreme Pro Stock.The fourth and final qualifying session for Dragpalooza takes place Saturday morning.Taylor went 3.70 during the afternoon qualifying session, upping that performance in the cooler evening conditions hours later.Several other drivers performed well during the third qualifying session as well, with Gaylen Smith (3.704) and J.R. Todd, who had a class-best 207.24 mph, (3.707) moving to second and third, respectively.But Taylor was on top of his game as he appeared sharp coming off a winter of competing in the Arabian Drag Racing League in Qatar for the first time.“I definitely got a lot of experience in the 10.5 car and the Pro Extreme car, too,” said Taylor, who is also second in XTF qualifying. “I did a lot of laps over there and I feel like we’re mid-season (form) right now.”After a year filled with struggles, Halsey’s 2011 got off to a better start, with his 3.83 at a class-best 197.31 mph standing as the prime example.Still Halsey, who went 3.79 in a testing session earlier this month, thinks there’s more in his ‘69 Camaro.“It felt like a good run, but it could have been even better,” Halsey said. “It could have been an .81. We just missed it, but we’ll take it. We’re making small moves on the car and it’s responded very well.“It’s nice to see it doing what we want it to do.”It responded in the third qualifying round, as did several other cars in what ended up as a thrilling session.Seven cars ended up in the 3.80s, with Mahana Al-Naimi (3.842), Doug Riesterer (3.843) and Mike Castellana (3.859) all hot on the heels of Halsey.“It’s good racing for the fans,” Halsey said.It took two sessions for Millen to find his rhythm - and even make it down the track - but the defending Extreme 10.5 champion responded like most expected, as he went a 3.874 at 202.91 mph to take command of a class he has dominated since September.“We got the car from Qatar and we didn’t really have a chance to test,” Millen said. “It was a time crunch and we made a couple mistakes. We were still getting everybody in sync and we didn’t want to do something dumb.”After not running in the first session, Millen said everyone forgot something minor before a second pass where he broke on the launch.All of that was corrected hours later, but not without some trepidation.“I was nervous. These cars are so on the edge, it was nice to make a pass like that,” Millen said. “Now that we have that in, I’m a lot more relieved. We’ll see what we need to change, and see if we can repeat this or maybe improve.”He’ll need to, as Taylor went 3.91 to sit second. Lamar Swindoll Jr. perhaps opened the most eyes, going 3.95 at 202.33 mph driving teammate Todd Moyer’s old Cavalier.In Extreme Pro Stock, Pete Berner started his year motivated, going 4.066 on his first pass of the day.Two other drivers - the two-car team of Cary (4.088) and Dean Goforth (4.090) - reached the 4.0s, but Berner was the clear standout on Friday.“I’m pretty excited,” Berner said. “The track’s in great shape and it took whatever we gave it. All in all, we’re just trying to keep the consistency. We have the power and the car is really starting to come into its own. We’re trying to get everything to click.”With a loaded field, Berner won’t remain content and has big goals for Saturday.“Our runs corrected to a 4.01 and two 4.02s, so that’s where we would like to get,” Berner said. “The car definitely has it in it, we’re just focusing on having more fun. We just want to have a good time.”Ashley Owens started his 2011 in a familiar position - the No. 1 qualifying spot in Pro Extreme Motorcycle.He debuted a new bike from Fast by Gast owner Paul Gast and made huge strides on each pass. His day started with a 4.18, shrank to a 4.10 and ended with a 4.07 at 177.95 mph and a happy Gast. “There’s things we have to adjust, but for us to get a 4.07 (on Friday), I like that,” Gast said. “We haven’t seen the end of it this weekend. I think we can get better than that, but we’re happy, especially with that mph.”?It was the first race for Owens, the 2010 ADRL Driver of the Year, since a post-season wreck in the finals of a race.But Gast didn’t see Owens hold anything back on Friday.“I’m sure there was a little anxiety, but I wasn’t worried,” Gast said. “He got back on the horse and didn’t look like he missed a beat. I’m quite pleased.”Kim Morrell is No. 2 with a 4.12, while Terry Schweigert’s 4.13 puts him in third.Cole Burk had a perfect reaction time of .00 to go to the top spot in Pro Junior Dragster. The fourth qualifying session begins at 11 a.m. with eliminations to follow.(Photos by ADRL/Richards)BAYTOWN, Texas—Results Friday after qualifying for the ADRL Carsafe Dragpalooza VII presented by LenMar at Royal Purple Raceway, First of 9 events in the American Drag Racing League. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations. Pro Extreme— 1. Frankie Taylor, Chevy Corvette, 3.674, 206.76; 2. Gaylen Smith, Corvette, 3.704, 204.39; 3. JR Todd, Chevy Bel Air, 3.707, 207.24; 4. Alex Hossler, Chevy Camaro, 3.719, 206.16; 5. Jason Hamstra, Plymouth Duster, 3.722, 208.62; 6. Mick Snyder, Corvette, 3.725, 205.63; 7. Von Smith, Camaro, 3.726, 204.57; 8. Joey Martin, Chevy Nomad, 3.733, 202.21; 9. Joshua Hernandez, Bel Air, 3.734, 204.63; 10. Bubba Stanton, Corvette, 3.735, 202.24; 11. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 3.758, 206.76; 12. KH Al-Thani, Camaro, 3.843, 202.67; 13. Terry Leggett, Ford Mustang, 3.856, 195.87; 14. Quain Stott, Corvette, 3.879, 200.00; 15. Neal Wantye, Mustang, 3.907, 196.30; 16. Alex Viscardi, Ford Shelby, 3.990, 191.38. Not Qualified: 17. John Stanley, 3.998, 189.10; 18. Jason Scruggs, 4.009, 197.94; 19. Todd Martin, 4.031, 181.96; 20. Mike Janis, 4.112, 164.59; 21. Bill Windham, 4.797, 148.44; 22. Shawn Davis, 4.997, 103.00. Pro Nitrous— 1. Jim Halsey, Chevy Camaro, 3.837, 197.31; 2. Mahana Al-Naemi, Camaro, 3.842, 196.07; 3. Doug Riesterer, Camaro, 3.843, 191.24; 4. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 3.859, 196.24; 5. Pat Stoken, Camaro, 3.881, 196.30; 6. Rickie Jones, Camaro, 3.886, 195.25; 7. Khalid Al-Balooshi, Camaro, 3.895, 195.93; 8. Jeff Naiser, Camaro, 3.917, 191.05; 9. John Decerbo, Camaro, 3.950, 188.28; 10. Lee Adkins, Camaro, 3.962, 188.67; 11. Bob Rahaim, Camaro, 3.983, 187.70; 12. Robert Mathis, Camaro, 4.018, 185.28; 13. Stan Allen, Camaro, 4.143, 182.01; 14. John Hall, Camaro, 4.216, 174.10; 15. Burton Auxier, Camaro, 4.348, 133.53; 16. Dan Stevenson, Camaro, 4.741, 164.33. Not Qualified: 17. Blake Housley, 5.114, 100.26; 18. Chris Patrick, 5.257, 96.05; 19. Terry Housley, 5.343, 96.66; 20. Jim Laurita, 6.359, 73.20. Extreme 10.5— 1. Dan Millen, Ford Mustang, 3.874, 202.91; 2. Frankie Taylor, Chevy Camaro, 3.918, 199.97; 3. Lamar Swindell Jr., Camaro, 3.954, 202.33; 4. Billy Glidden, Mustang, 4.067, 178.90; 5. Todd Moyer, Chevy Corvette, 4.163, 176.70; 6. Jimmy Blackmon, Pontiac Firebird, 4.179, 186.38; 7. Eric Stubbs, Corvette, 4.242, 188.73; 8. Michelle Wilson, Firebird, 4.269, 178.35; 9. Michael Neal, Chevy Nova, 4.319, 178.85; 10. Chris Shortridge, Camaro, 4.505, 166.70. Pro Extreme Motorcycle— 1. Ashley Owens, Suzuki, 4.071, 178.12; 2. Kim Morrell, Suzuki, 4.122, 171.69; 3. Terry Schweigert, Suzuki, 4.137, 173.41; 4. Eric McKinney, Suzuki, 4.150, 174.66; 5. Charlie Prophit, Suzuki, 4.174, 171.23; 6. Carlos Wilkerson, Suzuki, 4.178, 171.73; 7. Nathan Murray, Suzuki, 4.234, 168.05; 8. Broderick Jackson, Suzuki, 4.271, 168.75; 9. Shane Eperjesi, Suzuki, 4.291, 165.25; 10. Derrick Holloway, Suzuki, 4.295, 169.57; 11. Paul Gast, Suzuki, 4.335, 169.93; 12. Chuck Wilburn, Suzuki, 4.367, 161.94; 13. Jeff House, Suzuki, 4.440, 161.23; 14. Benji Gibson, Suzuki, 4.469, 158.82; 15. Jason Hamilton, Suzuki, 4.590, 135.47; 16. Blaine Hale, Suzuki, 5.781, 116.22. Extreme Pro Stock— 1. Pete Berner, Pontiac GXP, 4.066, 177.74; 2. Cary Goforth, Chevy Cobalt, 4.088, 176.65; 3. Dean Goforth, GXP, 4.090, 176.90; 4. Richie Stevens Jr, Ford Mustang, 4.103, 175.94; 5. John Montecalvo, Cobalt, 4.106, 176.84; 6. Brian Gahm, Mustang, 4.116, 176.14; 7. Scott Hintz, Mustang, 4.122, 176.26; 8. Elijah Morton, Ford ZX2, 4.123, 174.89; 9. Bert Jackson, Pontiac GTO, 4.130, 175.25; 10. Steven Boone, Cobalt, 4.138, 175.09; 11. Larry O’Brien, Dodge Avenger, 4.138, 174.96; 12. Brad Waddle, Mustang, 4.141, 175.21; 13. Cale Aronson, Mustang, 4.146, 174.53; 14. Richard Penland, Mustang, 4.153, 174.44; 15. Tony Pontieri, Cobalt, 4.162, 173.21; 16. Bob Bertsch, Mustang, 4.166, 174.93. Not Qualified: 17. Doug Kirk, 4.177, 174.73; 18. Trevor Eman, 4.182, 175.05; 19. Lester Cooper, 4.219, 171.40; 20. Todd Moyer, 4.612, 122.36; 21. Greg Lair, 5.443, 93.12. Pro Junior Dragster— 1. Cole Burk, Hardens, 7.933, 77.02; 2. Ashton Call, RPC, 8.404, 83.57; 3. Corey Tankersley, HalfScale, 7.964, 82.50; 4. Alexis Heard, HalfScale, 9.066, 69.42; 5. Morgan Benfield, Motivat, 8.001, 81.26; 6. Tyler Allen, Halfscale, 8.824, 74.95; 7. Kendall Thiesse, HalfScale, 8.081, 69.85; 8. Trevor Wilson, Hardens, 7.849, 85.09; 9. Jordin Dewald, RPC, 7.866, 81.81; 10. Alexander Oppen, Hercules, broke; 11. Victoria Stallings, Halfscale, 7.972, 84.11; 12. Kyle Dvorak, Spitzer, broke; 13. Kaley Allen, HalfScale, 7.909, 83.97; 14. Tia Tutterow, Halfscale, 8.036, 81.43.

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