Loud rumblings radiated from inside Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the much-awaited GM Performance NHRA Sport Compact Nationals. Four months removed from its original run date in March, which was cancelled due to an unusual desert downpour, the flurry of wild NHRA spectators, bikini contestants, and drag racing's finest finally combined to make the nationals the livest show in town-even Celine Dion heard the noise from Caesars Palace and stopped short of another glass-breaking "My Heart Will Go On" rendition to heed the reverberation of open headers and whizzing turbos. The event garnered unprecedented quarter-mile timeslips, making the 1 a.m. Final Rounds as worthwhile as another trip to Aladdin's Spice Market Buffet, and helping us forget our video blackjack woes. And though Top Hat was as cruel as the July heat, the track was too kind to the likes of Papadakis, Hoyos, and Febus, giving them wins in their respective categories. While they ripped it on the track, the bikini contestants showed their blatant disregard for restrictive clothing, ripping open their shirts and revealing their bikinis on the Sony Xplod Stylefest stage in front of fanatical NHRA devotees and bikini enthusiasts alike. Emanating strange smells of B.O. and Rolling Rock, the crowd eventually parted to expose an array of Nevada show cars that featured everything from Decah vertical doors to Street Glow neon. The event was past due, but it was definitely worth the wait.
Pro RWD
Papadakis owned The Strip. Running consistent low 7s in Eliminations and blasting his first career 6-second pass in the Final Round of the Pro RWD class, Mr. Clean earned his third career NHRA Sport Compact victory. Of course, the mechanical problems of Matt Scranton's Turbonetics Toyota Celica also helped Steph get the microwave-friendly trophy. His pass also put him in the Summit Sport Compact 200-mph club, flashing down the quarter mile at 200.56 mph. According to people who have experienced a 200-mph run, the ride is as scary as Larry Flynt winning the California gubernatorial election. Other Pro RWD racers who tried but miserably failed to compete were Adam Saruwatari, who seems to be going nowhere fast in his Acura NSX, Abel Ibarra and his Mazda RX-7, and Grant Downing and his Toyota Tundra. The Street Glow twins and crowd favorites, George Ioannou and Ara Arslanian, both failed to reach the Final Round, as Ara eliminated George in Round 1 and redlighted against Matt Scranton in Round 2.
Pro FWD
Bothwell Motorsports' Chevrolet Cavalier, piloted by Nelson Hoyos, dominated the Pro FWD category. He destroyed Jarrod Silvers' Honda Civic in Round 1 Eliminations and received luck from the fortune Gods by running a competiton-free Final Round, as Charles Madrid's Boost Mobil Honda CRX broke before staging. In fact, it seemed every Pro FWD driver broke during the weekend. Super Street favorite and vest-slinger Christian Rado and his World Racing Toyota Celica, along with Jerold Rhodes and his Honda CRX, both broke during their burnouts in Round 1, and Shaun Carlson's Mopar Dodge Neon SRT-4 missed the staging call against Charles' CRX due to motor problems. All Nelson had to do was say, "Ha, ha!" and point to his opponents, notching up more points to become the Pro FWD points leader after his Final Round 8.404 @ 181.69 mph flyby.