With the season winding down and the points being tallied, who is going to walk away with the season championship? Only one more race separates the winners from the losers as the year comes to a close. Will the StreetGlow boys come away with another new record? Will the final races come down to whose car stays together longest? Will Roel ever change his underwear? These things remain to be seen as the East Coast season wraps up and the racers prepare to come back West to the land of sunshine for the finals.
Pro RWD
George Ioannou and his StreetGlow Solara had no intentions of letting down his hometown crowd. The Clifton, New Jersey, native started off with a bang in Pro RWD by first getting the number one qualifying position ahead of teammate Ara Arslanian, then walking through the ranks and taking the win in the finals on his way to his first NHRA championship victory. The competition was tight and the event became a race of attrition as cars broke left and right. Gremlins had their way with Craig Paisley, Matt Hartford, Matt Scranton, and Abel Ibarra, as the qualifying rounds took their toll on the racers' machines. The final race pitted George against teammate Ara. As the twin Solaras lined up for the launch, Ara's car left before the light even came on, giving George the easy victory.
Pro FWD
Lisa Kubo came out to run her APC Saturn Ion Quad Coupe and nearly broke into the 7 second club with an 8.063-second pass in Round 1 eliminations. With these kinds of e.t.'s and competitor breakages, it looked like she was going to go all the way. That's when Nelson Hoyos and the Team Bothwell Cavalier decided enough was enough and put an end to Lisa's lucky streak. As the pair lined up for the final run, both cars launched hard, and with both teams having their eyes on the 7-second prize, there was to be no mercy. Lisa left first and led most of the way down the track, but that was until something went bad in the Ion, leaving Lisa limping across the finish line as Nelson blasted through the beams with an 8.264 @ 188.49 mph.
Modified
Vinny Ten has been around for a long time, but the idea of a clean victory in the Modified Class always eluded him. In the heavily Supra-dominated class, one problem or another has always kept the checkered flag out of his reach-until this weekend. His Supra held together both days until he had to face hot shoe John Shepard in his '91 Talon. Vinny let number two qualifier John do most of the work of eliminating the competition and saved his best for last when the two lined up for the final run of the day. Not only did Vinny take John to the cleaners for the class win, but his 7.714-second run at 177.32 mph earned him both the Modified Class elapsed time and speed records.
Hot Rod
The race for the low e.t. record in the Hot Rod class was like watching two dogs in a tub. Gary Gardella and his red Honda Civic became first driver in Hot Rod Class to turn in an 8.4-second run with an 8.459-second pass, but as it turned out, he wouldn't be the only one. "Party Hearty" Marty Ladwig wasn't about to let Gary have the honors and snatched it back with a 8.457-second timeslip, just two one-thousandths quicker. After Gary defeated Joe Demaree, and Marty finished off Paul Bhawan, the two met in the final round to see who would get their name in the books. Marty left the line hard with a .149 reaction time versus Gary's .372, but the little red Honda that could powered around the Pontiac in the end for the win and the class e.t. and speed records with a 8.454 @ 180.31.