HAAS SETS IHBA RECORDS
No, it wasn't Jerry Haas, but John Haas who drove Lou Osman's "Speed Sport Special" to a 258.50-mph run during the International Hot Boat Association's Nitro Nationals at Red Bluff, CA. They also set the e.t. record with a 4.640.
Seen above, left to right, are Lou Osman, John Haas, and tuner "Famous" Amos Satterlee. See our complete coverage of the event as the Lead Story. (James Drew photos) [6-2-2006]
BRACKET CHAMPS AT 'THE ROCK'
Chuck Martin of Connelly Springs, NC, Michael Beard of Seagrove and Steve Alford of Angier were the winners during the annual Ironman Memorial Day Bracket Championships at Steve Earwood’s Rockingham Dragway. An Ironman trophy like those presented to event winners on the IHRA eMax tour were awarded on each of the three days in a runoff between the day’s Top Eliminator and Footbrake champions.
Martin drove his dragster to Saturday’s Top Eliminator title over Lee Ashe of Jonesville, SC, in a double breakout final round. He then beat Saturday Footbrake champion Graham
Burch and his Richlands-based 1968 Chevy Nova to claim the first Ironman. The other two went to Footbrakers Beard and Alford, who won on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
In addition to Martin, whose march to victory included a perfect run in the quarter final round, Top Eliminator winners were Danny Waters Sr. of LaGrange (Sunday) and Wendell Kinard of Greenwood, S.C., who used a .003 of a second reaction time to beat Greg Smith of Hodges, S.C., by just .012 of a second on Monday.
On Saturday, Martin had a perfect reaction time (.000) and then drove his dragster through the eighth-mile timers in 4.940 seconds, duplicating his target number (dial-in). That allowed him to advance at the expense of Kenton Fulk of Broadway, Va., who put up an otherwise impressive .020 package.
Closest final round of the weekend was that between Beard and Derek Harris of McLeansville for the Saturday Footbrake title. Beard got just a wisp of a lead at the start with a .023 reaction time to Harris’s .026 and then drove his 1980 Plymouth Volare to time of 7.355 seconds on a 7.340 dial-in while Harris was running 7.417 on a 7.400 with his 1977 Chevy Nova. That made the margin of victory .005 of a second.
Jr. Dragster winners were Grayson Lister of Taylors, SC (Saturday), Nicole Phillips of Sumter, SC (Sunday) and Morgan Tedder of Marston (Monday). [6-2-2006]