BRANCACCIO DRUMS T/F FIELD
Bob Malloy’s 72-hour odyssey began with this Friday night pass on which the 186-inch power plant disintegrated necessitating an all-night thrash. A one-shot 6.99/194 qualified the Marylander thirteenth but, in the opening round against Steve Stordeur, Malloy uncorked a 6.34/201 track record! Malloy worked his way to the final for the event’s Cinderella story but a redlight in the money round was followed by another massive explosion as Brancaccio cruised to a 6.52/213 win.
Larry “Drums” Brancaccio wasn’t the quickest or fastest of the 16 Top Fuel bikes that made up the field at Gateway International Raceway. Defending World Champ Mike Romine qualified on the pole with a 6.366 clocking and veteran Steve Stordeur blistered the track with a speed of 222.40 in qualifying, but the race doesn’t always go to the quickest or the fastest and that was the case in the Top Fuel Bike field at this event.
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Larry “Drums” Brancaccio scored the ninetieth event victory of his illustrious career by ripping through the sixteen-bike Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel with a best of 6.40/214. Riding for the new Mitch Marlowe team this season, Drums hit the best Reaction Time of TF with a brilliant 0.010 RT in the second round over ex-teammate Tak Shigematsu and assumed the point lead after the surprising early-round losses of Doug Vancil and defending event and World Champ Mike Romine. The New Jerseyite dropped thirty-year veteran Bob Malloy’s machine in the final round. |
Defending series points champ and No. 1 qualifier Mike Romine lost in the second round to J. Sternotti when he lost traction on a hot and tricky race track. Current points leader Doug Vancil also had traction problems in the first round of eliminations and lost to Japan’s T Shigematsu in the first round. No. 2 qualifier Tommy Grimes also went out in the first round losing to Canadian rider Kevin Boyer, leaving the field open for eventual winner Brancaccio.
While most of his peers were having a lot of difficulty negotiating the right lane all day Sunday the Brancaccio team’s tuner demonstrated his tuning expertise in the quarter-finals. Shigematsu had lane choice because of the ET from his first round win and the team chose to put the Brancaccio team in the right lane. That move had no effect on the Brancaccio team and their tuner told DRO’s Bret Kepner that he would move his bike out of the groove and it should run a 6.45 ET. Shigematsu had immediate problems while in the other lane Brancaccio motored to a 6.469/208 for the win.
The final round matched up the 13th qualifier, Maryland racer Bob Malloy, who had taken out major hitters Steve Stordeur, Bill Furr, and J. Sternotti to get to the finals. Unfortunately Malloy couldn’t make the call for the final round and Larry “Drums” Brancaccio who was in his second straight AHDRA Top Fuel final round singled for the win and the points lead.