BUSTIN’ LOOSE
Eighteen years of Spring Break fever has seen a lot of things come and go, but this was a year that was a little different than most. New faces emerged replacing older ones that were missed, but the end result was the same: there were lots of memories to go around.
That was evident right off the bat in Pro as just one of the drivers in the field of six raced at this same event last year. With everyone struggling to get a handle on the track surface, defending class champ David Schoor (shown) was the only one to dip into the sixes as he posted a 6.881 at 197.36 to lead the pack.
Ray Conover of Douglas, WY, followed in second with a 7.22 with Jimmy Keen, Tedd Amandes, Trevor Eman and Tony Lobaldo rounding out the field.
 Trevor Eman had his hands full keeping his Escort ZX-2 under control. Teammate Bert Kelkboom drives a similar car in IHRA Pro Stock. |
Eliminations started in dramatic fashion when Eman’s mountain motor nitrous car got loose past the thousand-foot mark in the right lane while running against Jerry Conover. The fans got to see both sides of the popular Aruba-sponsored entry as the driver pulled the chutes and fought hard to rein the car in. While both ends of the car wound up kissing the opposite wall, the driver was safe and the car left the track in good enough shape to race again another day.
Conover escaped unscathed to take the win light. Schoor got by Lobaldo while Amandes also advanced in his camouflage-colored 1995 Mustang when Keen didn’t show.
In the semifinals of Pro, Amandes turned up the boost and ran a 7.271 when Conover redlighted against him as Schoor cruised on to the finals with an easy 10.211 ET. That set up an interesting final round as Schoor, who would normally be regarded as a heavy favorite, hadn’t gotten out of the eight’s all day. Amandes, on the other hand, had lane choice and was running quicker with his twin turbo car every time he went down the track. Would this be an upset? Not this particular Sunday! Schoor nailed the tree with a .020 light and was headed toward victory with a .216 starting line advantage in his back pocket, when the car started to drift out of the groove. Schoor lifted and Amandes closed the gap, so it was a brand new race to the finish line. At the stripe, it was Schoor with a 7.226 to a 7.484 decision for his first victory of the year.