Al-Anabi, Independents star at ADRL World Finals V

In the world of professional drag racing, the teams with the most money to spend usually win the championships and big races, but once in a great while the self-financed independent racer defies the odds and the racing gods and wins the big one.

At the ADRL’s unique season ending World Finals which in two days hosts both the 2009 Championships and the first race of the 2010 season ADRL fans got the best of both Worlds when Al-Anabi teams Khalid Al Balooshi absolutely dominated the Pro Nitrous  category with a rare double win taking home both the Championship Belt and the “Minuteman” as the winner of the first Pro Nitrous race of the ADRL’s 2010 season.

On the other hand, privateer racer Alex Hossler of Canton, Ill., took it to a field filled with heavily sponsored teams to win his first National Guard ADRL Pro Extreme event.

To say he wrung everything he could from his race car is an understatement as he crossed the finish line in memorable fashion, with the engine in his ’70 Camaro exploding and bursting into flames while recording a 3.73/202.48 pass that beat former champ Quain Stott in the final round. 

In fact, qualifying and eliminations in all five of the ADRL classes at the World Finals were rife with great racing, heartbreaks, and surreal performances -- which is what the ADRL fans have come to expect. Aside from Pro Nitrous and Extreme Pro Mod, rookie Extreme 10.5 racer Chuck Ulsch was a winner as was Scott Gray in Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Cary Goforth in Extreme Pro Stock. Morgan Benfield, Virginia Beach, Va., was winner of the exhibition Pro Jr. Dragster class.

Photo courtesy ADRL

Khalid Al Balooshi (Joe McHugh photo)