Brounkowski, Lombardo Win at Thunder Valley

Words by Eric Lotz

David Brounkowski (Joe McHugh file photo)

David Brounkowski collected his first Top Alcohol Dragster victory in two years in a thrilling final against Mark Taliaferro, and John Lombardo Jr. earned his second win of the season in Top Alcohol Funny Car for this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Thunder in the Heartland event at Thunder Valley Raceway Park, Noble, Oklahoma.

With an excellent .038 reaction time, Brounkowski got the jump on Taliaferro, who had a not-bad .062, and won by a few feet, 5.409 to 5.402. "I never saw him the whole way, but then I never look," said Brounkowski. "The sides of the car are so high that you can't see anybody unless they're way out there ahead of you." He never noticed his win-light, either. "I'm too busy driving the car to look," he said.

Brounkowski's semifinal match with Randy Meyer was nearly as close. Meyer was off the mark first in that race, Brounkowski came around him to win by two-hundredths of a second, 5.37 to 5.42, and both drivers got out of their cars not knowing if they'd won or lost. Even Brounkowski's first-round match was a tight one; he edged two-time 2012 Lucas Oil regional event winner and incoming Central Region points leader Gord Gingles, 5.40 to 5.45.

Taliaferro was just as consistent, with a 5.39 in a first-round win over Alan Bradshaw and a 5.34 (low e.t.) in the semifinals against No. 1 qualifier James Thompson. The field was so competitive that both finalists came from the bottom half; Brounkowski ran a 5.415 for the No. 5 spot and Taliaferro a 5.418 for No. 6.