Payne picks up first win of season at Virginia Motorsports Park
RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 12) -- Veteran racer Jay Payne became the seventh winner of the JEGS ProMod Challenge season Sunday by beating first-time finalist Scott Ray in the money round of the third annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.
It was the first win of the season for the 2006 series champion and it stole some of the attention away from a nip-and-tuck championship battle between reigning titlist Josh Hernandez and Tony Pontieri, who are now just 20 points apart in the JEGS points with one race left.
"This is our first final this year so it feels great to be back in the heat of the action," Payne said. "I know I can't catch Hernandez and Pontieri and that is a little discouraging... [Read More]
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Her 309.98 speed still fastest in 1000-foot competition
RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 12, 2008 -- Melanie Troxel and the R2B2 Racing team left Virginia Motorsports Park Sunday with her best elapsed time in a Funny Car (4.407 seconds), the category's fastest 1000-foot speed (309.98 mph), and quarterfinal to series point leader Tim Wilkerson.
Her qualifying performance was stellar and she began competition by beating Gary Scelzi. Troxel had the better reaction time (.082 to .123) and lit the win light first in 4.604 seconds at 305.91 mph to Scelzi's 4.106 at 295.21.
But tire spin against Wilkerson slowed her car to a 4.491 at 264.65 mph while he ran 4.109 at 302.28.
"We were glad to get a round win," said Troxel. "We have made improvements over the last three... [Read More]
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Big win puts Pedregon back in the championship mix
Richmond, Sunday: Advance Auto Parts Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon picked the perfect time to score his first victory of the 2008 season, charging back into the thick of the POWERade championship chase with a huge win Sunday at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Racing with his title hopes in the balance, the 1992 world champ delivered like a professional, claiming the No. 1 qualifying position with the quickest 1,000-foot run in drag racing history and converting it into his 24th career win Sunday to zoom to within 69 points of leader Tim Wilkerson, whom Pedregon beat in the semifinals.
"I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep tonight because I want to enjoy this moment so much," said Pedregon, whose last win came two and a half... [Read More]
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Neff out in first round
Richmond, Va. (10-12-08) -- Rookie of the Year frontrunner Mike Neff and his Old Spice team were bitten by the tricky track bug as they uncharacteristically shook at the hit of the throttle in their first round race with Ron Capps. Neff was disappointed about the loss but also frustrated that he didn’t take advantage of his strong qualifying effort.
“What’s disappointing for this week is to be running as good as we were and the thing just shook. Something happened in the first round today that hardly ever happens to us. It was just bad timing. We should have made a good run there to help our own cause and move up in the points. Running good in qualifying is one thing but Sundays is when it counts. I am confident with the way the car has been running,” said Neff.
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