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Something Old, Something Borrowed, Something Driven
Daily and Something Blue Crack MMP Winner's Circle
(April 22, 2006) -- It wasn't a wedding, but the Capital City Nationals
April 22-23 at Montgomery MotorSports Park had a little of
everything. Mark White of Atmore, Alabama led things off with a Saturday
night Pro ET win in a Chevy II he had borrowed from his uncle Shelby White
when Mark's car broke before first round. White took out the always
dangerous Luke Bogacki of Woodville, AL in the finals. White dialed a 6.39
and ran his number with a 6.397 at 105.53 miles per hour. Bogacki dialed a
4.85 but ran a 4.866 at 137.91 miles per hour in a losing cause. Tracy
Sons of Hendersonville, TN and Scott Richardson of Springfield, TN were
the semi-finalists on Saturday.
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Saturday Pro ET Winner Mark White (orange
t-shirt), shaking hands with Bob Carney of George Howard Racing) |
Sunday Pro Et Winner Stacy Carpenter (back
row, far right) |
The something "Blue" was the rear-engine dragster of heavy hitter
Stacy Carpenter of Jackson, AL, who outdueled Jeremy Hancock of
Commerce, Georgia in the Sunday Pro ET finals. Carpenter dialed a 5.12
and ran a 5.152 at 127.98 miles per hour, but made it stick with a hole
shot over Hancock, who dialed a 4.91 but ran a 5.147 at 137.80 miles per
hour. Defending NHRA Super Stock Champ Hugh Meeks III of Wetumpka (AL)
and Kenny Gray of Opelika (AL) were the Sunday semi-finalists. The
Capital City Nationals featured an all-star cast of about 170 pro cars,
just missing the 200 level at which promoter George Howard had promised
to hold a drawing for a free entry into the legendary BTE Million dollar
drag race.
The Footbrake side of things for the Capital City Nationals featured
something old in the Sunday Winner's Circle..... the 1947 Ford of Jim
Griffiths of Foley, Alabama. Griffiths defeated Kennesaw, Georgia racer
Chad Brewer in the finals. Griffiths dialed a 6.80 and ran a respectable
6.830 at 95.02 but used a sterling .012 reaction time to defeat Brewer,
who dialed his Thunderbird at a 9.73 clip and ran a 9.745 but couldn't
overcome Griffiths' hole shot.
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Saturday Footbrake winner Robert Fleming |
Sunday Footbrake Winner Jim Griffiths (left,
wearing baseball cap) |
On Saturday, one of the few remaining daily drivers in Footbrake
took the win as Robert Fleming of Abbeville, Alabama defeated Todd
("Bones") Ewing in the finals. Mr. Fleming drives his beloved 1978
Chevy Nova the 100 miles from Abbeville to Montgomery to race almost
every weekend. On Saturday, Fleming dialed a 9.58 and ran his number
with a 9.587 at 74.80 miles per hour. Add in his .013 light and it
equaled a win. Ewing's '69 Camaro was dialed at 6.53 and ran the
number but couldn't overcome Fleming's starting line advantage.
The MMP Bracket Wars happen every Saturday night with gates opening at
4pm, time trials beginning at 5pm and the Sunoco Run for the Money at
6:30pm with Round One Eliminations following. Pro ET pays $1,000 to
win, but if 60 Pro cars show up, the winner's purse bumps to $1,500
and then $2,000 if 100 Pro ET cars make a race.George Howard says a
complete yearly schedule for Montgomery MotorSports Park will soon be
available on the website. |
