McKernan, Lombardo Win Phoenix Regional

Courtesy of Pro Sportsman Association

With a 5.37 in the final round against 2011 championship contender Joey Severance, Megan McKernan earned the first Top Alcohol Dragster victory of her young career at the Lucas Oil Series West Region opener at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, reigning Division 7 champion John Lombardo edged Jay Payne, the driver he battled for the division title all last season, in a close final, 5.64 to 5.68.

"I was a little nervous, but I knew we had a car that could win," said McKernan, driver of Jerry Darien's Truck-Lite/Davco A/Fuel Dragster. "We've had a car capable of winning since the end of last year, and I just wanted to make sure I didn't mess anything up. Jerry told me not to think of it as a final, to think of it as the fifth qualifying session, and it worked."

Severance, known for .00 lights (including two at the Winternationals), got off the mark first, but McKernan took over in the last eighth mile, 5.37, 265 to 5.48, 261. "I noticed him moving out ahead of me somewhere around half-track, but then I blasted past him," she said. "This is a huge relief. Jerry knows I put a lot of pressure on myself and I tend to over-think things. He has confidence in me and says I need to have more confidence in myself, and after this, I do."

Severance reached the final after qualifying on the bump and taking out No. 1 qualifier Chris Demke, who had back-to-back 5.33s in qualifying, in a close race in round one, 5.43 to 5.44. McKernan eliminated Johnny Ahten in round one and singled in the semifinals when Canadian Don St. Arnaud was unable to return.

McKernan, 32, a market-research project manager for SEMA, joins a list of future Top Fuel and Funny Car national event winners who first won races driving Darien's cars: Gary Scelzi, Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas, Frank Pedregon, and Melanie Troxel.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Lombardo's NAPA/Lucas Oil Monte Carlo and Payne's Fire Ice Mustang were locked together from the outset, tying for the qualifying lead with identical 5.615s in the opening session. Payne got the No. 1 spot on the basis of his faster speed (260.11 mph to Lombardo's 250.09) and reset low e.t. to 5.612 in a first-round win over Steve Griboski. Payne also had a slightly quicker e.t. (5.64) in his semifinal win over 2003, 2004, and 2008 Phoenix winner Doug Gordon than Lombardo did (5.65) in taking out many-time national event champ Brian Hough in that round, but Lombardo had the edge in the final.

Both drivers had their best reaction times and slowest runs of the event, and Lombardo prevailed, 5.71, 257 to 5.80, 252. It was the second year in a row that Payne was runner-up here. Last year, he qualified in one shot and put together a string of 5.50s before losing in the final to Sean O'Bannon, who drove the same car and had the same crew chief, Jeff Lirones, that Lombardo had this year.

"To me, getting to race somebody like Jay Payne in a final round is what the class is all about," said Lombardo, who won for the fifth time in his three-year career, including the 2009 national event in Dallas. "You've got Doug Gordon and Shane Westerfield and Steve Gasparrelli and Brian Hough -- some of the best racers in the country -- out here in the west. The depth of talent is unbelievable. But Payne, he's up there with Frank Manzo, Mickey Ferro, and Tony Bartone -- the guys who are in the top five in the country year after year after year. To beat somebody like him was a real thrill."