Crowning the 2013 Champions

TAN Original Content
Photos courtesy of David Smith, TAN

TAD National Champion – Jim Whiteley

Whiteley took his Norm Grimes-tuned YNot Racing blown dragster to national event wins at the Winternationals, U.S. Nationals, Dallas, and Las Vegas2 to claim his second consecutive national title. Another regional title was earned thanks to wins at the Denver, Tulsa, and both Las Vegas regional races. Jim will step away from the driver’s seat in 2014 to support wife Annie (TAFC) and son Steven (PM). 

 

TAFC National Champion – Frank Manzo

The Ace’s 2013 national scorecard was winless until Brainerd, adding wins at Indy, Charlotte2, and Las Vegas2 before retiring with a win at the Finals at Pomona. “Uncle Frank” also scored at the Maple Grove regional early in the season. Manzo ends the 2013 season with an unmatched 17 national titles, 22 divisional championships, and over 220 event wins to his name. 

TAD East Region Champion – Dan Page

Noted chassis builder/driver/tuner Page drove his self-built, Arthur Gallant owned and tuned A/Fueler to three regional final rounds, winning the first at Maple Grove. Dan will likely forfeit the seat to a TAD rookie in 2014.

TAFC East Region Champion – John Anderika

Anderika enjoyed a phenomenal regional season, reaching the finals at five of six events, winning the last two. He has decided to step away from the seat of his converter-equipped East Coast Auto Electric TAFC to focus on a recently opened restaurant, Anderika’s All American Grill. 

TAD North Central Region Champion – Brandon Booher

Booher won his first hard-fought regional championship in just his third full season in the class. The former Pro Top Outlaw champion drove his torque converter-equipped blown AB Construction dragster to wins at Joliet, Columbus, and Cordova, the first of his career. He also added his first national event win to his resume at Charlotte2. 

TAFC North Central Region Champion – Andy Bohl

Bohl locked up his first regional championship after racing to victories at Indy, Columbus, and Bowling Green, the first and last coming over class legend Frank Manzo. 

TAD Central Region Champion – Gord Gingles

Canadian A/Fuel driver Gingles won just a single event – Topeka – to take his second consecutive regional championship. He also scored his first national event win at Brainerd, driving one of two “The Bull” cars for Clif Bakx. 

TAFC Central Region Champion – John Lombardo Jr.

Second generation flip-top driver Lombardo earned regional wins at Woodburn and Noble, locking up his second regional/divisional title at the latter. He opened the season with a win at the Winternationals. Lombardo will partner with Rick Jackson Racing to form a powerhouse one-car team in 2014.

TAD West Region Champion – Jim Whiteley

TAFC West Region Champion – Jay Payne

“Thunder Slug” reached the money round at five regional events, winning at Firebird and Topeka. Payne and his Peak Motor Oil team attended the most events of any TAFC driver – ten nationals and seven regionals.

Dreher, Williams Earn First Season Wins

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association

At Tri-State Raceway in Earlville, Iowa, Top Alcohol Dragster veteran Jared Dreher, who opened last season with a regional victory at Indianapolis, and defending Central Region Top Alcohol Funny champ Kirk Williams both scored for the first time this season.

Dreher picked up the fifth regional/division event title of his career with a final-round decision over reigning Central Region and event winner Gord Gingles, who had won his last two races – the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd and the Central Region race in Topeka. Gingles, who has established himself as one of the best on the Tree in just his second year in an A/Fueler, was second off the line this time and shook violently before shutting off to a 6.31 at 179 mph.

"We both shook hard, but he shook worse," said Dreher, who won with a 5.48. "His was so violent that it broke the puke tank and had body panels hanging off the car when we got down there. Mine shook pretty bad too, but not that bad."

Dreher’s win comes just days after he was knocked out of the U.S. Nationals field in last-shot qualifying and missed the cut by two-thousandths of a second. "This isn't Indy, but a win's a win," he said. "This was exactly what we needed right now. Indy was a pretty big disappointment, being so close to home. I don't think we've ever gotten out of a track as fast as we got out of there."

On the all-concrete Earlville surface, Dreher qualified in the middle of the field with a 5.48 and picked up dramatically in the first round with a 5.38 against Jackie Fricke, who slipped from her 5.47 qualifying pace to a 5.55. Gingles followed one pair later with a 5.34 (low e.t.) win over Dave Hirata's cylinder-dropping 5.70. North Central points leader Brandon Booher, who qualified No. 1 with a 5.41, also ran in the 5.30s in a win over Dean Dubbin, and Topeka winner Randy Meyer just missed with a 5.41 against Edwin Schmeeckle's close 5.45.

Gingles stayed consistent and emerged as the clear favorite for the final with a 5.35 semifinal win over Meyer in a race that had huge points implications. With one race to go, he holds a 32-point edge over Meyer for the regional championship. Dreher won the other semi with a 5.45 against Booher, who had to lift near half-track when his steering shaft broke, then negotiated the tricky conditions better than Gingles in the final for the 5.48 win.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Williams beat Van Hauen in the final in a battle of the first and last qualifiers, 5.73 to a shutoff 8.58. "I've been here probably 12 or 13 times, and you really have to know how to get down this track," said Williams, who won here for the second year in a row and appeared in the final for a third straight year. "The groove is narrow, but this place can be pretty fast if you have the right setup."

Van Hauen, appearing in his first final since last year's Noble event, was fifth of five cars in qualifying with a 5.95 but stepped up to a 5.79 in the first round, just a few thousandths of a second from low e.t. at the time, to beat No. 2 qualifier Billy Davis' 5.86, then singled in the semi's. The field was tight in qualifying – every driver but Van Hauen ran between 5.79 and 5.83.

Williams paced the field in qualifying with a 5.79, lowered low e.t. to a 5.77 in a semifinal win over Wayne Butler and reset low e.t. again in the final with a 5.73 while Van Hauen strayed toward the centerline and eventually had to lift.

"I really have to hand it to Lance," Williams said. "What a guy. NHRA was telling him to head for the lanes, and he could have had a single for the win, but he didn't take it. He stayed right by our trailer until we were ready to go. That's the kind of guy he is."

Gingles, Payne Win Topeka Regional

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association

Canadian Top Alcohol Dragster racer Gord Gingles stayed hot at the WIBW Thunder in the Heartland regional event in Topeka, and in Top Alcohol Funny Car, Jay Payne, one of the most prolific drivers in divisional/regional history, may have turned his season around with his first victory in 10 starts.

Gingles, who drove "The Bull" A/Fueler to a tight final-round decision over defending national champ Jim Whiteley last week in Brainerd for his first national event win, got off the line first and pounded out low e.t. of the meet – 5.354, a slight improvement on his 5.358 semifinal time – to put away Randy Meyer this time in a final-round battle of the top two drivers in the region in 2012.

Gingles qualified No. 1 with a 5.40 and clocked a 5.43 in the first round against veteran Edwin Schmeeckle. He stepped up to a 5.358, low e.t. of the weekend to that point, in the semifinals against John Finke, which cost Finke the East Region title. Dan Page, who was upset in the first round in Bowling Green this weekend after setting top speed in qualifying, won the East championship on the strength of one win (Maple Grove) and three final-round appearances.

Competing at his home track, Meyer, of Spring Hill, Kan., began eliminations from the No. 3 spot (5.44) and was the picture of consistency all weekend, running between 5.42 and 5.46 in all three rounds of eliminations. His 5.45 took out Christine Chambless in the opening round, and a 5.42, his best run of the weekend, was just enough to get past quick-leaving James Stevens' 5.50 by three-thousandths of a second in the semi's.

In the Top Alcohol Funny Car final, Payne beat early leader John Lombardo, 5.67 to 5.80, with a half-tenth edge in the first 60 feet, .976 to 1.024. Payne's Peak/FireIce Mustang got quicker every trip to the starting line all weekend, opening with a 5.80 in the first qualifying session and running nothing but high 5.60s the rest of the way, including a 5.69 for the No. 2 spot behind Lombardo.

Payne picked up a hundredth of a second to oust Lance Van Hauen in the first round with a 5.68 and another hundredth to beat red-lighting Kris Hool in the semi's with a 5.67, making it an all-California final against Lombardo, who ran in the 5.60s in both qualifying sessions and in every round but the final.

Lombardo beat Steve Griboski in the opening round, 5.67 to 5.88, and defending Central Region champ Kirk Williams, who had a .008 reaction time, in the semi's, 5.68 to 5.82. With the final-round appearance, Lombardo's NAPA team moved into the national points lead when Tony Bartone, in his first race in Mickey Ferro's car after splitting with longtime team owner Rick Jackson, was a victim of the abbreviated two-shot qualifying format and failed to qualify.

Gingles Wins His First, Manzo His First This Year

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association

At the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, defending Central Region champ Gord Gingles upset reigning national champ Jim Whiteley for his first career national event victory in Top Alcohol Dragster, and Frank Manzo rode a string of 5.50s to what surprisingly is his first national event win all year in Top Alcohol Funny Car.

In the final, Gingles left with a .030-second lead and crossed the finish line first by the same amount when both drivers ran almost identical e.t.s – 5.313 for Gingles and 5.314 for Whiteley, who lost for just the sixth time in 26 career national finals.

Whiteley's J&A Service/YNot Racing blown-alcohol dragster and Gingles' Manitoba-based Bull A/Fueler qualified 1-2 and ran within a hundredth of a second of each other all day. Following a first-round single Saturday afternoon when Dr. Jerry Powell was unable to appear, Gingles ran a 5.28 against many-time national event champion Marty Thacker in round two. Earlier in that round, Whiteley made the only other run in the 5.20s in eliminations, a 5.277 that held up for low e.t., to cover Robin Samsel's 5.43.

Gingles grabbed the upper hand in the semifinals with a 5.30 win over Randy Meyer, who taken out Mark Taliaferro on a huge holeshot the round before, 5.50 to 5.33. Whiteley followed one pair later with a close 5.31 to 5.36 decision over Topeka winner Alan Bradshaw in a battle of former national champs.

In the final, Gingles, who had the best reaction time of the event, .026, in the second round, got the jump on Whiteley, .061 to .091, and won by half a car-length despite Whiteley's six-mph faster speed, 270 to 264. Whiteley also set top speed of the meet at 272.83 mph in qualifying.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Manzo won the Minnesota race for the second year in a row, the fourth time in five years, and the seventh time overall, including the inaugural event in 1982. What might have been a side-by-side final ended when Dale Brand, Manzo's nemesis this year, banged the blower at about the 500-foot mark. Manzo cruised to his 100^th Top Alcohol Funny Car win and 101^st national event title overall with a 5.56, his third mid-.50 of the day, as Brand slowed to a 6.88 at 118 mph.

"The car has been trying to turn the corner for about a month now, but I ruined it every chance I got," Manzo said. "This time, I decided to let the car win the race for me, and it did."

The victory was Manzo's 40th in a row in national event finals, three times more than any other driver in any class in drag racing history. His last national event runner-up was to Jay Payne at the 2006 Winternationals.

Brand eliminated Lance Van Hauen in round one with a 5.62 and Payne in the quarterfinals with a 5.59, then shut off to a 5.66 at just 220 mph on a semifinal single that may have been his most impressive run of the weekend. Manzo, who lost to Brand at the Gatornationals and in the final round of the Cordova regional this year, tested the track on his first-round, single, then took out Annie Whiteley, who narrowly fouled, in round two, and 2011 Brainerd winner Kris Hool, who gave him his best race of the weekend in the semi's, with times of 5.55 (low e.t.), and 5.57.

The win moved Manzo up to sixth in the national standings, 71 points behind leader Tony Bartone. "I'm pretty far behind," he said. "It's going to be tough."

Straight to the Top: Gingles Wins Central Region TAD Title

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photo courtesy of David Smith

Gord Gingles was as surprised as anyone when he came out of nowhere to win the Central Region championship this year. "It's still hard to believe we finished on top," said Gingles, an unknown from Winnipeg, Man., who had run just a handful of races in Top Alcohol Dragster before 2012.

Randy Meyer was supposed to win. "He had the better car at so many races," Gingles said.

"That car went A to B all the time," Meyer said of Gingles' ride, "The Bull" A/Fuel Dragster owned and tuned by Clif Bakx. "I didn't really know those guys, didn't even know what the driver looked like, but you really have to hand it to them. They did a good job this year."

"Last year, we were in training, just learning the car and procedures. Even qualifying was amazing," Gingles said, though he had no trouble winning rounds, even in the beginning, going to the semifinals at the very first race he entered, the 2011 Division 4 meet at Dallas, and at his other two divisionals last year, Topeka and Earlville. "This year, we wanted to take a run at the top three or four in the region."

He ended up number 1. Running no national events and focusing entirely on the new Lucas Oil regional series, the Canadian team, led by Bakx, crisscrossed the continent on a grueling schedule. Average trip: about 1,000 miles each way.

Gingles put up an 8-5 win-loss mark for the year, flying under the radar until a clutch semifinal win over Meyer at the penultimate race of the season, in Earlville, put him in command for good. Gingles then won the Earlville final over former national event champ Chase Copeland and essentially claimed the championship right there because both he and Meyer bowed out early at their only remaining regional, in Noble, Okla.

Gingles, a 53-year-old former drag bike racer, came to Top Alcohol racing just last year after a single season in Top Dragster. He began his racing career 24 years ago, competing on snowmobiles on ice, and took to the quarter-mile in 2000 with a street bike, followed by a nine-second bike, a Super Comp dragster in 2006 and the Top Dragster in 2010.

After advancing to the semifinals in all three of his divisional starts in 2011, Gingles made it a perfect five for five starting this year at tracks thousands of miles apart – rain-soaked Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis in April and Mission Raceway Park in Mission, B.C., in May. After suffering the first first-round loss of his alcohol career, to James Thompson at Tulsa, Gingles went all the way at Cordova, running 5.30s in every round after qualifying No. 2 and eventually stopping Dennis Drath in the under-the-lights final. From there, it was all or nothing – first round at Topeka, winner at Earlville, first round at Noble – but his two wins and the back-to-back semifinal appearances to open the year added up to 288 points, enough to hold off Meyer by 31.

Meyer, a former AHRA world champion driver and NHRA world champ tuner, had six runner-ups this year, including regional events, national events, and the Jegs Allstars race. He reached at least the semifinals in six of his seven regional starts. Mark Taliaferro won the first race of the regional era at Gainesville in February and finished third in the region despite running just three events. He was runner-up at one of the other two, last month in Noble, Okla. Copeland finished fourth, and Denver runner-up Edwin Schmeeckle was fifth.

"We never really dwelled on the thought of possibly winning the championship," said Gingles, who credited veterans Les Davenport, Larry Miersch, Ken Murray, and Doug Doucette for the team's overnight rise from beginners to regional champions. "When Clif took on this project, he was driven to learn as much as he could, and this year has been an amazing ride. Doing what he did without 10 or 20 years' experience was remarkable."

TAN