Lucas pads lead with second victory; Williamson advances in standings

National Dragster, Jul 25, 2003 by Jodauga, John

Morgan Lucas took full advantage of second-place Mark Niver's untimely first-round loss in Top Alcohol Dragster eliminations by winning the Division 7 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Sonoma to extend his divisional points lead from 27 to 90. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Bret Williamson made an even bigger move with his first victory of the year - moving from seventh to third in the divisional standings - and now trails second-place Ed Marx by only 11 points.

Other winners of the event were Ed Schuck Jr. (Comp), Jimmy DeFrank (Super Stock), Steven Wann (Stock), Joe Roubicek (Super Comp), Anthony Castillo (Super Gas), Carl Hagen (Super Street), and Scott Pollacheck (Kerker Motorcycle).

Lucas qualified No. 1 with a 5.326 (low e.t. of the meet) and set top speed honors at 272.34 mph. Niver, who had won the last two Division 7 races (in Tucson, Ariz., and Bakersfield, Calif.), qualified third with a 5.4997, barely behind Darryl Hitchman's 5.461.

In terms of performance, Lucas was in a class of his own throughout eliminations, making consecutive runs of 5.335, 5.356, and 5.358. The next-quickest competitor was Hitchman, who advanced to the final with a 5.401 to 5.655 win over Steve Federlin in the semi's. Hitchman's car broke during his burnout prior to the final, and Lucas ran a solo 5.358, 261.17.

Williamson matched Lucas' efforts in Top Alcohol Funny Car, qualifying No. 1 with a 5.687 and running low e.t. (5.668) and top speed (251.58) of the meet.

Dennis Taylor's '02 Camaro actually outran Williamson's '01 Corvette in the first round of eliminations, 5.702 to 5.704, in their respective wins over John Weaver and John Patton, but Williamson improved his pace to 5.668 to defeat Robert Lee's '02 Camaro in the second round, and Taylor slowed to a 5.746 in his victory over Doug Gordon's '02 Camaro. In the final, it was all Williamson, who ran a 5.709 to beat Taylor's off-pace 8.163.

Schuck's Comp win came at the expense of veteran Ed Sigmon's C/SR '34 Chevy. Schuck cut a .017 light with his C/ED and ran a .484-under 7.446 to defeat Sigmon's .464-under 8.727 and .030 reaction time. Sigmon, winner of the Bakersfield event, advanced to the final when Scott McClay recorded a -.010 foul with his C/ED, and Schuck combined a .013 light with a 7.439 to defeat Scott Hedlund's B/SM '02 Cavalier, which ran a quicker .546-under 8.284 but was undone by a tardy .125 light.

DeFrank won his first Division 7 race since last year's event in Pomona with a .039 light and a .036-over 10.376 from his GT/HA '87 Camaro. He defeated Joe Schweigert's .066 light and .031-over 10.441 from his SS/JA.

Tibor Kadar's GT/HA '92 Firebird, winner of this year's Tucson event, was DeFrank's victim in a heads-up semifinal showdown. DeFrank overcame Kadar's .018 to .051 starting-line advantage for a dominating 10.353 to 11.157 victory. Runner-up Sehweigert produced a fine package, .015 light and .007-over 10.417 run, to best Mark Paul's GT/FA '98 Grand Am in the other semifinal contest. Faul ran close to his dial with a .009-over 10.269, but he was later than Schweigert on the Tree with a .023 light.

Wann's C/SA '70 GTX won the all-Mopar Stock final over Bill Nottbusch's F/SA '71 Plymouth. Wann combined a .071-over 10.561 with a .028 light to defeat Nottbusch's .034 reaction and .083-over 11.483. Nottbusch reached the final by running a winning .006-under 11.404 in a double-breakout victory over Joe Sorensen's A/SA entry, which ran farther under with a 10.585 (10.62 dial). Jim Meador, winner of the first two Division 7 races this year, lost to Sorensen in the fourth round.

Roubicek became the fourth Super Comp winner in as many Division 7 races this year when he won a double-breakout final against Chris McNicol, 8.894 to 8.872. In the semi's, McNicol defeated Shawn Langdon in another double-breakout decision, 8.886 to 8.879, and Roubicek received a bye.

Castillo became this year's fourth Super Gas winner by driving his '27-T Ford roadster to a 9.918 win over Dan Braudrick's '61 Corvette, which ran too quick with a 9.883. In the semi's, Castillo received a bye, and Braudrick won his race against Rick Takahashi, 9.921 to 9.911, after scoring a .027 to .046 starting-line advantage.

Hagen's Super Street triumph kept Bakersfield winner Dennis Paz from recording his second straight victory. Hagen's 70 Challenger got the win in quick fashion after Paz's '41 Willys fouled with a -.002 light. Interestingly, Paz was the beneficiary of a red-light in the semi's (from Scott Morgan's '67 Camaro). Hagen advanced to the final when Stephanie Warn left too soon with her '98 Firebird.

Pollacheck ran an .008-over 8.748 with his '02 Kawasaki to defeat Greg Pfau's '91 Kawasaki in the Kerker Motorcycle final. Pollacheck had the advantage on the Tree, .080 to .108. Pollacheck was equally impressive in the semi's with a .028 light and .011-over 8.721; Pfau ran a .001-under 8.909 on his bye run. ND