There was a lot going on at Bristol Dragway over the weekend. Here are some news items you may have missed along the way.
HULL’S WILD RIDE: Funny Car racer Buddy Hull took a wild ride in his second-round loss to Paul Lee. The parachutes on Hull’s Moon Eyes Funny Car owned by legendary Jim Dunn deployed but failed to blossom. Hull’s machine was cruising at 279 mph at the finish on that run and his carbon fiber brakes wasn’t enough to stop his car. He needed Bristol Dragway’s sand trap and catch fence at the very end of the track to assist in that effort. Hull wasn’t injured in the incident. It took NHRA Safety Safari members approximately 45 minutes to remove Hull’s car from the nets and get the sandtrap ready to go for the remainder of racing.
FUNNY CAR UPSETS: There were several upsets in the first round of Funny Car competition. Journeyman racer Dave Richards earned a first round upset over Alexis DeJoria and for the second weekend in a row No. 16 qualifier Buddy Hull got the win over No. 1 qualifying Austin Prock. Rookie Julie Nataas, who was making her first start in a Funny Car, also grabbed a first-round upset from the No. 13 qualifying position, taking out veteran Jack Beckman. Nataas was driving Del Worsham’s Toyota in the event.
SMOKE TO SEMIS: Tony Stewart had a strong showing at Bristol as he earned the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel and also scored the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory. Both of those were firsts for Stewart in his second full season of NHRA competition. He had a five-race final round streak going and narrowly missed making it six in a row when he lost a super-close semifinal round to eventual race winner Steve Torrence. “It was a great weekend overall,” Stewart said. “We didn’t realize what a problem the right lane was going to be for everyone all weekend. We had lane choice for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and took the left lane because it was the better lane. That gave us the number one qualifying spot. We had a great day on Saturday getting number one qualifier and winning our first #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. That set us up to have a great day (Sunday). The highlight of the weekend for me was the semifinals. We made it down the track and we had also cut down the left front tire, but I was able to keep it on the track and almost win. I’m really proud of that. We gained five points from the last event. We aren’t continuing our final round streak, but we are continuing our round one streak (only Top Fuel team to advance past round one in every event this season). I’m really proud of this team and the crew chiefs are doing a phenomenal job. They’re getting this car dialed in, so that it’s consistent in all conditions.”
GRAY CAPTURES PRO MOD VICTORY: J.R. Gray raced to the victory in the Congruity Pro Mod Series portion of the Thunder Valley Nationals. It was his second win of the season and he defeated teammate Mike Stavrinos in the final round. “This is all about redemption,” Gray said. “The whole crew has been putting in the hours and they’ve been making it happen.”
COWBOY PAWUK TAKES FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN: Reigning Factory Stock Showdown champ Mark Pawuk earned his first win of the season in the class at Bristol over the weekend. Pawuk, who raced in NHRA Pro Stock competition for two decades, drove his Empaco Dodge Challenger to the win over James Betz in the final. Pawuk had low E.T. of the race at 7.880 seconds and also moved into the points lead with his win. In the first round, Pawuk claimed a $1,000 bounty on Chicago winner Jason Dietsch, which added to his overall victory. “Getting the Flexjet bounty was the icing on the cake today,” Pawuk said. “We can pay some bills and also celebrate now that we got the bounty and won the race. I’ve always struggled at this track, racing here through my Pro Stock days. This year we made a great run in qualifying and I was able to keep lane choice and stay in the left lane and it worked for us. My team worked hard and did a great job getting this car ready to run down the racetrack.”
DEFLORIAN EARNS MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK TITLE: John DeFlorian powered his Total Seal Chevy Camaro to the victory in the Mountain Motor Pro Stock class on Sunday at Bristol. A class that was started at Bristol in the 1970s brought more excitement to Thunder Valley this weekend as DeFlorian claimed his first career victory in the class in NHRA sanction. “To get a big Wally for this win is extra special and sweet,” DeFlorian said. “I’ve been wanting one since last year but we weren’t able to turn the corner. We are on cloud nine with this win. It’s early in the season but we got a good push from this win and we are back in the battle now. I love this class in NHRA, there are some great people and good cars and the competition is fierce. “
LUCAS OIL SERIES CLASSES MOVE TO GEORGIA TO FINISH: Due to weather implications throughout the weekend, the continuation of eliminations for Lucas Oil Series classes competing in the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals will move to South Georgia Motorsports Park, July 9-10, and will be completed during the JEGS NHRA SportsNationals that weekend. The following delayed classes from Bristol will move to Georgia: Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster.
