2009 NMRA Bradenton- Packin' The Track

5.0&SF feature-car alum Sean Lyon was on a roll at the season opener. His Panhandle Performance-prepped '93 LX tucked in to the second qualified spot thanks to an 8.014/181.26. Though he seemed poised to make his own run at the Drag Radial record book, Sean never dipped into the 7s. He simply clicked off a string of consistent low-8-second blasts, while taking out Pete Johnson and Orson Johnson enroute to riding a bye run into the finals against Jason Lee. There Mr. Consistency met Mr. 7-seconds. It was a great race, but Sean's head start on the tree wasn't enough to hold off Jason.

We're huge fans of Deep Jewel Green, which means we love Chris VanGilder's '90 LX. Plus Chris is a diehard NMRA racer, so we enjoyed seeing him do well at Bradenton. Chris qualified fifth and took advantage of Dan Rawls absence in Round 1. Then Chris pulled out a stellar 8.64 against Alton Clements to get to the final. He pulled out yet another 8.64 in the final against Brian Mitchell, but Brian's own 8.61 was just a tad too much to overcome. There are plenty of strong runners in the EFI Renegade class, but watch out for Chris as the season rolls on.

Drag Radial
Kicking off the '09 season in record-setting fashion, Jason Lee put up the number and backed it up, too, to become the first Drag Radial racer in the 7-second zone. He qualified in the top spot with a just-on-the-cusp 8.001/175.13. After a first-round single, Jason lowered the boom on Matt Bell with a 7.987/174.55 ripper. After only beating Sonny Biggs with an 8.10, Jason set the stage for a titanic battle with Sean Lyon's consistent low-8-second player. If Jason felt the pressure, it didn't show. He was just a tick slow on the tree, but laid down a punishing 7.974/174.85 pass to take out Sean and cement his name in the Drag Radial history books.

Real Street
From torched clutches in qualifying to a destroyed tent in the pits, the Tim Matherly team was fighting an uncharacteristic rash of bad luck. In fact, Editor Turner stopped by to check on team Matherly and was nearly carried away by a freak gust of wind while trying in vain to anchor the tent. Naturally, the perennial Real Street favorite fought through his problems. After qualifying a bit off pace in the third spot, Tim was on a mission in qualifying, taking out Michael "Wheelstand" Washington in Round 1 and teammate Jim Breese in Round 2 before defeating upstart Dave Ginter in the finals.

Hot Street
With a Roush Performance 400ci engine on board, Robbie Blankenship started off 2009 the right way. With a year under his belt with this car, Robbie had it figured out pretty well at Bradenton. He qualified with an 8.63 at 151 mph to pace the field. After winning the championship last year, Robbie again showed why he's the defending Hot Street champion by being consistent, yet a little rusty, on the tree the first race out. Good thing for Robbie, as it appeared his competition was just as rusty. Robbie had a first-round single; then put a tenth on Tim Eichorn driving the SAM car, and then Ben Mens rolled through the beams in the final to hand Robbie the opening win.

Ben Mens, an engine builder at Roush, had a busy off-season. Not only was he busy getting his own Hot Street ride ready for the '09 season, he was also helping build Don Bowles' new Maverick Hot Street car. Though the weekend didn't prove overly successful for Don, Ben made it to the finals against Robbie Blankenship, but rolled through the beams, handing the win to Robbie.

Straight outta Wisconsin, Dave Ginter was brimming with confidence at Bradenton, saying he was ready to make a serious run in Real Street this season. Rather than making big changes to his combo, Dave spent the off-season working on the driver mod, and it showed. Just hundredths out of the top qualified spot, Dave trailered a pair of Pauls (Wiley and Alfeo) on his way to clashing with Tim Matherly. Dave was just two ticks behind Tim at the jump, but didn't have the power to hold him off.

Sitting on top of the Real Street world after qualifying, Jim Breese started off eliminations with ease thanks to a first-round bye. Unfortunately, the way the ladder fell, Jim was forced to square off with teammate Tim Matherly in the second round. Jim chopped down the tree, and it looked like he had a chance to stave of his opponent. Alas, Tim had the oats to make a move on the big end, and Jim's weekend was over.

Pure Street
Returning to Pure Street after a yearlong sabbatical, '07 Pure Street champ Jimmy Wilson showed he hasn't lost a step. He qualified right on the heels of Mark Anderson and was just toying with his opponents in eliminations. In the second round, he laid two tenths on Steve Gifford with a searing 10.20/130.64, which served as a warning to Mark Anderson, who had clicked off a couple 10.24s of his own. Ultimately, that warning caused Mark to light the red bulb.

Mark Anderson is the man. Not only did he step up to fill the big gear-banging shoes of his dad, Ron Anderson, behind the wheel of the familiar silver Mustang, but Mark actually convinced his wife, Sarah, that going racing while she cared for their three children was a good idea. That's quite a feat. It was also a feat to put the car atop the qualifying ladder with a 10.237/129.88 ripper. Despite his car's wheelstanding tendencies, Mark managed to keep things consistent all the way till the end. He thought he needed a jump to take out Jimmy Wilson; instead he lit the red bulb.

Despite finding a bunch of nagging issues with his combo, Paul Alfeo put up a brave fight, qualifying in the fourth spot with a 10.08/132.84. After leaving Jonathan Musil at the line with a broken crank in Round 1, Paul squared off against Dave Ginter and laid down a 9.96, but it wasn't enough to handle Dave's 9.76.