04/04/09 - Englishtown, NJ - The first Anger Management RacingPro 11.5 Index presented by Russ DeLibero-Emerald Financial Resources is in the books. I would like to welcome Anger Management Racing (AMR) as our title sponsor. With strong winds, track officials decided that all racing would be to the eighth mile. The last Pro 11.50 event for 2008 was run to the eighth mile due to strong wind gusts. Today's event had seventeen drivers attempting to qualify on the new index of 7.40.
For today's Corvette Challenge bracket results click here.
Qualifying
With the index changed from 11.50 to 7.40, you would think there would be many drivers either going under or over the index. There were twelve out of seventeen drivers qualifying in the seven forty's. The number one qualifier was Paul Bogdan who qualified with a 7.412 @ 91.98 MPH with Shawn Cavanagh .003 behind Paul. Shawn qualified with a 7.415 @ 92.84 MPH. The number three qualifier was Bill Fischer Sr. Bill ran a 7.418 @ 90.67 MPH in his first qualifier. Bill came to today's event tuned and ready to go rounds. Over the winter Bill made some changes to his 2001 White Corvette to be more competitive in the Pro 11.50. The driver with the highest MPH was Gary Hillen. Gary ran 99.05 MPH in his 2008 C6.
Round 1:
Round one had a full field. One driver that did qualify had to leave, which allowed Rob Zona to be added to the ladder. Rob was the alternate driver. The first two drivers around the wall were Jerry Muniz (16) driving his HOTC6 and Rob Farley (8) driving his 1998 Indy Pace Car. Last year Rob had a bounty and a target on him. With both drivers staged and everyone crossing there fingers to see if the Pace Car would be going home early. The tree flashed and Rob was off the line with a .053 to Jerry .244. Jerry gave it everything he had hoping that he would push Rob out. Jerry ran under the index with a 7.370 @ 92.76 MPH to Robs 7.439 @ 79.78 MPH. The next two drivers at the starting line were the number one qualifier Paul Bogdan (1). Paul was driving his home built silver 1997 coupe and Gary Hillen (9) driving his 2008 Corvette. Paul left the line first with a .051 to Gary's .143. Gary tried to close the gap but broke out with Paul crossing first. Paul crossed the stripe first with 7.504 @ 79.65 MPH to Gary's to quick 7.221 @ 99.19 MPH. The next pair of racers to battle it out on the 1320 was Ellis Gray (10) and Shawn (I want to race Rob Farley again) Cavanaugh (2). Ellis was able to hit the tree hard with a .017 to Shawn's .097. Ellis ran a 7.409 @ 93.03 MPH to Shawn's 7.513 @ 92.52 MPH. Ellis had the best package of .026 in round one.
Runner-up Shay LaScalla
Bob Trieschmann, Rob Farley, Shay LaScalla, AMR's Tommy Michalkowski, Edgar Perez
The next two drivers to the line were Thomas Michalkowski (13) and Marc Hinkes (5). Both drivers staged after there burnout and when the tree flashed, Tom left Marc at the line. The starting line advantage went to Tom with a .121 to Marc's .258. Marc crossed first with a 7.404 @ 93.93 MPH. Marc (The Rookie) set the bar for the next round. Tom ran a 7.675 @ 97.12 MPH. Marc has spoken about trying the Pro 11.50. I guess we will see Marc racing more. Congrats to Marc for running four thousands over the index. The next pair of Corvettes to face off was Joe Latona (12) and Rob Petyo (4). Joe left first with a .065 with Rob leaving with a .234. Both drivers battled it out on the top end causing both drivers to breakout. Joe crossed first with a 7.244 @ 93.86 MPH with Rob crossing with a 7.176 @ 95.80 MPH. The next driver to the line is also a rookie to the Pro 11.50. The rookie driver is Shay LaScalla (7) racing her 2007 red SHEDEVIL. Shay was paired with her friend Rob Zona (16). Rob was racing his 2003 black beauty that was featured in GM HIGH TECH magazine. Both racers have there Corvettes tuned and maintained with Anger Management Racing. Rob left first with an outstanding .004 to Shay's .037. Rob crossed with a 7.345 @ 84.26 MPH with Shay crossing with a 7.394 @ 96.11 MPH. Shay was six thousands from running the index. The next pair of racers to see who will advance to round two are Eric Fischer (6) driving his 1998 Green Corvette going up against Marshall Brown (14) in his 1998 Corvette. Eric had a slight starting line advantage over Marshall. Eric left first with a .081 to Marshall's .108. Eric was able to cross the finish line first with a 7.504 @ 91.69 MPH with Marshall running a 7.765 @ 93.77 MPH. The last two racers to finish round were Bill Fischer Sr. (3) and Rich Shuleski (11). Both drivers were disqualified due to both drivers breaking the beams before the tree was activated.
Round 2:
Round two has seven drivers returning. The first pair out was Rob Farley (8) and Joe Latona (12). Both drivers did their burnouts and were staged within seconds. Both drivers were anxious to see who would win the round. Both drivers staged deep to try to get a better reaction time. The tree flashed and Rob was out in the lead with a .013 reaction time, with Joe close behind with a .061. Rob was able to stay ahead of Joe down the eighth mile. Joe broke out with a 7.269 @ 90.60 MPH with Rob's winning 7.501 @ 75.01 MPH. The next pair had our number one qualifier Paul Bogdan (1) and Marc Hinkes (5). Paul left first with a .038 to Marc's .263. Paul was able to stay in front of Marc to get the win. Paul ran a 7.512 @ 80.27 MPH with Marc running 7.460 @ 94.15 MPH. The next pair was Eric Fischer (6) and Ellis Gray (10). Both drivers have their cars tuned to run the index. This race will be determined from driver with the better reaction time. Eric left first with a .100 to Ellis' .163. Ellis tried to push Eric out on the top end but only broke out trying. Ellis ran 7.393 @ 93.10 MPH to Eric's 7.437 @ 92.16 MPH. The last driver to complete round two was Shay LaScalla (7). Shay had a competition single due to both drivers being disqualified in round one. Shay had a .039 reaction time and ran 7.548 @ 85.79 MPH.
Round 3:
Round three started with Rob Farley (8) and Eric Fischer (6). Both drivers staged deep and knew they would need to have superior reaction times to win the round. Eric left first with a .002 to Rob's .049. Rob was able to cross first with a 7.426 @ 87.62 MPH with Eric crossing with a 7.497 @ 92.43 MPH. The other pair in the semi-final round was Paul Bogdan (1) and Shay LaScalla (7). Both drivers are capable of running the index and also able to have a great reaction time. Paul left first with a red light. Paul knew he had to hit the tree because Shay has been running the number all day and having superior reaction times. Paul had a -.023 to Shay's .007. Shay ran a 7.396 @ 92.43 MPH.
Round 4: Final Round
This may be the race of the year even though this is the first race of the season. The final had Shay LaScalla (7) and Rob Farley (8). The cheering section for Shay was everyone in the stands. Both drivers staged deep and were ready to leave on a flash. The tree flashed and Rob left first with a .019 to Shay's .028. Shay was able to pass Rob just before the three thirty foot point. Rob spun his tires past the sixty foot mark, giving the race to Shay. Rob never took his foot off the accelerator thinking that he could try to push Shay out causing her to run under the index. Shay crossed the finish line first with a 7.339 @ 96.36 MPH. When Rob saw Shay cross the finish line and going under the index, Rob hit the brakes to prevent him from going under also. Rob probably had no chance of breaking out but did not want to risk the chance. Rob would like to thank East Coast Supercharging, American Racing Headers, NOWET, DeLuca Family Chiropractic Care, his wife Linda, son Robbie and daughter Katelyn.
I have calculated Shay's average reaction time and ET from today's event. Shay's average ET was 7.419 and her average reaction time was .027. Today was the first time Shay raced on a pro tree. If the above numbers are from a rookie, I can't wait to see what to see what she will have after a few events. I think the bounty will be passed onto Shay before the end of the season.
Awards and Payouts Today
Winner Rob Farley earned a payout of $160 in addition to the winner trophy
Runner-up Shay LasCalla earned a payout of $80 in addition to the runner-up trophy
Semi-Finalists Paul Bogdan and Eric Fischer each received $40
Number 1 Qualifier Paul Bogdan received a plaque for his 7.412 qualifying run
Ellis Gray received the Best Reaction Time plaque for the best winning reaction time in the first round at .017
The next Pro 11.50 race will be May 9, 2009 with gates opening at 9:30 AM.
Visit the Drag Schedule at www.racewaypark.com to view Raceway Park's schedule for other events and days for test and tuning.
As always, we couldn't enjoy our passion for racing without the tireless efforts of our coordinators - Edgar Perez, Bob Trieschmann, Dennis Kazimir and Rob Farley. We'd be reduced to time shots only without our sponsors - many thanks for the continued support of
April 4, 2009 ECS CC Event 3 won by Ellis Gray and Pro 11.50 Index won by Rob Farley
It was way too windy to tape and my batter died. I only have round 1 of qualifying for the Pro 11.50. Racing was done to the 1/th mile only and the index was set at 7.40 for the index cars so that is what they are shooting for.
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