Racers started time runs in race 7 making impressive passes. As eliminations began the race was plagued by another unusual rain storm which positioned itself directly over the drag strip. As a heavy down pour halted the racing action for an hour, along with another two hours of track prep before it got back underway. An additional time run was given to all racers due to the newly prepped track. Once race 7 was completed, race 8 began with no more stops for weather. Racing concluded at 1:20 am on Sunday morning.
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Robert Owens of Malabar, Fla. started the day off as the No. 1 qualifier with a pass of 5.975 ET. Owens continued through eliminations running within .01 seconds of that qualifying run each pass. In the finals, Owens faced off against David Bledsoe of Pembroke Pines, Fla. Bledsoe in his ’06 Mullis dragster red lighted at the start giving Owens the victory. Owens dialed in a 5.97, running a 5.966 ET at 114.23 mph in his final pass. Race #8
In race 8 it was Bruce Liberman of West Palm Beach, Fla. that made an impressive move in the points standings during this race. After race 7 Liberman found himself in the 13th position, 112 points out of the lead, which all changed when he took his Spitzer dragster to victory. After finishing runner up in race 7, David Bledsoe found himself in the finals again facing Liberman for the win. Bledsoe dialed in a 4.75 hitting it right on the mark with a pass of 4.750 ET at 144.94 mph. Liberman dialing in at 4.95 missed his mark by .001 as he ran a 4.951 ET at 139.52 mph. Overall, it was Liberman taking victory from his .010 RT to Bledsoe’s .015 RT. By taking victory, Liberman moved up to 3rd place in the points.
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Super Eliminator (No Box)
Sponsored by Chassis Engineering
Points Leader: Sonny Freeland – 427
Race #7 In No Box, Doug Parlamento of Lake Worth, Fla. qualified first and never looked back. Knocking out Sonny Freelan, the 2015 points leader, in round 3 Parlamento marched his way into the finals. John Taylor of Ft. Pierce, Fla. faced off against Parlamento for the final. In the end it was Parlamento with a dial in of 7.10 seconds running a 7.11, 97.97 mph to take victory over Taylor.
Race #8
In race 8 of No Box it was Jeremy Jarosz of Boca Raton, Fls who qualified first. Jarosz was knocked out in round 4 by Ethan Doty of Margate, Fla.. Doty continued on to the final to face the 2015 points leader Sonny Freeland from Hollywood, Fla. In the final it was Freeland dialed in at 6.12 seconds to run a 6.177, 102.14 mph to defeat Doty dialed in at 9.67 seconds, running 9.770, 75.62 mph. The victory has now extended Freeland’s points lead to 93.
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Chase Purdy of Palm City, Fla. qualified in No. 1 position with a pass of 8.868 seconds. Purdy battled his way into the semi finals where he faced Bailey Ferraro from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. This race was decided right on the starting line as Ferraro fired a .011 second reaction time to Purdy’s .086 on the tree. In the finals it was Ferraro facing Jennifer Craft of Melbourne, Fla. The result of this race was again decided on the starting line except it was due to a red light from Ferraro with a -.010. Craft won after dialing in 7.90 second to run a 7.912 at 82.56 and taking over the top spot in the points lead.
Race #8
In race 8 of Junior Dragster, Jennifer Craft continued her day of consistent runs all the way to the semi finals until she faced Amanda Foley, from Pompano Beach, Fla. Both drivers dialed in at 7.90 seconds. Foley ran a 7.913 to Craft’s 7.904 but the win light to Foley. She fired a .014 reaction time on the tree to defeat Craft who reacted at .043 seconds. In the finals Foley faced an opponent she had not faced all day as Jimmy Cavanaugh of Melbourne, Fla. Both drivers red lighted at the tree but it was Foley with the -.003 second reaction that took the win over Cavanaugh’s -.043. The win moves Foley into the second spot in the points race.
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Tom Ivy, 2015 points leader, of Southwest Ranches, Fla. was knocked out in round 2 by Carl Mitchell of Miami Garden, Fla. Mitchell dialing in at 7.36 ran a 7.446, 100.31 mph but was defeated by Rodney Pimetal of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. in the semi filnals. Clarence Goins also from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. dialed in a 6.68 as he faced Pimetal, in at 7.80, for the finals. The win light went to Pimetal running a 8.066, 90.95 mph to Goins’ 6.831, 109.99 mph. The .524 reaction time of Goins hurt him as Pimetal had a start of .169 as he took victory.
Race #8
After getting knocked out in the second round of race #5 Joshua Howard of Stuart, FL made it to the final round in this race. Howard had stiff competition as he faced Tom Ivy who was hot off the win earlier in the day. Once again it was Ivy taking home victory as he dialed in a 5.34 to run a 5.480 ET at 112.27 mph. After two wins in the same day Ivy increased his points lead in the championship to 65 points over second.
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NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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