Sun, 25 Oct 2009, 01:26 PM
King Tutt Reigns in National Guard ADRL Speedtech Battle for the Belts
|
|
Courtesy of ADRL Communications
Photo copyright 2009 Roger Richards
|
ENNIS, Texas --
Todd Tutterow
|
Todd Tutterow turned on the win light three
times over two days at the Texas Motorplex to secure his first National
Guard American Drag Racing League's (ADRL) Pro Extreme world championship.
The Yadkinville, North Carolina-based driver entered the
championship-deciding Speedtech Battle for the Belts-a unique eight-car
playoff for the top points earners in the class-in fifth place and raced
through Mike Janis, two-time defending series champ Jason Scruggs and
Joshua Hernandez to take the Belt.
"This is awesome," the new reigning champ declared as he hoisted the
Belt high. "Where else can you race for $50,000 against the very best
door cars and drivers in the world? What the ADRL has created here is
something really special and something I feel truly honored to win."
Khalid Al-Balooshi
|
Joining Tutterow as new National Guard ADRL World Champions are Khalid
Al-Balooshi, who made 28-hour, round-trip flights from Qatar in the
Middle East to compete in each of 10 Pro Nitrous events; Chicago racer
Spiro Pappas who prevailed from an eighth-place start in Flowmaster
Extreme 10.5; Ocala, Florida's Scott Gray with a championship run in Pro
Extreme Motorcycle from the number-one position; and Matt Hartford from
Phoenix, Arizona, who scored the Extreme Pro Stock title in his final
appearance in the class.
Al-Balooshi beat his Al-Anabi Racing teammate, Burton Auxier of Dixie,
West Virginia, in the final round when Auxier left four-thousandths of a
second too soon. He previously beat Stan Allen in the opening round and
another Al-Anabi teammate, Mike Castellana, whose car would not start
with a faulty battery in the semi-finals.
Spiro Pappas
|
As the eighth-place starter, Pappas actually had to win four times for
his Speedtech Battle for the Belts triumph, since numbers seven and
eight initially raced to earn a berth against the second-place qualifier
while number one in each class received a first-round bye.
So, Pappas opened with a win over Jake Carlton to reach Gary White, then
got past Jeff Naiser before leading stripe-to-stripe over Chuck Ulsch,
the quickest and fastest record holder for the class.
"It's been a long, tough road to get here, but my guys never gave up and
it was all worth it," Pappas said. "This took a real team effort."
Scott Gray
|
As the top points earner in Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Gray had the free
pass from round one to the semis where he edged Travis Davis thanks to
taking a starting-line advantage. Gray won the final with another
holeshot performance, leaving .022 ahead of Ashley Owens and finishing
just eight thousandths ahead.
"Wow, that was a close one, but we'll take it. Without a doubt, this is
a huge, huge win for us," Gray said.
Matt Hartford
|
Hartford, who is leaving the Billy Dingman crew for other racing
opportunities next year, started third and took out Dean Goforth in
round one before he and Doug Kirk both ran exactly the same times in the
semis, but Kirk left a single thousandth too soon to turn on the read
light off the start. Hartford narrowly outran number-one Belts
qualifier Brian Gahm in the final round.
"What a way to go out," Hartford said. "I want to thank Billy Dingman
and all my crew for giving me a great car all year and hope they get to
repeat again next season."
ADRL: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]
Nov 19- National Guard ADRL Announces 2009 Racer Awards Gala Details
Nov 6- National Guard ADRL Statement on Memphis Motorsports Park Closing
Oct 27- DALLAS - Championship Points
Oct 25- DALLAS - Saturday Wrap Up
Oct 25- King Tutt Reigns in National Guard ADRL Speedtech Battle for the Belts
Oct 25- DALLAS - Pro Extreme Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Oct 25- DALLAS - Pro Nitrous Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Oct 25- DALLAS - Extreme 10.5 Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Oct 25- DALLAS - Pro Extreme Motorcycle Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Oct 25- DALLAS - Extreme Pro Stock Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Copyright ©2009 AUTOSALES INC, dba Summit Racing Equipment
Ready to take your order at 1-800-230-3030 | Customer Service 1-800-517-1035
Advertise on Drag Race Central
