MIKE MCLENNAN & JEFF LANE SCORE NAPA IGNITOR TITLES

If Saturday was a challenging day, then Sunday could best be summed up as one filled with frustration. Guess you could say Mother Nature threw every ounce of fury our way. It rained, then rained again, followed by yet another round of rain…guess you get the idea of what kind of day we endured weather-wise.

Aside from the poor weather there was some fantastic racing as eliminations continued early into the afternoon after morning rain delayed racing until around 1:30 pm. In between showers, nearly two and a half hours of racing took place after which the skies let loose with only 25 racers still in competition. For the record, Saturday saw over six tenths of rain fall (a state record for May 2), followed by Sunday with an accumulation of better than a half inch by day’s end. In summary, it was incredibly wet over the final two days of the NAPA Auto Parts Ignitor. Racing will resume starting at 9 am on Monday. All Saturday or Sunday tickets will be honored on Monday.

The Top Fuel final was electrifying to say the least. Mike McLennan upset Jim Murphy in a very dramatic final. McLennan ran 5.95 (at top speed of 251 mph) in the opening stanza to beat Brett Harris. Then Murphy blew everyone away with a brilliant 5.75 (1.02 60’, 3.83 660’ and 207 plus speed at the eighth mile) with his WW2 green machine. In the final, Murphy struck the tires out of the gate, opening the door for the new Mike Fuller car to take advantage of the situation. Both drivers were challenged on the run (including Murphy clipping the last 3 foam blocks), but McLennan crossed the stripe first, winning the final in a 6.77 to 6.80 shootout. In the final, temperatures had dropped to 56 degrees and not too many seconds after the two left the starting line, the skies opened up with yet another round of precipitation. In fact, they were the last two cars down the track when the pin was pulled for the day.

Congratulations to Jeff Lane who put the Hancock & Lane `09 Cobalt into the Pepsi Winner’s Circle. Lane stopped Division 5 ace Clint Neff in the money dash.

All other classes are either down to the semi’s or finals in every class.
 
Many of you are already familiar with where to go to find out all the latest results, but for those of you who may not, direct yourself to www.dragracecentral.com for a complete round by round update from Sunday’s day of racing.

Thanks to everyone for supporting this year’s Ignitor. Our special appreciation goes out to all the Firebird and NHRA Staff for the effort put forth in keeping the track in first-class condition, not to mention the countless times they dried things out.