July 4th was a great day for racing with perfect air temperatures to enjoy some of the best heads up racing that the area has to offer. 75-80 Dragway was the destination for their weekly heads-up program along with a wheel stand contest. The crowd was great and from the looks of the pits, they were filling up fast with some awesome machines that would be doing battle on the eighth mile. The show features the original Outlaw Pro Street, Outlaw Drag Radial, Big Tire Outlaws and Heads Up Dragsters. Last month we seen low four second passes from the dragsters under the lights this event should not disappoint.
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****For the full gallery click here****Courtesy of Brian Free
Wheelstand Competition
Bernardo's winning wheelstand
One of the most anticipated activities of the day was the wheel stand competition. Only a few competitors were involved including two of the Outlaw Pro Street cars. Dave Tolley and Jimmy Mayo decided to join in the fun. Coming out on top for the win for both the longest and highest was Nicholas Bernardo who also picked up the win in Drag Radial. Bernardo’s bumper dragging run went for 134 feet and 10 inches to pick up the win. For his efforts Nicholas took home $1000. $500 for the longest wheelie and $500 for the highest. Also included were two huge trophies.
Outlaw Drag Radial
As the call went out for cars to head to the lanes so did the fans as they headed into the stands for the qualifying runs in all classes. Usually the first hit is somewhat soft as crews work on finding the sweet spot for what the track can handle. Outlaw Drag Radial is one of the fan favorites with some killer cars that resemble real street cars. After two qualifying efforts the four competitors were engaged in battle with a few newcomers to the list. Local racer Duane Durbin would find himself in a familiar position at the top of the qualifying ladder in his big block first generation Camaro. He sports 600 plus cubic inches under the hood with enough nitrous to send the space shuttle into orbit.
Duane Durbin
Sitting in number two was Nicholas Bernardo coming out of Virginia. The EB3 Motorsports crew is known for having some wild creations and his 69’ Camaro is no different. The 432 cubic inch small block is propelled with nitrous on 325 Hoosier Radials.
Nicholas Bernardo
Rounding out the field were Rob Falcone and Steve Nugent. Falcone campaigns a beautiful notchback Mustang with big block Chevrolet power under the hood. He has been working on testing the car as of late and working hard at getting the tune-up set for competition.
Steve Nugent
Steve Nugent is another new face to the 75-80 program and his Mustang looks like it can be a serious player but he wound up in the number four position for the event.
Qualifying Results
Duane Durbin : 5.459
Nicholas Bernardo : 5.733
Rob Falcone : 6.242
Steve Nugent : 6.465
In round one it would be Duane Durbin taking on Steve Nugent. Durbin laid down a very conservative 5.436 to take the win over Nugent. With only four cars this will put Durbin in the finals. In the other pairing it was the Camaro of Nicholas Bernardo taking on Rob Falcone in his Mustang. Falcone broke and was unable to make the run which handed a competition bye to Bernardo for the win. Bernardo and Durbin would face off in the finals.
Rob Falcone
The finals were eventful to say the least as Durbin was shut off for apparently leaking fluids on the track and Bernardo would pick up his first win of the day.
Outlaw Pro Street
Dave Tolley
Outlaw Pro Street is the original class that got heads-up racing started so many years ago at 75-80 and the fresh look of the track is drawing the cars back for some heated rivalries that have already evolved this season. Dave Tolley has been Mr. Consistency this year with four final round wins so far. He would take his spot atop the ladder once again on Saturday with a 4.986 in qualifying.
Tricky ricky Pennamon
Sitting number two was “Tricky Ricky” Pennamon in his Chevrolet Malibu. His 5.061 in qualifying was conservative but a success as he has been battling getting down track without trying to make contact with the wall. Henry Nooft and his John Force style burnouts sat in third with a solid 5.20 while followed by Jim Mayo, Brent Beachley, Frank Martin and Ronnie Guariglia.
Jimmy Mayo
Qualifying Results
Dave Tolley : 4.986
Ricky Pennamon : 5.061
Henry Nooft : 5.20
Jimmy Mayo : 5.495
Brent Beachley : 5.547
Frank Martin : 5.617
Ronnie Guariglia : 6.335
In round one Dave Tolley would have a bye which would have Jimmy Mayo and Brent Beachley facing off. Mayo had the advantage with the blown power plant under the hood of his Chevelle and would take the win. Ricky Pennamon would take on Ronnie Guarglia and would improve on his qualifying time to take the win with a 5.002. The last pair in the first round was Henry Nooft in his Vega versus Frank “Wolfman” Martin in the West End Motors Nova. Henry had a four tenths advantage in qualifying and it would carry over to take the win with a 5.365 over Martin.
Frank Martin
The second round would be packed with plenty of hype as a group of veteran racers would face off head to head. Dave Tolley and Jimmy Mayo had the supercharger wars. Mayo’s Chevelle took on the Mustang of Tolley but Tolley would come out on top with a 5.02 run. Henry Nooft had to take on the nitrous power of Pennamon and it would be Pennamon who would prevail with the win running a 5.37 to face Tolley in the finals.
Henry Nooft
As we stood on the starting line there was a buzz of who would come out on top with the bounty on Tolley as he has claimed four in a row this season. As they did there burnouts Pennamon lined up tight in the groove under the watchful eye of Sammy Carter.
Pennamon and crew in the Winner's Circle
The pair left close together and it was almost to close to call at the stripe but it was Ricky Pennamon taking out Tolley. His 4.934 was the fastest pass of the day and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Big Tire Outlaw
Big Tire Outlaw is one of the new classes that has popped up over the past few racing seasons and the popularity continues to grow. With a lot of Top Sportsman racers in the area it is a great class for them to participate in when not traveling to national events. Only four cars showed for this go round but the racing didn’t let up one bit. Qualifying was close with Ronnie Proctor and his beautiful Mustang taking top honors. He ran a 4.55 to claim the number one spot. John Powell occupied the second position with his Chevy II as he ran a 4.703. The field was rounded out with Kris Sellers in third and Lin Bowie sitting fourth.
Ronnie Proctor
Qualifying Results
Ronnie Proctor : 4.55
John Powell : 4.703
Kris Sellers : 5.197
Lin Bowie : 6.417
As eliminations rolled around it would be Ronnie Proctor taking on Kris Sellers in the opening round. Proctor advanced as he went low for the round once again with a 4.556. John Powell would also advance into the finals as he took out Lin Bowie by posting a 4.683 run.
Lin Bowie
Powell and Proctor would roll to the line in the finals with a classic Chevy versus Ford battle. Proctor in the Mustang is deadly consistent and would be hard to beat. Proctor left the line hard and never looked back as Powell spun the tires. Proctors 4.511 was the fastest pass of the day and would take the win in Big Tire Outlaw.
Heads Up Dragsters
The last heads-up class of the day features the long wheel base dragsters and one lone Fiat. The Heads Up Dragsters are something new to the environment at 75-80 but they have been welcomed openly as they always put on a great show. One of the most known racers is “The Godfather” Bob Lupini in his small block Chevrolet powered dragster with a huge blower sitting atop the engine.
Michael Bauman
Michael Bauman would take the top spot throughout qualifying in the Built Up Roofing dragster. His 4.165 will get him a bye in the first round. Sitting number two was Joe Kaiser with a 4.178 followed by Bob Lupini in third with a 4.41 run. Mike Bower, Matt Stambaugh, Greg Mauchamer and George Paul rounded out the field.
Bob Lupini
Qualifying Results
Michael Bauman : 4.165
Joe Kaiser : 4.178
Bob Lupini : 4.41
Mike Bower : 4.445
Matt Stambaugh : 4.769
Greg Mauchamer : 4.769
George Paul : 8.092
In round one Greg Mauchamer and Bob Lupini would face off. Mauchamer in the Fiat would come up a bit short as Lupini took the win with a 4.274. Next up was Joe Kaiser and George Paul. Paul would experience problems after the burnout as he could not get his dragster to go in reverse. Kaiser would pick up the win on a competition bye. Matt Stambaugh would fall to A. Bower and Michael Bauman had the bye into the next round.
Greg Mauchamer
Round two rolled around and it was Michael Bauman picking up the win with another low four second run over Mike Bower. Bob Lupini would get beat by Joe Kaiser but was reinstated due to Kaiser not having a tail light which would place Lupini in the finals to take on Bauman.
Joe Kaiser
Lupini had quite a defecit to make up against Bauman in the final and he took a stab at the tree but went red which handed the win to the Built Up Roofing team.