PRESENTS

INTERNATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION, GOODGUYS NATIONAL SERIES

Litton repeats as Mardi Gras champion

Evans, Gallen win in front of packed Sunday crowd

PORT ALLEN, La. (March 7, 2010) – For the second straight year Mardi Gras Nitro Jam provided sold out crowds and thrilling on-track action as State Capitol Raceway hosted two straight nights of packed stands and Mardi Gras fun capped off by the crowning of champions Sunday afternoon.

Three different winners pulled into victory lane Sunday as Bruce Litton (Top Fuel) finally hit his stride with a victory over Bobby Lagana Jr., while Bill Evans (Pro Fuel) and Peter Gallen (Prostalgia NFC) also claimed wins in their respective classes.

In exhibition action Joseph Palmisano bested a field of eight to win the Outlaw Pro Modified shootout.

Joining the quartet of professional winners were the duo of Chris Gulitti (Top Sportsman) and Sheldon Bissessar (Top Dragster) who won in the second ever Harland Sharp Elite 8 Shootout. Gulitti bested a packed field to win for the first time this year while Bissessar continued his domination of the class with his second straight Harland Sharp Elite 8 win.

In sportsman action seven champions were crowned on Sunday included Glenn Wright (Top Sportsman), P.J. Vicari (Top Dragster), Tim Herbert (Super Stock), Jody Simoneaux (Stock), Mark Powers (Quick Rod), Chris Arnold (Super Rod) and Marlon Goates (Hot Rod).

Local racers David Dupont (Box) and Chris Chenevert (No Box) also hoisted an Ironman in front of the largest crowd to ever see a drag race in the state of Louisiana.

And that crowd witnessed a tremendous afternoon of professional racing.

Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) spent the first three rounds of the 2010 season trying to get a grip on his Top Fuel dragster with new crew chief Mike Wolfarth at the helm and finally hit a stride on Sunday.

After a blistering first round pass Litton returned to the track in Sunday’s final against Bobby Lagana Jr. and put down the low elapsed time of the weekend to take home his first Ironman of the year.

“We struggled last night. We had a hard time getting a feel for the track, but Mike and the gang got it figured out this afternoon,” Litton said. “We found a combination today and we found a stride and had a big speed, a bigger speed than we ran here last year, so it was good to finally find the car.”

Litton ran a 4.741, 314.79 in the final to get around Lagana’s 4.822, 308.95 in a tremendous drag race that saw both cars welded together the length of the quarter-mile, a much different scene than the night before.

“Last night I had to pedal it a couple times and broke a few things. We got those bugs worked out and returned with a great run today,” Litton said. “I just have to thank Lucas Oil. Lucas is a great group that stands behind me with great products. United Trailers is also on the car, which is now the official trailer of the IHRA, so it was a nice introduction for them. We just feel very blessed today.”

In Sunday’s consolation round Spencer Massey cruised to a win over Del Cox as Cox ran into trouble early in the run and had to shut it off. Massey ran a season best 4.881, 309.27.

Litton and Lagana replaced Cox and Massey in the final on Sunday after Cox won the opening night of competition against his teammate.

In first round action Litton finally found the track with a solid 4.753, 314.13 to get around Cox while Lagana was just behind with a 4.839, 306.64 to eliminate Massey.

In Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car Peter Gallen produced similar results as Litton, correcting three rounds of sub-par runs to finally take home an Ironman.

Gallen bested John Lawson in the first round before meeting Saturday winner Mike McIntire in the final. In that matchup Gallen and McIntire put on a tremendous show for the fans with lengthy burnouts and side-by-side passes with Gallen coming out on top.

“I had never run Mike before and obviously he runs good, he proved that last night, but I know our car runs good as well,” Gallen said. “It was a great race and a big win for our team to finally come out on top.”

Gallen (Broomall, Pa.) ran a solid 5.813, 246.84 to get around McIntire who ran a 6.079, 239.36.

In the consolation rounds Greg Jacobsmeyer defeated Jon Capps and Steve Nichols defeated John Dunn.

“We struggled last night, but I think a lot of that is driver. We had a meeting last night with the crew and we all agreed that this is how it is going to be done,” Gallen said. “It seemed to work on both runs here today. I told one of my guys the most work I had to do in the run was push the button to shift. It was as smooth as can be.”

In the opening round Gallen got around Lawson with a round best 5.837, 246.44 while McIntire placed himself in his third final in four tries this season with a 5.970, 239.48 to get around Capps.

In other first round action Krafft defeated Nichols and Jacobsmeyer defeated Dunn.

Pro Fuel had a breakthrough weekend with consistent laps and solid numbers as Evans returned to his dominating ways and won for the third time in four tries.

“Last night in the first round we burnt both heads off of it and my guys worked on the car until 3 a.m. to get it ready,” Evans said. “We then went out and set low E.T. and burnt both heads off again. We thrashed on the car and got back out here for the final and we were able to hold on for the win.

“I really have to give this win to my guys, they earned this one.”

Evans (Miramar, Fla.) defeated Saturday winner Buddy Domingue in the final with a solid 5.927, 252.03. Domingue ran a 5.986, 238.15.

All three professional finals produced side-by-side runs and incredible numbers for the fans.

“What more could you ask for than to get a chance to race in front crowds like these,” Evans said.

In the consolation round Robin Samsel won on a bye and Jeff Hamelink defeated Mike Manners.

Pro Fuel’s first round saw some of the best numbers of the season as Evans and Domingue raced to the top of the charts. Evans regained his spot at the top of the class with a win over Robin Samsel with a fine 5.486, 250.55 pass. Domingue made a bye run and produced the second best run of the day with a 6.181, 229.29.

In the other first round pairing Hamelink raced around Mike Manners.

Outlaw Pro Modified produced plenty of exciting racing capped off by a victory by Palmisano (Abita Springs, La.) over Steve Benoit. Palmisano ran a 4.347, 163.36 in the eighth-mile final, besting Benoit’s 4.459, 161.23.

Palmisano defeated Benoit, Bill Doucet and Jim Jolley on his way to the win.

For the second straight race one of the highlights of the weekend was the Harland Sharp Elite 8 race. Placing the top eight qualifiers from the sportsman rounds on a heads-up ladder, the shootout has created new rivalries and great racing for fans.

On Sunday Gulitti (Spring, Texas) and Bissessar (Marabella, Trinidad) proved the best of the night with Gulitti besting Scooter Hampton in Top Sportsman and Bissessar defeating John Angelle in Top Dragster.

“It was exhilarating to come out here and win the Quick 8 at a national event,” Gulitti said. “To come out here in this field with our car and win is tremendous,” Gulitti said. “I am not the fastest car out here, but we can get down the track.”

While Gulitti won for the first time, Bissessar once again dominated the eight-car field.

“We were thrilled to win the first one and to win for the second straight time is thrilling for us,” Bissessar said. “Hopefully we can keep this up and continue to win this thing.”

After two straight sold out events Nitro Jam packs up and heads north for the Spring Nitro Jam at Rockingham Dragway April 30-May 2.

Nitro Jam continues to build momentum

Sold out crowds pack State Capitol Raceway Saturday

PORT ALLEN, La. (March 6, 2010) – Nitro was in the air and three new champions were crowned during the third straight sold out Nitro Jam event Saturday night at State Capitol Raceway in Louisiana.

Reigning Top Fuel World Champion Del Cox rebounded from a late arrival to the track to win his first race of the season while Mike McIntire (Prostalgia) and newcomer Buddy Dominigue (Pro Fuel) bested defending race winners to claim their first wins of the year.

Cox, who missed his flight to Louisiana the night before, arrived at the Baton Rouge airport roughly an hour before his run on Saturday. Once at the track Cox had just enough time to throw on his suit and jump in the dragster as the pair in front of him were warming up.

He then proceeded to put down the low elapsed time of the round and eventually go on to win the entire event all just moments from missing his run entirely.

“I was here at the track at 6:50 p.m. and in the pits pulling in after my run a little after 7 p.m. I literally pulled in the pits, ran down the track and now we are here in winners circle,” Cox said. “It was actually a little easier for me mentally. I just jumped in and went. I had a job to do and I did it.”

After besting Bobby Lagana Jr. in the opening round Cox (Downey, Calif.) met up with teammate Spencer Massey in the final and ran to a sloppy 5.386, 204.77 to take home his first win of the year. Massey ran into trouble much earlier in his run.

“It was a heck of a deal for our team and our sponsors. And getting to race Spencer was a pretty awesome deal,” Cox said. “I feel like I need to cut the Ironman in half and share it with him so we both get a piece. Hopefully we can get another one tomorrow and just share.”

In the consolation round Lagana put up the best numbers of the night with a 4.817, 304.98 to defeat Bruce Litton.

Cox reached the final with a first round win over Lagana while Massey took down Litton in a tricky opening round. All four cars ran into some sort of trouble in their first hits at the track leaving the victory to the best man at pedaling the track.

Cox eliminated Lagana with a 6.161 second pass, good enough for low E.T. of the round. Massey was just behind with the next best pass.

Cox’s victory set up a battle of teammates in the final as Lagana, who won both finals at the season opener at Palm Beach, failed to reach a final for the first time this year.

In the Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car final Mike McIntire (Chesterland, Ohio) made up for a disappointing opening weekend with a victory over Steve Nichols.

McIntire made a final round earlier this year at the season opener Palm Beach Nitro Jam, but a broken part kept him from making the call. It was a completely different story on Saturday as McIntire bested one of the best in the business in Nichols to claim his first career Ironman.

“At the last race it was a whole new combination and we just missed it. We spent a lot of time and money figuring this new combination out and it worked tonight,” McIntire said. “We were disappointed down in Florida, but this sure did make up for it.”

McIntire, behind the wheel of the McAttack ’69 Camaro, was glued to Nichols and his “Mill Road Boys” entry from start to finish and crossed the line with a career best 5.926, 240.77 pass. Nichols ran a 6.515.

“I never saw him. I was geared up to leave because he is such a good racer and we did that. I left on him hard and the car just ran straight as an arrow,” McIntire said. “I pushed it into second gear and just kept going. We really hit on it tonight.”

In the consolation rounds Greg Jacobsmeyer defeated Rick Krafft, John Dunn won on a bye and Peter Gallen defeated John Lawson.

Nichols, who won the most recent Prostalgia race last month in Palm Beach, once again put himself in a final round with a blistering 5.974, 241.15 to defeat Jacobsmeyer’s 6.165, 230.88 in the first round. McIntire reached his first official final of the year with a 6.111, 235.04 to get around Dunn.

In other first round action Gallen defeated Lawson and Jon Capps defeated Rick Krafft.

While McIntire’s victory was a big plus for the team, the biggest surprise of the weekend came when Pro Fuel newcomer Buddy Domingue toppled two of the best in the class to claim an Ironman in his first time out.

“I just have to thank everyone here and especially my crew. Winning in my first weekend out is a pretty neat deal. We are all very excited,” Domingue said.

Domingue (Port Neches, Texas) reached the final with a victory over favorite Bill Evans who dominated the class at the season opener. After getting around Evans Domingue shifted his focus to the other newcomer to the class Brandon Pierce.

But after Pierce ran into trouble and failed to make the call, Domingue was able to cruise to his first win with little issue. Still, even with the win wrapped up, he still ran a Saturday best 5.452 time at 250 miles-per-hour.

“It was an exciting night. We beat Bill and then backed that up with the best run of the night. What more could we ask for in our first night out,” Domingue said.

In consolation rounds Jeff Hamelink won in a bye and Robin Samsel defeated Michael Manners.

In the opening round of Pro Fuel Domingue knocked Evans from his spot at the top of the Pro Fuel podium with a solid 5.731, 240.38 pass, barely edging Evans’ 5.985, 254.45. Pierce occupied the other final spot with a 5.576, 254.09 to eliminate Michael Manners.

In the other Pro Fuel round Robin Samsel defeated Jeff Hamelink.

Drivers in the Outlaw Pro Modified class shifted away from two nights of eliminations and elected to instead use Saturday to qualify for Sunday’s elimination rounds. After two passes on Saturday Shawn Davis (Lake Charles, La.) led the pack with a 4.214, 137.42 pass in the eighth-mile. Jim Jolley was second, followed by Wayne Collins, Steve Wheeler and Steve Benoit.

Saturday’s large crowds began rolling into the facility in the early afternoon and enjoyed an entire day of exciting sportsman action prior to the start of the pro rounds.

By 11 a.m. the parking lot was at capacity and the stands were already full – and not a single professional car had even fired up yet.

That was the scene early Saturday morning as IHRA’s best sportsman racers put on a show in front of an overflow crowd hours before the start of Saturday’s “Night of Fire” at the Mardi Gras Nitro Jam at State Capitol Raceway. 

“It is really exciting to see the stands packed full of fans watching every single sportsman pass. It really stands as a testament to the quality of racing in IHRA’s sportsman divisions,” said Skooter Peaco, VP of Race Operations. “We were almost at capacity by noon today, seven hours before the start of the professional rounds. That speaks volumes about the new format and the racing we have to offer.”

Sunday’s sportsman eliminations will get underway at 9 a.m. with professional rounds set for 1:30 p.m.