Liz West Scores CMF Challenge Win

What a miserable Spring we have had so far. Who would imagine that it would take us until the end of May to get our 2011 Summit E.T. Points Series underway. But although the place was still in a very wet condition we were able to pull off our opener 1/8 mile style and at least get some racing in. 

Super Pro
Vince Musolino brought out his new 2011 American Dragster and secured the win by defeating Ken Miller who was driving his '72 Ford Maverick. Vince who also stopped Ken in the first round (Ken bought back in) drove his Ricelli Enterprise backed mount to a stellar .505 initiated, 4.685 at 138.13 mph on his 4.68 dial to leave no room for Miller to hold him off. Ken settled for the runner up spot with a .525 light and a 6.962 at 98.04 mph run on his 6.95 dial. James Smith was the semifinalist.

CMF Challenge
Liz West drove her '02 Trans Am to the coveted win today in the CMF Challenge.  (Camaro, Mustang, Firebird) Liz took out the always tough and defending Street Champ Anthony Zangari in the semi's and then stopped Doug Wilcox, driving his '89 Mustang in the final. Both drivers had subpar lights in the final with Liz holding a slight edge .766 to .797 and she was able to squeak by Doug with a 7.468 at 95.52 mph run on her 7.42 dial, while Doug had to be satisfied with his runner up effort of 7.976 at 85.76 mph run on his 7.96 dial.

Pro
Two of the Pro classes toughest competitors squared off for the season opening final round. Mike LaRose in his '68 Plymouth was able to defeat Rob Forbes in his '93 S-10. What a final round these two put together, Mike held a slim .531 to .534 reaction time advantage and won with a 6.499 at 105.92 mph run on his 6.50 dial in. Rob had to settle for the runner up with an equally impressive 6.767 at 102.22 mph run on his 6.77 prediction. Fausto Rioscolon was the semifinalist.

Pro MX
Dan Cerio bought his way back into the Pro MX action after a 1st round loss and went all the way to the final round defeating Matt Luke to score the win. Dan rode his '01 Arctic Cat to .543 initiated, 6.061 at 114.99 mph run on his 6.00 dial to stop Matt who was on his '05 Honda. Matt had a .600 r.t. and settled for the runner up with a breakout time of 6.127 at 111.10 mph run on his 6.15 dial. Keith Miller was the semifinalist.

Street Money
Jon Skellham was able to drive his '68 Chevy to the Street Money win when he stopped veteran campaigner Klaus Dieroff who was driving his familiar '70 El Camino. Jon had this one handed to him as Klaus left the red light glowing in his lane, but he still had a great .513 light and ran a 9.399 at 72.33 mph on his 9.30 dial in. Klaus had the .419 foul and ran a 7.693 at 89.08 mph on his 7.74 dial. Jim Smith and Anthony Zangari were the semifinalists.

Modified
Super Pro runner up Ken Miller was able to take one win today as he wheeled his '72 Maverick to the Modified win stopping Joe DeVoe in his Chevy. Ken had a .544 light and ran a 6.953 at 98.22 mph on his 6.94 dial, while Joe settled for the runner up spot with a .598 initiated, 8.738 at 74.99 mph run on his 8.50 dial. Frank Hester was the semifinalist.

Street Trophy
Mike Ching drove his '01 Camaro to the Street Trophy title when stopped Robert Cummings who was driving his '91 Ford. Mike was late at the tree with a .780 r.t., but he nailed his 7.43 dial in with a 7.433 at 91.48 mph winning pass. Rob had a better light with a .685, but he ran well off his 8.20 dial with a 8.904 at 85.56 mph effort. Larry Zegarelli and Bob Harrington were the semifinalists.

David Ashby was able to score the early season win today riding his familiar '90 Kawasaki. Dave took the win with a .648 initiated, 8.521 at 77.85 mph run on his 8.47 dial in while his opponent Frank Amalfi on his '05 Ski-doo red lighted away his chance for the win with a .456 initiated, 6.381 at 102.00 mph runner up effort. Kevin Wuest was the semifinalist.

Jr. Dragster "A"
In the Jr. Dragster "A" final round it was two of the classes young ladies Morgan Bunal and Paige DeSalvo squaring off in a very close race that was determined by a scant six thousandths of a second. Both were dialed in at 7.90, and Morgan got off the line first with a .545 to Paige's .575 r.t. As they made their way down track it was Morgan who turned on the win light with a 7.933 at 81.38 mph while Paige settled for the runner up with a 7.909 at 82.29 mph. Taylor Duell and Justin Hardman were today's semifinalists.

That will do it for our opening Summit Point's day. Thanks to everyone for coming out and dealing with the wet conditions. Hopefully we'll dry out and be back to 1/4 mile action very soon. See you at the Drags.

By Pete DeSalvo Jr.
• Race photos by LaPointe Photography