race reports

Factory Stock Showdown at Indianapolis

Barton and Camaro Win Battle of the Brands

 

Words by Kay Burk

Photos by Chris Haverly

David Barton (near lane) in a 2017 Camaro defeated Daniel Condon in a 2015 Camaro in Round 2 and went on for the championship. He set Low ET at 8.109 seconds.

 

With twenty-two drivers trying to make the 16-car field for the Factory Stock Showdown during the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, the qualifying was intense. Indeed, David Janac of Caldwell, TX, missed the field by just .027 with his COPO Camaro.

 

Big Show drivers Leah Pritchett and Erica Enders also drove in this special event, Pritchett in a 2015 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak and Enders in a 2017 Camaro.

Pritchett qualified No. 5 and won the first round 8.199 (.055 RT) over Eric Bardekoff’s 11.007 (.081 RT). In the second round Peter Gasko Jr. was off the starting line first (.015 to .062) and got the win after Pritchett’s car slowed to a 14.845.

Gasko Jr. (far lane) of Monroe, NJ, got the first-round win when Randy Taylor, Artesia, NM, turned on the red light. Gasko Jr. was a no-show for the third round, moving Scott Libersher into the semifinals.

Chuck Watson, Grosse Ile, MI, (far lane) ran 8.323 (0.074 RT) to take the first-round win over the Mustang of Sophia, North Carolina’s Roy Hill. In the next round Watson lost 8.272 (0.060 RT) to Stephen Bell’s 8.225 (0.064 RT) in his Camaro.

Puerto Rican Waldemar Rodriguez (near lane) ran 8.320 (0.070 RT) in his Camaro to knock No. 1 qualifier Geoffrey Turk, Yorkville, IL, out of the competition. Turk’s Challenger turned in a quicker 8.270 but his 0.185 RT made all the difference.

Stephen Bell (far lane) ran 8.264 (0.055 RT) to defeat Scott Libersher’s 8.336 (0.027 RT) in the semifinal.

In the final round Barton met Stephen Bell, also in a ’17 Camaro, who had set Top Speed at 168.39 mph. Bell was off the line first with a 0.040 Reaction Time to Barton’s 0.058, but Barton’s 8.181 at 164.53 mph was the winner over Bell’s 8.214/165.48. 

Libersher (far lane), Wilmington, IL, drove his Camaro to an 8.274 (0.033 RT) first-round win over John Calvert, Lancaster, CA, in a 2016 Mustang, 11.823 (0.030 RT).

Kevin Skinner (near lane) drove his Mustang to an 8.272 (0.071 RT) first-round win over Erica Enders in a Camaro that turned in an 8.363 (0.044 RT).

David Barton’s Camaro (far lane) ran 8.582 (.075 RT) to take the win over Carl Tasca’s Mustang at 12.478 (.044 RT) in the first round.

VOLUME XIX,  NUMBER 8 - AUGUST   2017

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