ADRL Racers Scramble for Top-8 Finish

n addition to prize money, awards, and prestige, drivers at this weekend's ADRL Fatheadz.com DRAGSTOCK II presented by DragRacingOnline.com at Carolina Dragway will be seeking another very important objective: enough points to qualify for the ADRL's championship eliminations at the season-ending event in Kennedale, Texas.

The top eight points-earners in both the Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous classes at the conclusion of DRAGSTOCK II will earn places in the ADRL's championship run-off, which will be contested during the qualifying rounds at the GetWorkComp.com Lonestar Fall Drags at Texas Raceway. The winners of each three-round eliminator will be declared FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing League champions for 2005.

Entering DRAGSTOCK II, four drivers have clinched spots in their respective championship battles, but the battle for the remaining 12 spots available on the two ladders is too close to call. In Pro Extreme, points leader John Lynam (1,229 points) and second-place Bil Clanton (1,120) have clinched a spot in Kennedale, as have Shannon Jenkins (1,425) and Johnny Pilcher (1,028), the two leaders in Pro Nitrous. ADRL drivers are awarded 100 points for qualifying for the league's eight-car eliminations fields, plus 100 points per round-win (bonus points are also available for setting ADRL ET and speed records).

The scramble for spots in the championship run-off should be intense.  Most of the top drivers in both classes have sent in DRAGSTOCK II entry forms, and the anticipated large fields in both Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous - combined with the unpredictable nature of eighth-mile Outlaw Pro Mod racing - will make for an intense day of competition on Saturday. In Pro Extreme, 11 drivers are within 107 points of eighth-place Eddie Ware; in Pro Nitrous, 10 are 107 points or closer to eighth-place Justin Bankston.