Words by Kay Burk
Photos by Greg Lortz
 Clay Millican (right) shows there are no hard feelings as Bobby Lagana gets the win. |
The year 2006 may mark a shift in the alignment of the stars as Clay Millican's seeming ownership of IHRA Top Fuel begins to erode. Bobby Lagana Jr. got his first win and broke Millican's four-event win streak (preceded by five IHRA championships) at Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada.
"I wanted to win worse than any other run I've ever made in my entire life," Lagana said. "Those guys on Clay's team have almost brought us to where we are right now. To beat the people who put you there is special."
Dale Creasy Jr. (right) picked up his first career win in a Nitro Funny Car, defeating Bob Gilbertson with a 4.99/296.44 to Gilbertson's 5.057/295.95.
"There were a lot of firsts for us here," Creasy said. "We got our first Number 1 qualifier, our first round-win of the year, our first bye run ever, our first final ever and our first win ever. Everything was just great. You just couldn't script it any better than this."
South Carolina's Alan Pittman (left) capped a consistent weekend of 6.20's by beating Canadian Glen Kerunsky in the final of Pro Modified. Pittman's Bel Air turned in a 6.243/227.10 against the 6.849/210.77 of Kerunsky's Bel Air. Canada could lay claim to the winner also, though, as Pittman's Pro Mod is powered by Canadian Carl Spiering engines.