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FUNNY CAR
Bogolo was the darkhorse all day among Funny
Car competitors. The Hamilton, Ohio-based driver
methodically worked his way through the field
while final round opponent Mark Thomas thundered
through with blistering elapsed times and speeds.
In the final round, Bogolo used a .045 deficit
on the starting line to his advantage as he
successfully fended off the multi-time world
champion Thomas with a 5.901, 240.51. Thomas,
of Louisville, Ohio, lost with a 5.974, 239.31.
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"Anytime you can run with Mark Thomas
and win is good," said Bogolo. "I knew
I had to get out on him to have a good
chance. He shook the tires and that was
the break we needed today."
Bogolo opened eliminations as the fifth
quickest and used better performances
to defeat John Sullivan and Terry McMillen
before taking a competition bye run into
the final round.
Meanwhile, Thomas had been on a tear
all weekend by establishing the top qualifying
spot and maintaining a torrid pace en
route to winning the first round on a
bye run then stopping Chris Foster and
Ronnie Midyette.
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Joe Percoco's Crown
Victoria Funny Car was at the first week's
qualifying, but didn't make the final cut.
Pretty cool, though.(Jeff Burk photo)
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PRO STOCK
The Sunoco Pro Stock division provided a chance
for the lone Chrysler participant to slay all
giants that crossed his path. Jones, a renowned
chassis builder from Galesburg, Ill., pushed
his Hemi-powered Dodge Neon to a holeshot victory
over defending world champion Brian Gahm of
Lucasville, Ohio.
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DRO file photo by
Jeff Burk
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Jones (left), who represents the first
mountain motor Mopar to win since Bobby
Yowell in 1979, used a .087 starting line
advantage to record a 6.613, 209.14 to
6.613, 210.14 decision. He entered eliminations
as the fourth seeded entry.
"We went the hard route with a Mopar
because a lot of people run other brands
of cars," Jones said. "It could have been
easy to go with a Ford or Chevy, but we
wanted to be unique. There are a lot of
Mopar fans and we wanted to give them
something to cheer for. I think we gave
them something to be proud of today."
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Jones was on his game all day winning three
rounds in the tricky right lane. His only time
in the left lane resulted in an opening round
victory over Jeff Dobbins. Jones then defeated
Elijah Morton and Steve Williford to reach the
finals.
Gahm entered eliminations as the seventh quickest
and reached the final round with victories over
John Nobile, Pete Berner and Doug Kirk.
John Bartunek's Pontiac
Grand Am went out in the first round of Pro
Stock.
(Jeff Burk photo)
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