Mark Zierer - GDRA Race #3 May 28th, 2011 Runner-Up - 8.60
Tony Orts and Rocket Ron Bochenek - GDRA Race #3 May 28th, 2011 Semi-Finalists - 8.60
GDRA 8.60 Final
While its no secret that most of the drag race enthusiast have been met this season with some down right miserable weather, there is always hope that we'll be able to get out and put on a great show for all our fans and that our events will go off without a hitch. Memorial Day Weekend was no exception. Scheduled to run all three classes (8.60, 7.80, and 6.90) with two separate races as part of the Olympics of Drag Racing held at Great Lakes Dragaway, the GDRA drivers started showing up Friday morning. A large number of them looking to get some shake down passes in prior to the following day's event. The drivers that showed up on Friday were blessed with great weather and we saw some really fast times from everyone across the board meaning a lot of the crews would spend some time trying to fine tune their drivers machines to run that magical index number. An evening of heavy rain made the next morning a little damp but the terrific staff at Great Lakes Dragaway got everything dried up quickly and get the track prepped in time for the event to start just a tick later than its planned start time.
The 8.60 class once again had an amazing car count seeing a total of 16 cars for this event. Sadly, there was a significant amount of carnage and mechanical issues that left some on the sidelines for the event. Some teams are still struggling to find and repair the gremlins for the winter season, some are trying to figure out new combinations and equipment, and some picked up where they left off in 2010. There was some amazing racing seen and some upsets as well. Kevin Harrison ran a perfect 8.60 against Mark Zierer's 8.63 in 2nd round which should have given Harrison the win but Mark cut down the tree on the starting line and to the win with a holeshot victory crossing the stripe ahead of Harrison. There were a number of drivers throughout the day that were able to find the number including Kevin Harrison, Don Mateicka, Ken Kendall, Mark Zierer, and Tony Orts. It would prove to be a very thought and tight field all day and into the night. In the semi final rounds it would be Tony Orts vs Mark Zierer and Ken Kendall vs Rocket Ron Bochenek. Zierer and Kendall would pick up the wins in some very close side by side racing. In the final it would be Ken Kendall picking up his first win of the season over Mark Zierer. Kendall would push Zierer out the back door running an 8.602 to Zierer's break out time of 8.58. A tough loss but one hell of a close race!!!
Congrats to Tony Orts, Rocket Ron Bocheneck - Semi Finalists, Mark Zierer - Runner-Up, and Ken Kendall - Winner. Also a big thank you to Curt Fredich for your help in the 6.90 class who put on a great show for the fans running some exhibition passes against the famed Shake Rattle and Run and running right on the 6.90 index.
Sadly, as a few racers that could not make the Saturday event started to roll into the track, Mother Nature showed us her evil side on Sunday for the next race. It poured most of the morning into the afternoon and the event was eventually called. It's a shame cause we would have seen a really nice field in all three classes with cars representing 8.60, 7.80, and 6.90's respectively. All of the racers where given the option since no qualifying had taken place to either receive a refund for their entry or roll it into the next race. All of them rolled it into the next event so its sure to be a great turn out once again. Hope to see everyone there on June 18th. We also have put a price on Ms. Mother Nature's head, dead or alive to ensure perfect racing conditions for the rest of the season!!!
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