Darlington Groundhog Warm-up Qualifying

DARLINGTON, SC - Troy Critchley had a rough day on Thursday at the CompetitionPlus.Com Groundhog Warm-up presented by Majesty Homes in Darlington, SC. The native Australian, who pilots Johnny Rocca's Pro Modified 1949 Mercury, overcame two wounded engines the day prior to climb to the top of the rankings among Pro Modified entries.

Critchley hammered out a 6.278/222.88 to become the first Pro Modified of the testing session to dip into the 6.2-second range.

Not only did Critchley get off to a terrible start, so did the weather. Early conditions produced 43-degree weather. Not one drop of rain fell, although forecasters were predicting it. However, Mother Nature proved to be a drag racing fan and allowed the temperature to climb to the mid-fifty degree range.

Critchley's run edged out Thursday's leader Rickie Smith, who stormed to a 6.321/220.64. A quartet of nitrous entries followed such as Mike Castellana (6.322/222.11), Steve Vick (6.326/222.82) and Mitch Stott (6.338/219.98).

The Mountain Motor Pro Stock division continued to be the property of Chris Holbrook (6.645/208.42). He was followed by Floyd Cheek, Dwayne Rice and John Montecalvo.

The Pro Stock Truck division was paced by the Chevrolet S-10 of Larry Kopp and driven by Tim Freeman. Freeman hammered out a 7.643/175.75.

The carnage continued as Annette Summers had a nitrous explosion that made Quain Stott's Thursday blast look tame in comparison.

Performance Ratings After Second Day Of Testing (List does not reflect drivers that failed to make full runs)

Pro Modified

1. Troy Critchley          6.278/222.88
2. Rickie Smith            6.321/220.64
3. Mike Castellana         6.322/222.11
4. Steve Vick              6.326/222.82
5. Mitch Stott             6.338/219.99
6. Todd Tutterow           6.414/215.41
7. Wayne Torkelson, Jr.    7.233/158.11
8. Quain Stott             8.066/117.86                
9. Harold Martin           9.453/122.98
10. Dwayne White, Jr.      9.637/104.00

Pro Stock

1. Chris Holbrook          6.645/208.42
2. Floyd Cheek             6.690/205.01    
3. Dwayne Rice             6.794/205.38
4. John Montecalvo         6.822/170.84
5. Doug Patton             6.895/198.36

Pro Stock Truck

1. Tim Freeman 7.586/175.54