Maple Grove Saturday summary

MANZO, REICHERT ADVANCE TO SEMIS; OTHER QUALIFYING COMPLETE AT MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY

READING, Pa. -- Final qualifying and time trials at Maple Grove Raceway's NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event presented by Boat N RV are complete. Competitors in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car were slated to complete eliminations tonight but a late rain delay made NHRA and track officials opt to pull the plug on racing for the night. They did get in first round and will resume eliminations along with the other categories in the morning.

Top Alcohol Funny Car No. 1 qualifier Frank Manzo has advanced to the semifinals. The Morganville, N.J., racer made a 5.572-second, 260.46 mph pass against No. 8 qualifier Fred Tigges of Holbrook, Mass. Tigges ran 5.777 seconds at 247.61 mph. Bob Tasca III, Cranston, R.I., was the No. 2 qualifier and he advanced to the next round on the strength of a 5.708-second, 255.53 mph run that eclipsed David Ray's 53774-second, 252.24 mph pass. Chesterfield, N.J., resident Frank Schuster took the first round win over Mickey Ferro, Stamford, Conn., running 5.806 seconds at 250.97 mph to Ferro's 5.846-second, 250.69 mph effort. Dan Pomponio, Berlin, N.J., moved on to the second round after beating Paul Gill, Brockton, Mass., on a hole-shot. Pomponio got out of the gate first and ran 5.854 seconds at 248.75 mph to Gill's quicker-but-losing 5.796-second 251.02 mph run.

In Top Alcohol Dragster, top qualifier Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., put the hurt on Karen Stalba, Hammonton, N.J., making a 5.379-second, 264.13 mph pass to Stalba's 5.798-second run at 239.53 mph. The No. 7 qualifier, Ken Winward, Wilmington, Del., grabbed the first-round win when second-place qualifier Aaron Olivarez of Sandy, Utah, broke on the starting line. Dan Mercier, Montreal, Que., moved into the semis on a 5.474-second, 262.03 mph pass over John Finke's 5.617-second, 257.58 mph effort. Mike Kosky, Cuddy, Pa., ran a very respectable 5.402-second, 263.15 mph pass against Dave DeAngelis of Middlesex, N.J., but Kosky already had the win as DeAngelis had red-lighted.

Vinny Barone of Dix Hill, N.Y., stayed in the top qualifying position in Comp Eliminator as did Stock Eliminator racer Tom Kreeber, Rensselaer, N.Y., and Duke Roney III, Broomall, Pa., in Top Dragster. In Super Stock, Don Carpenter III, Conway, Pa., set the pace while in Top Sportsman, John Prime, Thomastown, Conn., took over the top spot.

Racing continues Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway. Gates open at 8 a.m. and eliminations continue at

9 a.m. Tickets for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event are $20. Children 6 to 11 years old are $6 and kids 5 and under are admitted free. For more information call Maple Grove Raceway, (610) 856-7812, or visit www.MapleGroveRaceway.com.

-credit: nhra