GoneDragRacing.com

Before I get into the racing part of the day.. I'm going to attempt to share some of what I saw going on at the Neverlift for Jenna race. I saw spectators and racers reaching deep into their wallets to give money to a great cause, whether they knew the Barnaby family or not. I saw Shawn Gallagher and the Kaspers decide to give the winner's $2k purse to the fund, with no hesitation on either side about making the decision. I saw people sleeping over at the track, dedicated to get a successful race in for a little girl who lost her father. I could go on and on and on, but instead I invite everyone else to share their side of the day.


As far as the race goes --


Luis Martinez in his wild RX7 put up an impressive 8.500 during qualifying to take the #1 spot and bump the 'Kid Kwik' down a spot to #2. Right on their tails were Brian Ferrari and Tommy Romeo, both seasoned racers well capable of going rounds.


Round 1
Two wicked rides pulled up to the line, Luis Martinez in the RX7 and Angelo Valla in the blue Vette. Luis got a slow start with a .168 light, but his 8.670 pass would stand up against Valla's 8.818. Shawn Gallagher, qualifying last, pulled an upset over #5 qualifier Mike Conway after Shawn found his tuneup and put up an 8.571 to Conway's 8.598 - a close race w/ a .011 margin of victory. Up next was John Razzler and Rockin' Rob Cherkas, both of whom can be dangerous in this class. Rob is normally on point with the number, but today John got him, his 8.770 doing the trick to Rob's 8.861. In the following matchup, Wiso Melendez caught Franky Santos taking a nap, and also put up a good number of 8.654 versus Franky's 8.755. Tommy Romeo pulled up to the line, gremlin free for the moment, against Dave Acker. Tommy hits the tree with a .066 reaction time, coupled with a 8.705 gives him a holeshot win against Acker's 8.648 and .159 light. Next up was TJ Kasper, cutting the tree with a .029 light against Danny Clark. Clark's 8.631 would not hold up against the Kid's 8.589 pass. Two dangerous racers pulled up next, both sporting orange rides, one Nova and one Stang. Craig Buscio's 8.626 pass put him in the next round and sent Jason Penna back to the trailer. Brian Ferrari in the Green Machine takes the bye to round #2, but still runs it out and puts a 8.608 on the boards. So close, he'll be working on that one.

Round 2
Two big, mean rides pulled up to the line, to the likes of Brian Ferrari and John Razzler. Ferrari got Razzler at the tree and also the stripe, his 8.683 pass good for the win. Next up, it was Nova time, Romeo vs. Buscio. Buscio trees Romeo, an .014 vs .042, but that quick leave would not help Craig and Tommy puts on the win light with an 8.626 pass. Craig will continue to wrench in the pits to figure out what's up with the Orange beauty today. Wiso Melendez and TJ Kasper lined up next, a rematch of a Friday night round where Wiso treed the crap out of TJ. This time, the advantage went to TJ, his .167 light vs. Wiso's .418. There was some staging light flickering going on here that may have caught both seasoned racers off guard. Wiso's light pretty much sealed the deal, the kid ran an 8.610 to Wiso's 8.606. To finish up the round, Shawn Gallagher and #1 qualifier Luis Martinez staged up the cars. Shawn got the jump, an .044 light to Luis' .149. Luis light sealed his fate, his 8.507 pass was no good against Shawn's 8.515 pass.

Semi-Finals
TJ Kasper came to the line alone, leaving everyone wondering what happened to Tommy Romeo. Turns out that Tommy hurt the motor while idling in the staging lanes before the round, a tough break for Tommy after putting so much time and money into his car in the off season. Everyone wishes the best of luck to you Tommy and hope you can return this season. Shawn Gallagher and Brian Ferrari made up the only race of this round, they pulled through the tower and we all thought that no matter who made it, the final race would be tough! Shawn got the jump on his opponent yet again just barely, but he also ran closer to the number. Shawn's 8.592 pass w/ an .032 light would do it against the Green Machine's 8.642 pass w/ a respectable .056 light. The finals were set!

Finals
In a move of absolute class, both team Gallagher and Kasper & Christ Racing decided to give the $2k winner's purse to Jenna's Scholarship fund, and split up the $500 runner-up money between the teams. No matter who won the race, Jenna ended up the big winner for the day. The final was a close race, but TJ took the win with an 8.585 pass and .041 light. Congrats to TJ Kasper and Shawn Gallagher for making it through to the finals! And a big thank you for being so generous and donating the winner's purse.


As for more info on the day.. here's what I know as far as contigency awards go:

Contingency Awards

Beat TJ Kasper "Bounty"
Winner: TJ Kasper

#1 qualifier
Winner: Louis Martinez - 8.500

Low ET of the day
Winner: Louis Martinez - 8.500

Best Reaction time
Winner: Craig Buscio - .014


Now, as far as money raised for Jenna. Totals we have heard of so far are north of $13,000. The car care product raffle conducted by H&J Motorsports which raised a ton of cash, as well as the donations raised from people walking by Harry and Jackie's pit area. Also, before the finals, Kasper Racing and the Gallagher team decided to donate all of the #1 place cash to the fund for Jenna. What a class act!



2009 Neverlift for Jenna Photo Galleries
Arnie Cohen video - 2009 Neverlift for Jenna Race

As always, thanks for the awesome pics! You must be exhausted!

I'll second that Seth, looks like you may get a break this weekend but for some reason think you;re having too much fun to want a day off, great job !!

Ok all, getting back to regular life here .. I have updated the post with the info I have on contigency awards.