BUDDS CREEK, Md. – After ending a memorable qualifying session in the top position and claiming his first Last Man Standing bonus of the season, Tommy D'Aprile and the Mel Bush Motorsports team were riding high but that all changed on Sunday.During Friday night's qualifying session D'Aprile posted a phenomenal 6.042 pass at just over 236 miles per hour. The pass held through the session handing Bush and D'Aprile their first Last Man Standing award. Due to inclement weather Saturday's qualifying was cut short. With no one besting D'Aprile's time in the three prior sessions D'Aprile claimed his first number one qualifier of the 2008 season.
"I'm so happy for everyone involved with this team, Mel, Johanne, Fred,
Jim, Kevin, Mike and the guys at Jan-Cen. This is a team effort and I'm
proud to be a part of such a fantastic team," said D'Aprile.
D'Aprile's jubilation from Friday and Saturday turned to frustration on Sunday. By virtue of the IHRA's eliminations ladder D'Aprile, the number one qualifier, was paired with the number nine qualifier, Chaptico, Maryland's Billy Gibson. Gibson at the wheel of Thomas Patterson's '70 Superbird could only post a best of 6.146 during qualifying. On paper D'Aprile held over a tenth of a second advantage, but drag races are run on concrete and asphalt, not paper.
In what was considered a huge upset Gibson defeated a tire shaking and fishtailing, D'Aprile. "This car has a very small window of performance," said D'Aprile. "Mike (Janis) and his guys' give us a tremendous amount of power, it's just a matter of getting the car to repeat each time. She's very sensitive to any change. The smallest changes in the track or the weather can throw off the whole deal," added D'Aprile.
Team owner Mel Bush of Port St. Lucie, Florida once again launched his '62 Bel Air Top Sportsman entry to the top half of the qualifying field, this time posting a 6.868 elapsed time at just under 203 miles per hour.
In round one Bush squared off with Fredericksburg, Virginia's Ethan Watson. Watson at the wheel of his '04 Viper qualified near the bottom of the qualifying ladder with a 7.108 E.T. For the second time this season Bush red lighted handing his opponent a win, but his ride wasn't over as his nitrous equipped hot rod shook the tires and sent him for a wild ride. Bush, like D'Aprile, used his skill as a diver to get his vehicle under control without any damage.
The Mel Bush Motorsports team will be taking a week off to plan for their next event.
D'Aprile's jubilation from Friday and Saturday turned to frustration on Sunday. By virtue of the IHRA's eliminations ladder D'Aprile, the number one qualifier, was paired with the number nine qualifier, Chaptico, Maryland's Billy Gibson. Gibson at the wheel of Thomas Patterson's '70 Superbird could only post a best of 6.146 during qualifying. On paper D'Aprile held over a tenth of a second advantage, but drag races are run on concrete and asphalt, not paper.
In what was considered a huge upset Gibson defeated a tire shaking and fishtailing, D'Aprile. "This car has a very small window of performance," said D'Aprile. "Mike (Janis) and his guys' give us a tremendous amount of power, it's just a matter of getting the car to repeat each time. She's very sensitive to any change. The smallest changes in the track or the weather can throw off the whole deal," added D'Aprile.
Team owner Mel Bush of Port St. Lucie, Florida once again launched his '62 Bel Air Top Sportsman entry to the top half of the qualifying field, this time posting a 6.868 elapsed time at just under 203 miles per hour.
In round one Bush squared off with Fredericksburg, Virginia's Ethan Watson. Watson at the wheel of his '04 Viper qualified near the bottom of the qualifying ladder with a 7.108 E.T. For the second time this season Bush red lighted handing his opponent a win, but his ride wasn't over as his nitrous equipped hot rod shook the tires and sent him for a wild ride. Bush, like D'Aprile, used his skill as a diver to get his vehicle under control without any damage.
The Mel Bush Motorsports team will be taking a week off to plan for their next event.
1 Comments
Great run guys... keep it up..... that car is awesome.... Congrats to Mels Tommy and the whole crew....