If you missed the previous article “Milan Heads Up Series – Drag Radial Preview” you may want to give that a quick read to catch you up to date.
The sun was shining, it was 82 degrees, and a light breeze was blowing gently through Kurt Johnson’s golden locks. As I made my way through the pits, there were two things being talked about. 1. Did you see that Matt Bell is here with his LDR car? and 2. It’s going to be a very fast field. The expectations were high and the excitement was real.
The track temp was up over 120 degrees for the first round of qualifying and the qualifying times represented that. There were only three cars that made it into the 4.XX’s zone. Robert Cox with a 4.44, Rick Reynolds with a 4.81 and Mike Smith with a 4.89. In the preview I wrote a couple months back, I neglected to mention Robert Cox. I’m not sure how I could forget him, but I did. Round two qualifying brought the field a bit tighter with six cars in the 4.XX’s zone and Cox still at the top. There were a couple major cleanups in the beginning of the third round qualifier, and time was on the side of those running radials. The sun had started going down, the track temp was near 85 degrees, Kurt Johnson gave his seal of approval, and the last-minute big boy tunes were thrown into their cars. Round three of qualifying placed all but two of the fifteen car field into the 4.XX’s zone (Edwards broke earlier after a 5.04 pass and West went 5.00). Remember how I forgot about Cox? He made certain I will never forget again as he set the Milan Drag Radial record in qualifier number three with a 4.27. This is the perfect time to mention that this year with the new rules set closer to Limited Drag Radial (LDR), these cars are now on a 295 tire max instead of a 315 when the record was previously set; This was also in the heat of June, not the cooler September temps. I believe Milan Dragway 100% made the right move with using the proper equipment and contracting Total Venue Concepts to prep this track. The ETs alone should be the only validation needed. The controversial rule change to switch (mostly) over to LDR rules was also a good move in my opinion. One of the arguments against it was that no new LDR cars would come for this smaller payout event. A canceled event in Kentucky created an opportunity for Matt Bell and Brian Edwards to compete here. Could there still be some arguments? Sure. Will I change my mind? At this point, No.
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Round 1 might have been the most exciting racing of the night. Three time champ Mike Barran spun and Ray Litz drove right on by and took the win. Barran will be playing catch up with points but you don’t become a three time champ by buckling under pressure. Mike Smith pulled the front tires for 100+ feet wheelie in his loss against Reese. Reese had a very impressive day and it certainly did not go unnoticed by the field! Robert Cox sprung a leak after a healthy burnout for his bye run and wasn’t allowed to take the beams disqualifying him (by the rules) from the event. I stood at about 690′ videoing for the matchup between Dale Arbogast and Aaron Johnson. In my previous article I mentioned that Johnson, in his weekly driven street car, would keep the faster guys on their toes. This is exactly what happened! Johnson treed Arbogast, then Arbogast struck the tires. Johnson got out on Arbogast but Arbogast was coming on strong. At the stripe it was a margin of .011 (that translates into inches) between the two. Arbogast had 20 mph on Johnson and came around him at the stripe to take the win and advance. Johnson went 4.93 to Arbogast’s 4.89 in the best race of the night.
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Round 2 went down in seemingly anti-climatic fashion. Gibson red lit in his loss to Reese, Arbogast had an electrical failure and was left at the tree by Litz, and Harmer had a bye because of Cox’s DQ. The only thing redeeming about round two is that Matt Bell reset the Drag Radial track record at Milan Dragway with a 4.26! Unfortunately, Blankenship got out of shape in the lane next to him, narrowly escaping the wall, and hardly anyone noticed the record being set. Thankfully, Blankenship was ok and his car was undamaged. Bell left the Milan record well within reach (he’s been better than a tenth faster). This fall, I believe the Milan drag radial record will go into the teens.
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Here is where the story becomes almost unbelievable. I did not see the track claim one shoe from the prep, however, it claimed so many mayflies that the glued surface became slippery. I’ve never heard of such a thing! Milan has had snow, dew, water, and now it has had.. mayflies. Thanks a LOT Kurt Johnson! We’re left with only you to blame… for the new records… AND the “flypaper” radial surface (literally). I would have loved to see these guys race this event out, but not at the expense of their cars, or worse. It was a tough but good call by Milan based on the recommendation of Kurt.
Matt Reese, Matt Bell, Ray Litz, and Dave Harmer will chop up the money and the points. The mayflies were the only thing to beat these guys tonight. Great job, you’ve set the bar high in a class where the competition is strong! I’m already looking forward to July 5th, at Milan Dragway. Milan usually has a nice firework show, and a bonfire for the first Friday in July. Bring the family!
As a side note, Bob Ross also set a new Milan Dragway record in Outlaw 10.5 with a 3.97. I should also mention that Monte Kev did a fantastic job behind the microphone.
Here are the two rounds of action in Drag Radial, condensed into less than three minutes.
Here is how the field qualified:
- R. Cox 4.27 @ 175.66
- M. Bell 4.29 @ 187.35
- JR Gibson 4.30 @ 180.08
- M. Barran 4.44 @ 165.74
- D. Arbogast 4.51 @ 166.93
- M. Reese 4.56 @ 159.14
- W. Blankenship 4.64 @ 139.25
- D. Harmer 4.68 @ 158.65
- R. Reynolds 4.68 @ 156.36
- K. Hecht 4.69 @ 148.87
- M. Smith 4.72 @ 144.79
- A. Johnson 4.94 @ 143.66
- R. Litz 4.99 @ 149.20
- M. West 5.00 @ 139.78
- B. Edwards 5.04 @ 141.60
- Bye
Round 1:
#13 R. Litz Over #4 M. Barran
#6 M. Reese Over #11 M. Smith
#8 D. Harmer Over #9 R. Reynolds
#7 W. Blankenship Over #10 K. Hecht
#3 JR Gibson Over #14 M. West
#5 D. Arbogast Over #12 A. Johnson
#1 R. Cox DQ (Leaking Car, Couldn’t Break The Beams)
Round 2:
#6 M. Reese Over #3 JR Gibson
#2 M. Bell Over #7 W. Blankenship
#13 R. Litz Over #5 D. Arbogast
#8 D. Harmer Bye From DQ
4-Way Tie for 1st Matt Reese, Matt Bell, Ray Litz, Dave Harmer
