2007 NHRA NATIONAL EVENT SCHEDULE
Listen to Trackside Interviews with Champions, Drivers and Crew Chiefs
Robert Hight
Hillary Will
Bob Vandergriff
Dave Connolly
Ed Iskenderian
Cory McClenathan
Robert Hight
Jim Yates
Tony Bartone
Hillary Will
Whit Bazemore
Byron Hines
| Ron Lummus Captures Second Straight NHRA XPLOD Title in ECOtec-Powered Pontiac |
| Marty Ladwig Drives Chevy Cobalt to Second-Place Effort |
 POMONA, Calif., Oct. 23, 2006 - Ron Lummus drove his ECOtec-powered
Pontiac to the final round of the NHRA HOT Rod category on Sunday at the
NHRA Nitto Sport Compact World Finals at Pomona Raceway, and captured his
third runner-up finish of the season. Lummus qualified his ECOtec-powered Pontiac in the No. 1 position by running 8.34 seconds at 173.12 mph. On raceday, he was unopposed in round one, but posted an 8.269 e.t at 169.74 mph. In round two Lummus defeated Jason Ames with an 8.274 second run at 170.64 mph, and in the semifinal round, Lummus defeated Kenny Tran with an 8.364 e.t. at 172.81 mph. In the finals against Stephanie Eggum, Lummus' Pontiac crossed the finish line with an 8.298 e.t. at 155.72 mph to Eggum's winning 7.973-second run at 180.77 mph. It was Lummus' eighth straight final-round appearance (he has five wins) this year, and enough to give the Pontiac driver his second straight NHRA Xplod championship. In Pro FWD, Chevy Cobalt driver Marty Ladwig ended a solid season with his second straight second-place finish in the standings. It was also the fifth consecutive top-five finish in the NHRA Sport Compact series by the two-time champion (2003-04). Ladwig entered raceday with his ECOtec-powered Lucas Oil Chevy Cobalt qualified in the No. 6 position. He defeated Ron Townsend in round one with a 7.724 e.t. at 182.97 mph, and in the second round against Ed Bergenholtz, Ladwig's Chevy Cobalt posted another sensational run, crossing the finish line in 7.642 seconds at 185.23 mph. But Bergenholtz used every bit of a career-best e.t. and speed of 7.561 seconds at 190.81 mph to take the win light. "The competition has been fierce this year in Pro FWD, but it's been great," said Gardella. "This is what drag racing is all about, races being decided by thousandths of a second. It's fun for the fans and it's fun for us, although it keeps us working hard just to keep pace. My Lucas Oil Chevy Cobalt was strong all season and we were able to stay in the championship hunt to the very end." Ladwig finishes his first year as a team owner/driver with a race win at Denver, a runner-up at Richmond (Va.), and a No. 1 qualifying effort at Atco (N.J.). |
