Cannavo, Ariotti, Winters, Benner and Dudley
score "Monster" wins Sept. 6 at The Strip
RFTM event nets $2,217 for SCC's Las Vegas Chapter
The Jerry’s Nugget Championship Drag Racing Series took center stage at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday for a late-night points show following the second annual Back-to-School Monster Truck Bash. The next-to-last points race of the 2003 season concluded in a 4 a.m. Super Pro finale that was anything but a yawn. Carl Cannavo, a Queens, N.Y., native who grew up in the shadow of Shea Stadium, faced Speedway Children’s Charities good guy Bob Farnum of Las Vegas. Both drove rear-engine dragsters with near-identical dial-ins. Cannavo made it to the finish line first and the "22 Hours of Vegas" was over. (The Strip opened at 6 a.m. on Saturday for Jr. Dragsters and was in operation for nearly a complete day.) Other winners included Nick Ariotti (Pro), Rich Winters (Street) and straight-line veteran Bill Dudley (Sport Compact). The Motorcycle final was not won by a bike, but a snowmobile. According to NHRA rules, snowmobiles may compete against each other or race with bikes. Bonnie Benner of Las Vegas brought a Polaris snowmobile, outfitted with a special rear track for driving on asphalt, and won the Motorcycle class.
The Las Vegas Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities hosted a Run-for-the-Money race and prize drawing. A total of $2,217 was raised for the children of southern Nevada. Sponsors who helped make the charity competition a success included: Ron Landram/Nevada Contractors Insurance Company (four pit scooters and a stereo), Chris Lamb/Matco Tools (one pit scooter and 6 premium diecast dragsters), Randy Holly/Vegas Vinyl Signs & Design (three graphics packages), Jerry Mock/Mock Motorsports (three "cool vests"), Triple J Racing/Marie Callender's (three breakfast-for-two gift certificates) and Kool Intentions ice cream (free ice cream for all Jr. Dragster RFTM participants).
Speedway Children’s Charities Run-for-the-Money winners: Errol Farmer (1st place, Street), Nancy Fasulo (2nd place, Street), Ralph Gibney Jr. (3rd place, Street); Ken Paulson (1st place, Pro), Charlie Boyd (2nd place, Pro), Earl Blake (3rd place, Pro); David Lass (1st place, Super Pro), Carl Cannavo (2nd place, Super Pro), Bob Farnum (3rd place, Super Pro).
Jerry’s Nugget Reaction Time Bonus Awards were won by: Bob Moudree (Pro), Aaron Kimball (Sport Compact), Patrick Welch (Super Pro) and Rich Winters (Street). The award goes to the racer who posts the best reaction time on a winning run during the first round of eliminations.
Driver, hometown, reaction time, elapsed time (ET), top speed (1/8-mile):
SUPER PRO
Winner: Carl Cannavo (N. Las Vegas) ’95 Yancer dragster .533 7.589 sec./169.59 mph
Runner-up: Bob Farnum (Las Vegas) ’92 Meyer dragster .514 8.024 sec./164.95 mph
No. 1 Qualifier: John Phlegar (Las Vegas) ’72 Chevelle
PRO
Winner: Nick Ariotti (Boulder City) ’71 Duster .508 12.076 sec./105.30 mph
Runner-up: Charlie Boyd (Las Vegas) ’82 Camaro .600 10.839 sec./124.93 mph
No. 1 Qualifier: Dennis Evans (Las Vegas) ’72 Challenger
STREET
Winner: Rich Winters (N. Las Vegas) ’98 Trans Am .594 13.267 sec./98.64 mph
Runner-up: Ralph Gibney Jr. (Las Vegas) ’72 Nova .594 16.165 sec./88.53 mph
No. 1 Qualifier: Scott Parsons (Monroe, Utah) ’67 Cutlass
MOTORCYCLE
Winner: Bonnie Benner (Las Vegas) Polaris snowmobile .766 10.672 sec./119.60 mph
Runner-up: Jason Whitenack (Henderson) ’96 Kawasaki .662 12.664 sec./99.12 mph
SPORT COMPACT
Winner: Bill Dudley (Las Vegas) ’00 Mazda Protégé .548 18.356 sec./72.93 mph
Runner-up: Aaron Kimball (Las Vegas) ’92 Nissan .489 16.284 sec./85.41 mph