Gaines advances to fifth Semi of 2008 at E-Town
V. Gaines paced a six-car field of HEMI-powered Dodge Stratus R/T Pro Stock cars with his fifth semifinals appearance of 2008 in the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. on Sunday.
Gaines unleashed a holeshot victory against Warren Johnson in the first round, posting a quick-draw .017 reaction time (.000 is perfect). He then matched up his Kendall Oil Dodge Stratus R/T against Jason Line in the quarterfinals, handing Line the loss. Gaines' solid run ended there, as he was dealt a defeat by Dave Connolly in the semis.
Larry Morgan steered his Lucas Oil Dodge Stratus R/T to the quarterfinals. Each of his two rounds of racing were decided by a matter of inches--with one outcome positive and one negative. Morgan beat another HEMI-powered driver, Justin Humphreys, in the opening stanza, getting to the stripe just 8 inches ahead of Humphreys. It was Morgan's turn to be on the short end of the measuring stick in his quarterfinals duel with event winner Greg Anderson, losing to Anderson by an agonizingly close one inch.
Mopar/J%26J Racing driver Allen Johnson was strong on Saturday, qualifying in the No. 5 spot. The Greeneville, Tenn. native couldn't carry the momentum into Sunday, falling to Mike Edwards in the opening stanza. The same first-round fate that befell Johnson was also visited upon HEMI-powered drivers Vinnie Deceglie, who was making his first Pro Stock start, and Johnny Gray.
Gaines is now sixth in points, with Johnson seventh. The Team Mopar Pro Stockers will get right back at it this weekend in the Second Annual NHRA Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio, June 27-29. For more info on the NHRA, visit nhra.com.