ADRL Dragstock IX at ZMAX Dragway
August 3-4, 2012

Photos and videos by Hot Rod Chrissy

ELIMINATIONS

ROUND ONE
Kim Morrell, Suzuki Hayabusa, 4.182, 170.58 def. Travis Davis, 4.227, 170.06
Charlie Prophit, Hayabusa, 4.195, 169.15 def. Paul Gast, 4.392, 144.33
Dave Norris, 4.162, 170.97 def. Ryan Schnitz, Hayabusa, 4.298, 160.81
Terry Schweigert, 6.268, 71.37 def. Dave Vantine, broke
Scott Gray, Hayabusa, 4.167, 172.10 def. Japel Heard, broke
Ronald Procopio, 4.159, 171.97 def. Billy Vose, 4.177, 169.02
Casey Stemper, Hayabusa, 4.136, 173.78 def. Mac McAdams, 4.684, 117.43
Eric McKinney, 4.125, 176.30 def. Robert Hunnicutt, Hayabusa, broke

QUARTERFINALS
Schweigert, 4.109, 173.49 def. Gray, 4.162, 171.75
Procopio, 4.139, 172.89 def. Norris, 4.163, 171.66
Stemper, 4.091, 174.44 def. C. Prophit, 4.315, 152.66
McKinney, 4.085, 175.89 def. Morrell, 4.192, 169.13

SEMIFINALS
Stemper, 4.110, 172.19 def. Procopio, 4.142, 173.29
McKinney, 4.147, 174.57 def. Schweigert, 4.976, 108.09

FINAL
McKinney, 4.083, 176.56 def. Stemper, 4.109, 159.70

With a final that lived up to its billing, Eric McKinney inched past Casey Stemper in a thriller, running 4.083 at 176.56 mph to beat Stemper for the first time in the finals this year after two previous defeats. It was a battle of the top two riders in the points race, and with his fourth win in 2012, McKinney inched closer to a championship thanks to a victory he quickly deemed special.

“This is better than the first one. I don’t know how to explain it. Dragstock was my first ADRL win (in 2009) and (Saturday) was just unbelievable,” McKinney said. “When we came through the tunnel before the final and I saw the crowd, it was a little overwhelming. My mom had to tell me to calm down.”

McKinney qualified No. 1 with a 4.074, but deemed his effort on the tree not up to his usual standards before he and Stemper both had .007 reaction times in an outstanding final.

“I’m just fortunate enough to ride this bike. I was struggling on the tree all day and I was a little worried about that, but to get that .007 was just great,” McKinney said.

Qualifying

Qualifying Round 1

Qualifying Round 2

McKinney overcame serious crank problems for a pair of strong passes in PXM, with his 4.119 at 174.71 mph currently holding onto the top spot after two sessions.

That run came with his backup motor, a good sign for the points leader who came to Charlotte with three wins in 2012. Ron Procopio is currently second with a 4.14.

“That’s what we were hoping to do right out of the trailer,” McKinney said. McKinney also came away thoroughly impressed with zMAX Dragway. “This was one of the smoothest tracks I’ve ever been down,” McKinney said. “This place is awesome. I’ve never been any place like this.”

Qualifying Round 3

Qualifying Round 4

Pro Extreme Motorcycle
1. Eric McKinney, Suzuki, 4.119, 174.71
2. Ronald Procopio, Suzuki, 4.140, 173.90
3. Charlie Prophit, Suzuki Hayabusa, 4.156, 169.47
4. Kim Morrell, Hayabusa, 4.159, 169.93
5. Dave Norris, 4.164, 171.77
6. Paul Gast, 4.165, 170.30
7. Dave Vantine, 4.166, 172.52
8. Ryan Schnitz, Hayabusa, 4.170, 171.88
9. Terry Schweigert, 4.176, 171.03
10. Billy Vose, 4.199, 171.95
11. Mac McAdams, 4.201, 171.82
12. Casey Stemper, Hayabusa, 4.204, 172.67
13. Scott Gray, Hayabusa, 4.216, 171.47
14. Robert Hunnicutt, Hayabusa, 4.225, 171.93
15. Japel Heard, 4.293, 167.16
16. Travis Davis, 4.313, 163.06.
Not Qualified:
17. Tyler Wilson, 4.368, 150.41
18. TT Jones, 4.409, 158.87
19. Monte Campbell, 4.485, 144.47
20. Lamond Payne, 4.500, 151.63
21. Mike Thyen, 5.230, 99.77
2 2. Matt Prophit, 6.421, 70.34

First Round Pairings are as follows

• McKinney vs Hunnicutt
• Davis vs Morrell
• Gray vs Heard
• Vantine vs Schweigert
• Stemper vs McAdams
• Prophit vs Gast
• Procopio vs Vose
• Norris vs Schnitz

Pics From Friday Qualifying

Friday Teams Getting Ready for Round 1

For more information on ADRL Dragstock IX, go to www.adrl.us/adrl-dragstock-ix.

Track Info:
zMAX Dragway
(704) 455-3200
www.charlottemotorspeedway.com

ABOUT THE ADRL
Based in O’Fallon, Missouri, the American Drag Racing League is the world’s premier sanctioning body for the sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The professional categories featured in the ADRL are Pro Junior Dragster, Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman, Aeromotive Fuel Systems Pro Modified, Extreme Pro Stock, Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Mickey Thompson Extreme 10.5, Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme, the quickest doorslammer class in all of drag racing, as well as the revolutionary new SuperCar Showdown. The 2012 ADRL Tour consists of 10 national events run throughout the United States. For more information on the ADRL, www.ADRL.us.