VP RACING FUELS PRO SUMMARY

In my recollection, I believe there has never been as many excellent racers competing for honors in one class as there was in 2007 in the VP Racing Fuels Pro ET Class. Many events featured more than 64 cars which required 7 rounds of competition to determine the event champion. When you do the math for the entire 15 race series, it is obvious how difficult it would have been to be at the top. We congratulate all who accepted the challenge to compete.

            Rich Potter and Curt Landis began the season facing off against each other in the finals of the first event. Curt was too quick by .002 which gave the win to Rich Potter. Michael D. Boyd earned a semi-final finish.

            Eighty cars lined up for the first round of the NWDRA Winter Classic on April 1^st. When all was said and done, Nick Shepherd was .003 green to defeat Steve Stuart’s .004 red in the final. Thomas Jackson III was the lone semi-finalist. After two events, Nicholas Shepherd and Richard Potter are tied for the point-total series lead with four racers only 10 points back.

            Again eighty drivers brought their best skills to the line on April 15^th. Steve Kelly used a .002 R/T to down Steve Stuart in the finals with Allen Bayless achieving the lone semi-final finish. After three events, Steve Kelly holds a 10-point edge over Steve Stuart with Curt Landis close behind.

            Bruce Riedl rose to the top on April 22^nd by defeating Carl Meinig in the finals. Gary Fetters and Jim Goodman advanced to the semi-finals at this, the fourth, event. Already 119 drivers have earned points in this class. Steve and Steve maintain their tie atop the points chart.

            Steve Stuart makes his third appearance in the finals for this year with the same result. Nick Shepherd finds another .003 R/T to top Steve’s 10.256 on a 10.25 dial-in. Derrick Jackson achieves a semi-final finish in the fifth event of the series. With his consistent strong finishes, Steve Stuart is able to build a 20-point series total lead over Nicholas Shepherd who is 20 points ahead of Steve Kelly at this juncture.

            Bruce Riedl earns his second victory of the series on May 6^th. He faces Patrick Guido and runs 11.188 on an 11.18 dial-in for the win. Josh Hamilton takes the semi-final honors at this, the sixth event. With his win today, Bruce moves into second place in series points, only 10 points behind Steve Stuart and Nicholas Shepherd.

            On May 13^th, the young gun, Casey DePeel, runs 9.032 on a 9.03 dial-in to snatch the victory from Gary Fetters. Steve Stuart and Curt Landis score semi-final finishes, and Curt moves up to within 20 points of the series leader, Steve Stuart.

            May 27^th featured 72 of the best who squared off against each other. When the finals rolled around, Nicholas Shepherd used a .007 green to defeat Steve Kelly’s .007 red. Dan Stokes powered his 65 Satellite to a semi-final finish at this event.    With his win today, Nick moved into a 40-point lead over Steve Stuart with Steve Kelly only 10 points back.

            On June 3^rd, Sherry Wilson used a .007 R/T to top Dan Stokes in the finals. Casey DePeel scores semi-final honors at this, the ninth event in the series. When it comes to series points totals, Nicholas maintained his 30 point lead over both Steve’s who are tied in second place.

            Derrick Jackson scores a win over Kris Lauritsen on June 17^th. Curt Landis and Danny Walker work their way to the semi-finals. With 178 drivers having earned points at this juncture, Nicholas Shepherd maintains his 30-point advantage over Steve Stuart with Steve Kelly a mere 10 points back.

            Bruce Riedl achieves his third victory of the series in the defeat of Paul Miller on July 1^st. Steve Stuart makes his move with a semi-final finish to take the series points lead, 20 points ahead of both Bruce Riedl and Nicholas Shepherd.

            Jim Goodman scores big-time with a victory over Steve Kelly on July 14^th in a 78 car field. Nicholas Shepherd red-lit (-.007) in the semis against Steve Kelly’s .009 R/T. With today’s results, Steve Stuart and Nicholas Shepherd are tied for the series points total with Steve Kelly 30 points behind. Three events remain.

            Steve Kelly vaults to the top with a win over Scott Lang on July 29^th. It was a double break-out race with Steve out by .001 and Scott out by .025. This was an unusual race with Paul Miller not able to stage in the semi-final round. With his victory today, Steve Kelly achieves a 50 point margin over Steve Stuart and Nicholas Shepherd with two events remaining.

            Steve Kelly extends his margin with a victory over Casey DePeel on August 5^th. Richard Potter and Bruce Riedl score semi-final honors in the 14^th event of the series.    Steve Kelly has stretched his series total point lead to 90 points over Nicholas Shepherd.

            At the final event in the series on August 18^th, Mike Bales, Jr. defeats Scott Ranelle who red-lit in the finals. Casey DePeel and Tony Price advance all the way to the semi-finals at this event. With the point tally complete, Steve Kelly is crowned 2007 VP Racin Fuels Pro ET Champion as he pulls away from the rest with a 110 point margin over Nicholas Shepherd. Steve Stuart maintains third place, Bruce Riedl is in fourth, and Casey DePeel holds down fifth. Sixth through tenth consist of Curt Landis, Jim Goodman, Derrick Jackson, Richard Potter, and Bryce Moilenan. Woodburn Dragstrip congratulates everyone who competed in this series.