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Hoyos hammers Pro FWD field, local Westover scores big at inaugural GM Performance NHRA Sport Compact Nationals
Nelson Hoyos was the oddsmaker's favorite at 5/7 going into this weekend's inaugural GM Performance NHRA Sport Compact Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hoyos, a native of Havana, Cuba, who now resides in Wellington, Fla., had won two of the four NHRA Summit Sport Compact Series events held this year. But during qualifying, his Chevrolet-sponsored team struggled with clutch problems and failed to earn the expected No. 1 Qualifier status. Hoyos and his team made up for it by winning the Pro FWD (Front Wheel Drive) finale and claiming Low E.T. and Top Speed of the meet.
"I'm just relieved," said Hoyos. "At the beginning of this weekend we had some transmission issues. We were pulling our hair out because we hurt the clutch, then we hurt the tranny. Going into eliminations, we didn't know if it would work. Thankfully it did."
A number of local drivers entered the event but the racer who fared best was Dana Westover. The Las Vegan dominated the Sport RWD (Rear Wheel Drive) category by earning No. 1 Qualifier status, setting Low E.T. and Top Speed of the meet and winning the final round.
Stephan Papadakis scored the Pro RWD victory and clocked his first six-second pass (6.900 sec./200.56 mph) in competition.
Other winners included Kenny Tran (Hot Rod), Cesar Febus (Modified), Scott Mohler (All Motor), Tim Burhans (Sport FWD) and Steven Rodriguez (ET-1). It was Tran's first victory of the 2003 season.
The next NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series event is the third annual Auto Trader Magazine Texas NHRA Sport Compact Nationals, Aug. 8-9, at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. The next event at The Strip at LVMS is Titan Auto Insurance Midnight Mayhem on Friday, Aug. 8.
PRO FWD
Winner: Nelson Hoyos (Wellington, Fla.) '03 Cavalier 8.404 sec./181.69 mph
Runner-up: Charles Madrid (Santa Ana, Calif.) '89 Honda CRX broke
PRO RWD
Winner: Stephan Papadakis (Redondo Beach, Calif.) '03 Civic 6.900 sec./200.56 mph
Runner-up: Matt Scranton (Land O Lakes, Fla.) '03 Celica broke
MODIFIED
Winner: Cesar Febus (Ponce, Puerto Rico) '86 Nissan 300 ZX 8.608 sec./172.17 mph
Runner-up: James O'Conner (Cypress, Calif.) '93 Supra broke
HOT ROD
Winner: Kenny Tran (Garland, Tex.) '93 Civic 8.650 sec./166.29 mph
Runner-up: Lancecot Ho Lung (Pembrown Pines, Fla.) '92 Civic 9.404 sec./146.45 mph
ALL MOTOR
Winner: Scott Mohler (Frederick, Md.) '98 Neon 10.708 sec./129.97 mph
Runner-up: Jesus Padilla (Kissimmee, Fla.) '85 RX-7 10.775 sec./124.12 mph
SPORT RWD
Winner: Dana Westover (Las Vegas) '93 Toyota 10.998 sec./132.80 mph
Runner-up: Ali Afshan (Castaic, Calif.) '02 Subaru 12.361 sec./88.18 mph
SPORT FWD
Winner: Tim Burhans (Valencia, Calif.) '92 Honda (broke the beam only, no time/speed)
Runner-up: Paul Goddeshall (Tempe, Ariz.) '97 Civic (fouled) 12.341 sec./112.06 mph
ET-1 (Bracket)
Winner: Steven Rodriguez (Colton, Calif.) '96 Acura RT: .557 18.573 sec./67.69 mph
Runner-up: Jason Dawson (Las Vegas) '03 Cavalier RT: .619 17.611 sec./77.51 mph
How the local racers fared:
Dana Westover, Las Vegas (Sport RWD) – won final round.
Jason Dawson, Las Vegas (ET-1) – runner-up in final round.
Aaron Kimball, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in semi-final round.
Carlos Solis, North Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in fourth round.
Bill Dudley, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in third round.
Juddi Lin, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in third round.
Kam Urquhart, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in third round.
Allan Ponce, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Nathan Martell, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Eric Carrigan, Henderson (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Reynaldo Cruz, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Teerasak Suwanpimlas, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Brian Mangusing, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Richard Laitenen, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Michael Mendoza, Las Vegas (ET-1) defeated in second round.
Kyle Diaz, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Les Guarano, North Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in second round.
Marissa Liongson, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Sandra Darby, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Nick Ariotti, Boulder City (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Dennis Evans, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Arwin Del Rosario, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Rogelis Cruz, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Jovany Sanchez, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Reuben Brackens, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Hogan Tashiro, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Ryan Martina, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Eric Mastin, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Tamar Holloway, North Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Christopher Martin, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Sherwyn Natividad, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
Fernando Aviles, Las Vegas (ET-1) – defeated in first round.
