Bubba Stanton's "Widow Maker" Corvette took him to the semis in Pro Extreme, but lost traction and fell to Brian Daniels and his similar machine.

Bubba Stanton 6.464/76.12
W Brian Daniels 4.113/179.71

W Mike Neal 3.994/181.31
Toney Russell 4.892/109.01

Keith Baker (shown) ran 4.19, 4.19, and 4.16 in the semis to defeat Todd Tutterow and reach the Pro Nitrous final at Hunstville Dragway.

W Terry Housley 4.218/174.01
Rex Kelley 4.399/157.12

W Keith Baker 4.164/178.50
Todd Tutterow 4.217/177.87

Coming from the alternate position, Brian Daniels (shown) took out Thomas Patterson in the opener, then upset the heavily favored Joshua Hernandez to advance to the semis against Todd Bauknecht.

Joshua Hernandez 4.844/113.87
W Brian Daniels 4.177/176.75

Todd Bauknecht 4.304/170.33
W Bubba Stanton 4.098/179.93

W Mike Neal 4.037/180.43
Tommy Mauney 4.150/177.58

Jerry Rhodes 4.202/172.48
W Toney Russell 4.170/175.37

In one of the biggest upsets in ADRL history, Rex Kelley (above) took out Shannon Jenkins with a holeshot victory in round two at Huntsville. Kelley left with a .067 light to Jenkins' .129, allowing Kelley to win with a 4.223 against the Iceman's 4.173-secs effort.

Shannon Jenkins 4.173/180.22
W Rex Kelley 4.223/175.30

Lee Adkins Jr. 4.431/162.75
W Terry Housley 4.254/171.62

Farris Cox 4.533/163.10
W Todd Tutterow 4.272/174.49

James Hancock 4.239/171.76
W Keith Baker 4.194/177.87

Todd Bauknecht took out Joey Martin with a .270 holeshot in the opening round of Pro Extreme. (Ian Tocher photos)

W Mike Neal 4.046/180.65
D. Watkins 4.208/169.30

W Tommy Mauney 4.165/178.43
Mike Bell 4.173/174.96

Bil Clanton 10.666/38.30
W Jerry Rhodes 4.163/174.01

John Lynam 4.217/179.71
W Toney Russell 4.150/175.30

W Joshua Hernandez 4.048/184.20
Brian Dyar 4.208/162.93

W Brian Daniels 4.176/178.43
Thomas Patterson 4.570/128.24

Joey Martin 4.105/178.93
W Todd Bauknecht 4.145/178.43

W Bubba Stanton 4.143/178.36
Troy Critchley 7.911/81.65

Alabama racer Johnny Pilcher has been hosting members of the U.S. Army recruiting team this weekend at Huntsville Dragway. Pilcher fell in round one to North Carolina's Todd Tutterow.

W Shannon Jenkins 4.280/176.54
Sammy Brown 4.513/160.37

W Rex Kelley 4.810/155.17
Thomas “The Beast” Lee 4.821/147.35

Dan Parker Broke
W Lee Adkins Jr. 4.537/155.93

Ben Ledford 6.401/71.28
W Terry Housley 4.256/172.08

Pat Stoken 5.143/107.78
W Farris Cox 4.635/159.46

W Todd Tutterow 4.227/177.51
Johnny Pilcher 4.909/109.52

W James Hancock 4.235/173.88
Burton Auxier 5.005/107.53

W Keith Baker 4.197/176.40
Mike Castellana 4.499/140.63

Jeery Rhodes started eliminations from 13th place in Pro Extreme qualifying. (Ian Tocher photos)

1. Mike Neal 3.971/181.74
2. Joshua Hernandez 3.989/186.18
3. Joey Martin 4.028/185.19
4. Bil Clanton 4.048/178.22
5. John Lynam 4.050/182.63
6. Bubba Stanton 4.051/180.65
7. Jason Scruggs (broke) 4.059/174.89
8. Tommy Mauney 4.084/181.52
9. Mike Bell 4.095/180.07
10. Thomas Patterson 4.100/178.64
11. Troy Critchley 4.119/179.71
12. Toney Russell 4.163/176.40
13. Jerry Rhodes 4.164/172.74
14. Todd Bauknecht 4.169/175.44
15. Bryan Dyar 4.176/175.58
16. D. Watkins 4.192/170.84
17. Brian Daniels (1st alt) 4.197/178.15

Farris Cox secured the last Pro Extreme qualifying slot in his ex-Bob Glidden Pro Stock Thunderbird. (Ian Tocher photos)

1. Pat Stoken 4.130/179.93
2. Shannon Jenkins 4.130/179.64
3. Dan Parker 4.177/173.34
4. James Hancock III 4.194/172.88
5. Keith Baker 4.198/173.61
6. Ben Ledford 4.210/175.64
7. Rex Kelley 4.228/176.26
8. Todd Tutterow 4.249/172.81
9. Johnny Pilcher 4.264/174.35
10. Stan Allen (broke) 4.295/169.43
11. Terry Housley 4.305/171.89
12. Mike Castellana 4.358/167.16
13. Burton Auxier 4.413/166.05
14. Lee Adkins Jr. 4.447/175.33
15. Sam Brown 4.526/161.41
16. Farris Cox 4.529/159.74
17. Thomas Lee (1st alt.) 4.533/159.24

Local racer Toney Russell jumped from 14th to 11th in his "Lowmad" wagon with a 4.163, the best time posted in the second round of Pro Extreme qualifying at Huntsville Dragway.

PRO EXTREME QUALIFYING - AFTER ROUND TWO
1. Mike Neal 3.971/181.74
2. Joshua Hernandez 3.989/186.18
3. Joey Martin 4.028/185.19
4. Bil Clanton 4.048/178.22
5. John Lynam 4.050/182.63
6. Bubba Stanton 4.051/180.65
7. Jason Scruggs 4.059/174.89
8. Tommy Mauney 4.084/181.52
9. Mike Bell 4.095/180.07
10. Troy Critchley 4.119/179.71
11. Toney Russell 4.163/176.40
12. J. Rhodes 4.164/172.74
13. D. Watkins 4.192/170.84
14. Todd Tutterow 4.206/179.07
15. Todd Bauknecht 4.215/169.81
16. Joe Baker 4.226/172.74

With the air temperature about 95 degrees, humidity at 65 percent, corrected altitude of approximately 3,700 feet, and track temperatures approaching 140 degrees, Todd Tutterow made the biggest jump in Pro Nitrous qualifying, going from 16th to 8th with a 4.249-seconds pass in the second session. (Ian Tocher photos)

1. Pat Stoken 4.130/179.93
2. Shannon Jenkins 4.130/179.64
3. Dan Parker 4.177/173.34
4. James Hancock III 4.194/172.88
5. Keith Baker 4.198/173.61
6. Ben Ledford 4.210/175.64
7. Rex Kelley 4.228/176.26
8. Todd Tutterow 4.249/172.81
9. Johnny Pilcher 4.264/174.35
10. Stan Allen 4.295/169.43
11.  Lee Adkins Jr. 4.447/175.33
12. Thomas Lee 4.533/159.24
13. J. Henderson 4.694/148.32
14. Mike Castellana 5.552/91.09
15. Annette Summer 5.629/93.24
16. Burton Auxier 5.750/80.72

1. Pat Stoken (shown) 4.130/179.93
2. Shannon Jenkins 4.130/179.64
3. Dan Parker 4.177/173.34
4. James Hancock III 4.194/172.88
5. Keith Baker 4.198/173.61
6. Stan Allen 4.295/169.43
7. Thomas Lee 4.546/139.06
8. B. Ledford 4.551/144.09
9. Rex Kelley 4.589/132.82
10. J. Henderson 4.694/148.32
11. Mike Castellana 5.552/91.09
12. Annette Summer 5.629/93.24
13. Bryant 5.850/111.33
14. Burton Auxier 5.930/80.72
15. Lee Atkins Jr. 7.556/75.33
16. Todd Tutterow 7.884/56.70

1. Mike Neal (shown) 3.971/181.74
2. Joshua Hernandez 3.989/186.18
3. Joey Martin 4.028/185.19
4. Bil Clanton 4.048/178.22
5. John Lynam 4.050/182.63
6. Bubba Stanton 4.051/180.65
7. Jason Scruggs 4.059/174.89
8. Tommy Mauney 4.084/181.52
9. Mike Bell 4.095/180.07
10. Troy Critchley 4.119/179.71
11. J. Rhodes 4.164/172.74
12. D. Watkins 4.192/170.84
13. Joe Baker 4.226/172.74
14. Toney Russell 4.268/172.74
15. Phil Osborne 4.376/138.42
16. Bennie McDonald 4.505/135.79

Steve Vick

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (June 7, 2006) - For drivers looking to make an upward move in the FLOWMASTER American Drag Racing League points standings, this weekend’s AMS Staff Leasing Summer Drags presented by Ambrose Printing Co. will be the last chance in quite a while to make some positive headway.

The Summer Drags, the ADRL’s first-ever event at Hunstville Dragway, is the fifth of seven events on the 2006 schedule, but will be the final ADRL event before the series takes the entire summer off. The next event on the ADRL schedule - which will also be the final chance to earn points for the ADRL Battle for the Belts championship eliminators - does not roll around until Sept. 15-16, 14 weeks after the Summer Drags.

With the Summer Drags being the second-to-last chance to earn points toward qualifying for the Battle for the Belts, with large fields expected in both the Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous classes, and with a favorable weather report for the weekend, the racing action is expected to be fierce once qualifying gets under way Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. local time. Two more qualifying chances are schedule for Saturday (noon and 2 p.m.) before the 16-car eliminators in both classes begin at 4 p.m.

In Pro Extreme, a number of drivers could lock up reservations for the Battle of the Belts - which will be held Oct. 13 in Kennedale, Texas - by qualifying and perhaps winning one or two rounds. That group includes Bil Clanton, John Lynam, Jason Scruggs, and Quain Stott, the top four points-earners entering the Summer Drags and a group that has combined to win eight of the 11 ADRL Pro Extreme events ever contested. A struggle has also developed lower down in the standings, where drivers such as Todd Tutterow (eighth, 735 points), AMS Staff Leasing-sponsored Troy Critchley and Thomas Patterson (tied for ninth with 612 points), and Chip King (10th, 524 points) are fighting for a spot in the top eight of the final points standings and a guaranteed place in the Battle for the Belts.

Scruggs is also expected to garner a large share of the spotlight, regardless of his final result in Huntsville. Despite not yet winning an event this season, Scruggs has consistently shown a noticeable performance edge over his peers - including three No. 1 qualifying finishes in four appearances this year - and has soundly thrashed the Pro Extreme record book. He holds both ends of the ADRL Pro Extreme record with 3.872 and 194.63 numbers from the St. Louis event earlier this season.

Nothing appears clear-cut in Pro Nitrous, which has featured eight different finalists in the four events contested in 2006. Three drivers - Burton Auxier, Johnny Pilcher, and Keith Baker - have opened up a points gap on the rest of the class and could secure places in the Battle for the Belts with anything approaching a respectable performance at the Summer Drags. Beyond that, the current points standings are a jumble, including near the pivotal eighth spot, where James Hancock is holding off Shannon Jenkins by a mere four points. The gap between fifth-place Harold Martin (728 points) and 13th-place Steve Vick (515) is the equivalent of just over two round-wins.