Drag Illustrated Issue 127, November 2017 | Page 30

Dirt NEOPM 25 TH ANNIVERSARY RACE The nitrous entry of Dean Marinis was in the No. 2 spot with a 5.894 at 243.24, followed by West Virginia’s Dwayne Wolfe, who drove his super- charged ‘68 Camaro to a 5.905 at 242. Eliminations got underway around 7:00 p.m. and provided exceptionally close competition, as well as a few upsets along the way. Heavy hitters such as Scriba, Marinis and Wolfe all advanced, while club regulars like Ed Burnley, Tyler Hard and Steve Drummond saw their day end after round 1. Connecticut’s Joe Dunne struggled mightily in qualifying, only to dodge a bullet in round 1 and advance, then click off his best pass of the weekend in round 2, which allowed him to get around Wolfe. Unfortunately, Dunne would hurt the motor on this run and not be able to answer the call for the semis. Kevin McCurdy and Tommy Gray put on a spectacular show in round 2, with McCurdy’s gate job and 5.890 advancing over Gray’s quicker 5.876. McCurdy would fall off the pace in the semis, allowing Scriba to pull away with the victory, which set up a thrilling 30 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Kevin McCurdy Issue 127 Steve Drummond