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It’s Elimination Day here in Commerce, and the threat of afternoon rain and thunderstorms will mean we’re all hustling to get the full program in… Keep it tuned right here for updates, results, and photos, and while you’re waiting, be sure to check out yesterday’s coverage of qualifying and the full photo gallery after the jump.
Yep. That 70% chance of rain turned into 100%, with all the classes run down to the finals except 5th Gen Camaro, which got their final round in. The race has been scrubbed with just 4 pairs of cars left to run, and the make-up for the final will be held at the event in Indianapolis later on this year. Here’s how things went down, before the sky fell…
Drag Radial
The Drag Radial final will be a showdown between the number one and two qualifiers, Anthony Manna (left) and Mike Brown. Manna had a tough time getting out of the first round - after his opponent Joe Dedonna almost rolled the beams, Manna cut a dismal .269 light, spun and pedaled, and had to fight to keep the car off the wall before finally driving around for the victory. The semis saw Manna pedal the car twice in his competition bye, and coast through the traps into the finals. On the other side of the tree, Brown moved around a lot but kept things in check enough to get past Meeks, then advanced in the semis against Litz, when Litz had to do a bit of driving to keep his own car in the assigned lane. The change of venue may be a godsend for Manna, who definitely wasn't getting down the track as well today as he was in qualifying...
Real Street
The Real Street final will pair Rodney Massengale's Corvette against Kevin Rounsavalle's Camaro. Rounsavall advanced past Nick Mobus with a clean first round victory, then cracked off a bracket-consistent second round competition bye before coming up against defending class champ Adam Preston in the semis. Preston, coming off of what would turn out to be the quickest RS pass of eliminations, hit bad luck and bad traction straight from the get-go, and could only watch as Rounsavall's Camaro got small in the distance. Meanwhile, Massengale drove around a .006-.092 holeshotting in the opening round from James Rowlett, then got an early Christmas present when George Toll couldn't make the call for round two. That put Massengale into the third and final competition bye of the ladder, setting up the final round in Indy.
All Motor
All Motor overdog Jud Massingill will face #2 qualifier Greg Delany in the make-up round at Indy. With a four-car field, the naturally-aspirated racers had but a single round of competition here in Commerce. Massingill drove around a bit of a holeshot from Danny Niceley, 8.227 to 8.723, recording the fast past of eliminations in the process, while Delaney's 5th Gen Camaro was just too, ahem, strong for Robert Strong's Monte Carlo.
LSX Rumble
The LSX Rumble category came down to Ron Farley and Kevin Lumsden (not shown).
5th Gen Camaro
May we present you with your 5th Gen Camaro winner, Tom Calabrese…
That will wrap up our coverage of the second annual LSX Challenge event from Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia – We had a great time despite getting rained out, and it was wonderful to see the support from the community here for this event. The stands were packed with fans on Saturday, and the car show was truly outstanding. We’re looking forward to next year’s race, and we hope that everybody has a safe trip home!