Piazza, Doyle among winners at final race

INFINEON RACEWAY, Sonoma (Nov. 27) - More than 300 racers competed in Infineon Raceway's final bracket race of the 2005 season, which featured many personal bests thanks to a wellprepared track and below-sea-level racing conditions.

The Super Pro final was to feature Sean Eling's '71 240Z against Ted Seipel's Helmet Citysponsored Austin Healy, but because of cooling track conditions, both drivers agreed to split the money and sit out the round. Rob Knoles and Ed Dorman were semifinalists.

In Pro, the day belonged to Joe Piazza and his trusty '50 Chevy fastback sedan. Piazza edged out upset-minded Ondra Powell's '69 Nova. Both drivers broke out with Piazza winning, 11.79 (11.81 dial) to 11.24 (11.30). Steve Wann and Alan Rutter were semifinalists.

Joe Doyle capped the season with a win, taking Sportsman honors with his V-6-powered '64 Nova wagon. Doyle paired a .060 light with a 14.12 (14.11) to defeat Doug McCay, who clocked a .073-initiated 16.77 (16.75) with his '05 F-150. clayton Nickels and Bob Beals were semifinalists.

The Motorcycle final featured former Division 7 champ Trace St. Germain on his ZlR Kawasaki and first-time Infineon finalist Wayne Cox on his '97 Kawasaki. Though St. Germain had the slight reaction-time advantage, .031 to .037, Cox squeezed out the win, 8.81 (8.75) to 9.74 (9.67). James Surber and Jon Nelson were semifinalists.

The big trophy for the High School class went to 2005 track champion Nickels. Nickels used a .029 light in the final to put away Trevor Lefler and his '02 Maxima. Lefler's off-pace 15.00 (14.80) was not enough to beat Nickels, who ran a 12.99 (12.67). Apryl Winston was the semifinalist.

The non-electronic California Footbrake Race Association put $820 up for grabs to the first driver who could run dead on his or her dial in eliminations. It took Rich Pedraza just one round to collect with his '67 Mustang; he stopped Mark Chancey's '63 Plymouth with a perfect 12.050 (12.05). In the final, Mat Moran, driving an '01 Jaguar, faced off against Steve Westerman's '70 Dart. Westerman won on a 10.92 (10.85) to 12.59 (12.48) count. Bob Hanson and Frank Barrett were semifinalists.

March Scheuer used a huge starting-line advantage to beat Wilson Velasquez in the Trophy final. Velasquez ran closer to the number with a 12.12 (12.10) from his '04 Cobra, but it wasn't enough to beat Scheuer, who ran an 11.31 (11.27) with his '83 Mustang. Scott Sterley and Joe Curtis were semifinalists.

In addition to the bracket event, Harold Hoffman and Monty Berney also did some testing during the day. Hoffman ran a best of 7.65 with his Chevy-powered Top Comp dragster. Berney ran an out-of-shape 7.03 with his crowdpleasing '55 Chevy.

- Jim McCombe

Copyright National Hot Rod Association Jan 20, 2006
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