Team CANIDAE made it a clean sweep taking down both the top fuel and top alcohol championships at the Saboba Springs Nationals held May 9-11 in San Jacinto, CA.
Driver Scott Whipple, master engine tuner "Famous Amos" Satterlee and the CANIDAE Top Fuel Team including, Carl Boley, Daran Rupp, Amos Satterlee Jr., Greg Henley, Billy Kuhn, George Whipple and Bill Park were firing on all cylinders throughout the weekend and went into Sunday's elimination rounds as the #1 qualifier with a 2.431/152.53 mph run on Saturday.
On Sunday, Whipple and Team CANIDAE earned a first round bye but chose to fire it up for the crowd anyway posting a 2.40 at 155 mph on their first pass. In the semifinals, a 2.431 was enough to get past Pete Schenk's 2.542. The final round match up pitted team Canidae against always fast Jeff Janoe with Whipple and Team CANIDAE taking down the championship with a blazing fast 156.97 mph run in the final. Winning this year's Saboba Spring Nationals is the team's fourth, 1st place championship of the year, out of 5 races, and maintains their hold on top of the T/F point leader board for the 2008 season.
Not to be outdone, driver Mike DeNunzio and the CANIDAE T/A team of Steve DeNunzio, Tony DeNunzio, Lee Gutierrez, Steven East and Dennis Bartholomay were working in sync running through Friday and Saturday qualifying at the Saboba Spring Nationals winding up in the #2 position with a 2.634 pass at 133.81 on Saturday.
On Sunday DeNunzio and the team got past Dan Allen in the first elimination round running a 2.617 at 131.90 mph. In the second round semifinals a 2.667 pass was enough to defeat Richard Montiel and set up a rematch of the Primm T/A final from a few weeks earlier against Shane Sanford. In another exciting and very close race, this time it was team Canidae's turn to take down the title ripping off a 2.631 at 135.42 mph to edge Sanford's 2.672/139.53 mph for the championship. Canidae's T/A team has now made it to the final round in all five races they have entered this season. Sunday's win solidifies their current #1 position on the T/A point leader board for 2008.
April 21, 2008 - Top Fuel Sand Team Wins NSDA Spring Nationals
In a much anticipated final round match up, Scott Whipple and the CANIDAE Pet Foods Top Fuel Sand Team ran a blistering 2.335 at 163 mph Sunday afternoon to defeat Dennis Reick and capture the 2008 NSDA Spring Nationals Championship in Primm, NV.
The T/F team went into Sunday's final round eliminations as the #1 qualifier but had their work cut out for them after throwing 2 rods through the block and oil pan and destroying the engine Saturday on the last qualifying pass of the day. Crew chief Famous Amos Satterlee, along with Carl Boley, Daran Rupp, Greg Henley, George Whipple, Bill Park and Billy Kuhn worked late into the evening putting in and test firing their backup motor in order to be ready in time to line it up again for Sunday's finals.
With the untested back up motor in place, Team CANIDAE started Sunday off running a 2.454 at 150 mph in the first elimination round defeating Pete Schenk. In round two Whipple ran a 2.433 at 152 mph to knock off Jeff Janoe and set up the championship final against Reick who had been blowing through the competition in the opposite bracket running in the 2.3's during his first 2 elimination rounds.
All of the team's hard work paid off in the final round when the CANIDAE T/F dragster blasted off the starting line running its fastest pass of the weekend at 2.335 and 163 mph giving Whipple and Team CANIDAE the NSDA Spring Nationals T/F championship.
The victory gives Team CANIDAE's T/F team three first place place finishes out of four races this season and maintains their top spot as overall season point leader going into the next race. Team CANIDAE will take to the sand track again on May 9-11 at the NSDA points race taking place at the Saboba Casino flat track located in San Jacinto, CA.
