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The 2009 NSDA point series was quite a ride from start to finish. Several championships were won at the final race of the season. Let’s take some time to recognize the point series winners and stand out performers from the 2009 season.
Top Fuel
Championship Points
1. Scott Whipple 687
2. Geoff Gill 665
3. Shane Switzer 522
4. Jeff Janoe 388
5. Dennis Rieck 317
Most Wins – Scott Whipple (4)
Most Finals – Scott Whipple & Geoff Gill (Tie-5)
Most #1 Qualifiers – Scott Whipple (4)
Low ET – Scott Whipple 2.239*
* - New World Record
Records were broken this past weekend at the 2009 NSDA Dan Chittenden Fall Nationals in Primm, Nevada. After a few flat tires heading up Baker Grade on Thursday, Team CANIDAE/LUCAS OIL settled in for a full weekend of racing action. Unlike their last outing at Avenal, daytime temperatures in Primm were comfortable, registering in the 70s during much of the day.
After some great passes on Friday and Saturday, top fuel eliminations began on Sunday with #1 qualifier, Whipple and Team CANIDAE/LUCAS OIL setting a new world record ET of 2.278 at 162.75 mph on their first pass. Whipple went on to break that record in round two with a 2.273 ET defeating Jeff Janoe. Heading into the final round, Whipple and the Team CANIDAE/LUCAS OIL crew were pitted against Geoff Gill and his excellent crew. Blasting off the line, Whipple again broke his own world record for the 3rd time on the day while winning the championship with an astounding ET of 2.239 at 164.16 mph to beat Gill's performance of 2.343 ET at 148.41 mph.
Congratulations to Whipple and the rest of the top fuel crew including "Famous" Amos Satterlee, Carl Boley, Amos Satterlee Jr., Scott Gailey, Daran Rupp, Bill Parks, Greg Henley and "Big E" for a fantastic team effort!
In the Top Alcohol class, Team CANIDAE/LUCAS OIL driver Mike DeNunzio was narrowly defeated on Sunday by Nick Januik. DeNunzio ran a 2.611 ET to Januik's 2.603. DeNunzio's best ET of the weekend was a solid 2.569 during Saturday's eliminations. While a points championship was not in the cards for DeNunzio, he ran some great rounds in a tough field of competitors. Mike and the Team finished 2nd in points in this 2009 season
A big thank you to the Top Alcohol crew of Steve and Tony DeNunzio, Lee and Ron Gutierrez, Steven East, Tony Carbone, David Rice, Dennis Bartholomay, Carl Smith, and the rest of our families and friends that made it out to support both teams in 2009.
As another exciting sand drag season closes out, Team CANIDAE/LUCAS OIL would like to extend our gratitude to the NSDA and everyone else involved for their dedication, hard work and commitment putting these events together for racers and fans alike to enjoy.
CANIDAE® Pet Foods Top Fuel Sand Drag Team, lead by driver Scott Whipple, took down the championship this past weekend with a thrilling hole shot victory in the T/F final over Geoff Gill. With daytime temperatures climbing well above 100 degrees, Avenal California's Sand Drag Track was once again home to fierce competition across all the divisions. Whipple and the T/F team earned the #1 qualfying spot going in, and then in an extremely close final, Whipple's 2.325 edged out Gill's 2.323 with the hole shot. The margin of victory being Whipple's reaction time of 0.13457 to Gill's 0.14107 for an overall edge of just .0045! Sunday's victory puts the CANIDAE Top Fuel team unofficially back on top in the race for the overall season championship, but by a mere 1 point. The 2010 Season Championship will be up for grabs when the season closes out with the Fall Nationals at Primm in October. Congratulations to Scott and the rest of the top fuel crew including "Famous" Amos Satterlee, Carl Boley, Amos Satterlee Jr., Scott Gailey, Daran Rupp, Bill Park and "Big E" for the great team effort at Avenal. And, a tip of the hat and thanks to Geoff Gill and owner/tuner Joe Bettencourt and his crew for another challenging weekend of racing and fierce competition on the track.
In the Top Alcohol final, Mike DeNunzio earned the Hole Shot as well but "slowed" to a 2.61 from his quicker qualifying rounds which wasn't quite enough to surpass Gary Mink's 2.46 in their final round match up on Sunday. Congratulations to Gary and the team on your win. Team CANIDAE's 2nd place finish on Sunday puts the T/A Team in 2nd place in the points standings. A big thank you to the T/A crew of Steve and Tony DeNunzio, Lee Gutierrez, Steven East, David Rice, Dennis Bartholomay, and the rest of the family that made it out to support the team. Both crews turned in great performances despite the grueling heat throughout the weekend. Thanks also to the NSDA and ASDI for putting on another great weekend of racing.
The 2010 season wraps up and season championships will be awarded at the 2009 "Dan Chittenden" Fall Nationals being held at the Primm Valley Resorts, October 23-25. With Avenal results this close there’s no doubt the season finale will provide plenty of fireworks for fans and race teams. There's still time to make your plans attend. See you at the races!
Team CANIDAE T/F and T/A Sand Dragsters headed to Avenal CA May 15th-17th for the 2009 Summer Nationals. The T/F team not only had to deal with Geoff Gill and Joe Bettencourt, but also the blistering heat which saw 120 degrees on the team's outside thermometer. The NSDA did an excellent job helping out the Avenal track, which is always fast.
Whipple and the team was able to put down one of their fastest passes ever with a ET of 2.2666 @ 163.3 MPH (2.26 pass video) enabling them to take yet another #1 qualifying position. Rookie driver Geoff Gill, backed by car owner and master tuner Joe Bettencourt, were close behind with a 2.299 ET. Dennis Rieck finally got his small block chevy back on pace and qualified with a nice 2.451 ET.
Gill/Bettencourt were able to take down Dennis Rieck who unfortunately had too much in the tank and not enough on the nose which resulted in a huge wheel stand ending in a tremendous crash. (Avenal Drags May 2009 Top fuel Crash video). Dennis was ok and thankfully did not receive any major injuries. Our heartfelt concerns go out to Dennis and the entire Hammer Down crew.
The climatic final round went to Gill/Bettencourt who ran a 2.30 to Whipple's 2.31. The entire CANIDAE Team would like to congratulate the entire Gill/Bettencourt Top Fuel Team for their tremendous accomplishment and consistent blistering elapsed times, as well as their first NSDA win as a team!
Primm, NV - The Team CANIDAE Top Fuel Team led by driver Scott Whipple defeated Geoff Gill with the fastest pass of the day at 2.320/160.43 mph to win the 2009 NSDA Spring National Championship on Sunday. The team came into Sunday's final rounds as the #1 qualifier after posting the second fastest pass in Primm history at 2.303/160.83 mph on Saturday. The win moves Team CANIDAE to within one point of current leader Gill in the quest to defend their 2008 season championship.
After qualifying #2 with a ripping 2.499 pass on Saturday, Team CANIDAE's Top Alcohol Team and driver Mike Denunzio earned a semi final finish when they lost to season point leader and eventual Spring National champion Gary Mink in a very close race running 2.532 to Mink's 2.501. Congratulations Gary on a great race weekend from all of us at Team CANIDAE. The defending 2008 season champion CANIDAE T/A team currently sits in third place in this year's race for the season point championship.
Congratulations Team CANIDAE on another successful weekend of racing in support of responsible pet ownership and local independent pet food store retailers!
Yuma, AZ - The opening race of the 2009 NSDA season is in the books and defending top fuel season champion Team CANIDAE and driver Scott Whipple successfully opened the new year capturing first place in a highly anticipated and close final race against Geoff Gill. Whipple posted a blazing 2.348 at 158 mph to capture the championship against the hard running Gill who clocked a 2.50 at 150 mph.
Scott Whipple and the CANIDAE T/F sand drag team set a new ET world record at the 2008 NSDA Fall Nationals held at the Primm Valley Resorts in Nevada. Whipple laid down a blistering 2.318 at 159 mph in the last round of qualifying on Thursday and then backed it up on Friday with a 2.338 to set the new record for Top Fuel ET.
At the conclusion of the week's racing, both the CANIDAE Top Fuel team and the CANIDAE Top Alcohol team led by driver Mike DeNunzio took home the overall point championships for the 2008 NSDA season in their respective classes. Congratulations to all on another successful season. Team CANIDAE would like to thank all of the race teams, participants, fans and sponsors for your tremendous support throughout the season. It was an exciting year and we look forward to seeing everyone at the track again in 2009.
CANIDAE 2008 T/F Team: Scott Whipple, Amos Satterlee, Carl Boley, Daran Rupp, Amos Satterlee Jr., Greg Henley, Billy Kuhn, George Whipple and Bill Park
CANIDAE 2008 T/A Team: Mike Denunzio, Steve DeNunzio, Tony DeNunzio, Lee Gutierrez, Steven East, Dennis Bartholomay, Carl Smith and newest member David Rice
Please check back for more race updates and photos coming soon.
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.
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.
