Team Owner Bealko Ends Teammate DeFlorian’s Hot Streak At Bash On The Bayou

John DeFlorian certainly didn’t want to lose, but if he had to pick one person to beat him, it was the one who handed him first loss of 2013.

The Black Diamond Motorsports X-treme Pro Stock team, which is owned by Kevin Bealko, met up in the first round of Saturday’s Bash On The Bayou eliminations at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La.
Bealko went 4.19 at 173.32 mph to beat DeFlorian, who was late off the tree and then shook almost immediately.

It was a frustrating weekend for DeFlorian as he made only one clean pass, that being the 4.096 that gave him the No. 1 qualifying spot. But the rest of the time was filled with difficult runs, the latest coming against Bealko.

It’s also the first loss of the season for the XPS points leader, who had won the first X-DRL event of the season.

The run of 4.19 wasn’t near a career-best for Bealko, but it’s a step in the right direction for a car that had its own share of struggles up to that point.

In fact, Bealko had qualified eighth, slipping into the final spot with a 4.416 at 150 mph that didn’t exactly inspire much confidence.

But things got turned around at the perfect time to beat his red-hot teammate, sending Bealko to the XPS semifinals. He’ll face Rick Cowger, while the other XPS semifinal features Brian Self and Dean Goforth.

The Pro Nitrous semifinals will feature Jim Laurita taking on Robert Mathis, and Jeff Naiser against Jim Sackuvich.

First round winners in Pro X-treme were Frankie Taylor, Terry Leggett, Dan Millen, Quain Stott, Tommy D’Aprile, Tim Tindle and Todd Martin.

Photo courtesy of Roger Richards