Weather Forces Delay Of X-DRL Thunder Valley Madness Eliminations At Bristol Dragway To Sunday

Action for the X-treme Drag Racing League’s (X-DRL) Thunder Valley Madness at Bristol Dragway was rained out during the first round of eliminations on Saturday, but the race is now scheduled to be completed on Sunday in Bristol.
Sunday’s elimination action will begin at 9 a.m. and will pick up with the third pair of Pro X-treme pairings.
The first two of first-round winners in Pro X-treme were Terry Leggett and Randall Reid.
X-treme Pro Modified, Mickey Thompson Top Sportsman and Top Dragster did not make a run during eliminations. The first rounds for those respective classes will follow Pro X-treme on Sunday.
The X-DRL’s live feed at X-DRL.com will also be available on Sunday, as well as coverage from 1320go.com and Drag Race Central.
The semifinals in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous will feature Jim Laurita against Pat Stoken, who ran a first-round best 3.85, and Bob Rahaim facing off with Billy Glidden.
Laurita’s day started with a career-best pass of 3.785 at 197 mph during qualifying, and he’ll be in search of his first career Pro Nitrous win on Sunday.
The semifinals were also set in X-treme Pro Stock after the class completed its first round of eliminations. No. 1 qualifier Cary Goforth advanced to meet up with John DeFlorian, while the other semifinal will feature Kevin Bealko and Elijah Morton.
Dean Goforth was involved in a major crash during the final qualifying round, but escaped serious injury. After a strong start to the run, Goforth’s car immediately darted right and crashed into the right wall. It bounced off the wall, moved back across the track and then collided hard with the left wall before his Jerry Haas Race Cars GXP came to a stop.
“I’ll be sore tomorrow. When I hit the (right) wall, I think my foot hit the throttle and that just shot it back,” Goforth said. “The car left good and was going straight. I was right in the middle of pulling second gear, and just that quick it got out of control.
“The safety guys were there almost as soon as it happened. They were there quick and did a great job. They were very professional.”
Todd Moyer ran a career-best 3.89 at 201 mph to finish as the top qualifier in Precision Turbo & Engine Pro Turbo. He advanced to the finals in the class, and he will meet Jose Gonzalez on Sunday. Gonzalez ran as quick as a 3.90 on Saturday, beating Mike Murillo with that time to set up a championship round race with Moyer.
Dan Stevenson finished as the No. 1 qualifier in X-treme Pro Mod, running a 3.923 to head the four-car field. Mickey Thompson Top Sportsman and Top Dragster have eight-car qualifying ladders, with Ronnie Davis (4.112) and Kevin Fisher (4.251) remaining the No. 1 qualifiers in Mickey Thompson Top Sportsman and Top Dragster, respectively.
Ryan Tolley finished as the top qualifier in Pro Junior Dragster.