Although he comes from across the globe, the winner's circle at Bristol Dragway probably is beginning to feel like home for Ehime, Japan's Tak Shigematsu.
Shigematsu collected his third straight All Harley Drag Racing Association Bristol victory with a win at last weekend's Rush Thunder in the Valley Nationals presented by Smith Brothers' Harley-Davidson.
The Top Fuel rider defeated Blackwood, N.J.'s Joey Sternotti in the final round. Shigematsu left the line with a .052 reaction time, and completed his jaunt down the quarter-mile in 6.496 seconds at 219.36 mph.
Douglas Horne took home top honors in Rush Pro Fuel over Randal Andras of Amelia, La. The Aberdeen, Md. native's .055 R.T. and 6.869 at 204.23 mph knocked off Andras who was slow off the line with a .125 R.T. Andras completed the run with a 6.988 R.T. at 198.76 mph.
Shaun Reno of Gloucester, Va. used a .033 R.T., with an 8.306 E.T. at 156.44 mph to oust Winston, Ga.'s Eddie Lee in S&S Pro Stock. Lee left the line with a .018 R.T. and ran an 8.441 E.T. at 153.82 mph.
In Rush Pro Gas, Dale Raudenbush of Macungie, Pa. left the line with a .078 R.T. and crossed the finish stripe with a 7.340 E.T. at 178.87 mph to send Mike Lozano back home to San Antonio, Texas.
The Kresto Pro Drag win went to Rickey House of Humble, Texas. House rolled off the line with a .129 R.T. and finished his run in 7.577 seconds at 169.06 mph. His opponent, Rick Moore from Reading, Pa., broke the starting beam with a .318 R.T. and finished the run in 7.578 seconds at 174.05 mph.
Greg Krenik of Corrales, N.M. took home AHDRA Pro Modified over Beavercreek, Ore.'s Randy Borho. Krenik's .047 R.T. and 8.737 E.T. at 148.79 mph were good enough to beat Borho's .052 light and 8.819 E.T. at 150.26 mph.
G.T. Tonglet, Jr. of Metairie, La. pulled out a wholeshot victory over Blue Springs, Mo.'s Danny Worth. Tonglet's 9.220 E.T. at 150.31 mph was slower than Worth's 8.909 E.T. at 151.17 mph, but his .088 R.T. more than made up for it. Worth cruised off the line with a .418 R.T.
Ronnie Fensick of Seaford, Del. (Super Gas), Lou Gerencer from Elkhart, Ind. (Screamin' Eagle V-Rod), Escondido, Ga.'s Karen Wagner (Super Sport) and Chris Sansevere of Palm City, Fla. (S&S 124 Challenge) earned victories during the weekend.
Donnie Huffman of Lakeland, Fla. (Super Eliminator), Bruce Croneberger III of Cressona, Pa. (Hot Street), Nate Carnahan of Richmond, Va. (SEP), Wanda Poff of York, Pa. (Destroyer) and Spartanburg, S.C.'s Frank Howell (ET) also visited the Bristol Dragway Winner's Circle.
Thunder Valley takes a bit of time off due to the upcoming NASCAR events at Bristol Motor Speedway before returning to action with the Aug. 30 Borla Back to School Bash at Street Fights.
For more information about Bristol Dragway events, please call (423) 764-DRAG or visit www.bristoldragway.com.