Pluchino, the No. 1 qualifier, was locked in the low 4.20s through eliminations. He started with a 4.221 over Robert Sellers and a 4.245 over Michael Nauman, then stepped up to a 4.217 to take down Chris Holdorf’s 4.229 in the semifinals.
Distefano in his Musi-powered ‘68 Camaro set low ET of the weekend with his opening-round 4.195 over Bobby Starr. His 4.27 defeated Jeff Ensslin in the second round, then a 4.244 was enough to beat Walter Lannigan’s 4.247 by just three ten-thousandths of a second in the semis.
Mo Hall and his Fulton-powered ‘07 Corvette stole the show in Outlaw 10.5, as the nitrous-assisted entry qualified No. 1, set low ET of the weekend and won the event. Unopposed in the final round, Hall ran a 4.173 at 141.71 to finish the weekend.
Hall’s trip to the finals began with a weekend-best 3.853 over Joel Wensley followed by a 3.894 on a single to the semifinals. His 3.964 in the semis defeated Rich Bruder, who was driving Marty Robertson’s twin-turbocharged ‘68 Barracuda.
Hall was set to face No. 2 qualifier Tim Essick in the final, but Essick’s ProCharger-boosted “Brown Sugar” ‘18 Mustang was wounded after 4.0-second round wins over Tommy Mauro and Paul Major. He took the tree on a single in the semis before loading up for the weekend.
Ken “the Hammer” Ellison capitalized on a No. 16 qualifying spot in the Elite Top Sportsman field by moving past Steve Drongowski, Jamie Fowler and Travis “the Carolina Kid” Harvey to reach the final round in his Nesbitt-powered ‘06 Chevy Cobalt. Ellison then ran a 4.156 on a 4.19 dial-in to beat Jeremy Creasman’s 3.991 on a 3.96 dial-in to earn the event victory.
In Top Sportsman 32, Dave Miller picked up the event win in his Connecticut-based ’00 Chevy S-10 with a 4.429 on a 4.42 dial-in over Glen Teets III, who broke out with a 4.167 on a 4.18 dial-in in his ’08 Pontiac GTO.
Second-generation drag racer and chassis builder Kellan Farmer earned his first Elite Top Dragster victory in the seat of his ‘19 Race Tech dragster. Farmer dispatched reigning world champion Chaz Silance in the opening round before defeating John Creasman and Kathy Fisher. Final-round opponent Robert Pickens went .016 red, but Farmer was ready with a 4.079 on a 4.05 dial-in.
A .006 reaction time helped Aaron Roberts seal the deal in Top Dragster 32, as he went 4.438 on a 4.42 dial-in in his ’14 Mike Bos dragster in the final round next to former Jr. Dragster standout Kimberly Messer’s 4.675 on a 4.67 dial-in.