"Live From" Gatornationals Double Header

[hemitime]

Any word on David Barton? Hope he's O.K.!

[JHeath]

He climbed out of the car , looked OK on NHRA TV live feed. , here is a Mark Rebilas photo sequence of the incident.

[Ken Miele]

Sorry guys for the lack of reports on the finals, my sponsor and teammate Anthony Bogiovanni was still in so I went from reporter to crew.

David got out of the car and seem to be okay. From my vantage point next to the jersey wall about the 200 foot mark it looked like water mist coming out of the collector, not much he could do at that point. Chris was having his own issues pedaling hard to stay in the groove. Chris did a masterful job getting around David. It would have been an ugly site if they got mixed up.

I was able to get a few shots although they are blurry. I do have more photos to edit, but I will be heading home tomorrow morning. Check back in few days and I will post more photos from the Gators. Congrats to all the winners, and thank you NHRA for letting us run the finals today. The weather looks poor tomorrow, and sitting in the rain all day would not have been fun.

[hemitime]

Thanks Jerry and Ken for the updates.

[Tom P]

Wow Ken, those shots really show how close they came.
Looks like a short day tomorrow, or a really long one with few cars.

[Bob Don]

Good call by NHRA to finish the sportsmen yesterday. It looks like it's going to rain most of the day in Gainesville.

Shout out to Adam Strang for an outstanding week. Semis at Baby Gators, 4 rounds at Gators, and a class Wally to boot. It was nice seeing you and Tom at Babys. Congrats!

Yo Ken - Thanks for the pics and reporting!

[Greg Gay]

Bob, you beat me to it! Good to see the only truly active Stocker from the State of Vermont going rounds in Florida! Good job, Adam.

[Ken Miele]

Hey everyone, I'm back home and editing all the photos I did not have time to do at the track. These are Super Stock qualifying close ups. I have Stocker's in the lanes photos coming up in a bit, I just didn't have time to get all the Stocker's on the track.

Although I did not do well at the Gator's, I did have a good time. Weather for most of the time was warm, but it was a nice break from the northeast cold. Like I said in another post, the place was packed. The response from the fans on the Showdown cars was very good. When the announcers ask which brand they liked I could here the cheers all the way from my pit. I would say the 50th was a success, and running the sportsman on Saturday was a good move by NHRA, even though the rain held off on Sunday to get the show done.

The unfortunate wreck of Gary Wolkwitz COPO caused some controversy, and I hope all parties involved work it out. Safety with these cars are a big concern, 1400 plus hp and 3500 pounds could make for an ugly outcome.

[Ken Miele]

Next batch....

[Ken Miele]

Stock qualifying in the lanes. First photo is Randi Lynn smiling as always, and of course the Stock winner of then 50th Gatornationals.