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    Keystone Nationals Photo Report

    I recently attended the NHRA Pioneer Keystone Nationals held at Maple Grove Raecway. It was my first time at a national event, and I snapped seven rolls of film while I was there. Now for your enjoyment, I have collected and scanned fifty-five of my best, important, or interesting shots of the weekend. Please note that I am not a photographer. ;) These image are Copyright © 1995 Michael G. Beard, All Rights Reserved, and may not be duplicated for commercial use, or for personal use without proper credit given. Thank you!

  • key01.jpg - Pro Stock Bike qualifying, Dave Schultz and Angelle Seeling
  • key02.jpg - Top Fuel qualifying, Scott and Connie Kalitta
  • key03.jpg - Gary Densham smokes'em in the NEC Funny Car
  • key04.jpg - Tom Hammonds' Pro Stock Cutlass left its mark on this event after getting out of the groove in qualifying - on the opposite lane's wall.
  • key05.jpg - Funny Car final round - Jeff Arend leads Tony Pedregon the whole 1320 for his first NHRA Funny Car victory!
  • key06.jpg - Tony Pedregon or John Force? Tony has obviously learned his burnout procedure from the '96 FC champ.
  • key07.jpg - Kenny Bernstein ran 4.59 in qualifying, and laid down another quick lap here in the Top Fuel final vs Connie Kalitta
  • key08.jpg - Angelle Seeling was phenomenal! She qualified #1, backed up her 7.37 for the national record, and then outran a red-lighting Dave Schultz in the Pro Stock Bike Final with another 7.37, resetting her own record.
  • key09.jpg - Tony Bartone was awesome, but not awesome enough this weekend.
  • key10.jpg - Angelo DiTocco drove very well, shown here taking out Vignogna's sweet looking Duster. It's for sale, folks!
  • key11.jpg - I had the chance to chat with Winston Stock Champion Chuck Rayburn for over hour. Despite his 'severe' appearance, he is great guy.
  • key12.jpg - Rayburn's B/SA Challenger was on the receiving end of Peter Biondo driving Donny Sabin's Cutlass first round. 5-oh to a .516, margin of victory: .007!
  • key13.jpg - This was about as far apart as any pair of Pro Stock cars got all weekend. Billy Huff ran well, but Warren Johnson posted a nice string of 6.98's.
  • key14.jpg - Jim Yates may have been chasing Ray Franks here, but he left the Grove with another Wally, and a new national record at 6.947.
  • key15.jpg - The Super Stock cars were flying high, one after another!
  • key16.jpg - Now that's John Force. That's also our Beaver Springs Dragway track photographer Todd Dziadosz in the white shirt. (Say that name three times real quick!)
  • key17.jpg - Bobby Taylor was looking sharp, but lost to Michael Bartone in the second frame. (There's some of Larry Nance's car on the wall!)
  • key18.jpg - Here's Allen Johnson's Dodge Avenger backing up after a burnout. I went ballistic after he ran a 7.000 in qualifying, but NHRA backed him out of the field, even though a teardown revealed nothing, and the clocks checked out. They claimed that no Pro Stocker had ever had a 60' time that quick, so the run was negated.
  • key19.jpg - WJ ran straight and true all weekend, until the finals, where he fell to Yates.
  • key20.jpg - Miss Winston waves to the crowd. Dad said, "Nice car, huh son?"
  • key21.jpg - The Super category cars were looking mean, and were flying in the rare Maple Grove air. Most races seemed to be determined by breakouts.
  • key22.jpg - Jim Head downed Mike Dunn in round one, but fell to breakage to Joe Amato in the second.
  • key23.jpg - Local Thomas Lunny took a red-light win second round in Super Comp. The shot was taken just an instant too late, after Lunny had put his victorious cheering arm back in the car. Lunny went to the fourth round.
  • key24.jpg - Scotty Richardson put on a good show in Super Comp, running the numbers, but fell to Mike Coughlin in round three.
  • key25.jpg - Dominic Balducci's dragster is camoflauged - in New Jersey. Note the Borla mufflers. All Super class cars will look like this in 1998.
  • key26.jpg - Top end racing was a blast to watch in the Stock ranks.
  • key27.jpg - Winston Super Stock Champion Mike Saye was looking great before losing to current points leader Peter Biondo by .014 in the fourth round.
  • key28.jpg - Here's Peter Biondo just flying though the Super Stock ranks, untouched. He won Super Stock here last year, and filled my prediction by doing so again this year.
  • key29.jpg - Vinny Barone's C/SR Comp Eliminator Roadster was put in the winner's circle again by Winston Champion Sal Biondo. Sal won the event last year, and like his brother filled my prediction by taking the title again.
  • key30.jpg - Sal Biondo was hot off the line in the opening rounds of Comp, posting back to back .5-oh lights.
  • key31.jpg - Larry Kopp couldn't touch Biondo's .508 and .499 under run in the third round.
  • key32.jpg - Scotty Richardson somehow survived a tough heads-up E/SA run in Stock first round, but broke out in the second frame.
  • key33.jpg - The Richardsons had a slew of cars! Two Super Comp dragsters, a Stock Camaro, and Super Stock Olds. That's me talking to Edmond, while Scotty preps one of the dragsters. Edmond let it slip that he's a Chrysler guy, and that his first race car was a Duster!
  • key34.jpg - Sal Biondo was easily the man this weekend. With good lights and a bracket racer's heavy foot on the brake pedal to harness the Vinny Barone power, how are you going to beat him?
  • key35.jpg - With lights like .526, .526, .518, and .508, Peter Biondo had all the room he needed on the way to his Super Stock win.
  • key36.jpg - Larry Jewell's SS/DA '67 Corvette ran solid 9.90's, but ran out trying to chase down eventual runner-up Angelo DiTocco.
  • key37.jpg - Larry's son and fellow net racer Jeff Jewell fared better, and ran down several competitors in his own SS/DA '67 Vette.
  • key38.jpg - Yeah, I'm a Mopar guy, but I still had to root for my pal Jeff.
  • key39.jpg - Jeff Jewell was going rounds... He once won the Lebanon Valley WDRS, so it could be his day...
  • key40.jpg - ...except for that pesky .597 light. Herbert Null's .507 and .02 over was admittedly a tough one to beat in the fourth round.
  • key41.jpg - Back to the Top Fuel cars! Cory Mac displayed some awesome power.
  • key42.jpg - Ok, I guess there were some other Pro Stock Bikers there besides Angelle Seeling...
  • key43.jpg - Jim Yates and Chuck Harris warming the tires. 'Nuff said!
  • key44.jpg - Former champ John Asta was there with his Shogun Industries backed Pontiac S/G car/
  • key45.jpg - Asta defeated always tough Frank Maiolo in the fourth round en route to a runner-up finish.
  • key46.jpg - I told you top end racing was neat with the Stock guys. Too bad this guy didn't dump a little earlier!
  • key47.jpg - John Force may have won the burnout contest, but Kenji Okazaki put him away in round two when he dropped a cylinder. Notice the yellowish streak on the wall past the Budweiser sign? That was Arnie Martel's Pyroil Super Stock car as it scraped the wall.
  • key48.jpg - Lincoln Morehead is currently second in the Winston points chase, driving John Gunn's Ciera that carried Sal Biondo to many a victory.
  • key49.jpg - The Half Pint Chevette Super Gas car was a little smaller after an axle broke off the line in qualifying, and headed the car into the wall.
  • key50.jpg - John Bruzzo, current Division 1 points leader, took out local favorite Steve Landis on his way to a fifth round loss. Landis took home the $1000 bonus for running a perfect 8.900 in the first round.
  • key51.jpg - Sadly, this was the only action shot I got of Tom Hammonds' rollover after I got done fumbling for the camera.
  • key52.jpg - Bunny Burkett was in attendance, and looking great. That's me, center, and Dick Schmidt's crew chief Jimmy to the right. On the far right is Bunny's cart, a gift given to her at Beaver Springs Dragway by Mr. Schmidt, a Super/Pro ET racer, president of Excel Homes, Inc. and my sponsor.
  • key53.jpg - Another local, Duane Fisher was competing in Super Gas, but fell early.
  • key54.jpg - Jeannie Booz was "Bitch'n" in her TA/D, but failed to qualify.
  • key55.jpg - And the last one, another local. Tim Goff runs Bike at Beaver Springs Dragway, but brought out his Pro Stock Bike to try to qualify, and ran 7.90's. Goff has the dubious distinction of being the last rider to beat John Myers in the first round until this weekend.