Five Impressions Following the Hardee’s Gateway Drags

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The ADRL weekend at Gateway International Raceway (GIR) included a number of things - massive crowds, shattered records, broken streaks, extended streaks and two days worth of incredible racing.The two-day stretch included the completion of two races - the Hardee’s Independence Drags IV and the Hardee’s Gateway Drags III - and went off without a hitch.There was also plenty we learned along the way as the ADRL heads into its final two races before the LenMar Motorsports World Finals VI in October.With the homestretch of the 2010 clearly in view, here’s the top five things we learned at GIR over a memorable and significant weekend.Pro Extreme Remains as Competitive as EverWhat this weekend proved is that nobody is going to be able to dominate in a class this loaded.Just when Joshua Hernandez seemed to be the one that was going to do that, Alex Hossler and KH Al-Thani left a sizeable impression in Pro Extreme.Both picked up wins, with Hossler winning at his hometown track to squeeze into second place in the points race.“Our deal has to been consistent and that really made a difference,” Hossler said.KH Al-Thani jumped into fourth and went a 3.66 on Friday. Gaylen Smith also made a jump by advancing to the semifinals and finals on respective nights.All of it, of course, means things are going to be wild for the next two races.Chuck Ulsch Loves GIRA year ago, the Maryland native became the first Extreme 10.5 driver to reach the 3-second mark. As sweet as that was, Ulsch might have topped himself with his performance on Saturday.Matching up against Jeff Naiser, Gary White and Billy Glidden for the final three rounds - the same order from the 2009 race - Ulsch got the best of each of them.After some early-race difficulties on Friday, Ulsch found his groove during Saturday’s eliminations, topping Glidden in the finals after losing in that same spot last year.Ulsch went 3.99, but the bigger number was the 206.35 miles per hour that brought the capacity crowd to its feet.“We had a little issue during the burnout and we started vibrating real bad, but it we got it cleared up and it seemed to be alright,” Ulsch said.It was more than fine, as Ulsch lit up the night with a new world speed record for XTF. Ashley Owens Keeps On Keeping OnThere is no magic answer to this run of success for Ashley Owens in Pro Extreme Motorcycle, but we’re nearly out of adjectives to properly describe how amazing this has been.Owens had his first double-win weekend of the season at GIR, going 4.09 on Saturday to cap off another mind-blowing weekend.But perhaps that has become the norm for the Alabama native, who has taken it all in stride with his admirable laid-back attitude.There was nobody better in PXM this weekend, as he won for the sixth time in seven events, going as low as 4.08.“There’s a lot of tough people out here and we’re just trying to get a win light,” Owens said.Shannon is Still ShannonOn the outside looking in heading into GIR when it came to the top eight in points, Shannon Jenkins (pictured) had a much better view in Pro Nitrous by the time the weekend ended.He won the Gateway Drags on Saturday and now only sits behind points leader Rickie Smith, who won on Friday.After winning in May, Jenkins was quiet in June and July, summed up by a crash in Houston that forced him out of his car and into Mike Castellana’s.That didn’t provide the magic touch until Saturday when a late-night cram session fixed the problems. Jenkins responded with a 3.88 in the finals, putting him right back in the thick of things in Pro Nitrous.“This class has gotten really competitive and there’s a lot of guys driving really well,” Jenkins said. “There’s a lot of good guys, but we can run with the best of them.”Is it a Two-Man Race in Extreme Pro Stock?In a word, no, though it may appear that way on first glance.John Montecalvo didn’t reach five wins in a row this weekend, but he did get to four and continued to look strong in his Cobalt.Brian Gahm won on Saturday, meaning Gahm or Montecalvo have won the last six XPS races, which surely speaks to the class being a two-man race.But Cary Goforth is nipping at Gahm’s heels in the points race and Cole Aronson also opened some eyes by advancing to his first final, upsetting Montecalvo in the process.If anything, the weekend proved that XPS is as wide open as ever.(Photos by ADRL/Richards) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ADRLNews/~4/KrWyc__whZE

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