ITA Regional Championship battles breakdown

We’re at that point in the season where regional championship races are coming to a close in some instances, and wide open in others.

Here’s our run-down of each region’s championship chases in TAD and TAFC.

East Region TAD

This race is really wide open coming into the final Eastern Regional in Cecil County this weekend in both categories. Even with the region entering its last race, we still have seven cars with a shot at winning the title in Top Alcohol Dragster. The front runners are current points leader Dan Page with 234 points (5 races) followed closely by John Finke with 222 points(5). Defending East Region Champ Rich McPhillips is in third with 181(5), Richard Bourke fourth with 169(5), Dan Mercier (4) and Wayne Morris (5) tied for fifth with 149 and Jackie Fricke in seventh with 138 (4). All seven of the cars in contention have a DNQ on their record this season, so there is a lot of potential to make up ground, so a late season push by any of these cars could win a championship.

Finke definitely has the momentum on his side coming off back to back wins in Lebanon Valley and Epping. He also has two DNQ’s and a first round loss to round out the five races he has attended. Page and Finke enjoy somewhat of a cushion going into the final race of the season. However, the fact that all of the title contenders have a DNQ to their credit shows just how tough and unpredictable Eastern Region TAD can be this year. A win by one of the 3-7 cars coupled with an early round or DNQ by Finke and/or Page, and this race will be very close at the top. A strong finish by Page or Finke could turn this into a two horse race.

With the North Central hosting their closer just a week later in Bowling Green, we look for this battle to go down to the wire one way or the other. We will update the scenarios next week after this weekend’s race.

East Region TAFC

The TAFC class is also a wide open race heading into the finish. John Anderika currently leads with 287 points (5 races), followed closely by Frank Manzo (4) and Dan Pomponio (5) who are tied for second with 277 points, with defending Champ Todd Veney not far behind in fourth with 267 points (5). Eric Lourie has an outside chance with 172 points (4) in fifth.

While Manzo would appear to be in the best position to win the region, it looks as if he will forfeit his regional points. To be eligible for the regional championship a competitor must attend at least three in-region events. To date he has only attended two, and is entered for this weekend’s national event in Brainerd. With this weekend’s event in Cecil County being the last Eastern Regional, he will not be eligible, barring him somehow showing up. Theoretically he could show up and tech in, even in someone else’s car, then fly to Brainerd, but we highly doubt that scenario. Manzo is focused on national points in what could be his final year behind the wheel.

Even with “Ace” out of the picture, it’s a very tight race between Anderika, Pomponio and Veney. Anderika not only holds the points lead, but has a DNQ on his record, so he has quite a bit of room to improve. Pomponio and Veney both have first round losses they can throw out, so they have ample room for improvement as well.

If Manzo doesn’t show, Anderika can clinch the Eastern Region Championship with a win. Even if Pomponio were to tie, then win an out of region race, the best he could do is tie, and Anderika would hold the tie breaker based on more in-region scored points. An Anderika win would also mathematically eliminate Veney and Lourie.

An Anderika runner-up would also retain his points lead, but if coupled with a win by either Pomponio, Veney or Lourie would leave the door open for a showdown presumably at Bowling Green the next weekend.

A Pomponio win in Cecil County with an Anderika runner-up would put Pomponio 11 points behind going into their final out of region race. Pomponio would still have a first round loss to improve on, and could tie Anderika with a first round win. He would then hold the tie breaker with more scored in-region points. He would then clinch by reaching the final, as the best Anderika could do would be to tie him with a win. A Veney win at Cecil County with an Anderika runner-up would put him 21 points behind. He would then need to reach the final to force a tie, in which he would hold the tie breaker. However, If Anderika were to win the final, Anderika would win the Championship. Lourie would have to win out his final three races to have a mathematical shot.

North Central Region TAD

In the North Central Region, there are four cars with a mathematical shot, but the red-hot Brandon Booher has the momentum and a decent 42 point lead over second place Marty Thacker. Booher leads with 319 points (5 races) on the heels of three-straight wins. He has two first round losses to improve on. Thacker holds down second with 277 points (5), followed by Bill Reichert in third with 245 points (5) and Robin Samsel with 214 points (5) in fourth.

Booher is clearly in the driver’s seat. A win will clinch the title for him. If he makes the final, Reichert and Samsel will be eliminated. If he is in the final and Thacker isn’t the car that beats him, he will clinch. Thacker and Reichert obviously need to go rounds to make up the ground.

Thacker, Reichert and Samsel are all entered for this weekend’s Lucas Oil Nationals, so if there is any out of region battles, we project those to be in Earlville or Noble.

North Central Region TAFC

North Central TAFC is down to a two horse race with Andy Bohl and Chris Foster tied for first with 299 points going into Bowling Green. Bohl, who has attended five races, all in-region, currently holds the tie breaker and comes in fresh off a win in Columbus. Foster has been to six events and Bowling Green will be his last points earning opportunity.

Bohl can clinch with a win. If Foster were to win, he would then have the tiebreaker in his favor with more in-region points. Bohl could stay alive with a Foster win if he were to runner-up in Bowling Green then win an out of region race. If Foster wins and Bohl is not in the final, Foster clinches the title.

Central Region TAD

With three events left on the schedule, the Central Region still has much racing to do. Central Region TAD is shaping up to be another battle between Randy Meyer and defending Central Region Champ Gord Gingles. Meyer has attended four events and holds the lead with 192 points. Gingles has points from three events in four outings as he has attended three out of region events.

Forrest Fair has a win from the only event he attended this year, so he has a mathematical chance if he could put together a late-season run.

Central Region TAFC

As with Central Region TAD, the race for the Central Region TAFC title is wide open, but the current leader in the clubhouse is John Lombardo, Jr. In three events, he has a win (out of region), a runner-up and a first round. Lombardo is trailed by Kris Hool in second with 139 points (3 races), Lance Van Hauen in third with 118 points (3) and Scott McVey in fourth with 107 points (2). It is also worth noting that Dale Brand has only attended one race, in which he won.

While Lombardo holds a solid lead, there is plenty of opportunity for second through fifth place to put together a run at the title.

Western Region TAD

Like the Central Reigon, there are still three more races left on the Western Region schedule, so a lot can happen between now and the season closer in Las Vegas. This weekend’s event in Seattle will give a clearer picture on who the favorites are heading down the stretch.

In TAD, defending World Champ Jim Whiteley holds a commanding lead with 319 points in just four races attended. He has three wins and a runner-up. However, with three races remaining, second place Ray Martin with 256 points (4 races), third place Chris Demke with 192 points (4) and fourth place Joey Severance with 162 points (4) all have mathematical chances with strong teams to boot.

Whiteley is entered in this weekend’s Lucas Oil Nationals, so Martin, Demke and Severance will be jockeying for position to make a run at Whiteley. The dark horse pick in this is Shawn Cowie who scored a win at his much anticipated return to the seat in Woodburn. With a proven fast car, he definitely has the potential to make a late season run, but he will more than likely need to travel to a race like Noble to have a shot.

Western Region TAFC

In Western Region TAFC, Jay Payne and defending Western Region Champ Annie Whiteley have emerged as the front runners with 266 points. Both have attended five events. Payne holds a bit of an advantage as one of his scored events is a DNQ. In third is Steve Gasparrelli with 192 points (4 races), in fourth Brian Hough with 170 (4) and a dark horse in this race is Tony Bartone in fifth with 160 points (3).

Payne and Whiteley will both be racing in Brainerd this weekend. That opens the door for Gasparrelli and Hough to make up some ground with a strong showing. Bartone will presumably not be there, as they have stated Topeka is their goal to have their newly-leased Mickey Ferro ride out. Gasparrelli could come away with the points lead with a win. This will be one of the more interesting battles to watch going down the stretch.

We will update the points scenarios as they unfold.

 

update

Here is an update after last weekend's Regional events in Cecil County (East) and Seattle (West)

East TAD

2011 Division 1 Champ Karen Stalba took the win over Dan Page. Page came in with a decent points lead and his strong showing will pad that lead as second-place John Finke lost in the first round. Defending Eastern Region Champ Rich McPhillips, Richard Bourke, and Wayne Morris have all been mathematically eliminated. Stalba's win gives her a mathematical chance at the title. Dan Mercier and Jackie Fricke both have mathematical chances as well.

While Page holds a solid 44 point lead over Finke going into their final points earning opportunity, Finke still has a DNQ to improve on, so there is a lot of points on the table to pick up. Page still has a first round to improve on as well. If Page wins his next event, he clinches the title. If Page reaches the final, Finke will be mathematically eliminated. If Page wins the first round, Finke will have to win the event to over take him.

Outside of the Page and Finke battle at the top, if Page reaches the final, Mercier and Fricke will be mathematically eliminated. Stalba will also be eliminated unless she beats him in the final. In that scenario she would have to win her final race to win the title. If Page does not reach the final, Stalba could win the title with a combination of a win and runner-up. It would also leave the door open for Mercier and Fricke to win the title with back to back wins.

We look for this battle to continue this weekend in Bowling Green. If it is still alive after Bowling Green, Earlville and Noble are the two likely locations for the final showdown. Technically Topeka, Woodburn and Las Vegas are options as well, but they would be much longer hauls.

East TAFC

John Anderika came through for his second straight win to clinch the East TAFC title. Veney moved to second place with his semifinal finish, one point ahead of Pomponio. If Pomponio chases second place, he can over take Veney by winning the first round at his next event. Veney will need to reach the finals to improve his points total.

West TAD

After this past weekend’s Seattle Western Regional, Jim Whiteley still holds a comfortable lead in Western Region standings despite not attending Seattle. Second place Ray Martin and third place Chris Demke did close the gap with strong showings. Demke kept his title hopes alive with a win over Johnny Ahten. Martin reached the semifinals. Martin still holds a 22 point lead over Demke as both drivers have attended five events.

Despite holding down second place, Martin’s road to the title is a bit tougher than Demke’s as he will be replacing semifinal losses where Demke has two first round losses to replace. There are still a lot of scenarios based on how well Whiteley does at his next regional events, but Martin and Demke are basically looking at needing to win-out to not only catch Whiteley, but stop him from adding more to his points lead.

Both teams are more than capable, so we’re not counting this one done just yet.

West TAFC

Steve Gasparrelli made the most of Annie Whiteley and Jay Payne’s absence in Seattle, taking the win and the points lead. Shane Westerfield through his name into title contention with a runner-up finish.

Gasparrelli now holds an 11 point lead over Payne and Whiteley who are tied for second. Westerfield jumped into fourth, but has only attended four events. Doug Gordon and Brian Hough have outside shots, but will need to basically win-out to have a chance.

With two more events on the Western Region schedule, this race looks very interesting.

This weekend will play host to regional events in Bowling Green, Ky., for the North Central Region and Topeka, Kan., for the Central Region.

We will post more updates next week!

 

updates

Sorry for the delayed updates, been a busy few weeks.

East Region TAD -

This one played out a bit differently than expected with Finke opting to go to the Topeka Central Regional as his last race while Dan Page stayed closer to home at the Bowling Green North Central Regional. Topeka's eliminations were Saturday night, and Page locked up the Eastern Regional title when Finke lost in the semifinals.

Jackie Fricke is racing in Earlville this weekend and can move to third place if she wins first round, but can not improve after that.

North Central TAD -

This race isn't over, but it's getting close. Brandon Booher holds a solid lead, but Bill Reichert moved to second and within striking distance with a clutch win in Bowling Green. Marty Thacker still has a mathematical chance in third place.

Booher is in the driver's seat racing at the Earlville Central Regional this weekend. If he reaches the final, he clinches the title. If he wins first round, he eliminates Thacker. If he does not reach the final, he is out of races, and Reichert could pass him with a win at Noble or Las Vegas.

North Central TAFC -

Andy Bohl clinched his first regional title with a clutch win over Chris Foster in round one of the Bowling Green Regional. Bohl struggled in qualifying, qualifying seventh, but stepped up in eliminations, defeating Foster in the first round and going on to win the event.

Central TAD -

This race continues to be a battle between Randy Meyer and Gord Gingles. Meyer currently holds the points lead, but has more events counted towards his total. Gingles took a clutch win over Meyer in the final of the Topeka Regional, and put himself and "The Bull" team in very good position to repeat as Central Region Champion.

Meyer currently has 256 points and has attended five events. Gingles has 235 points and has attended five events, but only four of them are scored since three of those races were out of region events. Since he has only counted four races towards his total, Gingles will take all of the points he earns this weekend in Earlville. Meyer has two first round losses to improve on, so going rounds will be paramount.

This race is shaping up to go down to the wire in Noble.

Central Region TAFC

John Lombardo has not mathematically clinched the title yet, but appears to be in very good position to win the title, as there are not that many cars really chasing the title. Lombardon solidified his points lead with a runner-up in Topeka. Second place Kris Hool is not in Earlville this weekend. Hool and third place Lance Van Hauen still have mathematical chances, but will need to pretty much win out.

West Region TAFC

Jay Payne pulled off a big win at the Topeka Regional to regain the Western Region points lead. Payne currently holds a 31 point lead over Steve Gasparrelli, and still has a DNQ he can replace. Defending Champ Annie Whiteley is 11 points back in third.

Both Gasparrelli and Whiteley have first round losses they can improve on. Both realistically need a win in Noble to stay in contention. If they do not win Noble, Payne will clinch by just qualifying at his last event, presumably Las Vegas.

 

Update

After Earlville

And then there were two...regional events left on the schedule - Noble and Las Vegas. Here's an update following this past weekend's Earlville event.

North Central TAD

Brandon Booher lost in the semifinals, eliminating Marty Thacker from title contention, but leaving the door open for Bill Reichert. Reichert still has one event to claim, and would overtake Booher with a win at either Noble or Las Vegas.

Central TAD

Gord Gingles and Randy Meyer are still locked in a tight battle, but Gingles scored a win in a pivotal semifinal round matchup with Meyer. He lost in the final, but took the points lead in the process.

Gingles now holds a 32 point lead over Meyer. He also is 2-0 in head to head matchups, which is now the first tie-breaker under the new regional system. It's highly likely the last event for both of these drivers will be Noble. Gingles can clinch the title by making the final and Meyer must win the event to overtake him.

Central TAFC

Points leader John Lombardo was not in attendance in Earlville, but retained his points lead. Lance Van Hauen moved into second place with a runner-up finish to Kirk Williams. Lombardo holds a 31 point lead.

Lombardo still has an upper hand as he has only attended four events, so he will take full points at his next event. Van Hauen has two first round losses to improve on. If Lombardo wins his next event, he clinches the title. If he reaches the final and Van Hauen is not the car to beat him, he will also clinch. If Lombardo qualifies at his next regional event, Van Hauen must at least win the first round to stay alive.

 

making sure...

I was just making sure someone was paying attention....
Good catch.