Terry Borcheller and Forest Barber teamed to win the overall victory in the Barber 250 at the Park at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. Driving a Goodyear-equipped Chevrolet Doran, the pair clinched the race when Borcheller took the lead on the final lap.
The winners, driving in a Daytona Prototype class car, averaged 79.988 mph during the race around the 2.3-mile road course. They beat another Goodyear-shod prototype-class car, the Porsche Fabcar driven by Hurley Haywood and J.C. France, to the finish by just 1.978 seconds.
“I worked (the tires) pretty hard because we were a lap down when I got in,” Borcheller said. “We made that lap up. I was pushing pretty hard. I was using the tires. The track was a lot drier (at the end of the race than at the beginning), but they told me when Forest (Barber, his co-driver) got out that the tires looked brand new and they had gone through my (first stint) and his stint.”
Goodyear cars claimed the first four finishing positions. The GTS-class Mosler MT900R driven by Joao Barbosa and Justin Bell finished first in class and third overall. The GTS Ford Mustang piloted by Tommy Riggins and Dave Machavern was fourth overall.
“We changed tires once,” said Barbosa. “It was about an hour and forty minutes in. They worked really, really well. I was surprised that they could keep such a good pace from start to finish. The tires worked very well at this track, I was really impressed.”
Goodyear-equipped teams won seven times in the K&N Filters NHRA Super Nationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. That brings Goodyear’s seasonal total to an industry-leading 47 wins in NHRA national competition. Goodyear sportsman teams alone have won 23 final rounds in NHRA national events, also the best among tiremakers.
Greg Anderson set new national records for elapsed time and top speed in Pro Stock. Anderson’s records are 6.670 seconds and 207.18 mph. He also won the final round.
One of the best races of the day came in the Super Gas final, where Jim Smulligan defeated Jeff Brooks by just .0171 of a second, or about four feet.
Tony Bartone won the Top Alcohol Dragster final, beating Douglas Foley Bartone’s winning run was clocked at 5.342 seconds (275.06 mph). Don Garbinski won the Super Street title and Billy Griffin won in Competition Eliminator.
In the professional ranks, Doug Kalitta posted the best elapsed time of the meet (4.48 seconds) and best top speed (328 mph) on his way to winning the Top Fuel trophy. Kalitta beat Larry Dixon in the final.
Whit Bazemore defeated Ron Capps in the final round of Funny Car.
Andy Santerre won his second race in three starts after he weaved through the field to get to the front and won the Local Dodge Dealers 150 at Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pa.
Santerre started 11th, but won his 15th career victory, averaging 59.038 mph. He beat second finisher Mike Johnson by 1.033 seconds. Santerre finished second in his only non-win this season and leads the championship standings.
Mike Stefanik finished third, Matt Kobyluck was fourth and Dale Quarterley came in fifth.
Kelly Moore won the Bud Pole Award with a lap averaging 88.618 mph around the 3/8-mile, semi-banked oval. It was the 46th pole of Moore’s career.
Robert Huffman won his fourth victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway when he captured the 50-lap race that was part of the NASCAR The Winston weekend. It was Huffman’s 40th career victory.
Ricky Bryant finished second, while David Heitzhaus took third. Chuck Gafrarar and Johnny Chapman completed the top-five.
Randy Humphrey won the Bud Pole Award with a lap averaging 152.992 mph.
The race was held in front of what was reportedly the largest crowd in Series history. The crowd was estimated at more than 100,000.
Mike Daggett knew what to do when he got in the lead of the Michigan Pro Spring Nationals at Crystal Motor Speedway in Crystal, Mich. Once Daggett got ahead, he stayed there and won the 30-lap race.
Daggett led the final 27 laps around the 3/8-mile clay oval. Fred Bliss finished second, Dain Naida was third, Jimmy Davies took fourth and Ben Rutan came home fifth.
Rutan now leads the championship battle with 583 points. Naida is next with 568.
Dave Whitlock finally won a race at Delaware Speedway after trying for 11 years. He nabbed the victory in the MOPAR 300 at the London, Ontario, Canada track.
The winner averaged 56.287 mph around the half-mile, semi-banked oval.
Don Thomson Jr. finished second, 2.507 seconds behind Whitlock. Neil Fair finished third, followed by Kerry Micks and Pete Vanderwyst.
The event attracted a crowd of more than 10,000 fans.
