Gary Gardella won his fourth 2007 NHRA Sport Compact event in the Pro FWD class this past weekend in Englishtown, New Jersey.
Gary had an amazing event overall, with all six of his runs posting over 200 mph (four of them at 202 mph). He also reset the Pro FWD national elapsed time record at 7.15 seconds.
With the win and the record, Gary catapulted into the top position in the championship points race.
The 2007 Pro FWD championship battle has been fierce, with the No. 1 position changing hands multiple times -- usually bouncing between Chevy Cobalt drivers Marty Ladwig and Jason Hunt.
Now, three Chevy drivers have been in the top spot this season, and the winner will be decided at the final event in Pomona on October 21.
While watching all the Pro FWD Chevy Cobalts do well is always a pleasure, it was especially nice to see Gary and his Gardella Racing team put on the flawless performance they did this weekend. A New Jersey native, Gary was surrounded by friends and family who came out to support him at his home track. The atmosphere in the Gardella Racing pit area was jubilant.
Over 30 cars tried to qualify for Quick16 in Englishtown, setting the bump spot at 9.77 seconds (Chevy-driver Brian Ballard put up a nice 9.31-second qualifying run in his ECOtec-powered Cobalt). Get to an event or watch it on TV!
Weâd like to thank Gardella Racing for also hosting the New Jersey Chevy Parts and Service club. Every one had a great time (and the food was pretty good, too)! And thanks to all the dealer and region personnel for coming out; we loved having you!
So, now the season is almost over, with only one event remaining. If you havenât seen sport compact drag racing this season, you are truly missing out. The side-by-side runs of Chevy drivers Jason Hunt, Gary Gardella, and Marty Ladwig are racing at its best. Pro FWD records have fallen at almost every event and 200mph is a regular occurrence. Iâm truly proud of what these teams have done for the quality of sport compact drag racing. But, itâs not only in the Pro FWD class. You can see hard-fought points battles and amazing side-by-side runs in All Motor (can you believe theyâre running sub-9.50 seconds all the time now?), and Modified is always an exciting show. At the sportsman level thereâs great racing, too.
Over 30 cars tried to qualify for Quick16 in Englishtown, setting the bump spot at 9.77 seconds (Chevy-driver Brian Ballard put up a nice 9.31-second qualifying run in his ECOtec-powered Cobalt). Get to an event or watch it on TV!
In the mean time, be sure to check out our photos from E-town on Flickr. See you in Pomona!
