What a difference a year and 80 miles south makes. Last Year’s Ice Breaker season opener at Island Dragway on April 13th yielded 30 Degree Temps and Snow Flurries. This year, with temps in the upper 70’s and a track that was prepped for record breaking E/T’s and Speeds, the stage was set for a great day of Racing at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland.

The Folks from Ram Racing welcomed the Class Racers with open arms. We qualified 16 cars for two quick eight fields. This being our first Points race, many racers were gunning for the number one Qualifying position and the first quick eight field, to accumulate as many points possible to start off the season. After the tire smoke settled, Ralph Barbagallo, running a 1970 Road Runner 440+6BBL Automatic, sealed the spot with a blistering 11.21 E/T at 122 MPH. Number two Qualifier, Ken Veit, running a 1969 COPO Camaro 427 Automatic, was close behind with an 11.36 E/T and a eye opening 124 MPH.

Qualifying order for the Ice Breaker Race April 19, 2008 Cecil County Dragway Md:

Quickest Eight:
#1 Ralph Barbagallo 1970 Roadrunner 440+6 Auto 11.210 122.40
#2 Ken Veit 1969 Camaro COPO 427 4 BBL Auto 11.363 124.21
#3 Mike Nasi 1971 GTX 440+6 Auto 11.541 118.62
#4 James Cooke 1969 RoadRunner 440+6 4 Spd 11.587 121.47
#5 Don Giannone 1966 Chevelle SS396 Auto 11.610 121.96
#6 Tom Cannon 1971 Super Bee 440+6 4 Spd 11.694 120.22
#7 Gene Wilsey 1970 AAR Cuda 340+6 Auto 11.694 115.96
#8 Scott McKenzie 1969 RoadRunner 440+6 Auto 11.874 115.36

After three rounds of intense racing, The Field was chopped down to Mopar vs. Chevy Quickest Eight (Qualifiers 1 through 8)  Slug Fest. With Ken in the left lane and Ralph in the right, the Pro Tree came down and the tire smoke started. Pedaling the Road Runner to a victory was Ralph Barbagallo, with a 11.44 @ 122MPH over Ken Veit’s 11.73 @ 123 MPH.

 In the Quickest Eight consolation race, Brian Wilsey, driving his dad’s 1970 AAR Cuda, had a bi run after Don Giannone’s 1966 Chevelle SS396 Automatic could not make the call due to a head gasket issue.

The Quick Eight Consolation Race Final was between a newcomer to the class, Ted Daros, and his over the top 100 point show stopping 1970 LS6 Chevelle SS454 4 spd. and seasoned Racer, Jay De Laigle, with another 100 point Pontiac Nationals show winning 1974 Trans Am 455 Automatic. Ted rowed the four speed on his Chevelle to a 13.00 @  111.00 victory over Jay’s 13.12 @ 110.66.

Round Two, Quick-8:
Ralph Barbagallo 11.34 123.16 Over James Cook 12.18 121.80
Ken Veit 11.41 124.17 Over Mike Nasi 11.78 118.24

Finals, Quick-8 :
Ralph Barbagallo 11.44 122.82 Over Ken Veit 11.73 123.50

 Consolation Race Quickest Eight Winner:
Brian Wilsey Over Don Giannone, Broke

Winner:
Ralph Barbagallo1970 Plymouth Roadrunner, 440-6
Runner-up:Ken Veit1969 Chevrolet Camaro, 427

F.A.S.T. 2nd Quick-8 Eliminations:
Round One, 2nd Quick-8:
Steve Vanderwall 12.93 114.08 Over Harry Chargois Jr. 13.97 79.58
Greg McNichol 12.54 114.67 Over John Suess 15.15 94.03
Dan Korb 13.00 104.03 Over Ted Daros 13.33 112.32
Billy Atwood 12.86 111.46 Over Jay De Laigle 13.06 110.47

Round Two, 2nd Quick-8:
Greg McNichol 12.61 Over Dan Korb 13.757 79.58
Steve Vanderwall 12.60 114.62 Over Billy Atwood, Foul 13.70 86.54

Consolation Race Final Quick Eight:
Ted Daros 13.00 111.00 Over Jay De Laigle 13.12 110.66

Finals, 2nd Quick-8:
Winner Greg McNichol 1969 Coronet R/T 440-4v 12.56 110.19 Over Steve Vanderwall 12.97 115.04