Drag-and-Drive Competitors Brett LaSala and Cleetus McFarland Lead List of Winners from World Cup Finals Import Vs. Domestic Event at Maryland Int’l Dragway
Heralded each year for cool temperatures and killer track prep, which combined result in amazing runs and sold-out crowds, the World Cup Finals Import vs. Domestic event at Maryland International Raceway wrapped up action Sunday evening.
A total of eleven classes would be contested for over two-hundred thousand dollars in payout, plus the coveted World Cup Finals trophy.
The Warriors versus Tres Cuarto final pitted the popular domestic versus import battle, as number five qualifier Brett LaSala would stage his 2012 Ford Mustang opposite the 1984 Mazda RX7 of Jamil Negron.
The 31st qualifier out of 32 cars to stage for round one, Negron was hoping for one more upset round win in the final. But LaSala left him no room, blasting to a 6.48 at 225 mph to deny the 6.86 at 202 mph from the RX7. This would be LaSala’s second-straight win in as many races, backing up his recent FL2K win at Bradenton Motorsports Park last month.
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The Stick Shift class final round would be an all-Chevrolet Corvette match-up, as Cleetus McFarland would duke it out with Ryan Pederson. This would be their second meeting in less than a month, with their first meeting taking place in the second round at the recent FL2K event, where Pederson got the nod.
Maryland would have Cleetus evening the score at one win each, as he got the reaction time advantage and took the win via a 7.32 at 203 mph to Pederson’s 7.56 at just 149 mph. This would mark the second time Cleetus earned the Stick Shift class win in Maryland, as he won the class the first year it was contested at World Cup Finals in 2019.
The quickest and fastest class on the property, Outlaw versus Extreme, put a pair of 5-second hot rods on the starting line decide the winner, with Mark Benston Jr.’s Chevrolet Camaro staging against Jim Odom’s Nissan GT-R.
In the blower versus turbocharger affair, Odom got away first and had to work hard to keep the car off the right-hand wall. That gave number three qualifier Benston Jr. the opening he needed, and he rocketed by for a 5.69 at 247 mph victory lap over Odom’s 5.81 at 243 mph.
The quickest drag-and-drive car on the property belonged to Ned Dunphy, who guided his Steve-Morris Engines-powered Viper to a best of 6.09 at 247 mph, qualifying just outside the 16-car field’s bump spot of 6.07.
Another import versus domestic pairing would decide the Renegade versus Modified final round, as Derick Santiago with the 2023 Acura TLX would occupy the lane opposite Ty Kasper’s 2005 Mustang from New Jersey.
Santiago would lead this one wire-to-wire, with the better reaction time coupled with a 5.95 at 236 mph getting the win for the Florida-based team.
An all-import final would materialize in the X275 versus Modified class, where number two qualifier Eric LaFerriere in a ‘97 Nissan 240 would face the 2009 Mazda RX8 of Jomar Gomez.
As both vehicles attempted to stage up, Gomez rolled through the staging beams, disqualifying himself and giving LaFerriere the automatic win. But the ’97 Nissan would make a full pull anyway, and LaFerriere unleashed a 6.38 at 230 mph, bettering his qualifying time of 6.58 at 225 mph by a big margin!
Street Fighter class would be an all-Mustang match up, as Jon Lund in the turbocharged 2011 Mustang would face Martin Connelley in his nitrous-aided ’90 Mustang. Lund had qualified second with a 6.83, while Connelley landed fourth on the sheet with a 6.89.
At the Christmas tree drop, Connelley got the reaction time advantage, but by the finish line, Lund had snuck ahead to grab the win light with his 6.79 at 209 mph nipping the 6.87 at 199 mph from Connelley.
Wild Street staged up the second all-Chevrolet match-up of the evening, where the nitrous-fed classic ’68 Camaro of Ronny Rhodes held off the supercharged Corvette of Fran Schatz via a 7.23 at 189 mph to 7.33 at 181 mph count.
Mean Street would be another domestic versus import match-up, as number one qualifier Richard Crawford took on the 2JZ-powered Toyota pick-up of Steven Zsigray.
Both cars qualified in the 8.0-second range, but Zsigray turned it up for the final where a 7.96 at 169 mph dispatched the 8.04 at 167 from Crawford, giving the Toyota driver the class victory.
The All Motor class would come down to a Ford versus Chevrolet final round battle, as number one qualifier Teddy Weaver would go up against Ronnie Hackleton.
But when Hackleton’s 2017 Camaro had problems in the burnout box, Weaver got a single to wheel his Virginia-based Mustang to a 9.23 at 146 mph, backing up his 2022 event win and collecting another All Motor class trophy.
The final vehicle match-up of the evening would be another all-Mustang affair, as the Super Street class put Darren Barone in his Fox Mustang up against Patrick Estevez Jr.’s 2013 Mustang. The final pair left as one, but Estevez Jr. would get to the stripe first for the final win of the night by a 7.68 at 167 mph over the 7.72 at 182 mph over Barone.
The two-wheel competitors were also represented at World Cup Finals, as an all-Hayabusa final round put Jason Dunigan the number three qualifier, against the top qualifier Mark Rendeluk.
Dunigan was looking to become the first back-to-back winner in the Pro Street Bike class, but it was decided at the starting line, when Dunigan red-lighted away his chances, giving Rendeluk a 6.48 at 229 mph victory lap.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks.
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