ADRL - En Route To A World Title: Points Championship Scenarios

Courtesy ADRL Media


It’s going to be one of the biggest weekends in American Drag Racing League (ADRL) history, as world championships and “Battle For The Belts” shootout winners will be decided at the LenMar Motorsports ADRL World Finals VII on Oct. 21-23 at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.


The “BFTB” shootout fields were announced on Monday (to read them, click here) and now we’ll take a look at the world championship points scenario in each class.


PRO EXTREME


Jason Hamstra holds a 476-point lead on Joey Martin and a 599-point advantage on Mick Snyder after advancing to the semifinals at the Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags V.


Snyder would need a monumental weekend in Ennis to get to the top spot – and plenty of help.


If Hamstra qualifies in the 16-car field – and he has done so at every event in 2011 – Snyder will be knocked out of contention. If Hamstra wouldn’t qualify, Snyder would need to win and set both ends of the world record to get a title.


Martin will also need a lot of help and should Hamstra qualify, he would need an epic performance, as he remains nearly five rounds behind.


Martin could gain a world championship by winning the race should Hamstra not qualify, or by finishing as runner-up and setting both ends of the world record.


Should Hamstra just qualify – and that seems to be the likely scenario – Martin would need to win and set both ends of the world record.


Martin’s highest point accumulation at a race this season is 541 points (done twice).


No matter what the others do, Hamstra simply advancing to the second round would automatically clinch a world championship and a $75,000 payout.


Anything outside of the above scenarios would also clinch the first ADRL world championship for the talented Hamstra.


Just by showing up, Hamstra, Martin and Snyder will receive 75 points (25 participation points, 50 points for appearing at every race).


PRO NITROUS


Mike Castellana’s lead against Khalid Al-Balooshi is now 574 points, giving him a huge and nearly insurmountable lead after winning the Ohio Drags.

Mahana Al-Naemi is 675 points behind Castellana, but the most he could earn in Ennis would be 641 points since he did not participate in all the races during the 2011 points-paying season and thereby can’t earn the 50 points for appearing at every race.


Since he did participate in all of the races for the 2011 points-paying season, Castellana also can’t earn the 50 participation points for the entire season, but he will gain 25 points by appearing in Ennis this year.


That leaves Al-Balooshi with the only shot at tracking down Castellana, who is tied for the overall ADRL lead with four event wins.


But Castellana still has work to do to finish the job and earn the $75,000 payout that comes along with a championship.


Al-Balooshi did earn 638 points at the ADRL Baytown event earlier this year, winning the race (500), qualifying at No. 4 (13), setting both ends of the world record (100) and participating (25).

Since Al-Balooshi has attended all races, he would earn another 50 points in Ennis, meaning a performance like that in October would translate into 688 points. In all, 691 points are at stake should Al-Balooshi qualify in the No. 1 position.


Castellana has been a consistent points earner all year, but did not qualify at Dragstock VIII earlier this month, earning only the 25 participation points.


Combine it all and it’s not impossible that Al-Balooshi could track down Castellana with a record performance.


Should Castellana not qualify, Al-Balooshi would need to win and set one end of a world record since he would also gain qualifying points and full-season participation points.


Should Castellana just qualify, Al-Balooshi would be eliminated from contention, meaning Castellana remains a huge favorite to wrap up his first world championship.


EXTREME 10.5


Dan Millen could have clinched at the Ohio Drags, but still remains the odds-on favorite even after losing in the first round last weekend.


Currently, Millen leads Frankie Taylor by 358 points (just more than 3.5 rounds) and Billy Glidden by 422 points.


Both Glidden and Millen will earn 50 points for appearing at all the races, while Taylor did not race Extreme 10.5 in Ennis last year, making him ineligible for that.


Taylor, though, can still clinch a world title if a number of factors go his way.


If Millen – who has qualified for every race this year – would somehow not qualify, Taylor could win a championship by finishing as the runner-up and qualifying at No. 8 or better as long as Glidden isn’t the winner the event in Ennis.


Ways Taylor can win:

• Advancing to the semifinals, setting both ends of the world record, earning nine or more qualifying points, and Glidden doesn’t win the race and Millen doesn’t qualify
• Advancing to the finals, earning nine or more qualifying points and Glidden doesn’t win and Millen doesn’t qualify
• Advancing to the finals, setting a world record and Glidden doesn’t win and Millen doesn’t qualify
• Advancing to the finals, setting both ends of the world record, and Millen loses in the first round
• Winning the race if Millen doesn’t qualify
• Winning the race and qualifying nine spots or higher than Millen if Millen loses in the first round
• Winning the race and setting one end of a record if Millen qualifies and loses in the first round
• Winning the race, setting both ends of the record, qualifying nine spots or more higher than Millen if Millen qualifies and loses in the second round

Here are the scenarios for Glidden to win:

• Advancing to the finals and setting one end of a world record if Millen doesn’t qualify and Taylor doesn’t win
• Advancing to the finals, setting both ends of a world record and qualifying in the first spot if Millen doesn’t qualify and Frankie Taylor wins and qualifies at No. 16
• Winning the race if Millen doesn’t qualify and Taylor doesn’t finish as runner-up and set both ends of a world record
• Winning the race and setting one end of a world record if Millen qualifies and loses in the first round
• Millen can clinch a world championship simply by advancing to the semifinals.

Anything outside of the above scenarios would also clinch a second straight ADRL world championship for Millen.


PRO EXTREME MOTORCYCLE


Ashley Owens clinched his world championship at last weekend’s Ohio Drags V, where he advanced to the semifinals to build on his already huge points lead.


Owens nearly had the title clinched before the race, but made it official by coming out of the race as a semifinalist and No. 1 qualifier.


The world championship is the first for the ultra-talented Owens, who has the most wins of any competitor in ADRL history.


EXTREME PRO STOCK

After winning the Ohio Drags V, Cary Goforth is about as close to clinching a world championship as possible without officially doing it.


In winning the race, Goforth now holds a 666-point lead against Pete Berner.


To gain the world championship, all Goforth has to do is show up at the Texas Motorplex to receive his 25 participation points and 50 full-season participation points.


If for some reason Goforth would not appear in Ennis – which is highly unlikely – Berner would still need one of the greatest performances in ADRL history to knock off Goforth.


Berner would have to show up (gaining 75 total participation points), win the race (500 points, plus qualifying points) and set both ends of the world records during the race.


Of course, as long as Goforth’s trailer shows up in Ennis and his car passes tech, it’s a moot point and Goforth, who has three event wins this year, would gain his first ADRL world championship.