Returning to the track where he won his first NHRA national event, Anthony Bongiovanni headed to New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire for the NHRA Division 1 Lucas Oil series event. He arrived in good spirits with three Cobra Jet Mustangs in tow and his daughter Michelle Bongiovanni prepared to return to action.
Michelle drove her trusty 2008 Cobra Jet Super Stock entry, while Anthony was behind the wheel of the 2010 Stock Eliminator CJ and his 2014 Super Stock CJ. The trio of Mustangs is backed by Micro Strategies and Optima Batteries.
Qualifying was cut short with Friday being rained out, but things improved Saturday with clear skies and plenty of traction on the quarter mile drag strip. Anthony kicked things off qualifying his Stocker in the second slot out of 65 cars, running 8.81. In Super Stock, Michelle stopped the clocks in 8.99 seconds to take the 18th spot, while Anthony ran 8.82 to get the 5th spot.
Unfortunately for Michelle, she left a bit early in round 1, causing a red light. Anthony, on the other hand, defeated Tom Boucher in Round 1 of Super Stock. Anthony was also good in Stock, beating Don Pires stick-shift Chevy. The win earned Anthony the bye in Round 2 of Stock, and he ripped to an 8.68 at 155 mph. In Super Stock, Anthony got by Tim Stickles using a holeshot and a great 8.76 elapsed time. Anthony kept the Micro Strategies machines rolling in Round 3, taking wins in Stock and Super Stock.
Things got interesting in Round 4, with Anthony facing championship-winning driver Allison Doll and her fast Firebird. Allison was quick on the tree, with a .016 light, and Anthony followed with a respectable .032 light. Anthony chased down the Pontiac, dropping a perfect 8.760 on his 8.76 dial to defeat Allison, who ran 10.25 on a 10.23. Amazingly, the margin of victory at the stripe was just .006-second! Things were no easier in Super Stock, with Anthony facing another championship-caliber driver in Bryan Worner. Anthony was up to the challenge, delivering a near-perfect .008 light to Worner’s .025. Anthony then chased down the Chevy, placing his Ford on another dead-on run, beating Worner by .007-second.
Moving into the semi-finals, Anthony faced Justin Picillo in Super Stock, but he cut the Cobra Jet loose .001-second early ending his day with a red light. In Stock, however, he faced another of the Pires clan, and he was ready for the match. Despite giving up the tree, his Cobra Jet was deadly consistent, and he put up another dead-on run, this time a 8.72 on the predicted 8.72. It was enough to take the win light with Pires breaking out.
This set up the final match between Anthony in his Ford and the Chevy Camaro of Joe Santangelo, who is a top contender in the series. Santangelo left with a .049 light and Anthony followed with a quicker .018. The Micro Strategies CJ was on the charge, catching the Chevy and taking the win by .016 of a second with an 8.75 elapsed time (8.73 dial in) to Santangelo’s 10.56 on his 10.55 dial.
