Maryland International Raceway, USA 4th November 2021: First qualifying day for the 25th edition of the World Cup Finals and already into the 5 seconds at Maryland Raceway. After an exciting test & tune day on Wednesday, the first qualifying runs started. Not all the drivers could get all the torque to the track; were some competitors set a new personal best, others had trouble getting the car straight.
Text: Benjamin Wefer
Pictures: Theodoor de Jong/Francis Hermina
Outlaw vs. Extreme: Don Burton takes the lead with a 6.052 run at 188 mph, leaving Ryan Hendrickson in second place with a 6.142 at 243 mph. Arnaldo Rodrigues “Venenum” ran a 6.494-second run, which is good for third place. Reigning champion (2019) J Juarbe “El Humilde (The Humble)” who set a stunning five-second pass yesterday, could get the right combination and ran a 6.728-second run and is standing in fourth place. Jose Alejandro “Blue Density” (another Puerto Rican favorite and potential competitor for Juarbe) also couldn’t get the right combination. Alejandro positioned himself in seventh place during this first qualifying round.
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| Don Burton | J Juarbe “El Humilde (The Humble)” |
 Don Burton |
 J Juarbe “El Humilde (The Humble)” |
Radial vs. Modified: Ruis Rivera stormed into a stunning 6.479 and, position himself at the top of the list, leaving Jordan tuck far behind (in second place) with a 6.783-second pass. Third place was taken by, George Dodworth in his Nissan GTR. George clocked a 7.134 second. Last year’s winner Carlos Olivo (Karma) and some other competitors didn’t qualify yet, therefore, all can change tomorrow!
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Pro Street Bike: Darion Payne takes the lead in Pro Street Bike with 6.686 seconds run at 217 mph, leaving Jason Dunigan second place (6.755-second run). Curtis Brown takes a 6.875-second pass at 209 mph, which is good for the third position. Jeremy Teasley, who won the 2019 world cup with a 6.56 second run at 219 mph isn’t competing this year, therefore won’t defend his title.
Super Street: Dennis Nevarez takes the lead in Super Street with his first seven seconds run. He clocked a 7.979-second pass, leaving Patrick Esteves Jr. in second place with an 8.082-second run. Robert Mapps takes the third spot only 0.02 seconds behind Esteves (8.048 seconds). 2019 champion; Patrick Pelchat had some trouble getting the right combination and is at the bottom of the qualifying list (30th position)
Besides the qualifying runs for competing classes, there were the qualification for Pro Modified exhibition runs. The first five-second run of the day was made by Jose Gonzales (Q80 “El General”). Jose stormed into a stunning 5.58-second pass at 256 mph. Gonzales, who recovered from a crash in charlotte early this year, just won the 2021 NHRA championship. Q80 flew this car in from overseas, just in time for Jose to continue the series! Another stunning run by Iasias Rojas during the exhibition runs, who improved yesterday’s time by 0.02 seconds (5.57 seconds at 258 mph). This Exhibition is turning into a 5.5 seconds fight for sure!
 Jose Gonzales (Q80 “El General”) |
 Iasias Rojas |
Hereby are the top 3 qualifiers of the classes on the 1st day of WCF Import vs Domestic at the Maryland International Raceway, USA.
| Outlaw vs Extreme | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Don Burton | 1992 Ford Mustang | 6.052 |
| Ryan Hendrickson | 1984 Ford Mustang | 6.142 |
| Arnaldo Rodrigues | 2015 Scion FR-S | 6.494 |
| Radial vs Modified | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Ruis Rivera | 2005 Mazda RX-8 | 6.479 |
| Jordan Tuck | 1993 Ford Mustang | 6.783 |
| George Dodworth | 2011 Nissan GTR | 7.134 |
| X275 vs. Hot Rod | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Erik Hendricks | 1990 Ford Mustang | 6.527 |
| Dom Didonato | 2008 Mustang GT500 | 6.565 |
| Craig Walls | Ford Mustang | 6.845 |
| Warriors vs. Tres Cuatro | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Jose Gonzales | 1986 Toyota Corolla | 6.628 |
| Eddie Perez | 1971 Datsun | 6.638 |
| Josean Colon | 1973 Toyota Corolla | 6.657 |
| Street Fighter | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Adam Arndt | 1990 Ford Mustang | 7.166 |
| Valerie Clements | 2005 Ford Mustang | 7.247 |
| Luis Filippides | 2010 Chevrolet Camaro | 7.295 |
| Wild Street | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| David Consentino | 1990 Toyota Supra | 7.674 |
| Jared Holt | 1997 Toyota Supra | 7.707 |
| Ryan Graham | 1992 Ford Mustang | 7.707 |
| Stick Shift | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Josh Tonski | 2007 Chevrolet Corvette | 7.074 |
| Jeremy Howell | 2011 Ford Mustang | 7.571 |
| Jose Sanchez | 1981 Toyota Starlet | 8.079 |
| Super Street | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Dennis Nevarez | 1994 Honda Civic | 7.979 |
| Patrick Esteves Jr. | 2013 Ford Mustang | 8.023 |
| Robert Happs | 1994 Honda Civic | 8.048 |
| True Street | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Napoleon Maltez | 1993 Honda Civic | 8.012 |
| Jason Marsch | 1993 Honda Civic | 8.082 |
| Rick Crawford | 2009 Pontiac GTO | 8.466 |
| All Motor | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Matt Monday | 1994 Honda Civic | 9.364 |
| Adam Hall | 1997 Honda Civic | 9.409 |
| Mike Bowen | 1971 Ford Maverick | 9.409 |
| Nitro Shootout/True Street | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Adrian Alicea | 1995 Honda Civic | 8.740 |
| Julian Bello | 1995 Honda Civic | 8.862 |
| Albert Ramirez | 1992 Honda Civic | 9.810 |
| Pro Street Bike | ||
| Driver | Make | ET |
| Darion Payne | Suzuki Hayabusa | 6.686 |
| Jason Dunigan | Suzuki Hayabusa | 6.755 |
| Curtis Brown | Suzuki Hayabusa | 6.875 |
Stay tuned for Day 2, the second and third Qualifying rounds! We from The Chronicles of Boost want to wish all competing drivers good luck and most of all have fun!
