Suzuki's Angelle Sampey was
second quickest, but her 6.882
best was five-hundredths slower
than Gladstone, and that's an
eternity in NHRA drag racing.
Gladstone's biggest challenge
on race day wasn't necessarily
his competitors, but rather the
scorching temperatures that
baked Heartland Motorsports
Park. With an air temperature of
nearly 100 degrees and a track
temp that peaked at 140, getting
the power to the ground was a
challenge for every team.
Gladstone's performance
never waivered with four runs
between 6.83 and 6.87 to easily
dominate the competition that in-
cluded David Barron and Denso
Buell's Angie Smith.
"I was very surprised because
looking at the weather, I thought
we'd lose four or five [hun-
dredths] from qualifying," Glad-
stone said. "Even though we had
a 140-degree track temperature,
the NHRA staff did a great job on
the starting line. In fact, some of
the Pro Stock Motorcycles were
bogging, which we wouldn't
normally see. This track took just
about everything we could throw
at it."
For Gladstone, the appealing
side effect of appearing in his
fourth-straight final and winning
back-to-back races is that he's
now the championship points
leader for the first time in his
career and will likely enter the
Countdown to the Championship
playoffs as the top seed in the
class.
Gladstone's second victory de-
nied Krawiec a chance to get his
long-awaited 50th NHRA victory.
The four-time world champion
last won a race at the 2021 U.S.
Nationals in Indianapolis, nearly
a year ago.
For his part, Krawiec went to
the final for the second time this
season and 91st time in his ca-
reer following wins against Ryan
Oehler, Matt Smith and White
Alligator Suzuki's Jerry Savoie.
"We're making progress, but
we're not exactly where we need
to be right now," Krawiec said. "I
feel good about going to the last
two final rounds but we need to
start putting together some wins.
The next race is Indy, which is
the biggest race of the year and
it's also my home race. That
would be the perfect place to get
things going."
With six events remaining in
the season, Gladstone leads
the standings while Sampey,
Krawiec, Steve Johnson and
Matt Smith occupy the top five
spots.
The next event for the Pro
Stock Motorcycle class will be
the Dodge Power Brokers U.S.
Nationals at Indianapolis Race-
way Park on Sept. 1-5.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL
1. Joey Gladstone (Suz)
2. Eddie Krawiec (Suz)
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 16, 2022 P33
(Left) Joey Gladstone met Eddie
Krawiec in the final and came away
with the win. (Right) It took him eight
years to get his first win, but now
Gladstone has two in three weeks.
PHOTOS: MATT POLITO
