The Boys From Alabama

Defending and back to back Div. two TAD champion.

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Oct. 3, 2006

Guy and the team get their first win of the year....by the seat of their pants!!

Guy was back on track last weekend at after close to 6 months off due to business commitments.

After a long lay off, Guy and the "Bama Boyz" were back in action at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce Georgia. This has been Guy's least active schedule in the last five years, and he wanted to end the season on a high note.

It would not be easy though, as the team found out their computer was not functional and they would have to literally run the weekend by the seat of their pants, but with the vast knowledge crew chief Ronnie Swearingon has logged in his memory bank, the team wound up doing great.

Only two qualifiers in Division two and right off the trailer guy ran a strong 5.48 to wind up #2 in the first round.

Round one

1 7 A/FD Ashley Force, Azusa CA, McKinney-BAE 5.382 264.96 264.96
2 2155 B/AD Guy Kelly, Wadley AL, Hadman-BAE 5.489 255.34 255.34
3 45 A/FD Aaron Olivarez, Sandy UT, Spitzer-BAE 5.499 250.60 250.60
4 5 B/AD Marty Thacker, Robinson IL, Spitzer-RTR 5.533 261.17 261.17
5 25 A/FD Robin Samsel, Marion IN, Uyehara-BAE 5.630 242.98 242.98
6 265 A/FD Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville FL, Innova 6.055 205.91 205.91
7 22 B/AD Artie Allen, Jacksonville FL, Hadman-BAE 6.527 143.72 143.72
8 267 TA/D Dan Lucas, Cumming GA, Canode-BAE 9.370 94.59 94.59

In the final session, Ronnie looked at the data....(no he didn't, no computer), and they stepped up to a 5.40 @ 262 mph. Two a/fuelers qualified ahead of Guy but #3 was okay, with the long layoff.

Final Round

1 45 A/FD Aaron Olivarez, Sandy UT, Spitzer-BAE 5.356 264.44 264.44
2 7 A/FD Ashley Force, Azusa CA, McKinney-BAE 5.382 264.96 264.96
3 2155 B/AD Guy Kelly, Wadley AL, Hadman-BAE 5.409 262.79 262.79
4 22 B/AD Artie Allen, Jacksonville FL, Hadman-BAE 5.495 257.97 257.97
5 5 B/AD Marty Thacker, Robinson IL, Spitzer-RTR 5.533 261.17 261.17
6 25 A/FD Robin Samsel, Marion IN, Uyehara-BAE 5.578 248.20 248.20
7 265 A/FD Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville FL, Innova 6.055 205.91 205.91
8 267 TA/D Dan Lucas, Cumming GA, Canode-BAE 6.427 209.69 209.69

Guy's route in eliminations on the way to victory.

In round one of elim's, Guy took on Robin Samsel in his A/Fueler and he got a freebie when Samsel red lit. Guy stayed in the 40's with a 5.47

Round one

2155 Guy Kelly 0.064 5.477 254.86 def. 25 Robin Samsel -0.055 5.922 233.52

In round two, he took on the darling of the class Ashley Force, and again Guy stayed very consistent, running another 40, and also getting a holeshot on the lady. How rude Guy, leaving before the girl (just kidding)!!!!

Semi finals

2155 Guy Kelly 0.058 5.462 255.92 def. 7 Ashley Force 0.087 5.537 260.81

In the final his opponent was #1 qualifier, Aaron Olivarez.

Guy again bracket raced his BAD, cutting a great .015 light and blasting off his best lap of eliminations and his best mph of the weekend. Guy went 5.430/263 to easily defeat Olivarez who went 5.71.

Final round

2155 Guy Kelly 0.015 5.430 263.56 def. 45 Aaron Olivarez 0.036 5.717 246.53

The win revitalized the team and they have decided to go to Reynolds Georgia for the last Div two event of the year.

Stay tuned for next weekend's results.

May 2006

Southern Nationals

Atlanta National event

Final qualifying

1. Arthur Gallant Arthur Gallant Racing A/FD 5.305 266.32
2. Steve Torrence A/FD 5.333 262.49
3. Ashley Force Castrol/Hot Wheels A/FD 5.345 260.46
4. Aaron Olivarez Armored Coatings/Lucas Oil A/F 5.373 265.33
5. John Finke Bobcat Express A/FD 5.392 270.00
6. Steve Federlin Impatience Racing B/AD 5.412 263.05
7. Guy Kelly Kelly Trucking B/AD 5.446 258.91
8. Karen Stalba Tom Jones/NIC Racing B/AD 5.500 258.62
9. Jeff Veale Jeff Veale Racing B/AD 5.527 253.37
10. Mike Kosky American Flyer B/AD 5.528 257.38
11. Wayne Morris Cox Auto B/AD 5.544 254.23
12. Marty Thacker Torco Race Fuels B/AD 5.549 257.87
13. Rich McPhillips Audubon Service Center A/FD 5.756 247.88
14. Ray Hack Hack M'Sports A/FD 5.944 245.99
15. Dick Garlets Garlets M'Sports A/FD 5.949 223.95
16. Dan Lucas 6.523 162.08

Round One

(W) Mike Kosky (American Flyer B/AD) -0.038 5.777 197.51
(L) Guy Kelly (Kelly Trucking B/AD) -0.285(R) 5.514 257.97

Kelly went way red.

March 20, 2006

The Gatornationals.

Guy lets a potential national event win slip away.

In what started out to be a ho hum event when you look at the qualifying results and see a bunch of A/Fuelers dominating the top half again, Guy and the team had a great chance to make it to the final round, but unfortunately the "Dude from Alabama" pulled the trigger a hair too quick in the semi finals against Randy Meyer.

In qualifying Guy ran a 5.536 in the first session Friday to sit #8.

(Round one)

1 8 A/FD Arthur Gallant, Boxboro MA, Dan Page-BAE 5.362 268.97 268.97
2 19 A/FD John Finke, Selkirk NY, McKinney-BAE 5.379 267.69 267.69
3 4 TA/D Bill Reichert, Owosso MI, Bowen-Reich 5.392 264.55 264.55
4 7 A/FD Ashley Force, Yorba Linda CA, McKinney-B 5.409 257.80 257.80
5 35 B/AD Ken Perry, Gormley ON, Hadman-Minor 5.467 248.89 248.89
6 39 B/AD Jeff Veale, Stoney Creek ON, Precision-B 5.474 259.44 259.44
7 22 B/AD Artie Allen, Jacksonville FL, Hadman-BAE 5.533 255.82 255.82
8 2155 B/AD Guy Kelly, Wadley AL, Hadman-BAE 5.536 255.60 255.60
9 1320 B/AD Wayne Morris, Lincoln University PA, Spi 5.624 258.02 258.02
10 12 B/AD Karen Benkovich, Fanwood NJ, ProStart-KB 5.671 223.88 223.88
11 227 B/AD Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay FL, ECD-Olds 5.700 245.83 245.83
12 110 A/FD Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville PA, Precis 5.942 232.85 232.85
13 3 A/FD Randy Meyer, Spring Hill KS, Meyer-BAE 6.047 256.11 256.11
14 45 A/FD Aaron Olivarez, Sandy UT, Spitzer-BAE 6.367 172.31 172.31
15 5 B/AD Marty Thacker, Robinson IL, Spitzer-BAE 6.750 142.22 142.22
16 24 A/FD Dick Garlets, Lowell IN, Spitzer-BAE 7.498 150.72 150.72

On the second run, Ronnie turned the screws up a bit, and the car responded by almost a tenth to a 5.446/259, but it paled in comparison to the 5.20's and low 5.30's by the injected juggernaut.

(Round two)

1 19 A/FD John Finke, Selkirk NY, McKinney-BAE 5.287 268.57 268.57
2 4 A/FD Bill Reichert, Owosso MI, Bowen-Reich 5.293 269.13 269.13
3 8 A/FD Arthur Gallant, Boxboro MA, Dan Page-BAE 5.337 267.69 268.97
4 7 A/FD Ashley Force, Yorba Linda CA, McKinney-B 5.375 262.00 262.00
5 39 B/AD Jeff Veale, Stoney Creek ON, Precision-B 5.432 258.24 259.44
6 2155 B/AD Guy Kelly, Wadley AL, Hadman-BAE 5.446 259.44 259.44
7 35 B/AD Ken Perry, Gormley ON, Hadman-Minor 5.465 237.96 248.89
8 5 B/AD Marty Thacker, Robinson IL, Spitzer-BAE 5.494 255.46 255.46
9 12 B/AD Karen Stalba, Fanwood NJ, ProStart-KB 5.509 257.36 257.36
10 22 B/AD Artie Allen, Jacksonville FL, Hadman-BAE 5.533 255.82 255.82
11 1320 B/AD Wayne Morris, Lincoln University PA, Spi 5.535 254.02 258.02
12 45 A/FD Aaron Olivarez, Sandy UT, Spitzer-BAE 5.604 258.76 258.76
13 23 B/AD Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay FL, ECD-Olds 5.695 240.38 245.83
14 110 A/FD Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville PA, Precis 5.720 237.40 237.40
15 3 A/FD Randy Meyer, Spring Hill KS, Meyer-BAE 6.047 256.11 256.11
16 24 A/FD Dick Garlets, Lowell IN, Spitzer-BAE 6.408 220.04 220.04

In the final session, the tune-up was tweeked just a 'tad' (no pun intended) in hopes of hitting the 5.30s. The car got a little loose in the middle of the run and basically repeated the numbers from the second round, to the tune of a 5.45/259.59. Guys spot in the field was #8 and that meant a first round match-up against Marty Thacker.

(Final qualifying)

1 4 A/FD Bill Reichert, Owosso MI, Bowen-Reich 5.265 269.05 269.13
2 19 A/FD John Finke, Selkirk NY, McKinney-BAE 5.287 268.57 268.57
3 7 A/FD Ashley Force, Yorba Linda CA, McKinney-B 5.315 264.55 264.55
4 8 A/FD Arthur Gallant, Boxboro MA, Dan Page-BAE 5.337 267.69 268.97
5 45 A/FD Aaron Olivarez, Sandy UT, Spitzer-BAE 5.386 268.57 268.57
6 35 B/AD Ken Perry, Gormley ON, Hadman-Minor 5.395 258.91 258.91
7 39 B/AD Jeff Veale, Stoney Creek ON, Precision-B 5.432 258.24 259.44
8 2155 B/AD Guy Kelly, Wadley AL, Hadman-BAE 5.446 259.44 259.59
9 5 B/AD Marty Thacker, Robinson IL, Spitzer-BAE 5.470 253.80 255.46
10 22 B/AD Artie Allen, Jacksonville FL, Hadman-BAE 5.477 256.62 256.62
11 12 B/AD Karen Stalba, Fanwood NJ, ProStart-KB 5.509 257.36 257.36
12 1320 B/AD Wayne Morris, Lincoln University PA, Spi 5.517 255.02 258.02
13 3 A/FD Randy Meyer, Spring Hill KS, Meyer-BAE 5.629 252.24 256.11
14 23 B/AD Don Fiorelli, Palm Bay FL, ECD-Olds 5.695 240.38 245.83
15 110 A/FD Rich McPhillips, Phoenixville PA, Precis 5.720 237.40 237.40
16 265 A/FD Cherissa Griffis, Gainesville FL, Innova 6.389 232.13 232.13

In round one, Both Guy and Thacker had good lights (.045 and .039 respectively), and Guy ran like a bracket car turning in a 5.442 for the win. Thacker was troubled and slowed to a 7 second et.

Guy Kelly, Wadley AL, Hadman-BAE, Right lane, (0.045) 5.442 258.39 def. Marty Thacker, Robinson IL,
Spitzer-BAE, (0.039) 7.010 131.06

Round two was a big challenge as he faced #1 qualifier Bill Reichert. Reichert had made three 5.20 runs already this weekend including the quickest pass of the season so far, a 5.265. Guy was knew luck had to be on his side in this one, and it was, as Reichert red lit big time, giving away a sure win, as Guy spit out the burst panel at 1000 feet. "We dodged on there for sure, but that is the nature of the sport".

G Kelly, Right lane, (0.032) 5.784 191.61 def. B Reichert, (-0.062 foul) 5.286 267.37

In the semi finals he faced Randy Meyer, who ran a mid '.40 the run before and a 5.38 best on the weekend.

This is where the sky fell, as Guy was really amped and knew he had a great chance to reach the final round, but his luck from round two, turned the other way here in the semi when he red lit.

"I knew I had a good chance in the semis, and just tried to do my usual deal, but the adrenaline must have been a bit to much and combine that with the chassis being more reactive this year, being front and back halfed, the trigger was just a bit to hairy, as I red lit by .012 on my best lap in a long time (a 5.361/261). I feel bad for the team, 'cause they had the car dialed in all weekend, except for the second round, where we were a bit to greedy, but got lucky. The car went .911 to sixty feet after finding a bit of a mag problem Saturday night, when we were running .94 prior to that. The first Sunday run was a good one too but me were a bit lean. I know we can run with the best blown cars in the country, but competing in great conditions against the A/Fuelers is tough.

The team will see you a Valdosta next as business will keep us away from Bradenton next weekend.

(David Smith photos from Gainesville)

Race #1 in 2006 (Gainesville divisonal) is here

2005 archives are here.

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