Through the dark cloud hovering over Old Bridge, New Jersey and the entire Lucas Oil Supernationals by the sudden passing of Scott Kalitta, we were able to find some rays of sunshine. The only member of the Ficacci family attending the race (Dave Ficacci) had a weekend that most people only dream about. Competing in Stock Eliminator with his 1969 Camaro and Super Stock Eliminator driving Norm Hall’s 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier, he qualified #3 in Stock with a stout 10.34 second pass, and took home his first (of hopefully many) National Event “Wally’s” in Super Stock, after wading through 7 rounds of some of the best racers the class has to offer. In the final round, he had a .015 reaction time and was poised for a great race until competitor Billy Leber went red, sealing the championship effort.
To those of us who grew up with drag racing and the NHRA on the brain, winning a Wally at a national event in front of the cameras and thousands of people is the ultimately dream. Congrats bro on taking care of business on our home turf.