Pete Maduri Jr marches through record TNT Super Series field to win three in a row!

33 cars mark the first six round event in TNT history!

LANCASTER, NEW YORK (July 6, 2010)  The record books were re-written at this past weekend's Joe's Transmission TNT Super Series double header on Dunn Tire Raceway Park's 1/8th mile drag strip.

Not only did the highly competitive sportsman series set a new record for car count with 33 entrants on Friday night, but Pete Maduri Jr of Tonawanda, NY won both Friday's and Saturday's events presented by Steve's Electric.

This makes him the only TNT competitor to ever win three events in a single season.  And he did it in three consecutive races, also winning the previous event at Empire Dragway on June 5th.

"This series is awesome!" said Pete in the DTRP Winner's Circle. "The Monza was running great all day!"

Pete commented that their racing efforts wouldn't be possible without the support they get from Dynabrade Powertools, Ansell/Buffington Company, Rapids Bowling Center and Tonawanda Bowling Center.  "And thanks to Joe Boniferro for making the series possible and Steve McCarrick for sponsoring this weekend."

Racing is a family affair for the Maduri's and Pete was quick to thank his dad Pete Sr, mom Nancy and sister Gina.  They also run a RaceTech Top Dragster in bracket competition at DTRP and have finished in the top 5 in Top ET points in the last two years and currently sit in 2nd place with team mate Rich Halleen.

Pete's recent performance in the Monza has catapulted him to the top of the Joe's Transmission TNT Super Series 2010 points standings - currently sitting with a sizable 76 point lead.  And as the points leader at the halfway mark, Pete takes home a $100 certificate for Hoosier Tire Canada.

Friday's Results
Friday's event marked the first time in TNT history that an event would run six rounds.  Pete qualified 8th out of 33 cars with a 7.015 - setting him up to face the current points leader, Mark Herbold of Elma, NY in round one.  Pete's advantage off the line (.522 to a .535) translated into a win when Mark ran too fast trying to catch him at 6.974.

Second round was Sam Lovetro Jr of Webster, NY. Sam had the advantage off the line (.511 to .527) but Pete pulled it off running a 7.004 to Sam's 7.035.

Next up was Oakland, Ontario's Dave Surmatchewski.  Both drivers were dead even at the tree (.527 to .528) but Pete was closer to the index with a 7.017 to Dave's valiant 7.024 effort.

This gave Pete a bye to the semi-finals where he made it look easy running a 7.007 and cutting the tree down with a .510 reaction time.

On the other side of the ladder, Tonawanda, NY's Scott Jahren was marching his way past the likes of Rich Halleen, Ken Jozwiak, Ted Barnes and Fred Gross.  The semi's had him set to face Jerry Stoutenberg who was broke. This gave both Pete and Scott a bye run, so they opted to run the final.

Dead even reactions (Pete .540 and Scott .541) made it anybody's race but it was Pete with the win in a double breakout running 6.990 to Scott's 6.989...Margin of victory was .000 seconds!  That also set a record for the closest final in TNT history.

Specialty Awards - Friday July 2

• Hoosier Tire Canada $50 certificate - Number One Qualifier

  • Ted Barnes (Canfield, Ontario) with a 7.000

• J&S Collision $50 - Closest to the Index (1st Round Loser)

  • Kirk Parry (North Tonawanda, NY) with a 7.003

• DTRP FREE PASS - Best Reaction Time (1st Round Loser)

  • Jason Vitez (Elma, NY) with a .507

Saturday's Results
If you want an indication just how serious these TNT racers are, just look at the qualifying sheet from Saturday.  An incredible twelve racers ran near perfect 7.00 passes.  But it was JJ Jablonski of West Seneca, NY atop the field with a perfect 7.000 qualifying pass.

In round one, Pete was lined up to face JJ.  Slight advantage off the line to Pete (.518 to .526) combined with a near perfect 7.008 and JJ went too fast taking the stripe at 6.994.

Round two saw Jason Vitez of Elma, NY line up and even though Jason had a slight starting line advantage (.529 to .522), Pete ran a better 7.005 to defeat Jason's 7.032.

Webster, NY's Sam Lovetro Jr paired up next.  For the second time in as many days, Sam had the tree (.512 to .526) but Pete pulled off the win in a double breakout 6.984 to Sam's 6.981.

A bye run in the semi's set Pete up to face Joe Urbino of Alden, NY in the final round.  Joe had tough competition on his side of the ladder facing Dave Surmatchewski, Jim Flanigan, Ted Barnes and Kirk Parry.

In the final, Pete had the advantage right from the start, cutting a .522 light to Joe's .545.  And then ran a 7.019 to take the win from Joe who ran it out the back door with a 7.015.

Specialty Awards - Saturday July 3

• Hoosier Tire Canada $50 certificate - Number One Qualifier

  • JJ Jablonski (West Seneca, NY) with a 7.000

• J&S Collision $50 - Closest to the Index (1st Round Loser)

  • Kevin Orr (Orangeville, Ontario) with a 7.005

• DTRP FREE PASS - Best Reaction Time (1st Round Loser)

  • Dave Surmatchewski (Oakland, Ontario) with a .521

The Joe's Transmission TNT Super Series takes its summer break now and will return for a double at Cayuga Dragway on August 14-15 as part of the Canadian Street Car Nationals.  Visit www.canadianstreetcarnationals.com for full details and be sure to check www.tntsuperseries.com for the latest series news.

Joe's Transmission TNT Super Series Points (Top 10 of 41) After 6 of 13 Events