Adam Sorokin victorious at the Governor’s Cup
It was SBC vs. hemi Rodeck in the final round of top fuel dragster at the Governor’s
Cup. The “mouse” got off quick and roared down the track to victory with a 5.856/221.82.
With this win, Adam Sorokin soared past the “Crop Duster” to take over the provisional
lead in the Heritage Series top fuel dragster standings.

Adam Sorokin drove Bobby McLennan’s Champion Speed Shop dragster to a second consecutive win in Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster at Sacramento Raceway’s 43rd Annual Governor’s Cup. Coming on the heels of his win last month in Boise, this victory vaulted Sorokin past Jim Young into first place in the point standings. With one event remaining on the 2012 Heritage Series schedule, Sorokin has opened up a 61 point lead over number two Rick Williamson. Should Adam earn 58 points at the California Hot Rod Reunion in October, the team from South San Francisco would mathematically eliminate Williamson and win its second Hot Rod Heritage Series nostalgia top fuel dragster title.
When Champion Speed Shop and Adam Sorokin won the 2010 top fuel dragster title, they did it with a Rodeck hemi power plant. A Chevy-powered top fuel dragster has never won a Heritage Series championship, and Sorokin’s dragster is a mere 377 cid hybrid SBC. Bobby McLennan’s last championship season with an SBC came in 2001 with Rance McDaniel at the wheel. Affectionately called “The Batmobile”, McLennan’s current Stirling-Davidson dragster is reviving those glory days of 1999-2001 when Sammy Hale and McDaniel drove for Bobby and dominated the class with their SBC Stirling dragster.
At the Governor’s Cup, Sorokin wasted little time establishing that he had the car to beat when he ran 5.826 in the first pair of Q1, slowing to only 206.08 when the engine decided it needed to eject two rods out of the block. Rick White and Chuck Neal were right there, too, with a 5.836, followed by Boise runner up Rick Williamson at 5.921. The final qualifying positions after the two runs Saturday were as follows:
1. Adam Sorokin: 5.826/206.08
2. Rick White: 5.836/245.84
3. Rick Williamson: 5.921/251.51
4. Terry Cox: 5.926/240.05
5. Jim Murphy: 6.022/207.32
6. Brendan Murry: 6.291/220.45
7. Mendy Fry: 8.487/88.58
An engine swap prevented Sorokin from making a second qualifier, but Adam got a single in E1 courtesy of his number one qualifying position. In the next pair, Terry Cox served notice that he would not be going quietly when he smacked down a 5.943 on Jim Murphy to oust the 2011 Governor’s Cup winner. Rick White then ran low elapsed time of the event with a 5.822 to overwhelm a hapless Mendy Fry; and, Rick Williamson took a solo run when Brendan Murry failed to make the call. With the top four qualifiers all moving on, E2 was primed for what turned out to be a doozy of a round. Sorokin started it off with a 5.831 to eliminate Cox despite doing a sublime imitation of “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” down the right lane. Then, Williamson showed that there was nothing wrong with the left lane either when he sprung a 5.867/259.79 pass to down Rick White. In the final round, Adam’s “mouse” snatched the cheese by leaving first (.040 to .086), evading Rick’s Rodeck trap, then roaring all the way to the winner’s circle with a tasty 5.836 run.
Sharing the spotlight with the top fuel dragsters was a full field of the West Coast Outlaw Pro Mods (WCOPMA), the Pro Slammers Door Car Association (PSDCA), 7.0 Pro, Pacific ProComp, West Coast Pro Gas, and for the first time at SRP, True 10.5 and Outlaw 8.5 racers. Testament to the close and thrilling racing at the Governor’s Cup was Rich Roberts’ victory in pro mod. Roberts, the #4 qualifier (6.378), found himself paired against the number one qualifier and 2012 WCOPMA champion, Rod Burbage, in E2. Burbage was out first and appeared to be pulling away, but Rod had to lift momentarily, and that was enough of a window to allow Rich to surge by and get the victory at 6.175/220.53. Burbage, though, would come away with low elapsed time (6.031) and top speed (241.00). The final round was another thriller with Roberts going up against Orangevale’s Rob Cacioppo. Cacioppo had been running consistent 6.3s throughout the event, including a 6.313 in E1 to oust Dan Myers. Roberts took a slight lead at the green, and held it all the way to the finish line, eking out a 6,227 to 6.232 win over Cacioppo.
In PSDCA, Jerry Jahnsen wrapped up the 6.90 Slammers title with his fourth win in the last of the seven race schedule. Jahnsen was in top form throughout qualifying, snatching the number one position at 6.906. But, he had some formidable competition in the form of Tony Jurado and Joe Roubicek, both of whom were just waiting for Jerry to slip up. In the end, Jahnsen would meet and defeat both of his antagonists. In the semis, Jahnsen drilled Roubicek on the tree, and won convincingly at 6.968. In the final round, the old foes, Jurado and Jahnsen, paired up again for another of their yearlong battles. Jerry got out first (.039) with Tony in hot pursuit (.084). But, Jurado, in his effort to run down Jahnsen, had to stay on the throttle to the bloody end, losing a double breakout duel—6.881 to 6.887.
Bob Murphy is back, much to the chagrin of the rest of the 7.0 Pro competitors. Dubbed “Superman” by longtime 7.0 Pro stalwart Mike Cross, “Murph” rolled into Sacramento Raceway’s winner’s circle for the second race in a row. Although he had to concede the #1 qualifying spot to Billy McDevitt of Concord, a first this year, Murphy would turn the tables on his rival by downing McDevitt in round two. The semis did not get any easier because in the other lane was Richard Phillips, the 2011 7.0 Pro champion. Phillips was out first, but Murphy wheeled by him, setting up a big showdown with number two Leonard Hain. Hain gave it his best shot in this dragster duel, but fell a little short, conceding the coveted “Cup” to Murphy, 7.182 to 7.207.
Pacific ProComp put on a good show for the fans, too. Formerly known as Top Eliminator West, Pacific ProComp allows any body/chassis type, any engine/fuel type, that is heads up on a 6.60 index. Though dominated in recent years by rear engine dragsters, that trend may be ending with the appearance of the Matthews Motorsports funny car. Driven by Jesse Adams, the ’71 Mustang, dubbed “Machine Gun Keli”, has been mowing down the dragsters as of late. At the Governor’s Cup, Adams gunned down both the 2011 PPC champ, Butch Stroupe, and number one qualifier Steve LaBurn to grab the cup and the cash.
West Coast Pro Gas was also out in full force at the Governor’s Cup with 68 entrants competing in five classes. In B/G, it was Rancho Cordova’s Cliff Boyles over Miguel Lomas. Lomas, a multi-event winner this year at Sacramento Raceway, got left at the line by the quick-leaving Boyles, and broke out attempting to chase him down. In C/G, it was business as usual for Chris Rea and his Sun Drop–sponsored ’64 Nova. Rea, the Funny Car Fever and Fox Hunt winner, added the Governor’s Cup title to his list of triumphs by beating Jason Young in the final round. Dan Ficher, another racer not unfamiliar with Sacramento Raceway’s winner’s circle, took D/G. E/G turned out to be a real tug-of-war with sixteen competitors trying to be the last one standing. This marathon was won by John Victorino with his “fun size” 260Z. Lastly, it was a family affair in F/G, with son, Doug Rudd, edging out his father, David.
Other winners included Michael O’Neil in Drag Bikes, Ray Dupree in True 10.5, and DJ Reid in Outlaw 8.5.
Team Craig with Rick Williamson driving also jumped past the “Crop Duster” to take
over second place in the HS standings. Though 61 points in arrears to Sorokin, one
only has to harken back to 2009 when then points leader Rick White failed to qualify
at the last race and lost the title to Brett Harris.

White-Neal has always figured prominently in any nostalgia top fuel equation at SRP. Although a final round appearance eluded them this year, the four-time finalist and 2009 winner did set low e.t. with a 5.822.
Rod Burbage had the best car in pro mod going into eliminations. In E1, Burbage beat a troubled Sean Renteria and appeared to be on his way to a win against Rich Roberts
in E2. However, he needed to ease off momentarily to save the run, and Roberts sped by to
advance to the final round.

Jerry Jahnsen won four of the last five races to grab the PSDCA 6.90 Slammers title.

The only part of “Murphy’s Law” not to be enforced at the Governor’s Cup was the
provision that Bob qualify #1. Despite his number six starting position, “Murph” sent
the competition straight to jail, winning his second consecutive race.

The “Machine Gun Keli” funny car should have all the dragsters in Pacific ProComp very concerned. Since moving up from 7.0 Pro, Jesse Adams and his Cecil Matthews-tuned Mustang has been, simply, unbeatable.

Cliff Boyles did something few have accomplished in B/G this year at SRP—beat Miguel Lomas. Number three Boyles and number two Lomas squared off in the final round
with Miguel uncharacteristically breaking out at 8.545.

Got a Sun Drop? There must be something to it because when it comes to big events at SRP
this car seems to end up in the winner’s circle. Along the way, Chris Rea beat Darrin Brown,
Scott Morgan, #1 Dan Crisp, and Jason Brown in that order to capture the C/G crown.
Dan Ficher must have been giving his opponents a bad case of the jitters because two
of them both left before the green and broke out. In the final round, Ficher got the better
of Mike Troxel Jr. with a tidy .038 RT and a near perfect 10.604 run.

In E/G, John Victorino got the best of all his opponents off the line, forcing three of them
to break out. In the final against Ken Parks, John, too, nicked the index at 11.589, but Parks
was quicker at 11.584.

No team orders here between son and father in F/G. The younger Doug Rudd, near lane, had
the will and the horsepower to run down his dad’s (David) ’70 Nova.

Michael O’Neil had one of the quicker motorcycles in Drag Bike
with his ’91 Suzuki GSXR. In the final against Ron Alves, O,Neil was gifted
a free pass when Alves went red with an agonizingly near perfect RT of -0.001.