![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CEC6544_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nAfter a disappointing loss in the 2025 Top Alcohol Dragster Shootout at Cecil, Jackie Fricke from Flemington, New Jersey, had the car to beat. After a Chicago-style qualifying session, Fricke had the Finke Equipment Elite A\/FD on the pole with a 5.179 run. Right behind the Jersey driver was Canadian Jeff Chatterson. Chatterson from Brantford, Ontario, had his Chatterson Racing\/Vodka Friday car in the No. 2 spot with a 5.195.<\/p>\n
Just missing the cut was Maryland racer Gary Pritchett in the Kalitta Air dragster out of the Randy Meyer Racing camp with a close 5.255. Joining Pritchett on the good-but-not-good-enough list was teammate Rachel Meyer Curl in the Hedingers Equipment dragster with a 5.289. Newark, Delaware, racer Brett Winward in the blown Winward Racing dragster had a great 5.423 for one of his best runs with his supercharged car.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chatterson and Fricke, who are both NHRA regulars, were ready for the finals under the stars in Maryland.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the closest race of the day, Fricke used a .054-second holeshot to Chatterson\u2019s .095 RT to edge the Canadian on the top end, winning with a 5.219 to the better 5.212 of Chatterson.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis race win holds quite a bit of meaning for me for so many reasons. We competed against some of the best cars in the country, where every pass meant something,\u201d Fricke said after her Cecil win.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a rough couple of months, this team has continued to have my back, so when they told me we won on a holeshot, I had a smile inside that could have lit up the state of Maryland.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThen to have my family member Vincent Nobile win and share the winner\u2019s circle with him and their brand-new baby, Maddi, made the day even more special.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA huge thank you to Jimmy [Halsey], Chad [Porter], and the entire staff at Cecil County Dragway for putting on an amazing event and truly caring about the racers, especially with the decision to shorten the event with the adverse weather coming. I hope this becomes an annual event and a can\u2019t-miss weekend for all of the alcohol racers.\u201d<\/p>\n If the alcohol cars were the stars of the event, the Mountain Motor Pro Stocks were the icing on the cake. A class that has had the number of events they race shortened, the Cecil Chesapeake race was a great place to showcase their style of racing.<\/p>\n Unlike the NHRA Pro Stockers who cap out at 500 cubes, the Mountain Motor cars use powerplants typically ranging from 820 to 840-plus cubic inches along with carburetors and hood scoops.\u00a0<\/p>\n The magical eighth-mile 3-second zone was cracked by\u00a0Randi Lyn Butner\u00a0at the PDRA World Finals in October 2024. Butner ran an unbelievable 3.997 ET in great weather, and although racers have been knocking on the door, nobody has matched that run in competition.<\/p>\n Jerry Don Tucker and John DeFlorian ran sub-4-second runs in testing, but neither driver posted a \u201creal\u201d three in competition.<\/p>\n Things changed at Cecil as\u00a0Tucker was clicking off 3-second runs throughout testing and qualifying in the JT Motorsports Camaro and looked like the one to beat. Tucker teamed up with longtime racer and engine builder Frank Gugliotta to make his Chevy a hitter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gugliotta, the \u201cFlying Meatball\u201d from Mt Airy, Maryland, put Tucker on top with a 3.974 after two qualifying sessions. Unlike the alcohol dragsters, a qualified eight-car field was established with past world champ Johnny Pluchino No. 2 in his Ross Environmental Mustang right behind Tucker.<\/p>\n Dave Hughes in his HRE Camaro was on the bump with a 4.162. Sitting outside were Al Davidowski in his Sonny\u2019s-powered Pontiac and the Cobalt of Doug Kittrell from Indiana.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the first round, Tucker beat Hughes with a four flat, and Pluchino took out the black Camaro of Jesse Alexandra from Wisconsin. Nobile beat past PDRA champ Chris Powers and longtime NHRA racer Lenny Lottig\u2019s Mustang won over John Montecalvo\u2019s Ford, setting up four of the quickest naturally aspirated doorslammers in the country in the semifinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n First pair out was the Mustangs of Lottig and Pluchino. Lottig had a .053 light to the better .019 of Pluchino. On the top end it was Pluchino winning with a 4.004 to the losing 4.090 of Lottig.<\/p>\n On the other side of the ladder, Nobile in the purple Nobile Racing Camaro was up against the killer car of Tucker. Most trackside observers said Nobile would need a holeshot to get the win as Tucker\u2019s car had the quicker times all weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nobile knew what he had to do: cut the tree down. And he did. Nobile had a .029 reaction time to the .082 of Tucker. At the stripe it was Nobile making Tucker the first-ever 3-second loser with a 4.022 over the 3.970 of Tucker.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the upset win, Nobile said, \u201cWe consider that car owned by Jerry Don Tucker a team car, so winning that round was bittersweet. However, every time we go up there, we are trying to win no matter who is in the other lane.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was .029 on the tree and went 4.022 and Jerry Don was .089 and went 3.970 for the quickest run in MMPS,\u201d Nobile added.<\/p>\n In the final It was anyone\u2019s race and an all-Long Island, New York, final as Nobile and Pluchino had been running nearly identical ETs all day.<\/p>\n In a strange final, Nobile was .020 at the green as Pluchino\u2019s Mustang sat on the starting line as Nobile sprinted to the win to a 4.034.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the loss, Pluchino\u2019s team said the two-step rev limiter, which works with the clutchless transmission, malfunctioned, leaving Pluchino with a reaction time that started with a one second.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nobile, who comes from a drag racing family as his father, John Nobile, is a longtime Pro Stock and Mountain Motor Pro Stock racer, said after the Cecil win, \u201cThanks to Jim Halsey, Ross Environmental, and ARP for putting on this race and allowing the Mountain Motor cars to join.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great race, and Jim did a great job with the track prep,\u201d Nobile continued. \u201cI am so happy that we were able to make great progress this weekend with our setup. We still have room for improvement as we were not making perfect runs. This gives us motivation for the next race in Orlando and for next season.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am very happy for my team (my dad, Jim Kane, and my father-in-law, Tony),\u201d Nobile added. \u201cIt\u2019s always a team effort when the car gets put in the winner\u2019s circle. It was also great to get my newborn daughter, Maddi, in her first winner\u2019s circle and to share it with family alongside Jackie, who won Top Alcohol Dragster.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThank you to everyone who helps out with my program \u2013 NGK Spark Plugs, Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Lubricants, VP Racing Fuels, and Ram Clutches. And last but certainly not least, FrankieBoy (Frank Gugliotta), the best Mountain Motor Pro Stock engine builder ever.\u201d<\/p>\n There was plenty of other racing during Friday\u2019s show with legal NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Cars along with Nostalgia Funny Cars on hand to thrill the crowd.<\/p>\n Winning Top Alcohol Funny Car was local racer and past NHRA regional champ DJ Cox in his Camaro against returning racer Brian Gawlik in his Auto Craft Camaro.<\/p>\n It was a wild final with both drivers getting nearly identical reaction times. Cox was straight and true with a winning 5.482 as Gawlik hiked the front end up on his blue Camaro and clicked it early for the loss.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got the win Friday night at the Chesapeake Fall Classic at Cecil County Dragway. That is back-to-back at Cecil County\u2019s Top Alcohol Shootout \u2013 one in TAD and one in TAFC,\u201d Cox said. \u201cFirst, thank you to Jim Halsey and Chad Porter, and everyone at Cecil County Dragway. The effort you all put into this race is amazing. Giving the alcohol classes a showcase race is something we really need and I hope it gets bigger and better every year. Cecil County Dragway is one of drag racing\u2019s best-kept secrets and the effort that goes into making this track so good is amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to the team for working so hard to get this new car together,\u201d Cox said. \u201cWe have a long way to go to get back to where we were, but we will get there because of this great team. To all the Top Alcohol racers, keep an eye out for next year\u2019s schedule and try your best to make it to this race. It\u2019s rare a racetrack goes out of their way to support our classes, so let\u2019s support them back with big turnouts. Also, big thanks to all the sponsors that supported this race. The payouts were great and it just doesn\u2019t happen without the support.\u201d<\/p>\n After his Cecil loss, Gawlik said, \u201cWhile Cecil was cut short due to weather, it was a great success after being out of the seat for two and a half years. The race was run as a modified Chicago-style shootout. First run was a checkout pass \u2013 get her down and safe. Thousand-foot pull \u2013 5.70 at 226 mph. Man, I missed this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFirst qualifying run at 7:30, I had a 5.558 at 245 mph. Lifted early, rev limiter hit at 5.0 seconds so I lifted. She was haulin\u2019 ass! Track was killer at that too.<\/p>\n \u201cCame back with an extremely short turn around, everything was happy, found the issue with rev limit. Got her ready to race DJ Cox in the final. Looked at the data and made some changes and corrections and I was ready to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s 9:30 pm. I line up next to DJ, rev her up, dump the clutch. Oh man, she was hauling the mail. It went .926 60-foot, but staring at the sky! Then I can\u2019t see anything. I have to lift and watch DJ head on down for the win,\u201d Gawlik said as he explained his first race day back in the seat.<\/p>\n \u201cSuper proud of what this car is doing and how it has come along! I have to thank the guys that came out to help me here: Bob Rosetty, Matt Stambaugh, Travis Shoemaker, Bob Toth and Charlie Grey. I couldn\u2019t have made today a success without them.<\/p>\n \u201cI also have to give a shoutout to the support of my other team at the Bartone Brothers Racing,\u201d Gawlik said. \u201cPutting up with my countless questions while we\u2019re out there putting in the work, trying to learn everything I can every time we\u2019re out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, it was time for the Nostalgia Funny Cars. The group has been busy all summer racing up and down the East Coast and a half-dozen cars showed up at Cecil.<\/p>\n Joey Pirrone from Philly had one thing on his mind coming into Cecil. He and his dad Rocky wanted to put the \u201cScreamin Eagle\u201d Pontiac Funny Car in the 5s. The team has been close with low 6-second times, but with the Cecil weather forecast as mineshaft, the time was right.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the Chicago-style qualifying, Joey was in the final against the \u201cChina Syndrome\u201d Vega of George Reidnauer. Still not 5s, but the team was adjusting to the conditions. At the green, Pirrone was off first and held on for an engine-hurting 6.363 to the 6.423 of Reidnauer.<\/p>\n Pirrone said after the race, \u201cThe weekend didn\u2019t go exactly as planned, but it gave us plenty to learn from. On the first pass, we got into a hairy situation, riding the wheelie bar toward the wall. Thankfully, we were able to stay with the car, save it, and keep it off the wall. It was a close call, but we were able to bring it back around and regroup.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the second pass, we unfortunately torched a head gasket,\u201d Pirrone said. \u201cThe air conditions were better than we anticipated, which gave the combination more power than we were expecting and ultimately put some additional strain on things.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it\u2019s never what you want to see, we were fortunate to catch the issue and get a good look at everything afterward,\u201d Pirrone continued. \u201cAfter going through the car and assessing what happened, we have a much better understanding of what we\u2019re dealing with. There\u2019s work to do, but we\u2019re already looking ahead and getting prepared for the next race.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be at MIR, ready to get back down the track,\u201d Pirrone added. \u201cThe goal is to take what we learned from this weekend, make the necessary adjustments, and come back ready to put together some strong, clean passes.<\/p>\n \u201cRacing will always have its ups and downs, and this weekend tested us, but we\u2019re looking forward to the next round and getting back after it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLastly, I want to thank Jim Halsey and Chad Porter for such an awesome event and always having the best prep on the East Coast. Also, I want to thank Gary Pritchett for giving us the opportunity to be a part of this event.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published on October 6, 2026. The post Fricke, Nobile, Cox and Pirrone Celebrate Victories at Cecil County\u2019s Chesapeake Fall Classic<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A threatening weather forecast forced Cecil County Dragway officials to condense the Chesapeake Fall Classic into a one-day show on Friday, Sept. 25, but the abbreviated schedule didn\u2019t take away from the caliber of racing. Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car shared the spotlight with Mountain Motor Pro Stock and Nostalgia Funny Car, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CEC6564_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/RIC_5865_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/RIC_6127_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CEC6646_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/RIC_5940_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CEC6576_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CEC6603_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC_8951_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC_7931_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC_8885_Watermarked.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Drag](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/DI_flat_red-e1711481551475.png\")
<\/p>\n