|
 |
Romine
Racing News
See our Gallery for photos and our schedule to find where
we race next.
Sweltering heat at the tip of Maryland, Drums Brancaccio is vertically challenged standing next to quiet giants Mike and Jack Romine. But the energetic Jersey-man earned his way from #8 qualifier to finalist. 'We'll take any pattern that leads to the money, points and success at the NHRA invitationals,' said team leader Mike Romine of his newest team mate.
At Maryland International Race, Mike's little brother, Jack Romine earned the top team qualifying spot with strong numbers off the trailer. A 6.633 at 196.19 made the sandy-haired Arizonan #2 first round. He smiled all of Saturday. 'We're real happy with the way mine ran. It's a first run on a new Goodyear tire. They usually take 2 - 3 runs to really perform. That's my best first qualifying round so far this season. At 6.4 seconds into the run, I broke the belt.' With few changes, Jack missed the shift in round two and over revved the motor. In the final round, he spun the tire on the 120 degree track temperature. He landed fourth for the day.
Mike Romine held the number seven spot all day, starting with a 6.757 at 202.58 miles per hour in round one. 'It was a dumb error. I left in high gear. We gained no data that we needed. I was surprised it ran that well.' Round two, a belt broke. Finally, Mike ran a 6.689 at 207.11 to hold at seventh. 'That's triple 7, which is lucky, isn't it?'
Trying to maintain a positive spin on the day, Drums Brancaccio landed eighth. From a round one 7.251, 159.53 to a final 6.83 at 195 mile per hour, Drums had made the greatest improvements. In round one, his bike quit about 4 seconds into the run. It spun the tire and put the fire out in the engine. 'Jack and Mike discussed my tune up and made some really good decisions during the day. We've got the 60-foot times where we want them. We've got the 1/8th mile down. But it's still shutting off early. It ran to 1000 feet and a 6.80's in the final round. With the tune-up decisions they're making, I'm extremely confident that they'll discuss it, make adjustments and I'll run better tomorrow. I'm just really proud of the team. All of us are in the top 8. Hopefully all of us will make it into the semis.'
Sunday morning, the RMC Racing Team was humming in their pit. Tiny adjustments, checking and re-checking, they were ready for eliminations. Drums raced Steve Moore in round one. The closest match of competitors, #8 versus #9, Drums was the first RMC team member on the Sunday track. 'I was wound up because Steve Moore can pull off a number at any time. I had a little bit of a light on him, (.017) but we were side by side a long way. I just got out on him at the finish line. Then, at the end of the track, my bike locked up the clutch. Steve picked up the back of my bike and walked it off of the track. We didn?t want to hold up the show or get hit if the officials didn?t see us. I've had many back operations and would not have been able to do that. I thank Steve dearly for it. I kind of knew that I'd beat him, but I don?t think he knew. He's a class act and a class person. I really appreciate him as a racer and a person.'
Jack had incredible tire spin at the hit of the throttle in round one. "It's making a lot of power. On that run, it smoked the tire and put a hole out. It's just on the ragged edge. His tune up is real close. When he got back in it, it torched the head," Brancaccio said of his team mate. "Mike pulled a holeshot and a smooth, straight win with a .505, 6.795 at 211.93 miles per hour." One down. Two still in.
Drums was keyed up. "Jack and Mike discussed what happened first round. I reminded them that during qualifying, the bike was releasing full lock up very late in the shutdown area. They made a slight adjustment to the clutch. Second round it blew the tire away on the hit of the throttle. I thought Chicago Joe was going to get me. I cut alight on him, but I'd spun the tire. I tried to get back in it and it started to blubber. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him go up in smoke and head toward the centerline. My motor came back to a perfect idle. So I whacked the throttle. It picked right up and ran an 8.0 and rocketed across the finish line. I was ecstatic. To get the bike to recover, with the timers going off already, I was lucky to be able to keep the bike in the tune-up areas. It was a fun pass. Going into the run, I was very confident that I would run better. But we won and that's what matters." Mike spun the tire and never recovered. Drums was the only RMC bike in the semi-finals.
"Again, Mike and Jack really analyzed what was going on with the bike. Jack exploited Mike's ideas to a high level. We went out and ran a 6.83 in the semi-final, but it still shut off early. I don?t know what happened to my competition. I cut a light on him and never saw him again." Drums ran a smooth .466, 6.845 at 189.82 miles per hour.
For the final, Drums did not have lane choice due to the bike shutting down around 1000 feet. Again, the Romine brothers analyzed what he'd run. Minor changes and Drums ran last year's Mid-Atlantic Nationals winner. "Other than the bike smoking the tire, it had a best 60 foot ever for the final. It had our second best 330 foot time, jackshaft or tranny. I cut a .452 light to his .482. I was ON. I wanted to win badly. The bike left great. Jack made great adjustments to the bike and the timers. At 330 feet it was charging. That's where the track was greasy and at 350 feet, I started spinning. The bike was making good power, but with the clutch locking up there, you either had to peddle the throttle or you were getting tire shake and spin. When it went up in smoke hard, I came back in it once. It blubbered. By they Jay Turner was hooked up beside me, he went by charging hard just past the 1/8th mile. There was no sense hurting parts. I shut the throttle off." Final Drums Brancaccio run of the day, was a .452, 7.255 at 152.52 miles per hour.
"We learned a lot that pass, too. We?re already getting ready for Bristol. I can't thank Jack and Mike enough for their judgment and assessments. Unfortunately we all didn?t get to the semis. But the team was ON. We're gelling really well. As off the wall as I am and as laid back as they are, it's fun."
"I want to thank Mitch Marlowe (Oceans 11) and Dennis Paul (Chromatic), West Metro, Oceans 11, Romine Race Engines and Cams, the crew - Tommy, Billy and Darren. Everybody worked hard. I just had a great time. I had fun with ESPN2 guys, too - Ted Jones and Carl Woods."
Mike Romine, Jack Romine and Drums Brancaccio are sponsored by RMC Racing, Romine Racing, Oceans 11 Sports bar in Hollywood, FL, Chromatic Inc, Performance Machine, Ross Racing Pistons, Fram, and Autolite.
|
|
