In any sport home-field advantage can play a pivotal role in performance. This was the case as the Bongiovanni Racing team rolled into Maple Grove Raceway for the 2023 NHRA Pep Boy’s Nationals.
Drivers Anthony Bongiovanni, Ken Miele and Dan Fletcher turned on win lights and hoisted trophies in a successful outing that concluded with two wins and a runner-up finish. The team also scored valuable NHRA points and performed 8-second 150-plus mph runs that pleased the crowd.
After qualifying solidly in the field of Stock Eliminator and Super Stock, the Micro Strategies-backed drivers prepared for eliminations. First up was Class run-offs, a race within a race to see who has the quickest cars in the individual Super Stock ranks. This is the heads-up portion of the event, which allows drivers to compete with pure speed for a NHRA Wally trophy.
Both Anthony and Dan unleashed the Bongiovanni Racing horsepower, making the finals in their respective categories. First Anthony faced Alex Chenko, where he scored a win in his FSS/C Cobra Jet Mustang after Chenko fouled at the start. Dan was up next, driving his original 1969 Z/28 Camaro, and he faced Dean Riberio in the money round. Dan was .018 on the tree and he powered past Riberio for the win.
Meanwhile in Stock, Kenny Miele was making news in his Micro Strategies Cobra Jet. Ken charged into eliminations after qualifying 14th and he defeated Tex Miller and Matt Butter in the opening two rounds. Next, he won over the tough Steve Szupka and Richard Preiser, which moved him to the semi-final match. Ken was on his game with a .007 reaction time taking yet another win over fellow Division 1 racer Kenny Richard. This set up the final against Joe Santangelo, the racer who Anthony beat in the previous final in New England. This time Santangelo would not be denied, as he was better on the tree, defeating Ken and his Cobra Jet.
“That was a tough loss,” said Kenny Miele, “with me and Dan both in finals I really wanted to bring it home for Bongiovanni Racing and Micro Strategies. I was a little late and that cost me, but it would have been tough because Joe put up great numbers.”
With 107 NHRA national event wins, Dan Fletcher ranks second on the NHRA all-time win list. Only Funny Car champion John Force has him beat. But looking at overall stats, Dan typically races more rounds than Force to capture his wins (often 6-7 for the sportsman per race compared to 4 for the pros), so that, combined with his dozens of NHRA divisional victories and countless bracket race wins, would likely place Dan the all-time round win and overall race win leader in NHRA history.
Speaking of 107, that one came here at Maple Grove, with Dan having an incredible weekend, albeit one that put him to the test. Unbeknownst to Dan, as he rolled up for first round on Friday, his transmission was not acting well. He barely mustered a burnout then he staged, but he feared the car would not be able to complete the run. Fortunately, his poker face worked and his opponent red lighted, handing Dan the win. The lucky break afforded him the necessary time to repair the car, which hie did in time for round 2.
Dan took a win from Micro Strategies Nick Scardelli who redlighted, then he defeated the fast COPO Camaro of Tony Fagnilli. Dan was .026 on the tree and dead on his dial—his normally reliable Camaro was back in form.
Dan was victorious again in the quarter-final round and in the semis to set up the final match with former NHRA champion Michael Iacono. Dan was ready, as he delivered a .013 reaction time (Iacono was .025) and he ran 9.73 to beat Iacono’s 9.82-second effort.
“It was great to get back in the winner’s circle, especially since I didn’t think we had a chance on Friday when the transmission broke. I’m proud to represent Micro Strategies and Bongiovanni Racing. It was a strong weekend for the team, with Anthony and I winning Class trophies, Kenny making the Stock final and then taking home a Super Stock win at Maple Grove,” he added.