Barsamian Beats the ASRA Field in a Race #2 Win!

By Christian and Tyler Fillipone: June 28^th, 2025

Race 2 took place at Lebanon Valley Dragway on Saturday, June 28^th. 46 racers showed up for day one of the two-race weekend. A drum of VP fuel was up for grabs, going to the top points earner across the 2 days of racing. Thank you to Lebanon Valley for sponsoring the VP drum of fuel! Following the conclusion of race 2, the ASRA would gather for their annual picnic. With the chance at a drum of VP fuel, the annual picnic, and the Divisional race the following weekend, it’s a great weekend to be a part of the All Stars Racing Association!

Following 2 rounds of qualifying, Marc LaBrecque took the #1 qualifier spot with his .001 reaction time. Marc would need to defeat Henry Specht in round 1 to secure a round 2 bye. Specht with a red light start, secured the bye run for LaBrecque.

Moving ahead to round 4, now 6 racers remain. The 3 matchups began with D.J. Pires in the Firebird taking on George Mirza and his Duster. Pires with an .012 reaction time had the advantage over Mirza’s .023. Pires’ win light turned-on after a double breakout went his way, breaking out less than Mirza by only .001. Pires’ round 4 win secured the semi-final bye run, advancing him to the finals. Next up came Cory Prindall in His Nova and Nic Barsamian in his Chevelle. Prindall turned it red by just -.008 giving Barsamian the go-ahead to round 5. The final matchup of round 4 was Gary Parker in his Corvette against Richard Preiser in his Mustang.  Parker’s .011 light to Preiser’s .051 allowed Parker to get-there-first running 11.318 (11.29) to beat Preiser’s 10.393 (10.38) in another close race. 

Round 5 left only 3 racers: Pires, Barsamian, and Parker. Barsamian and Parker faced off for a chance at a final-round appearance. Parker’s 11.24 dial in to Barsamian’s 10.77 meant Parker would leave first. Parker turned it red by -.024, giving Barsamian the automatic win after his .084 reaction. Pires, with the bye-run, opted to simply break-the-beams and wait for his final round matchup against Barsamian. Time constraints at Lebanon Valley Dragway resulted in round 6 being pushed to the following morning.

  With a new day, brought new weather. Pires and Barsamian would need to rely on previous run-data to dial their cars accordingly. Pires dialed 11.89 to Barsamian’s dial of 10.71. Pires left first with the better of the two reaction times, with a .027 to Barsamian’s .035. With just a small margin to Pires on reaction time, it would come down to the finish line. Pires took the stripe by .014 to break out .003 with a 11.887 (11.89) giving Barsamian’s 10.713 (10.71) the win. Yet another incredibly close race. Congratulations to the Barsamian family on a well-deserved victory! 

Special Award Winners:

Boucher's Racing Engines Bounty Hunter: Nic Barsamian

Seacoast Auto Repair #1 Qualifier: Marc LaBrecque

D.I.P.G. Awareness Take Out the #1 Qualifier: Nic Barsamian

Eric Merryfield's Best Losing Package Rd #1: TJ Boucher

Deanco Automotive Dead on the Dial: Bob Broadbent

Nexus Consulting Best Winning Package: Bob Broadbent

Deanco Automotive "Its Been Awhile": N/A

Boucher's 50th Anniversary Winner's Bonus: Nic Barsamian