Small Tire Pro Stock racers may be reaching the end of the 2026 season, but they showed no signs of slowing down when they joined Nostalgia Drag Racing League racers for the NDRL World Nostalgia Drags presented by Liberty’s Gears, Indy Cylinder Heads and JR1 Racing Oil on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 at Darana Raceway in Hebron, Ohio.
The event was scheduled to run through Saturday, Sept. 12, but because of rain coming in, organizers made the call to run it through completion on Friday, Sept. 11. The result was a one-day show of sheer strength and steadfastness.
All of the Small Tire Pro Stock racers stood out for various reasons during the day, but making it to the final round of eliminations at night were Dwight Ausmus of Tennessee and David Murray of Ohio.
Ausmus, the 2025 class champion, powered to a 7.82 and 174 mph to qualify in the third spot in his Firebird which is fantastically fit with a 573 cubic-inch Pontiac built by class sponsor BES Racing Engines, a carburetor by class sponsor Dale Cubic of CFM Performance Carburetors and a five-speed transmission by Liberty’s Gears.
In the first round of eliminations, Ausmus arrived at a 7.85 and 172 mph to advance over a hard-charging Rob Ingles of Massachusetts, who was right there with a close 7.93 and 172 mph in his Camaro crushing it with a 543 cubic-inch Chevrolet built on a JLine Performance aluminum block by Ingles and his father, Bob Ingles, and a five-speed transmission by class sponsor G-Force Transmissions.
The second and semifinal round of eliminations was another close one for Ausmus, who clocked a 7.7818 and 175.85 mph while Leonard Long of Pennsylvania lapped a 7.7844 and 175.71 in his Mustang making magic with a 418 cubic-inch small-block Ford built by Jay Zolko and a clutchless five-speed by his own company, G-Force Transmissions. Ausmus won that round.
Meanwhile, David Murray, new to Small Tire Pro Stock this year, motored to an 8.24 and 165 mph to qualify in the sixth spot in his Mustang motivated by a 450 cubic-inch Ford built by EIC Motorsports, fuel system by class contingency sponsor Weldon High Performance and three-speed transmission by Joel’s on Joy.
Murray won the first round of eliminations with an 8.21 after David Theisen of Michigan, who won last month’s Small Tire Pro Stock race, was forced to get out of the throttle in his LaFontaine Performance Center Firebird featuring a 500 cubic-inch DRCE engine built by Uratchko Racing Engines and five-speed transmission by Liberty’s Gears. Murray made a solo trip down track in the second and semifinal round of eliminations.
That set the scene for the final round of eliminations between Ausmus and Murray. As they prepared to climb into the cockpits of their cars in the staging lanes, they wished each other well, as did their teammates.
They then pulled into the water box and heated up their tires. With smoke billowing from their burnouts, their teams and fellow Small Tire Pro Stock teams stood behind their cars and watched. After the tree dropped, Ausmus won as Murray leaped off the line and turned on the red light by just -.006. It was the first win of the season for 2025 class champion Ausmus, and the first final round appearance in the class for Murray.
“My team, Curt Jamison, Charlie Campbell and Keith McCormack worked very hard to help us win our first event of the season, while my wife, Becky, supported us from home in LaFollette, Tennessee, and I can’t thank them enough,” said Ausmus. “My BES Racing Engines-built Pontiac was working well, despite the heat and running the whole race in one day, and we all had a great time with our fellow NDRL racers. I would like to congratulate David Murray and his team on the runner-up finish.”
Small Tire Pro Stock racers will now prepare to put it all on the line at the last race of the season, which is part of the NHRA Division 3 Fall Classic National Open, Oct. 23-25, 2026 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana. There, the 2026 champion will emerge.
Small Tire Pro Stock continues to grow with support from BES Racing Engines, G-Force Racing Transmissions, CFM Performance Carburetors, PPSA Strength Training, MGP Connecting Rods, V&J, Inc., Sporthorse Saddlery and 10K Technology. Additional sponsors would be welcomed.
For more information, visit Facebook.com/SmallTireProStock or email smalltireprostock@gmail.com.
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