The final stop for the 2013 NDRL-IAM Championship Series was held at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green KY on Sept 27-29. Running along with the AMRA Harley drags, the pits opened up Thursday to a sea of trailers for parking and by Saturday morning the track was packed.  This race was the pinnacle of the season for NDRL-IAM Championship Series, with few points separating the top three to five competitors in each class.

PRO Gas qualifying was up to the lanes first.  Point’s leader Sam Patrick (Burning Money `37 Chevy) was unable to make the race, leaving Elden Miller and Dave Mullin separated by one point in the Championship hunt.  Unfortunately for Miller, an accident (Match Racing) at Sikeston left Mullin’s American Pie `37 Chevy, the last man standing in the way of a Championship for Patrick.

After three rounds of qualifying, Hill Boys Speed Shop own Butch Hill had the family `53 Studebaker sitting number one qualifier, running .003 over his B/G index.  Jerry Wilson qualified second with a .004 over in his stunning `63 Corvette with Tom Hodge, Kenny Robinson, and Bob Mitchell rounding out the top five qualifiers. Mullin remained in contention but now needed four rounds to nail down the Championship.

PRO Comp had three drivers battling for the Championship and this race was tight.  Points leader Don Nave held a one round advantage over Troy Wilson with Tim Reis trailing Wilson by two rounds. Reis unloaded with a shot across the bow running .010 over to take the top spot and hold it till the end. Nave, showing his prowess, returned fire with a .027 over his B/C index to hold the second place. Reigning Champ Ed Masminster, Skeeter Wayne, and Wilson rounded out the top five.

PRO 7.5 staged up at the ready line next with three drivers ready to battle for the #1 spot.  Wayne Sears sat on top early with a 7.519 early lap. Pat Freels and Pat Malloy were ready to dance as well as the qualifying points were going to be big for these guys if they wanted that championship.  Freels ended up .038 over for the fourth spot and Malloy was relegated to a sixth place spot (.139) and just missing out on the bonus points.  Coming all the way from Lincoln, IL, the “valve spring assassin” Dave Shaffer ripped off a 7.509 to take the top spot and the bye run going into first round. Michelle Lewis and Darrell Wathen rounded out the top five.

The thunder from NDRL PRO 7.0 cars can be heard thru the entire grounds and the fans flocked to the stands to see it. The qualifying rounds for this class were the tightest we have seen all year with Reigning Champ Steve Walczak unloading and ripping off a 7.029 to take the fourth overall spot.  Buckeye Billy Smith seeing what Walczak ran poured it down the track besting the New York Altered but ended up third with a .022 over.  Points leader Larry Harlen came to win that championship and took his Anglia on a wheel up lap running .019 to take the spot but wound up second as Ronny Robinson ran his Mechanical Bull to the top blasting out a 7.012. Michael Sexton rounded out the top five.

Following qualifying we headed back to the pits for the Finals dinner. Awards for the best package in the final qualifying session of the Alkydigger.com race at Edgewater Sports Park in Cleves, OH were presented to the drivers that were still in when the race was called.   Steve Walczak, Pat Freels, Troy Wilson, and Greg Hillyer all took home the hardware and contingency awards. The dinner was a huge success as we had well over 120 people and even invited the AMRA riders over as well.

The sun came up early Sunday and we had cloud cover and colder temperatures. The cloud cover would not go away and turned into rain showers just as PRO Gas completed the first round of eliminations. The track waited but had no choice but to call the event off due to the impending forecast and the amount of time required to dry.  As a result, class Champions stood without change.  NDRL officials split the Finals purse money, evenly amongst the racers and the end of the season was upon us.

The NDRL Championship banquet will be held in Brownsburg at the Green Street on November 9th. The NDRL would like thank our drivers, crews, tracks, and our marketing partners.  

IAM&AW, Quick Fuel Technology, Briggs and Stratton, Sexton-Wilbert Vault, Hot Heads Research, Steele Rubber Products, Bob Sloan Memorial, Alkydigger.com, Nick Arias Jr. Racing Components, Vintage Race Supply, Freedom Racing Engines, Wood River Auto Parts, Howards Cams, Competition Products, Dishon Transmission Service, Saldana Racing Products, Shorty Rader Racing, Breaking the Law Construction, and DJ Safety

Congratulations to the 2013 NDRL Class Champions and Runner Ups:

Pro/7.0
Champ Larry Harlen, “Bad Anglia” `49 Anglia Blown BBC
Runner Up Robbie “Rocket Man” Freels, Canoed Altered Blown BBC
Second Runner Up Mark Vaught, FED Blown BBC

Pro/7.50
Champ Wayne Sears, “Super Mouse” `32 Bantam Altered (2011, 2012, 2013) Injected SBC
Runner Up Pat “The Islander” Freels, `67 GTO Blown BBC
Second Runner Up Pat Malloy, FED Injected SBC

Pro/Comp
Champ Don Nave “Sleigh Ride”, FED Injected SBC
Runner Up Troy “Cookie Monster” Wilson, `23 T Altered Injected SBC
Second Runner Up Tim Reis, FED Injected SB Chrysler

Pro/Gas
Champ Sam Patrick, “Burning Money `37 Chevy” Injected BBC
Runner Up Dave Mullin, “American Pie” `37 Chevy Blown SBC
Second Runner Up Elden Miller, Black Widow `33 Willys Blown BBC