BERRY, GUSTAFSON, LUTON LEAD POMONA NMCA WEST WINNERS

Andrew Berry (Pro Modified), Eric Gustafson (Street Outlaw), and Mark Luton (True 10.5) led the charge into victory lane as the NMCA WEST tour made its annual stop at the fabled Auto Club Raceway at Pomona over the weekend. 

NMCA WEST

Andrew Berry drove his beautiful turbocharged Camaro to victory in Pro Modified on Sunday at the NMCA WEST Street Car Nationals in Pomona, driving from the No. 3 qualifying position to the final round, where he ousted Mod Motor racer John Mihovetz on a holeshot, a 6.13 defeating a quicker 6.09. In Street Outlaw, Eric Gustafson was virtually dominant in his Ford Mustang, qualifying atop the field and running low elapsed time of each round, including a killer 7.19 in round one, a 7.23 in the semifinals, and a 7.26 in the final for the win. In True 10.5, Mark Luton took his GT500 Mustang to the final round with stout runs of 6.90 and 6.88 in previous rounds, before receiving the gift of a red-light start by Roger Holder in the final for an easy cruise to the winners cycle.

Event Winners:

Pro Mod: Andrew Berry
Street Outlaw: Eric Gustafson
Outlaw 8.5: Dan Hale
N/A 10.5: Tony Aneian
Open Comp: Greg Dreher
Pro Comp: Val Torres
Quick Street: Courtney Glover
Super Quick: Dave Torres
Nostalgia Street Car: Hank Pramov
Mustang Madness: Donnie Bowles
Bracket 1: Kenny Kemblowski
Bracket 2: Kenny Snow

NHRA Southern Nationals

Robert Hight won for the fourth time this season in his sixth consecutive final round appearance, denying teammate Courtney Force the chance to score the 100th professional victory by a female driver, posting a stellar 4.04 in the money round to Force’s game 4.11. Spencer Massey out-pedaled Doug Kalitta in the Top Fuel final for a 4.26 to 4.41 victory, while Jeg Coughlin came from behind to edge out Greg Anderson in a mail-order battle in Pro Stock, his 6.55 defeating Anderson’s 6.58. Teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines settled Pro Stock Motorcycle after a dominant weekend, with Krawiec using a crushing 6.80 to score the win, and a likewise dominant Rickie Smith cemented his weekend with a 5.82-second cruise down the Atlanta Dragway for his first Pro Modified win of the season.

Event Winners:

Top Fuel: Spencer Massey
Funny Car: Robert Hight
Pro Stock: Jeg Coughlin
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Eddie Krawiec
Pro Modified: Rickie Smith
Super Stock: Ryan Richardson
Stock: Greg Rowe
Super Comp: Edmond Richardson
Super Gas: John Taylor
Super Street: Ed Pauley
Top Sportsman: Tommy Turner
Top Dragster: Jeff Strickland

IHRA Spring Nationals

The IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series made its long-awaited return to the Rockingham Dragway, long one of the premier strops on the series trail, over the weekend, with the running of the Spring Nationals. Jason Rupert headed up the podium with his win in Nitro Funny Car, as the driver of the “Bays & Rupert” Camaro edged out three-time IHRA champion Peter Gallen in the final round, 5.68 (a new national elapsed time record) to a 5.73. Brad Waddle captured his first career IHRA victory in Pro Stock when used a 6.41 to defeat Kevin Bealko’s 6.44. Mike Scott captured Nitro Harley honors with his 6.44 in the final that was too much for Randal Andras’ 6.76, and Ron Maroney won the Chicago style Nitro Altered class in his ’32 Bantam, running 6.31 in the money round.

Event Winners:

Nitro Funny Car: Jason Rupert
Pro Stock: Brad Waddle
Nitro Harley: Mike Scott
Nitro Altered: Ron Maroney
Jet Dragster: Marisha Falk
Top Sportsman: Mike Koontz
Top Dragster: Jeffrey Dobbins II
Super Stock: Jim Reynolds
Stock: A.J. Currie
Quick Rod: Dale Harrison
Super Rod: Gerald Pierce
Hot Rod: Michelle Pelo

NHRA Division 3

Rain plagued the NHRA North Central Divisions’ stop at the Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk over the weekend, part of the annual NHRA Cavalcade of Stars, forcing much of the racing action to be completed on Monday. After sloshing through several wet days of qualifying and an attempt at completing eliminations on a clear Sunday, race officials finally began crowning some champions late Sunday evening and on Monday morning, as Brandon Booher led the charge with his victory in Top Alcohol Dragster, outlasting one of the largest regional event fields all season, as well as Marty Thacker, in the final round. In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Chris Foster advanced from the No. 4 qualifying position to the fins round, where a stellar 5.60 was enough to get the job done over opponent Andy Bohl’s 5.63.

Event Winners: 

Top Alcohol Dragster: Brandon Booher
Top Alcohol Funny Car: Chris Foster
Competition Eliminator: Terry Smith
Super Stock: Zack Running
Stock: Steve Sullivan
Super Comp: Jack Sepanek
Super Gas: Nick Akoury
Super Street: Rudy Matthews
Top Dragster: Marco Abruzzi
Top Sportsman: Jerry Albert
Pro Stock Snowmobile: Brian Werner
Top Fuel Harley: Damien Cownden
Pro Fuel Harley: Clint Pleasant
Hot Street Harley: Charley Douglass
Street Pro Harley: Nicholas Gonates
Draggin Bagger: Darrell Schwalbach
Screamin Eagle Harley: Nicholas Gonates
Pro Gas Harley: March Inguersen

NHRA Division 5

The NHRA’s West Central Division opened its season over the weekend with Thunder on the Great Plains in Great Bend, Kansas, where Shaun Vincent headlined the winners list with his victory in Competition Eliminator, as he got a slight edge on Todd Patterson out of the gate and ran further under his C/TA index for the win. David Bogner overcame a better light by opponent Tim Nicholson in the Super Stock final, as Nicholson crossed the stripe under the dial, handing the win over to Bogner. In the Stock final, Brett Speer put together a nice .016 package, combining an .011 light with a 10.745 on his 10.74 fail for the win.

Event Winners:

Competition Eliminator: Shaun Vincent
Super Stock: David Bogner
Stock: Brett Speer
Super Comp: Fred Snavely
Super Gas: Bill Dennis
Super Street: Steven Wilson
Top Sportsman: JR Lobner
Top Dragster: Jason Medlin
Sportsman Motorcycle: Jason Clampitt