Four-time and reigning NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Dragster national champion Joey Severance made the quickest blown alcohol pass in drag racing history on Saturday at the Dodge NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Severance, driving the YNOT Racing/J&A Service dragster, clocked a 5.121 at 278.29 MPH in the third and final qualifying session at the penultimate race of the season. Severance clocked an incredible .864-second short time, 2.270 to 330-feet, a 3.373 at 224.21 MPH at half track, and a 4.316 to 1,000-feet on his way to history and the number one qualifying position going into eliminations. Severance had netted some staggering numbers in the two earlier sessions, including an .885 60-foot and a 5.162 in the first session and an .889 at a bracket-car-like 5.165 in the second qualifier.
He carded an .888, 5.191 in the first round of eliminations but struck the tires at the hit in a round two loss to Duane Shields. His 5.121 was the seventh-quickest run in Top Alcohol Dragster history, and three of his four time-cards were among the top 10 quickest by a blown alcohol dragster all-time. The previous mark had stood at 5.151, set by Shawn Cowie at the Winternationals in Pomona earlier this year.
While Severance has already relinquished his No. 1 plate to newly-minted champion Megan Meyer, he will go into the offseason with one of the all-time great Top Alcohol Dragster runs in history — certainly of the 2019 season — in his back pocket.