Suffice it to say, the Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. will hold a special place in the heart of sportsman racing standout Slate Cummings after the weekend he experienced during the recent JEG’S Allstars and O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals. Cummings drove his Moser Engineering-backed machines to a total of three final-round appearances over the weekend, making for one of the more memorable outings of his racing career.
Cummings came into Joliet as the Division 4 representative in the JEG’S Allstars competition in both Stock and Super Stock, where he has a runner-up finish in 2009 to his credit in the special race-within-a-race.
“Just being a part of the JEGS All-Stars event is a really special opportunity,” said Cummings. “The folks at JEGS really make the racers stars. We’re treated like the professionals at this event. Plus, when you’re invited to compete in the JEGS All-Stars, you have to be really proud just to have that opportunity. The race features the top points earners in each geographic division; so it’s pretty special just to be involved in the race, let alone win it.”
As the Allstars battle kicked off on Saturday, Cummings proceeded to march through the first two rounds of eliminations in both classes, downing Michael Mans and Joe Santangelo in Super Stock and Chad Loge and Merrill Schrimscher in Stock, setting up a chance at a double-up victory, while creating logistics issues in the process. Adding to the pressure, the team title for Division 4 rested upon the shoulders of he and division teammate Tommy Phillips, who had reached the Super Comp final.
Cummings met Mark Faul in the Stock finale, where Faul gained an .021 to .032 advantage out of the gate and parlayed it into a double-breakout victory, his 11.577 (11.58) defeating Cummings’ 10.567 (10.61). As the other finals unfolded, Phillips took the Super Comp crown and Division 7’s Joe Roubicek did likewise in Top Sportsman, bringing the deadocked team title down to the Super Stock finale.
Determined not to walk away empty handed, Cummings strapped an .012 to .027 holeshot on opponent Tony Mandella and raced the stripe in his Moser Engineering Cavalier to a win by a scant .008 second, his dead-on 9.097 defeating Mandella’s 9.880 (9.86).
“Thanks to Jeff Taylor and his staff, we’ve got a lot of power,” said Cummings. “Our Stock Eliminator car is fast; real fast. But when you’re running the national record holder in a heads-up final, you can’t be too confident. Plus, you have to consider that Mr. Sorenson is from Oregon. We’re from Louisiana. So, we don’t get to race with each other often and we’re not familiar with each other. Basically, we had no real idea who had the horsepower advantage. I don’t think he did either.”
With the division crown in hand, Cummings’ weekend wasn’t over just yet. On Sunday, he again pressed his way through eliminations in Stock Eliminator, putting the Moser Camaro in another final, this one against NHRA record holder Joe Sorenson in a heads-up B/SA battle. A sizable .020 to .060 reaction time difference all but sealed the deal as Cummings cruised to a comfortable 10.35 to 10.43 victory.
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