John Montecalvo made some big moves in his Chevy Cobalt this weekend at the IHRA President’s Cup Nationals. He came into the event 19 points behind leader Frank Gugliotta, but that all changed on race day.

The weekend looked a lot like the last national event in everything from weather to competition runs. Qualifying was shortened to one round due to inclement weather, just like at the North American Nationals. John qualified second with a 6.308 at 222.11 mph, which also got him Last Man Standing honors. First round of this event, just as at the last, Gugliotta went out early, leaving the door wide open for those behind him. And once again, Montecalvo stepped right through that open door.

Monte was rather lucky in round one when Richard Freeman turned on the red eye as Monte struggled to put his Cobalt down the race track that seemed to throw off many drivers after soaking in rain all day on Saturday. This was enough to grant him the points lead. In round two Montecalvo faced off against Ned Katuran. Monte’s 6.382 at 221.78 turned on the win light, furthering his new found points lead. The fun ends after that, as eventual winner Cary Goforth laid down a 6.357 to Montecalvo’s 6.366.

“We did what we came to do,” tells Monte. “We wanted to leave this event with the points lead and that’s exactly what we did. Our day ended a little earlier than we hoped for, but Cary just put up a good run against us and then went on take the Iron Man. Congratulations to him and his team on a job well done.

“We’re very happy about the way the car performed this weekend. My team did a great job as they always do and now we can breathe slightly easier heading into Rockingham. I know it’s going to be an all-out fight to the finish there and I’m looking forward to it! We’re going to go do some testing beforehand and make sure we have everything just right. Even though we’re out in front, I know the target is going to be on us now, and it’s up to us to stay in front!”

Due to the rain, the Elite 8 Pro Stock Shootout, which was scheduled to be contested on Saturday, has now been postponed to the World Finals in Rockingham. With the Shootout, the World Finals event title and the Championship all to be decided in that one weekend, Monte knows that he’s looking at the chance of a lifetime.

“Obviously, my main focus is on the Championship and that’s where my mind will be in Rockingham, there’s no doubt about that. But there’s no forgetting about the Shootout, either. We got to the finals of that last year, but hopefully we can take the win this year.”

With so much riding on one weekend, one might wonder what Montecalvo thinks about the upcoming event- “Bring it on. It’s going to be a great battle and I can’t wait to get down that track at Rockingham!”