Six very excited drivers kicked off the Division 3 Summit Racing Equipment Team Finals at Pittsburgh Raceway Park with final round appearances in the Summit SuperSeries runoff, automatically advancing them to the Summit World Finals at Memphis International Raceway in October.

Albert Donell (Top ET), Greg Sauvage (Mod ET) and Roberta Benedict (Junior Dragster) won their respective classes on the first day of racing in Pittsburgh, joining runner-up finishers Brad Perkins (Top ET), Ray Wade (Mod ET) and Darrell Holstion (Junior Dragster) with automatic tickets to compete for the Summit SuperSeries World Championship next month.

In the team competition, host track Pittsburgh Raceway Park (65) pulled away to a 19 point win over runner-up team Quaker City Motorsports Park (46) in the eight-time race. Beaver Springs Dragway was third with 45 points, followed by Thompson Raceway Park (44.5) and Empire Dragway (39). Rounding out the field were Elegant Builders Raceway Park (39), Skyview Drags (26) and Kanawha Valley Motorsports Park (24).

At one of the biggest Summit Racing Equipment Team Finals events of the year, six drivers survived a grueling afternoon against a dozen talented tracks to punch their tickets to the Summit SuperSeries championship runoff at Memphis International Raceway in October.

Greg Maddox (Top ET), Brad Hall (Mod ET) and Amanda Foley (Junior Dragster) won their respective classes on opening day of the Division 2 East Summit Team Finals at Carolina Dragway on Friday, joining runner-up finishers Kevin Crawford (Top ET), Jay Norris (Mod ET) and Zach Pennington (Junior Dragster). The six drivers automatically advance to compete for the Summit SuperSeries World Championship next month.

In the team competition host track Carolina Dragway (61) took the overall crown by 18 points over team runner-up Pageland Dragway (43). Ware Shoals Dragway finished third with 41 points, followed by Orangeburg Dragstrip (35) and Immokalee Regional Raceway (32). Rounding out the remaining teams were Darlington Dragway (31), Union County Dragway (31), Bradenton Motorsports Park (24), Dorchester Dragway (23), Lakeland Dragstrip (21), Douglas Motorsports Park (20) and Palm Beach International Raceway (18).

When a racer is in need, leave it up to his or her fellow competitors to come through in a major way.

Such was the case Friday afternoon when Curt Fassler, looking after his daughter at a local hospital following an incident at the track, was given a big break by his fellow competitors and used that gracious gift to win the Top ET runoff at the Division 5 Summit Team Finals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.

Fassler joined fellow Summit SuperSeries runoff winners Chuck Powell in Mod ET and Joshua VanAmelsvoort in Junior Dragster.

In the Division 5 Summit Team Finals team competition, host track U.S. 131 Motorsports Park ran away from Dragway 42 to take the team win by 24 points. Grand Bend Motorplex was third, followed by Wisconsin International Raceway, Marion County International Raceway and Ubly Dragway.

Three more drivers punched their tickets to the Summit SuperSeries championship runoff at the Summit World Finals over the weekend, as Kevin Thorp, Larry Cannon and Lizzie Low will represent their home tracks at Memphis International Raceway in October.

Thorp won the Top ET runoff at the Division 7 Summit Team Finals at Caprock Motorplex on Friday, while Larry Cannon claimed the Mod ET win and Lizzie Low won in Junior Dragster. Low had a huge weekend in Junior Dragster, winning the Main Event later that weekend while also reaching a third final in three days of racing.

Amarillo Dragway Team 1 won the Summit Team Finals team competition by a considerably margin – 15 points over Caprock Motorplex Team 2. Caprock Motorplex Team 1 finished third, followed by Desert Thunder and Southwestern International Raceway. Rounding out the top 10 were Hobbs Motorsports Park, Amarillo Dragway Team 2, Roswell Dragway and El Paso Dragway.

Drag racing is a sport that was built on trying new things and breaking new ground.

From traditional racing classes to exhibitions like jets, wheelstanders and more, drag racing has always been about putting on a show and providing fans something they can’t see anywhere else in the world.

So when Nitro Jam introduced a unique main event two years ago matching two American icons on the drag strip, it was obvious Nitro Jam was once again taking the sport in a new direction all in the name of great entertainment.

And to anyone who has actually witnessed the awesome spectacle now known as the battle of the “monster trucks” between the Super Shockwave jet truck and Grave Digger monster truck, they have just one word to describe the occasion – unforgettable.

And it all returns October 11-12 at the Summit World Finals at Memphis International Raceway.

This is it, the race we have all been waiting for!

The 2013 IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals weekend is set for October 11-12 at Memphis International Raceway and will include only the best-of-the-best from the 2013 IHRA drag racing season. The invitation-only weekend will feature two major races – the Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions and Summit SuperSeries – in addition to a Nitro Jam professional show Friday and Saturday night.

There are no open fields at this year’s World Finals.

Racers have worked hard all year to make it to Memphis to compete for one of 10 IHRA World Championships in Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod, Top ET, Mod ET and Junior Dragster.

After the joy and excitement of finding out that they had qualified for the Summit SuperSeries championship race at the Summit World Finals in October wore off, racers Jose Reyes and Dean Kalawe – from the islands of Aruba and Hawaii respectively – were suddenly left asking one very important question – what am I going to drive?

Both Reyes and Kalawe are prepared to make the long trips from their island homes to Memphis, Tennessee for the World Finals, but neither can get their racecars to the mainland. The same goes for IHRA racer Nathan Thornsley who has an equally daunting task of making the haul from Alaska. So now all three drivers are asking for your help.

If you or someone you know has a car that one of these drivers can use for the World Finals as they chase a potential IHRA championship, please let them know. You can contact the drivers directly at the numbers below:

Jose Reyes: (297) 746-2626

Dean Kalawe: (808) 982-5479

Nathan Thornsley: (907) 602-0750

Beginning this weekend and running through the Summit Racing Equipment World Finals in October, the Summit Team Finals season will be kicking into high gear.

A pair of Summit Team Finals events are on the docket for this weekend, followed by three more events the following weekend.

This weekend racers in Division 5 and Division 7 will do battle at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park and Caprock Motorplex respectively.

Three lucky drivers were selected this week as the wild card participants in the 2013 IHRA Summit Racing Equipment SuperSeries to be contested at the Summit World Finals at Memphis International Raceway in October.

Drivers from the islands of Aruba and Hawaii, plus South Dakota, were selected to participate in the 2013 Summit SuperSeries in the Top, Mod and Junior Dragster categories with an opportunity to compete for a World Championship the weekend of October 11-12 at the Summit World Finals.

Those winners are Jose Reyes (Savaneta, Aruba) representing Aruba Raceway in Top ET, Dean Kalawe (Keaau, Hawaii) representing Hilo Dragstrip in Mod ET and Reanna Lardy (Tea, South Dakota) representing Thunder Valley Dragway in Junior Dragster.