“This is big for us,” Boychuk explained. “We struggled for the last year-and-a-half or so and it’s been really painful. We started off winning a lot, then it kind of all went away on us. Now it’s back – the car’s back. I can feel the car is back and it’s really working the way we want it to work.  We changed a few things. I bought out my partner, Ron Hodgson. We had a great relationship – we still do – he didn’t want to race as much as I did. Now we got Twig (legendary driver Twig Zeigler of 1970s Pizza Haven Funny Car fame) and Roland (revered ‘60s-‘70s “Hawaiian” Funny Car owner Roland Leong) both working on the car and they’ve got it back again. I’ve got two great guys looking after the car. The team – we’ve got the same crew working on the car – has so much consistency.”

Boychuk defeated No. 1 Qualifier and past IHRA champion Paul Romine in first round, then scored a bye run in the second to meet Rupert in the final.

Kile, of Asheville, North Carolina, faced Brian Jernigan in the Nitro Harley final. After Jernigan crossed the finish line, he became separated from his motorcycle and crashed. He was transported to a local medical center for evaluation. Kile qualified third and defeated Rocky Jackson in the opening round and Alvin Kobernusz in the second.

“It’s the second race of the year, and a very big win,” said Kile. “We come to every race knowing we can win. The IHRA Nitro Harley field is gonna be tough all year long. We’re just going to get used to it and run ‘em round by round.”

Bealko, of Bridgeport, West Virginia, qualified seventh in an eight-car field. He defeated Cary Goforth in the first round of eliminations, then faced teammate John DeFlorian Jr. in the second. Bealko defeated J.R. Carr in the final, 6.272 sec./224.71 mph to 13.602 sec./62.20 mph, to collect the coveted IHRA Ironman trophy.

“It was a big win for us,” said Bealko. “Having to race my teammate, John, in the semi-finals is never our best-case scenario. To be able to get by him, then run J.R. Carr, who’s been stellar all day. I just got switched up on the lights and got an awful long light before I left. But the car went right down there and the whole way there I was just thinking of my crew they’re gonna kill me if I don’t get in front of him. I was able, by the grace of God, to get in front of him and we had a nice win.”

Moller, a 19-year old University of Florida student, faced Elaine Larsen in the Jet Dragster final. It was a repeat of the season-opener in Tucson, Arizona, last month, where the pair faced each other in Jet Dragster finale. This time, Moller prevailed.

“I’m super excited about it,” admitted Moller. “Last race I had Elaine in the final and she beat me to the finish line so this race I’m glad I got to beat her. So we’re even and we’ll see who wins next time.”

The local 1/8-mile Outlaw Pro Modified final was won by Bill Doucet of Lawtell, Louisiana, over Bill Banaka of Brandon, Mississippi, 3.80 sec./193.09 mph to 4.604 sec./123.79 mph.

Tina Pierce and Alex Taylor staged an exhibition race in their street-legal cars during the event. Pierce’s S-10 crashed during the race. She was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and released. The IHRA’s rigid safety standards prevented her from suffering serious injury.

ELIMINATIONS:

AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car presented by Aeromotive

First round:

Tim Boychuk defeated No. 1 Qualifier Paul Romine, 5.773 sec./245.36 mph to 6.822 sec./176.50 mph.

Jason Rupert defeated Ricky Young, 5.897 sec./245.83 mph to 16.255 sec./68.56 mph.

Mark Sanders defeated Steve Nichols, 5.840 sec./250.97 mph to 8.278 sec./105.94 mph.

Second round:

Boychuk (bye) 11.768 sec./68.28 mph.

Jason Rupert defeated Mark Sanders, 5.979 sec./247.32 mph to 6.129 sec./231.30 mph.

Final:

Tim Boychuk defeated Jason Rupert, 5.867 sec./235.72 mph to 5.993 sec./245.43 mph.

U.S. Bounty Hunters Pro Stock

First round:

John DeFlorian Jr. defeated Dean Goforth, Goforth fouled and DeFlorian ran 215.51 mph (E.T. was ruled invalid).

J.R. Carr defeated Scott Hintz, 6.305 sec./224.10 mph to 6.339 sec./223.15 mph.

Trevor Eman defeated No. 1 Qualifier John Montecalvo, 6.326 sec./222.05 mph to 7.913 sec./115.57 mph.

Kevin Bealko defeated Cary Goforth, 6.275 sec./223.99 mph to 6.397 sec./221.72 mph.

Second round:

J.R. Carr defeated Trevor Eman, 6.314 sec./223.71 mph to 7.554 sec./162.07 mph.

Kevin Bealko defeated John DeFlorian Jr., 6.379 sec./222.88 mph to 11.035 sec./77.68 mph.

Final:

Kevin Bealko defeated J.R. Carr, 6.272 sec./224.71 mph to 13.602 sec./62.20 mph.

Nitro Harley

First round:

Rickey House defeated No. 1 Qualifier Jay Turner, 6.394 sec./217.18 mph to 6.372 sec./214.54 mph.

Brian Jernigan defeated Jim Fagan, 7.056 sec./206.61 mph to 7.642 sec./141.15 mph.

Alvin Kobernusz defeated Randal Andras, 6.914 sec./177.65 mph to 13.568 sec./72.93 mph.

Tracy Kile defeated Rocky Jackson, 6.488 sec./212.51 mph to 7.444 sec./170.16 mph.

Second round:

Brian Jernigan defeated Rickey House, 7.116 sec./199.73 mph to 7.100 sec./211.91 mph.

Tracy Kile defeated Alvin Kobernusz, 6.541 sec./195.56 mph to 6.809 sec./204.08 mph.

Final:

Tracy Kile defeated Brian Jernigan, 6.568 sec./205.66 mph to 6.962 sec./210.03 mph.

Jet Dragster

Final:

Kat Moller defeated Elaine Larsen, 5.584 sec./286.53 mph to 5.801 sec./277.00 mph.

QUALIFYING RESULTS, AFTER TWO ROUNDS:

AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car presented by Aeromotive – Racers elected not to conduct a second round of qualifying.

1. Paul Romine (Fishers, Indiana) 5.734 sec./244.23 mph.
2. Jason Rupert (Yorba Linda, California) 5.822 sec./250.62 mph.
3. Mark Sanders (Maple Valley, Washington) 5.985 sec./225.22 mph.
4. Steve Nichols (Newark, Delaware) 6.189 sec./236.59 mph.
5. Ronny Young (Wylie, Texas) 6.332 sec./209.20 mph.
6. Tim Boychuk (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) 9.611 sec./86.67 mph.

U.S. Bounty Hunters Pro Stock

1. John Montecalvo (Center Moriches, New York) 6.235 sec./224.94 mph.

2. Cary Goforth (Holdenville, Oklahoma) 6.270 sec./223.49 mph.

3. Dean Goforth (Holdenville, Oklahoma) 6.290 sec./223.65 mph.

4. J.R. Carr (Pasco, Washington) 6.305 sec./221.83 mph.

5. Scott Hintz (Odessa, Texas) 6.320 sec./225.05 mph.

6. John DeFlorian  Jr. (Arnold, Missouri) 6.339 sec./222.88 mph.

7. Kevin Bealko (Bridgeport, West Virginia) 7.134 sec./142.15 mph.

9. Scott Beham (Conroe, Texas) 6.554 sec./192.06 mph.

10. John Konigshofer (Otterville, Ontario, Canada) 10.846 sec./99.74 mph.

Nitro Harley

1. Jay Turner (Julian, North Carolina) 6.476 sec./209.25 mph.
2. Alvin Kobernusz (Manly, Iowa) 6.778 sec./203.20 mph.
3. Tracy Kile (Asheville, North Carolina) 6.974 sec./170.03 mph.
4. Brian Jernigan (Cypress, Texas) 7.015 sec./209.64 mph.
5. Jim Fagan (Valley City, Ohio) 7.092 sec./200.04 mph.
6. Rocky Jackson (Youngsville, Louisiana) 7.421 sec./174.92 mph.
7. Randal Andras (Amelia, Louisiana) 7.759 sec./204.59 mph.
8. Rickey House (Humble, Texas) 7.874 sec./198.32 mph.

Next IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series national event:April 17-18 IHRA Nitro Jam Southern Nationals, Bradenton Motorsports Park – Bradenton, Fla.Nitro Jam classes include: Crower Pro Mod, AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car, U.S. Bounty Hunters Pro Stock, Nitro Harley-Davidson, Jet Dragster.