A large turnout of cars made for some great racing as racers in both Division 2 and Division 9 battled for position in the final points-paying race of the 2014 racing season. In all 20 different drivers came away from Darlington Dragway with Ironman hardware and hopes of bettering their odds of claiming one of three positions in their division for an opportunity to travel to the Summit World Finals next month for the Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions.
The complete list of winners from Darlington Dragway were Dale Freeman and Ken Ellison (Top Sportsman), Brett Nesbitt and Floyd Edick (Top Dragster), Monty Bogan Jr. and Joel Warren (Super Stock), Myron Piatek and Robbie Shaw (Stock), Mark Miles and Jeremy Mason (Quick Rod), Michael Ruff and David Morris (Super Rod), Glenn Grinstead and Joel Tillman (Hot Rod), Morgan Wilson and Tucker Creech (Junior Dragster Master), Mia Schultz and Johnny Brannen (Junior Dragster Advanced) and Katie Craft and Budd Trammell (Junior Dragster Beginner).
The final standings for all divisions will be released on IHRA.com this week. Check with IHRA to find out this year’s Summit Pro-Am Tour champions and who is in and who is out of the 2014 IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions.
Darlington’s biggest winners were divisional point leaders Michael Ruff and Joe Tillman, who both made a case for the divisional title with convincing victories in South Carolina.
Ruff, a former IHRA World Champions from Orlando, Florida, put his familiar 1967 Chevrolet Camaro in the Super Rod winner’s circle on Day 1 of the double Pro-Am weekend, besting Dublin, Ohio’s Tom Dimond in the final. Ruff had a solid .015 light and ran a 6.423 at 122.21 mph in the 6.40 index class, while Dimond broke-out with a 6.389.
Tillman, from Longwood, Florida, also had a strong showing in Darlington, putting his ’90 Mustang in the Hot Rod winner’s circle over Willie Lytch. Tillman, who currently leads the Division 2 Hot Rod standings, had .026 light and posted a 7.074 at 90.00 mph in the 7.00 index class, while Lytch ran a 7.129 at 105.84 in his ’67 Camaro.
Brett Nesbitt and Jeremy Mason also had big wins in Darlington in Top Dragster and Quick Rod respectively. Both drivers came into Darlington second in their respective categories and both came away with big point days.
Nesbitt, who has been to four finals in 2014 without a single win, finally broke through with his first Ironman of the season over Chad Traylor. Nesbitt, from Burlington, N.C., got it done with a .006 light and a very quick 4.525 at 145.86 mph in his 2008 Race Tech dragster.
Mason, from Waco, Kentucky, put his 2002 Undercover machine in the winner’s circle over Fred Hagberg with a 5.702 at 124.84 mph.
Steve Corker and Mia Schultz were the only drivers to visit multiple finals in Darlington, with Corker taking a pair of runner-up finishes in Top Sportsman and Schultz taking a win and a runner-up in Junior Dragster Advanced.
Complete results from the Division 2 and Division 9 Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL combined event at Darlington Dragway can be found below.
SUMMIT PRO-AM TOUR @ DARLINGTON DRAGWAY
SATURDAY
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Final results from the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL Division 2 and Division 9, Day 1 at Darlington Dragway
Good Vibrations Top Sportsman – Dale Freeman, Flatrock, N.C., ’92 Camaro, (.017) 4.797, 141.26 def. Steve Corker, Clayton, N.C., ’02 Cavalier, (.052) 5.239, 131.79
Good Vibrations Top Dragster – Brett Nesbitt, Burlington, N.C., dragster, (.006) 4.525, 145.86 def. Chad Traylor, King William, Va., dragster, (.037) 4.545, 150.35
Super Stock – Monty Bogan Jr., Union, S.C., ’74 Corvette, (.009) 6.187, 102.68 def. Robbie Draughon, Cumberland, N.C., ’69 Camaro, (.056) 6.524, 103.85
Stock – Myron Piatek, Holly Hill, Fla., ’75 Dart, (.047) 7.108, 93.98 def. Terry Taylor, Lumberton, N.C., ’75 Corvette, (.042) 6.791, 95.88
Quick Rod – Mark Miles, Flintstone, Ga., dragster, (.016) 5.703, 136.11 def. John Bridges, Shelby, N.C., dragster, (.028) 5.704, 120.85
Super Rod – Michael Ruff, Orlando, Fla., ’67 Camaro, (.015) 6.423, 122.21 def. Tom Dimond, Dublin, Ohio, ’27 Ford T, (.038) 6.389, 125.45
Hot Rod – Glenn Grinstead, Charlottesville, Va., ’63 Nova, (.018) 7.001, 109.63 def. Chris Dean, Sanford, N.C., ’68 Camaro, (.037) 7.014, 108.36
Junior Dragster Master – Morgan Wilson, Laurens, S.C., dragster, (.095) 8.000, 80.78 def. Zachery Pennington, Lexington, S.C., dragster, (.155) 7.920, 79.14
Junior Dragster Advanced – Mia Schultz, Woodbridge, Va., dragster, (.033) 8.955, 74.36 def. Hayden Lambert, Albemarle, N.C., dragster, (-.022) foul
Junior Dragster Beginner – Katie Craft, Melbourne, Fla., dragster, (.011) 12.807, 48.84 def. Logan Westmoreland, Greenwood, S.C., dragster, (.090) 11.996, 53.98
SUNDAY
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Final results from the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL Division 2 and Division 9, Day 2 at Darlington Dragway
Good Vibrations Top Sportsman – Ken Ellison, Moore, S.C., ’12 Camaro, (.023) 4.717, 148.98 def. Steve Corker, Clayton, N.C., ’02 Cavalier, (.026) 5.255, 131.94
Good Vibrations Top Dragster – Floyd Edick, Chesterfield, S.C., dragster, (.055) 4.821, 142.38 def. W.G. Lankas, Sneads Ferry, N.C., dragster, (-.001) foul
Super Stock – Joel Warren, Clinton, N.C., ’98 Firebird, (.069) 6.373, 102.81 def. Corey Taylor, Lumberton, N.C., ’87 Camaro, (.067) 6.421, 103.50
Stock – Robbie Shaw, Bowden, Ga., ’01 Firebird, (.021) 6.341, 99.17 def. Roy Caraway, Ravenel, S.C., ’86 Camaro, (.078) 6.283, 106.67
Quick Rod – Jeremy Mason, Waco, Ky., dragster, (.011) 5.702, 124.84 def. Fred Hagberg, Charlotte, N.C., dragster, (.007) 5.711, 132.31
Super Rod – David Morris, Fort Mill, S.C., ’69 Camaro, (.012) 6.405, 123.98 def. Terry Cross, Brunswick, Ga., ’12 Camaro, (.004) 6.425, 118.24
Hot Rod – Joe Tillman, Longwood, Fla., ’90 Mustang, (.026) 7.074, 90.00 def. Willie Lytch, Southern Pines, N.C., ’67 Camaro, (.018) 7.129, 105.84
Junior Dragster Master – Tucker Creech, Clayton, N.C., dragster, (.082) 7.944, 81.79 def. Jacob Baker, Yorktown, Va., dragster, (.075) 7.896, 80.29
Junior Dragster Advanced – Johnny Brannen, Dunedin, Fla., dragster, (.012) 8.989, 72.02 def. Mia Schultz, Woodbridge, Va., dragster, (.041) 8.923, 73.24
Junior Dragster Beginner – Budd Trammell, Aynor, S.C., dragster, (.015) 12.606, 43.55 def. Julian Puya, Pompano Beach, Fla., dragster, (.040) 12.013, 55.08
