More Winner Circle photos can be found here

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017

Hot Rod: Troy Williams, Jr., from Bradenton, Fla., defeated Jason Oteri from Springfield, Tenn., with both drivers using a 7.00 dial-in.  Williams used a 6.9983-second pass at 105.24 mph to win the race over Oteri’s 6.9962-second effort at 103.31 mph.

Stock: Merrill Schrimscher from Lake Mary, Fla., defeated Jim Marshall from Indian Land, S.C. when Marshall fouled out leaving the starting line before the green light and handing the race to Schrimscher who had problems.  Schrimscher’s 10.1273-second run at 65.47 mph with a 6.40 dial-in wasn’t pretty, but it did the job. 

Quick Rod:  Both drivers had 5.70 dial in, and both left the starting line before the green light.  Wilmington, N.C.’s Chad Duke left closer to the green light and took the win with a 5.6929-second pass at 137.20 mph.  Runner-up Otis Henry from Deerfield Beach, Fla. made the better pass with a 5.7051-second effort at 143.91 mph but left the starting line four hundredths of a second before Duke making Duke the winner.

Top Sportsman: With both drivers using a 4.86 dial-in, Bill Powell from Stuart, Fla., defeated Tom Skubic of Anna Maria, Fla., when Skubic left the starting line before the green light.  Powell’s 4.8552-second effort at 142 mph earned the win. 

Super Rod: Drivers from Kentucky and Florida squared off in the Super Rod final with both drivers utilizing a 6.40 dial-in, and the Blue Grass state representative won the class.  Rusty Cook from Cynthiana, Ky. (6.4436 secs. at 133.65 mph) defeated Bob Scheefer from Vero Beach, Fla. (6.4349 secs. at 121.79 mph)

Top Dragster: Two Florida drivers did battle in the Top Dragster final.  Mark Horton from Callahan, Fla. used a 4.4219-second pass at 157.23 mph and a 4.39 dial-in to defeat Troy Williams, Jr. from Bradenton, Fla.’s 4.7720-second pass at 140.23 mph and a 4.75 dial-in.

Super Stock:  Mark Nowicki from Holmes Beach, Fla. used a brilliant starting-line advantage and a 5.9370-second pass at 113.01 mph with a 5.91 dial-in to defeat Steve Comella from Webster, N.Y. and his 5.4996-second effort at 122.32 with a 5.47 dial in.

Junior Master: Two Florida juniors did battle in the Junior Master class. Nick Ferraro from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., used a 7.9209-second effort at 75.29 mph and a 7.93 dial-in to defeat Nathan Lopez from Wellington, Fla. and his 12.0615-second pass at 53.35 with a 12.09 dial-in.

Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017:

Hot Rod: Troy Williams, Jr., from Bradenton, Fla., won for the second time in as many days with a 7.0106-second pass at 108.75 mph over Robert Ward from Sanford, Fla., and his 6.9995-second effort at 107.24 mph.  Both drivers had a 7.00 dial-in.

Stock: Merrill Schrimscher had visions of the double up in Stock, but Daniel Young had other plans. Young, from Palm Harbor, Fla., used a 6.66 dial-in and a 6.69267-second pass at 97.57 mph to take out the Saturday winner with an excellent reaction time.  Schrimscher, with a 6.59 dial-in, raced to the finish line with a 6.6092-second blast at 101.58 mph but could not make up the starting-line disadvantage.

Quick Rod: With both drivers using a 5.70 dial-in, Randal Langley from nearby Naples, Fla., used a 6.0007-second pass at 108.99 mph to defeat Flintstone, Ga.’s Dave Schmidt and his 9.2076-second run at 50.95 mph.

Top Sportsman: Marlon Goates from Troy, Texas used a 4.61 dial-in and a 4.6408-second pass at 161.29 mph to defeat Norman Williams from Yulee, Fla., and his 4.9406-second pass at 141.91 mph using a 4.91 dial-in.

Super Rod: With both drivers using a 6.40 dial-in, David Passananti from Naples, Fla., posted a 6.4177-second run at 117.28 and defeated Jacksonville’s David Scott and his 6.4491-second pass at 126.09.

Top Dragster:  Jim Shaw from Davie, Fla., with a 4.66 dial-in, ran 4.6725 seconds at 148.47 mph and defeated Troy Williams, Jr., from Bradenton, Fla., with a 4.79 dial-in, who ran a 4.8160-second pass at 142.05 mph.  Williams was the runner-up in this class on Saturday.

Super Stock: Jerry Hatch from Lubec, Maine raced to the Super Stock win with a 5.8876-second pass at 113.84 mph using a 5.86 dial-in.  He defeated Jeff Adkinson from Damascus, Ga., who posted a 5.9122-second effort at 111.25 with a 5.90 dial-in. 

Junior Master:  It was a double-up winner in Junior Master with Nick Ferraro from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., taking both races.  Ferrarro’s 8.2713-second run at 65.08 mph was easily enough to take out runner up Gage Burch who slowed to a 14.8921-second pass at 24.19 mph.

IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship action resumes Feb. 10-12, 2017 at Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla. Both days of eliminations will be streamed live on ESPN3.