International Hot Rod Association - Final-Round Recap: IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship at Palm Beach International Raceway

Final-Round Recap: IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship at Palm Beach International Raceway

Monday, 13 February 2017

Jupiter, Fla. - After a fantastic season debut Feb. 4-5 in Immokalee, Fla., the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Summit Sportsman National Championship moved 119 miles across the northern Florida everglades to Palm Beach International Raceway(PBIR) for the second of 15 weekends of racing that will comprise the inaugural IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship.

More than 200 cars entered the weekend events in the following classes: Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock, Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod and Junior Dragster. Congratulations to Troy Williams, Jr. – with his two Top Dragster runner-up finishes at Immokalee Regional Raceway and his win at Palm Beach International Raceway, his season is off to a nearly perfect start. Full results are available here: http://dragstory.com/forum/index.php/board,286.0.html; a weekend recap is below:

SSNC PBIR SAT

Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017:

Top Dragster: Former world champion Troy Williams, Jr. of Daytona Beach, Fla., and Tracy Cochran of Flintstone, Calif. faced off in the final round of Top Dragster competition. Williams, Jr., would trip the win light on a 4.680 at 137.51 mph with a .006 reaction time and a 4.61 dial-in. Cochran ran a 4.389 at 156.70 mph with a .116 reaction time and a 4.38 dial-in.

Top Sportsman; John Taylor and Carl Birney, both of Naples, Fla., made up the final round of Top Sportsman competition, but both drivers left the starting line before the green light. Taylor, a regular at PBIR, took the win with a 4.754-second run at 146.91 mph, a -.006 reaction time and 4.74 dial-in. Birney posted a 4.906-second pass at 141.02 mph with a -.002 reaction time and a 4.94 dial-in.

Quick Rod; Corey Manuel of Winston Salem, N.C., a former world champion, would take the hole-shot win in Saturday's race over Frank Altilio of Apopua, Fla. Manuel made it through the eighth mile in 5.735 seconds at 127.03 mph with a .009 reaction time. Altilio posted a 5.727-second pass at 136.73 mph with a .021 reaction time.

Super Rod: Manuel pulled double duty and doubled-up with another hole-shot win in Super Rod over David Marcus, Jr., of Sarasota, Fla. The Tar Heel driver tripped the win light with a 6.437-second run at 112.93 mph and a .006 reaction time through the eighth mile. Marcus posted a 6.417-second effort at 126.06 mph and a .047 reaction time in a losing effort.

Hot Rod: James McPherson, from Chalmette, La., took a hole-shot win in Hot Rod over PBIR regular Scott Phillips of West Palm Beach, Fla. McPherson made it down the strip in 7.042 seconds at 109.08 mph with a .004 reaction time. Phillips posted a quicker 7.017-second pass at 111.50 mph, but his .068 reaction time gave the slower McPherson the win.

Super Stock: Drivers from Kentucky and Virginia did battle in the Super Stock final. Chet Fincke of Ashburn, Va., took home the hardware with a win over runner-up Tyler Bohannon of Louisville, Ky., when Bohannon left the starting line before the green light. Fincke’s 7.124-second pass at 94.05 mph with a.002 reaction time and a 7.15 dial-in was good enough to get the win over Bohannon’s 6.411-second effort at 87.45 mph with a reaction time of .010 seconds and a 6.16 dial-in.

Stock: The Stock competition came down to Myron Piatek of Holly Hill, Fla., and Gary Russell of East Sparta, Ohio. Piatek, a former world champion, took the win with a 7.215-second pass at 85.34 mph, a .044 reaction time and a 7.14 dial-in. Russell posted a quicker 7.053-second run at 82.30 mph with a -.024 reaction time and 6.72 dial-in. Russell’s red-light start gave the win to Piatek.

Junior Dragster: Future stars of drag racing Morgan Carroll of Olar, S.C. and Gage Burch of Palmetto, Fla., made their mark in the final round of Junior Dragster competition. Carroll came out on top with an 8.110-second run at 79.58 mph with a .037 reaction time and an 8.09 dial-in. Burch posted a 7.936-second pass at 74.27 mph, a .081 reaction and a 7.90 dial-in.

Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017:

More than 200 teams were competing in the fourth race of the 2017 IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship in perfect south Florida weather when the “Christmas Tree” suffered a major malfunction during the afternoon. Despite multiple attempts, the tree could not be repaired, and the IHRA was forced to cancel the race. Racer entry fees were refunded, and officials are currently exploring multiple options to determine what can be done with the event that would be in the best interests of the competitors. Additional information will be provided when available.

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