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Weekend Recap, IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship at Carolina Dragway

Sunday, 03 September 2017

AIKEN, S.C. — The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Summit Sportsman National Championship made its 13th stop in the 14-stop race series on Sept. 2-3 at Carolina Dragway.

Nathan Van Beek scored the weekend sweep in Top Sportsman, while a pair of drivers named Corey — Corey Manuel in Quick Rod and Corey Taylor in Super Stock made the finals both days. In addition, Ernie Knight and Dave Marcus Jr. split weekend finals in Super Rod.

Competitors entered the weekend events in the following classes: Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod, Super Stock, Stock and Junior Dragster. Full results are available here: http://dragstory.com/forum/index.php/board,320.0.html; a weekend recap of Carolina action is below.

Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017

Top Dragster: Troy Williams Jr. from Daytona Beach, Fla., strengthened his bid for the season championship with a 4.801-second pass at 135.85 mph against a 4.79 dial-in in the Top Dragster final. Williams also had a little quicker reaction time .010 to .019 than final-round opponent Robert Vogler III from Lewisville, N.C.  Vogler ended with a 4.502-second pass at 150.48 mph against a 4.49 dial-in.

Top Sportsman: Nathan Van Beek from Selma, N.C. won Top Sportsman honors after his final-round opponent, Dave Thompson of Johns Island, S.C., red-lighted. Van Beek cruised down the track at 5.648 seconds and 87.84 mph after his .014 reaction time. Thompson went down the track in 5.056 seconds at 140.30 mph.

Quick Rod: Corey Manuel from Greensboro, N.C., was consistently good throughout the day to take the Quick Rod title. Manuel, who was the No. 1 qualifier, posted a 6.032-second run at 103.25 mph. His final-round opponent, Jimmy Collins of Walkertown, N.C., red-lighted before going down the track in 5.693 seconds and 142.79 mph.

Super Rod: Ernie Knight from St. George, S.C., posted solid numbers of 6.405 seconds and 111.14 mph, paired with a .007 reaction time to take the Super Rod victory. Dave Marcus Jr. of Sarasota, Fla., finished with a 6.423-second elapsed time at 133.59 mph and a .012 reaction time.

Hot Rod: Another red-light start determined the Hot Rod final where Robert Ward from Sanford, Fla., made a 7.002-second pass at 105.90 mph. Chris Webb from Four Oaks, N.C., was just .004 too quick at the tree, and then ran 7.021 seconds and 102.59 mph.

Super Stock: In a battle of drivers from the Tar Heel State, Ed Longhany from Wade, N.C. defeated Corey Taylor of Lumberton, N.C., in the Super Stock final. Longhany’s numbers showed a 6.654-second run at 99.74 mph with a .006 reaction time. Taylor had a 6.277-second effort at 105.32 mph, and a .014 reaction time.

Stock: Fastest qualifier Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. from Donaldsville, La., took the Stock victory with a 6.774-second run at 86.37 mph against a 6.61 dial-in. Stacy Ridings from Columbus, N.C., had the better reaction time, .010 to .030, before going down the track in 7.280 seconds and 96.71 mph against a 6.84 dial-in.

Junior Dragster: South Carolina drivers Cam Garrett and Morgan Miles lined up in the Junior Dragster final. Garrett from Woodruff had a .037 reaction time and went down the track in 7.945 seconds and 80.42 mph. Miles from Jackson left at .029 and then finished in 7.950 seconds at 80.15 mph.

Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017

Top Dragster: Chris Dean from Sanford, N.C., matched his dial-in time with a 4.708-second run at 146.26 mph to win the Top Dragster final. Tony Meltvedt of Concord, N.C., had an advantage at the start .009 to .019, and finished with a 4.714-second run at 145.55 mph against a 4.72 dial-in.

Top Sportsman: Nathan Van Beek from Selma, N.C., won on a holeshot (.008 to .051) to beat Rob Harvischak of Warren, Ohio for the Top Sportsman win.  Van Beek finished at 4.827 seconds and 148.62 mph against a 4.81 dial-in. Harvischak matched his dial-in with a 4.800-second pass at 145.56 mph.

Quick Rod: The Quick Rod final featured another holeshot win with Clemmons, N.C., driver Darrell Collins posting a .003 reaction time to pair with his 5.711-second run at 140.83 mph. Corey Manuel of Greensboro, N.C., had a .043 reaction time and was denied a weekend sweep despite a 5.700-second run at 136.65 mph.

Super Rod: In a rematch of the previous day’s Super Rod final, Dave Marcus Jr. from Sarasota, Fla., defeated Saturday winner Ernie Knight of St. George, S.C.  Marcus had a slight quicker reaction time .017 to .023 and was also slightly quicker down the track at 6.407 seconds and 133.66 mph. Knight went down the track in 6.409 seconds and 111.25 mph.

Hot Rod: Glenn Ferguson Jr. became the second driver from Greensboro, N.C., to win over the weekend with a solid effort of 6.986 seconds and 105.17 mph, paired with his .006 reaction time. David Owen of Callahan, Fla., red-lighted at the start before going down the track in 7.003 seconds and 103.23 mph.

Super Stock: The Super Stock final was another race determined on a holeshot with Corey Taylor from Lumberton, N.C., posting a .031 reaction time and then scooting down the track in 6.293 seconds and 104.86 mph. Emily Volkman of Campobello, S.C., had a 6.362-second elapsed time at 104.96 mph, but was slower at the tree with a .093 reaction time.

Stock: B.J. Bianchi from Parrish, Fla., pulled off the Stock victory with a 7.040-second run at 90.73 mph against a 7.03 dial-in. Terry Taylor from Lumberton, N.C., had a little better reaction time .013 to .022, and finished with a 6.306-second pass at 100.68 mph against a 6.27 dial-in.

Junior Dragster: Nicholas Ferraro from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., won on a holeshot .003 to .060 for Madison Wilson of Laurens, S.C.  Ferraro’s winning effort consisted of a run at 7.984 seconds and 80.74 mph. Wilson finished with 7.895-second pass at 81.49 mph.

Last modified on Wednesday, 06 September 2017