Zimmerman, representing Cordova Dragway, defeated Texas driver Hayden Trumble in the final round. Zimmerman was solid with a 6.497-second pass at 103.19 mph against a 6.50 dial-in in his red Ford Mustang. Trumble, representing Pine Valley Raceway, edged Zimmerman .021 to .030 at the tree, but broke out with a 6.426 elapsed time against a 6.43 dial-in.

It was surreal, even when he first hoisted the prestigious IHRA World Champion Ironman Trophy and the big check of $20,000 from Summit Racing Equipment. His championship haul also included an IHRA Gold Card and a World Championship diamond ring.

“I don’t know when it will set in. This is absolutely crazy,” Zimmerman said after his trip to the winners circle. “You have to have everything go your way. Hayden had me a little on the reaction time in the final and the round before that, I got lucky. I was 40 and he missed it with two reds. The car was there all day, but that was my lucky round.”

Zimmerman was referring to the semifinal when he had a .043 start, while another Texas driver, Benny Gossett from Penwell Knights Raceway, fouled by just -.002 second. There were multiple .00 red-lights throughout the day as the drivers were giving their all to win the ultimate championship in bracket racing.

Zimmerman, 26, has nearly two decades of drag racing experience, starting as a Junior Dragster racer at eight years old. He started working on the same car that he’s driving now when he was 14. Racing at the famed Cordova Dragway, home to the World Series of Drag Racing, provided him tough competition throughout the season that served him well Sunday.

“Cordova has some of the best racers in the country. They’re always tough and it’s never easy there,” Zimmerman said. “It gets you prepared for going anywhere. It was a hard fought battle just to make it here.”

The newly-crowned No Box champion was thankful to Summit Racing Equipment and the IHRA for the championship event. He was happy initially just to qualify, but still trying to process all that had just happened. 

“Definitely thanks to Summit and IHRA for everything they do in putting this on,” he said. “I can't thank them enough. They’re definitely there for the Sportsman racer. Everything just fell my way, being the right place at the right time. It’s so crazy and such a cool experience.”