It wasn’t just that Lockhart won the race at Holly Springs Motorsports Park, but the manner in which he did it. Lockhart, a Kentucky racer who won track championships at both Gleason Raceway Park and Beacon Dragway, posted a .001 reaction time in a semifinal round win over Timmy Roe from Kentucky Dragway.  Then in a dream final, he went .007 to deny Grant Zimmerman a chance to become the first back-to-back IHRA Summit SuperSeries Mod World Champion.

Lockhart was pumped up for the final as Zimmerman had also gone .001 in his semifinal win over Rick Shofner, who qualified by winning the IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Moser Engineering and FuelTech at Central Illinois Dragway.

“Of all things to meet last year’s World Champion in the final, everything fell into place,” Lockhart said. “Grant and me were both .001 at four and I had to keep the momentum. I knew he was a tough competitor so it was do-or-die.”

Lockhart is a tough competitor himself as he won on a holeshot in the quarterfinals against Shane Daughtery, the Sportsman Spectacular winner at Muncie. 

For his efforts, Lockhart won a $20,000 big check from Summit Racing Equipment, an IHRA Gold Card, a World Champion Diamond Ring and a prestigious IHRA World Champion Ironman Trophy. He was particularly excited to win a grand prize of a 28-foot InTech enclosed trailer made of an all-aluminum frame supplied by Flying A Motorsports. 

Three weeks prior to the World Finals, Lockhart won a Gamblers race over Jordan Martin from Gleason at the IHRA Division 2 Summit Team Finals at Holly Springs. He followed that up by beating Holly Springs own Tommy Jackson in the Division 2 main event with a 5.948-second run at 112.22 mph against a 5.94 dial-in.

His brother Charlie, who represented Beacon Dragway at the World Finals, proved he was a tough customer as well, reaching the final round in another Gamblers race at the Division 2 Finals. The brothers achieved another milestone when they both qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals for a second straight year.

Lockhart works at an electric company provider when he’s not fulfilling his passion for drag racing. His blue 1980 Pontiac Firebird certainly has the power and consistency to get the job done. 

“The car is unbelievable. Charlie calls it a unicorn,” he said. “To be here racing with my brother, it makes it even more special. All my family is here, both kids, my wife, dad, everybody. What an amazing experience! You’re facing the best of the best here. It’s unreal to be the World Champion.”