Stacy, Barney, Johnson, Guzan, Berlett Win IHRA SuperSeries Race of Champions

STEELE, Ala. — Five racers, including a defending IHRA SuperSeries World Champion, captured victories at Friday’s Gamblers Race of Champions at Alabama International Dragway.

Rob Stacy (Top), Joe Barney (Mod), Jordan Johnson (Sportsman), Tommy Guzan (Motorcycle) and Alexa Berlett (Junior Dragster) picked up big victories and the ceremonial big checks for their efforts.

Stacy, behind the wheel of a multi-colored dragster, won the Top (Box) final as Adam Buchanan, driving a blue Chevrolet Malibu, was -.007 too quick at the start. With the victory in hand, Stacy cruised down the track in 6.507 seconds at 69.91 mph. Buchanan’s final numbers included a 6.117-second pass at 110.68 mph.

The winner explained these were the dragster’s first laps on the track after exchanging the motor and transmission with another car, and then needing to repair a broken chassis.

“This was awesome, especially after putting the car back together,” Stacy said. “We traveled nine hours (from Ohio), and the first laps were here. Both me and the car were working well today.”

Barney faced Timmy Roe twice in the final rounds. Roe, in a Chevy Nova, bested Barney in the semifinal round. Barney, who had a bye on a double-entry to the final, then drove his Chevy S-10 to the victory after Roe broke out. The winning package included a 6.311 elapsed time at 106.03 mph, as Barney also had a .036 to .056 advantage at the start. Roe made a 6.308-second pass at 106.34 mph.

“That doesn’t happen all the time,” Barney said. “You want it to fall your way, and when it didn’t the first time, I was in desperate mode. I was like, ‘I have to get this one.’ I know this whole place is full of very accomplished racers, so it’s a great honor to stand in the winner’s circle.”

The accomplished racers included Johnson, the 2024 IHRA Sportsman World Champion, who put his familiar Chevy Malibu station wagon in the winner’s circle after a .012 to .013 double breakout. Johnson’s final package was 7.478 seconds at 88.78 mph, along with a .034 reaction time. Thurston posted a 7.497-second run at 88.29 mph after a .014 start.

“That felt great after coming from last year and keeping the momentum going,” Johnson said. “We have a 383 (engine) in it instead of a 350, and it’s been working really great all year. We won some big races at Music City (Raceway) this year, so we will try to keep it up tomorrow.”

Guzan was the best on two wheels despite final-round opponent Doug Burket getting a .004 to .037 advantage at the start. Guzan had a winning time of 5.447 seconds at 124.36 mph. Burket broke out, going 6.025 seconds at 114.91 mph.

“It’s a great start to the weekend, getting some good passes in and being consistent,” Guzan said. “I had some good hits at the tree, which was important tonight. I was off a little in the final because I didn’t want to go red, so I added a little to the box before the final. Previous to that, I was double-0 six, zip and double-0 six again. Luckily, he went under and I stayed dead-on.”

Berlett completed the group of winners as Blake Kirkpatrick also had a breakout run. Berlett had the better reaction time, .023 to .036, and paired that with a run of 7.546 seconds at 83.16 mph. Kirkpatrick had a nearly identical speed at 83.17 mph on a 7.896-second pass.

“I was pretty nervous through eliminations, so I was like just hit the tree,” she said. “My lights weren’t where I wanted them, but I went and talked to another racer. He gave me a method that helped and got them back where they normally are, and I won the race.”

Saturday is the main event: the IHRA SuperSeries World Finals, the most prestigious bracket racing championship in North America. Keep checking out IHRA.com and our social media pages for the latest updates.

Fans unable to make the trip to Steele can still catch all the action from the IHRA SuperSeries World Finals on Saturday, which will stream live and free on MotorMania TV.

Photos by: Hobbie Lee ProPhotography