Minton, who counts Beacon Dragway and US 60 Dragway as his home tracks, loves any time he can power his bright blue Chevrolet Nova down the track. Racing always brings back memories of two people close to him.
“I just love racing. My dad (Steve Minton) raced in the 90’s and that’s who got me started,” Minton said. “I had a buddy, Pee Wee Morris, who raced before he passed away. He helped me out a lot with my car, my motors and all that.”
Minton considers Phil Combs, one of the top racers for years in the Bluegrass State, as his racing hero. He talked about how tough Combs was to go against and how he learned from him. There are many others who Minton credits for helping him become an IHRA World Champion.
He drives the Nova which features a 421-cubic inch Dale Meers Racing Engine and a two-speed powerglide transmission. Another friend, Kevin Higdon, does the paint and helps with the car set-up.
They certainly had the car set-up well last Saturday night.
Minton defeated IHRA Division 8 Champion Chris Blair in round five of Saturday eliminations when he posted a 5.981-second run on a 5.98-second dial-in.
After receiving a bye in the semifinal round, Minton captured the title when final-round opponent Jake Howard, who won the previous night’s Race of Champions, red-lighted by a mere -.003 second. It gave Minton the opportunity to cruise down the track and soak in the moment.
“The racing gods were smiling tonight,” he said after winning the Mod championship. “I had some bad runs, but it just worked out in my favor. The car carried me all the way.”
The car might have carried him to some extent, but Minton has proven over and over what a talented racer he is. Minton qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals by winning IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Moser Engineering at Beacon Dragway.
That day, he had a better reaction time in the final round against David Broy that led to his victory. His abilities from the tree to the finish line makes Justin Minton one of the top bracket racers in North America and a worthy IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Champion.
