NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Megan Meyer continued her pursuit of the Top Alcohol Dragster national championship and Ray Drew carded his first win in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class to lead the roster of champions at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk. Veterans Dan Fletcher and David Rampy also scored for the 104th and 97th time, respectively, with wins in Super Comp and Comp. Other champions crowned during the event were John DiBartolomeo (Super Stock), Todd Hoven (Stock), Tim Dimond (Super Gas), John Biagi (Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs), and Dusty Meyer (Top Sportsman presented by Racing RVs). 

Megan Meyer, the No. 3 driver in the class last season, took over the top spot in the standings following her second national event win of the year in Top Alcohol Dragster. On a weekend when rain shortened qualifying for almost every class, Meyer made the most of her runs, especially on race day, where she ran a string of 5.2s to reach the final with wins against Jeff Veale, Brandon Greco, and Dan Page. In the final, Meyer slowed to a 5.32, but she still had enough to hold off Troy Coughlin Jr., who left first but was a thousandth of a second behind at the finish line. [video]

Drew made it to his first Top Alcohol Funny Car final and scored his first win after Sweden’s Ulf Leanders red-lighted. Drew was solidly in the 5.8s on race day in his wins against DJ Cox and Andy Bohl, and he also took out Chip Beverett in the semifinals, 5.566 to 5.583, in one of the best side-by-side races of the day. Leanders was the favorite going into the final after a 5.49 in the semi’s to take out low qualifier Sean Bellemeur, but his foul in the final negated another solid 5.49 effort.  [video]

Rampy expertly guided his Skillman Auto Group A/EA Bantam through the competitive Comp field to pick up his fifth win in Norwalk. Rampy protected his index during wins over John Frech, James Smith, and Pat Ross. By the time he reached the final against Jim Primozic Jr., and his C/AA Cobalt, Rampy had lost just three-hundredths to Competition Index Control violations while Primozic had lost six-hundredths. That proved to be critical after Rampy won with a (-.530) 7.260 to a (-.503) 7.377.  [video]

Three decades after his first win, DiBartolomeo is still going strong. The editor of Drag Racing Edge magazine, DiBartolomeo earned his second win in Norwalk and his second in Super Stock by driving past another veteran, Bob Marshall, in the final round. DiBartolomeo used a 9.402 on his 9.38 dial to turn on the win light while Marshall was close behind with a 9.342 on his 9.40 prediction.  [video]

Driving Al Carp’s wheelstanding AA/SA ’65 Dodge, Hoven earned his first win since the 2009 Charlotte race by topping Dick Kincaid’s E/SA Chevy II in the Stock final. Hoven left first and ran right on his 10.08 dial for the win. Earlier, he survived a close call against two-time world champ Jeff Strickland, who cut a perfect .000 light in round two. Hoven countered with a .014-second package to claim a narrow victory.  [video]

Fletcher had previously won national events at 22 different facilities but had never won an event at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park until he defeated Brian Folk in the Super Comp final. Fletcher was able to slow to a 9.44 for the win after Folk red-lighted by four-thousandths of a second. Fletcher’s most memorable round came in the semifinals, where he cut a perfect .000 light against opponent Tyler Schnieder and needed most of it in a close 8.926 to 8.924 holeshot victory.  [video]

Dimond made his way through a very tough field of Super Gas racers to claim his first NHRA national event title behind the wheel of his Armor Paving ’27-T Ford roadster. Dimond made it to the final, where he emerged the winner after a close double-breakout battle against Joey Shipp. Dimond turned on the win light with a 9.882 to Shipp’s 9.876 in one of the most competitive battles of the weekend. Dimond also topped Ray Miller II, Pat DeBottis, and Leo Zynda en route to his first national event final.  [video]

Driving a new car that was less than two weeks old, Biagi won the Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs final in a double breakout with a 6.383 on his 6.39 dial while McMahan was further under his dial with a 6.198 on his 6.21. The No. 26 qualifier, Biagi defeated chassis builder Danny Nelson, Patty Fisher, Frank Carpinelli, and Justen Moser on his way to the final.  [video]

For the second time in the last month, Dusty Meyer, the cousin of Top Alcohol Dragster champ Megan Meyer, found the winner’s circle in Top Sportsman presented by Racing RVs. The reigning Division 5 champ and winner in Topeka, Meyer faced a tough final-round opponent in Mark McDonald and turned in his best performance of the weekend with a .002 light and a 6.977 on his 6.96 dial. McDonald tapped the brakes at the finish line and slowed to a 6.630 on his 6.59 prediction. Meyer was remarkable on the starting line with lights of .012, .016, .015, and .002 in his last four rounds.  [video]