NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Steve Comella continued his domination of the Sox & Martin Hemi Challenge at Indy by winning the special event for the fourth consecutive season. Comella turned in another dominant performance on his way to the victory and the $15,000 top prize that accompanies it. Comella ran an 8.396 in the final that was good for low elapsed time of the event. Runner-up Bucky Hess, the 2001 Hemi Challenge champ, trailed with a competitive 8.411 effort.

“I’m over tired, over stimulated, and just wired,” said Comella. “If this looked easy then that’s the best trick I pulled all week.  This was a war and I knew it was going to be. I knew it was going to be uphill the entire way. It may look easy, but it’s not.”

Comella was the top qualifier with an 8.424, just two thousandths quicker than Hess, so it was not surprising that they raced each other in the final round.  Comella did have his share of challenges during the event, including a damaged engine early in the event.

“My first thought was, ‘I thought, I’m going home. If this isn’t a simple fix, I’m going home’. It’s only Wednesday and we’ve already got the motor apart. I said to my dad [Chuck], we’re done and it’s only Wednesday.”

Comella not only repaired his engine but also carried what was arguably the best car in the field into the final. Comella opened eliminations with a bye run, and then powered past J.R. Baum, multi-time Hemi Challenge champ Charlie Westcott Jr., and Jim Pancake. Comella also did his part as a driver with several competitive reaction times including a .014 light in the final.

The special event featured not only the biggest field in years, but rarely has there been a more competitive group. In qualifying, the top ten drivers were separated by slightly more than a tenth of a second and eliminations featured some of the best side-by-side racing in the long history of the event.

 “I said a month ago, if you go.050 on the Tree, you’re going home,” said Comella. “This class has reached the point where you have to be good [on the starting line] or you’re gone.”

Hess, who has a long history of success in Hemi-powered race cars, opened eliminations with a win against Mike Skinner and then scored a huge victory against four-time Hemi Challenge champ Jimmy Danield. Hess also topped Anthony Rhodes to earn a bye run into the final.

In addition to the $15,000 top prize, Comella also got the signature trophy, which is a 426 Hemi cylinder head and he is the SS/AH class champion at the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals.