36 The victory validated the Weavers’ decision to go with new 540-inch procharged motors in their race cars. Kohl previously ran a naturally-aspi- rated 706 in his dragster, while Monty had run a nitrous motor in his Cor- vette. The decision to not run nitrous freed up enough time where the Weavers didn’t have to rush as much through the eliminations until the final round. Then, Monty Weaver talked about how gracious his final-round oppo- nent was. “When we won at San Antonio, Marty Blair was there in staging lanes wait- ing on me,” Monty Weaver recalled. “Some people might have thrown a fit, but Marty said, ‘Do what you need to do and when you’re done, we will get it on.’ It was nerve-racking, but the whole way that deal turned out, we were blessed to have guys who waited.” Both the 49-year-old father and 20-year-old son praised the officials, crew members, supporters and their fellow competitors with the IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship for creating a St. Patrick’s Day is known for four- leaf clovers and other good-luck charms. But it was March 18, the day after the holiday, which turned out to be the lucky day for the Weaver family from Lubbock, Texas. It was the day which Monte Weaver and his son, Kohl, both scored victo- ries in International Hot Rod Asso- ciation Summit Sportsman National Championship event at San Antonio Raceway. Monte Weaver captured the win in Top Sportsman and Kohl Weav- er was tops in Top Dragster, making it a most memorable occasion. “The father always dreams of some- thing like that with his child,” Monty Weaver said. “I’ve been racing since I was 16 years old, and that was something I dreamed of happen- ing with me and my dad. But, it never happened. It was really a special moment for me and my son. He had been driving the Junior Dragsters, and to have gotten to that place that quickly in the Top Dragster, it was rewarding and it was a special moment I will never forget.” Kohl Weaver added, “It was the liv- ing the dream to get that first event win,” he said. “To do it with my dad winning, it put the cherry on top and made it that much more memorable. He’s more than my father. He’s my best friend and my teammate.” The teammates certainly did their job at the starting line. Monte Weaver had a .007 reaction time to defeat longtime rival Marty Blair in the final round. Kohl was even faster, nearly perfect with his .002 reaction time, to top hometown driver Scott Ball. Ready to Make More MEMORIES BY JEFF BIRCHFIELD DRIVER SPOTLIGHT theWEAVERfamily