Gerlach took win in Top (Box) with a 4.671-second pass at 136.74 mph on a dial-in. He beat perennial favorite Joe Soucek Jr., a multiple-time Sportsman Spectacular winner, in the final round. Soucek finished in 6.703 seconds at 102.97 mph on a 6.61 dial-in. Gerlach had the better start .011 to a .024 to capture a $5,000 winner’s check thanks to sponsorship from Mickey Thompson Tires.

 (Top Runner-Up — Joe Soucek, Jr.) 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT RICHARD

Gill took the $2,000 winner’s purse for Mod (No Box) thanks to the support of 501 Performance Torque Converters and Powertrain when final-round opponent Jaeden Durst fouled by just -.005 at the start. Gill’s winning effort included a 6.296-second elapsed time at 108.23 mph, paired with a .034 reaction time. If not for the foul, Durst would have been in the driver’s seat, matching his 6.20 dial-in and a speed of 105.36 mph.

(Mod runner-up — Jaeden Durst) 

AJ Buchanan was right on his 12.00 dial-in with a 12.009-second run at 106.79 mph in the Sportsman final. Runner-up Mitch Williams finished in 12.203 seconds at 105.38 mph. Buchanan had a .031 to .046 advantage in reaction time.

(Sportsman runner-up — Mitch Williams)

With a .003 start, Rick Poole won on a holeshot in the Motorcycle final. He had the quick start along with a 9.424-second pass at 137.20 mph against a 9.41 dial-in. Runner-up Eric Birchfield went 8.692 seconds at 147.98 mph against an 8.67 dial-in with a .024 start.

(Motorcycle runner-up — Eric Birchfield)

Madi Clark was the Junior Dragster winner. She won the Master class with an 8.277-second pass at 76.91 mph and a .023 reaction time. Erika Mast was a little better at the start .014 and finished in 8.239 seconds at 80.27 mph against an 8.19 dial-in.

(Junior Dragster runner-up — Autumn Gibson)

Autumn Gibson won the Junior Dragster Advanced race as final-round opponent Parker Novak red-lighted. In addition, Gibson had a solid run of 8.903 seconds at 74.14 mph against an 8.90 dial-in. Novak posted a 9.012-second elapsed time at 70.70 mph.

Ethan Russell captured the Junior Dragster Beginner race on a holeshot. He had a .081 reaction and made it down the track in 12.072 seconds at 52.95 mph. Aly Hurst was runner-up with a 12.283-second run at 51.29 mph. 

There was a run-off amongst the Junior Dragster winner. Clark won the final with an 8.270-second run at 76.91 mph, along with a .041 reaction time. Gibson had a little better start at .029 and finished in 8.914 seconds at 73.92 mph.

Dragway 42 hosted an IHRA Summit SuperSeries points race Sunday. Randy Scheuer Jr. beat Brian Fleenor in the Top final. Taylor Young was the Mod winner with Russell Terrill the runner-up. Austin Poole captured the Motorcycle victory with Paul Samora the other finalist. Mitch Williams bested Ashley Strauss in the Street class. 

Junior Dragster finalists included Summer Gibson over Andrew Wyant in Master, Annelies Lawson over Brayden Baehr in Advanced. After making the final round on Saturday, Aly Hurst was the Beginner winner Sunday with Morgan Pickens the runner-up.

The IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Moser Engineering and FuelTech take a few weeks off before returning Saturday, July 15 with events at Motor Mile Raceway in Virginia and Muncie Dragway in Indiana. 

Racers make sure your IHRA membership is up to date to compete for prestigious IHRA Ironman trophies and new in 2023, a chance to qualify for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals with a purse and prize package worth more than $275,000.

You can make sure your IHRA membership is up to date by clicking here for the IHRA membership center or call Heather at (85) JOIN-IHRA.