It’s the second year in a row which Wood qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals and made the 12-hour trip to Northern Mississippi.

“I didn’t do as well as I would have liked last year, but I’m back to try it twice this time,” Wood said. “It’s an honor to be here. A lot of people don’t even win rounds of racing, and to be able to invited to this event is just a blessing.”

Wood, 52, has been racing since 2010. His bike is a 2013 Paul Bannister-built 1500 cc Kawasaki. He called it a good consistent bike, as he talked about really liking the chassis and the platform. Part of the enjoyment is also racing at his home track.

“Humboldt has just a great staff. It’s a very family-friendly environment,” Wood said. “All the people are just great people there. Tom and Melanie (Monson), who own the track, are just awesome people. It’s a great facility and they’re always doing a lot of work to improve it.”

Speaking of a family-friendly environment, Wood’s girlfriend Angela and his brother Steve are serving as his crew this weekend.

“Those guys make the world go round for me, and they keep me focused on the racing part of it,” Wood said. “This is a very mental sport, and they take care of everything that’s not just the racing like a nice little place to camp out here.”

Wood enjoys the camraderie as much as the racing. He loves to stay at the track and have a good time hanging out with his fellow racers, playing games like bean bag toss. It’s particularly a good time meeting new people at the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.

“The environment is great here. I’ve made friends from all over,” Wood said. “I’ve been talking to people from North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, just all over the country. There are people from states all over the country represented at this deal.”

Two years ago, Aubrey reached the pinnacle of her class, winning the IHRA Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster World Championship. Her father was the runner-up in the Mod (No Box) class in 2019. 

Their success and being able to come to the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals mulitple times are things that Travis doesn’t take for granted. He also explained they’re at the World Finals representing two different tracks.

“It’s just exciting. I was telling her earlier, ‘We better cherish these moments, because we might not ever get to come back,’” he said. “She won points at two different tracks, Crossville and Knoxville. I actually won points for Crossville. So I’m racing for Crossville, but she’s racing for Knoxville today.”

Aubrey raced under the Knoxville banner when she won the 2022 World Championship. She was the third World Champion in the last four years from Knoxville at that point. Crossville has its own great tradition in big races with one of its drivers, 2021 IHRA Sportsman World Champion David Bigham, pitting just a few spots away from the Loy family.

Travis understands that to be a champion racer, you need a good ride.  He talked about the race car that he has competed for over a decade.

“It’s a Chevelle with a 383 small-block Chevy engine, just a good bracket car,” he said. “This is the 13th year on the car. My dad raced it back in the 90s, when I was about his age, and I always liked it.”

His father, Randy, owns a machine shop and builds motors. He is part of the family team at Holly Springs with Travis’ wife, Nicki, and their young son, Jace.

Meanwhile, Aubrey continues to build a reputation as one of the very best Junior Dragster racers in North America.

“To be the World Champion two years ago, I’m mean that was a lot of excitement,” she said. “I’ve won the track championship at Knoxville four years in a row. Going into it each year, the target on my back gets bigger and bigger. There are always people coming after me.”

She continues to heed her dad’s advice. While it takes a lot of work and focus each year to get back to the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals, she's also taking time to enjoy the family's accomplishments.

“You can’t ever expect to come back,” she said. “As he said, cherish it, and I’m surely grateful to be here and to get a race with my dad. My little brother’s getting ready to race the car too, so I will be moving up to a big car after that.”

Those are the future plans, but they’re making sure to live in the present. Loy can’t think of any place he’d rather be this weekend than North Mississippi, competing in the sport he loves with those closest to him.

“I’ve always liked fast cars, and I’ve always liked bracket racing,” he said. “I love spending time with my family and how they go with me everywhere. That makes it fun, and that’s what it’s all about.” 

Tamara Lee from Crossville Dragway emerged the winner of the race which set a record for the highest-paying golf cart/pit bike race in IHRA history with a $7,320 purse. It is also believed to be the race with the highest number of participants.

Beyond her great efforts, also congratulations to Benny Reily from Kuhnle Motorsports Park who finished runner-up.

We appreciate all the racers who participated as the IHRA Summit SuperSeries has shifted gears with today’s Race of Champions and Racer Appreciation Party, and Saturday’s main event when the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Champions are crowned.

Click here to keep up with the latest action on the IHRA-TV channel on YouTube.

Iowa may be home to baseball’s “Field of Dreams,” but Mississippi has the “Track of Dreams.” There are the Race of Champions and the Racer Appreciation Party featuring free food and live music on Friday. The Saturday main event features racers battling for IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Championships in five classes — Top (Box), Mod (No Box), Sportsman, Motorcycle and Junior Dragster. 

A special shout-out with all five reigning IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Champions — Jeromy Hefler (Top), Wesley Lockhart (Mod), Aaron Richards (Sportsman), Kane Austin (Motorcycle) and AJ Leung (Junior Dragster) — who have returned to defend their titles.

If you’re not in Holly Springs, click here to keep up with the live action on the IHRA-TV channel on YouTube. The schedule of events is listed below.

Jeromy Hefler from Xtreme Raceway Park is back to defend his Top (Box) championship. But, it will be a tough task with a hungry field of competitors which include Isaac Fulcher from Beacon Dragway. Fulcher was third in the 2023 national standings.

The most stacked field is the Mod (No Box) class where defending IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Champion Wes Lockhart from Gleason Raceway Park heads up the list of participants. His brother, Charlie, could prove to be his stiffest competition as the siblings qualified for the World Finals for a second straight year.

Four of the top five in the 2023 national standings return to compete in the Sportsman class. It is led by defending World Champion Aaron Richards from US41 Dragstrip. Others who making their return to Holly Springs include: Derek Simon, Jordan Johnson and Doug Rasmussen.

All five 2023 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Champions will be on hand to try to defend their titles. Click here to keep up with the live action with the IHRA-TV channel on YouTube.

The Motorcycle competition promises to be intense. The top four racers from 2023 — Kane Austin of Music City Raceway, William Keele Jr. from Edinburg Motorsports Park, Billy Warren Jr. of Music City Raceway and Corey Lee from Knoxville Dragway — have all qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.

Both of last year’s Junior Dragster finalists — A.J. Leung from Wisconsin International Raceway and Ty Janousek from Little River Dragway — are scheduled to return to Mississippi in what appears to be an exceptionally strong field of racers.

Stay tuned to IHRA.com and our social media pages as the official rosters for the Top (Box), Mod (No Box) and Sportsman classes will be posted tomorrow.

(Best Team Spirit, Best Appearing Grandstand — Knoxville Dragway)

(Best Appearing Team — Rocket City Dragway)

(Best Appearing Full-Bodied Car — Trey Sommers)

(Best Appearing Open-Bodied Car — Eric Presley)

(Best Appearing Motorcycle — Grady Powell)

(Best Appearing Junior Dragster — Hope Capley)

However you qualified, we look forward to seeing you this week. We always enjoy the great fellowship. New friendships are formed every year as we gather for great on-track competition and the always popular racer appreciation party.

If you’re not in Holly Springs, you can still keep up with the live action as the IHRA-TV channel on YouTube will broadcast the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.

Listed below is a schedule of events.

Steve Breeden from Knoxville raced his dragster to the Top (Box) victory with a winning package of 4.852 seconds at 138.76 mph on a 4.84 dial-in, along with an .089 reaction time. Tim Hagler,  representing Rocket City, posted a runner-up finish.

Chris Blair from Crossville was the Mod (No Box) winner with a 6.013-second pass at 110.05 mph on a 6.00 dial-in. He had the advantage at the tree .010 to .026 over Brady Baer, also with Crossville Dragway.

Knoxville drivers Chester Lay and Marilyn Houser met up in the Sportsman final with Lay victorious. He went down the track in 7.378 seconds at 94.18 mph after a .066 start to get the better of Houser.

Another pair of Knoxville racers settled the Motorcycle final where Corey Lee got the upper hand against Grady Powell. Lee had an elapsed time of 5.925 seconds at 113.17 mph. Lee had the better reaction time .018 to .047 over Lee.

Alabama International Dragway produced both Junior Dragster finalists. CJ Handy won the Ironman when final-round opponent Avery Bolding red-lighted. Handy’s work included a 7.945-second run at 81.68 mph on a 7.91 dial-in.

Congrats to all the racers who have qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals which start this week at Holly Springs Motorsports.

Adam Keir from Darlington was the winner in the Top (Box) class when final-round opponent Ed Pauley from Shadyside red-lighted. Keir had a .014 start as Pauley was -.006 too quick at the tree. K then posted an 8.340-second pass at 83.24 mph. Pauley went down the track in 5.928 seconds at 109.49 mph.

Staten Nichols from Darlington captured the Mod (No Box) trophy with a 7.501-second pass at 93.75 mph on a 7.47 dial-in with a .043 reaction time. Trey Sikes from Team South Caroilna Motorplex went 7.407 seconds at 93.97mph after fouling at the start.

Sikes came through with a winning effort in the Sportsman class, going 7.463 seconds at 90.90 mph on a 7.45 dial-in. Sikes had a little advantage .032 to .045 over Andy Chavis from South Carolina Motorplex at the start. Chavis finished in 7.877 seconds at 88.70 mph on a 7.86 dial-in.

Todd Payne from Wilkesboro Dragway qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals again with his victory in the Motorcycle class. To win the race, he had to beat another Wilkesboro racer, Jason Hutchens, in the final round.

Pageland Dragway racers met in the Junior Dragster final. Both racers broke out on their dial-in times. Rylan Williams had a slight .089 to .101 advantage over Madison Linton at the start. Williams had a 7.898-second run at 81.07 mph, while Linton’s elapsed time was 7.924 seconds at 81.91 mph.

More exciting times are coming up with the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals starting Thursday at Holly Springs Motorsports in Mississippi.