Racers from the Iowa drag strip put together the winning effort with Thunder Valley Dragways taking runner-up honors and Humboldt County Dragway third. There were individual champions in five classes — Top (Box), Mod (No Box), Sportsman, Motorcycle and Junior Dragster — who gained entry into the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals in October.
Matt Selden raced to the Top (Box) victory despite final-round opponent Scott Hendersen being quicker .008 to .029 at the start. But, Selden made up for it with a winning 4.849-second pass at 139.88 mph in his dragster. Hendersen broke out from his 5.05 dial-in with a 5.033 elapsed time.
Joe McCarty parked the Miss Behavin’ Ford Mustang in the winner’s circle for the Mod (No Box) class. McCarty, who had a .026 to .051 advantage over runner-up Colton Bierle at the tree, was solid with a 7.518-second run at 88.86 mph against a 7.51 dial-in. Bierle finished in 5.891 seconds at 116.40 mph against a 5.88 dial-in.
Terry Vanerzanden powered his show car quality black Dodge Coronet down the track in 7.817 seconds at 90.95 mph against a 7.79 dial-in to win the Sportsman final. Kirk Breier was his final-round opponent and went 7.641 seconds against a 7.65 dial-in. Vanerzanden had the quicker reaction time, .039 to .056, over Breier.
The Motorcycle class also included sleds and there was a matchup between the two in the final round. Two wheels proved to be better for Brian Wood than no wheels. Wood’s blue motorcycle was spot-on with a 5.441-second pass at 123.19 mph against a 5.44 dial-in, along with a .069 start. Runner-up Rob Crawford was right there with his sled, finishing 7.336 seconds at 83.53 mph with a .090 reaction time.
Taylor Hansen was the Junior Dragster winner after a break-out by final-round opponent Cecilia Slifka. Hansen was right on target with a 7.633-second run at 84.40 mph against a 7.63 dial-in. Slifka appeared to be in great shape to win on a holeshot with her .006 reaction time to .087 for Hansen. She finished in 8.047 seconds at 80.50 mph against an 8.06 dial-in.
Congratulations to all those who participated in the IHRA Division 6 (Midwest) Summit Team Finals. Keep checking out IHRA.com and our social media pages for the winners of Gamblers’ races and special awards.
