IHRA at Tulsa

Words by Larry Crum/IHRA
Photos courtesy IHRA

Even torrential rains and muggy conditions could not deter the drivers and crews racing at the June 13-14 IHRA Sooner Nationals from putting on an absolutely spectacular day of racing.

After a lengthy delay to start Sunday morning, the action got back underway during the mid-afternoon hours and it was nothing but blue skies and great racing from then on as Tim Boychuk (Top Fuel), Kenny Lang (Pro Modified) and Pete Berner (Pro Stock) battled through the tricky conditions to record victories at the third annual IHRA Sooner Nationals presented by Wolverine Boots and Academy Sports and Outdoors at Tulsa Raceway Park.

And it was three of the closest championship finals in drag racing history. All three wins were decided by inches at the line and provided a thrill for fans that persevered through the morning weather.

It was also a weekend dominated by veterans as the three winners combined for 31 career final round appearances.

The Sooner Nationals featured a rare two-day show with three professional qualifying rounds packed into Saturday’s action before eliminations begin on Sunday.

While the two-day format gives drivers a chance to make a few more runs during the heat of the afternoon, simulating Sunday’s final rounds, it also gives crews a little less turnaround between appearances.

“Really the biggest challenge for the Top Fuel guys is mechanical failure. There is no overnight fixing if something goes wrong,” said Top Fuel driver Bobby Lagana Jr. “The good thing is there are three runs so if you screw up on the first run, you have that second run if you need it.
“You have to be on your game and sometimes you have to be a little more conservative than normal.”

But sometimes the challenge can be more of a personal one rather than a mechanical one.

“It is definitely a challenge. You have to turn around three times on Saturday and by the time you are done it is almost 9 p.m. You then have two or three hours of crunching data and getting ready for Sunday leaving me getting to bed well after midnight,” said Pro Stock driver Cale Aronson. “Once you get up in the morning you have had like six hours of sleep and while that is good for a lot of people, it isn’t for me because it isn’t good sleep. You are laying there for hours thinking about how you did and what you are going to do on Sunday.

TOP FUEL

Last year it took until the final two races of the season for Canadian Top Fueler Tim Boychuk (above) to find his footing. This year, Boychuk decided not to wait so long.

Boychuk drove past Litton in the finals for his first win of the season and the third of his career after the fourth of 10 races on the 2009 Nitro Jam schedule. And what a race it was. Boychuk (Edmonton, Alberta) won in a holeshot over Litton (Indianapolis, Ind.) with a 4.929 elapsed time at 294.31 miles per hour to Litton’s 4.919, 284.51 mph pass.