“This was a wonderful weekend and a great event,” Bertozzi said, hoisting his special edition Ironman trophy in victory lane. “We were fortunate enough to have a good showing and come out of here with a big win. We were very much looking forward to this event and it was certainly worth it. I appreciate the IHRA going out on a limb and giving us a race like this. We have won a lot over the years and this is right up there with all the others.”

Bertozzi qualified 23rd on the Super Stock ladder in his 1998 Grand Am and began the weekend with his first round win on Saturday to advance to championship Sunday. Bertozzi advanced via wins over Barry Allen, Bryan Worner, Richard Mace and Thomas Fletcher before meeting Gil Carty Jr. in the final.

In the final round Bertozzi was nearly perfect on the tree, hitting a .001 reaction time, but it proved unneeded as Carty ran into trouble on his run and slowed near mid-track, giving Bertozzi a surprisingly easy win. Bertozzi crossed the line with a 9.808, 103.63.

While Bertozzi received a free pass into victory lane, other drivers had to work overtime to reach the finals including two drivers that had to overcome losses to pick up a win.

Both Brett Nesbitt in Top Dragster and John Dustin in Quick Rod lost in round one on Saturday before winning their way back into the field via a rare national event buyback program and both drivers took full advantage, winning their respective classes and pocketing the $5,000 prize.

Nesbitt (Burlington, N.C.) began the weekend from the third spot on the Top Dragster ladder, but a breakout in round one advanced opponent Tom Cable into Sunday. A few hours later Nesbitt was back on the track and this time he made it stick, winning a close battle with Steve Furr to win his way back into competition.

On Sunday Nesbitt defeated Ricky Harbaugh, Troy Williams Jr. and Ricky Adkins before meeting Wesley Washington Jr. in the final. The pair was just a thousandth of a second apart at the light and just as close on their dials, but Washington broke out giving Nesbit the win. Nesbit ran a 6.895 on a 6.89 dial at 184.09 mph to Washington’s 7.367 on a 7.37 dial at 173.32.

Dustin (Rockville, Md.) qualified fifth on the charts, losing to Bobby Spence in round one before winning his way back at the expense of Jerry Langley. Once back in the field Dustin eliminated Marc Combs, Scotty Bodmer and Matt Weston before meeting up with Johnson in the final. With the big prize on the line Johnson was uncharacteristically late on the tree while Dustin posted a .009 reaction time and ran a 8.959, 157.78 in the 8.90 class. Johnson broke out with an 8.885, 163.39.

In IHRA’s other fast class Don Rudd from Montpelier, Va. piloted his 2009 Lexus to a victory over Bob Philips in the Top Sportsman final. Rudd had one of the more interesting roads to the finals, defeating Bruce Thrift in rounds one and two after Thrift won his way back into competition on Saturday, before meeting and downing eventual Mod ET winner Ronnie Proctor, Chad Morrison and top qualifier Todd Fontana.