IHRA Nitro Jam at Bradenton, Fla.

McIntire sets records at Southern Nationals

Words by John Bisci
Photos by Steve Gruenwald

There were five class winners at the annual IHRA Nitro Jam Southern Nationals Presented By Crower April 18 at Bradenton Motorsports Park, but Mike McIntire Jr. scored the biggest victory.

McIntire won the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car Presented By Aeromotive final over Baton Rouge winner Tim Boychuk. In the process, he also broke IHRA Nitro Funny Car top speed and elapsed time records. One record he broke was his own, set during his run to victory in the 2015 season-opener in Tucson in February.

What made McIntire's victory even more significant was that his father, Mike Sr., was there to witness it. Mike Jr. and the team skipped the Baton Rouge Mardi Gras Nationals when it was discovered his father required open-heart surgery.

"About a week before Baton Rouge, we found out my father needed quadruple bypass surgery," McIntire explained. "He was admitted to the hospital and two days later was undergoing open-heart surgery on the Monday before the event so that pretty much was it. We did not even consider going (to Baton Rouge) without him. He's the team owner. He's the whole reason why any of us are out there doing this. So there was no way we were going without him."

Jason Rupert dominated last season, but has had the same results this year.

On his march to victory lane, McIntire defeated Steve Nichols in the first round and trailered defending Funny Car champion Jason Rupert in the semi-final. McIntire faced Canada's Tim Boychuk in the final after the Baton Rouge winner dispatched Mark Sanders and John Hale.