IHRA at San Antonio, Texas

Points tighten with final race left in season

Words by IHRA and JM Hallas
Photos by JM Hallas

Donnie Massey, OFAA winner.

The San Antonio Nationals Fueled by Sunoco did not disappoint as fans witnessed a points lead change in the Pro Stock class, a new winner in 2015, and the clinching of a championship in the Jet Dragster class.

The International Hot Rod Association returned to San Antonio Raceway on Sept. 25-26 for the eleventh Nitro Jam event of the 2015 season. The race was pivotal in determining potential championship winners for the season finale in Memphis on Oct. 9-10. The weekend produced many unexpected story lines in all three classes competing for points at the San Antonio Nationals Fueled by Sunoco.

The AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car presented by Aeromotive class was one of the main topics as Mike McIntire Jr. failed to qualify for his first-ever Nitro Jam event since he started racing full-time in 2014. Current points leader, Jason Rupert also had a rough weekend as the 2014 IHRA Champion did not advance to the semifinals.

The championship is still up for grabs as the duo head into the Summit World Finals.

John Smith claimed the victory and grabbed his first IHRA Ironman trophy in his "Jungle Jim" Camaro. Smith’s 5.755 at 254.09 mph took the win over the 5.937/225.11 of Paul Romine’s “Man O’ War”.

“I was just really trying to be focused,” commented Smith. “We had to take out my brother (Mike) first round. That got me up for the challenge. I practiced on lights all day. The second round against (Mark) Sanders and the ‘Mr. Explosive’ guys we broke a rear end. We really thrashed to get a rear end in the car and luckily we didn't hurt the motor. We put it all together for the final and beat (Paul) Romine who slipped a bit. He said he had to pedal his car.”