EXTREME PRO STOCK

Doug Kirk (near lane) and Richard Penland.

West Virginia’s Doug Kirk has won two IHRA world championships, but he will undoubtedly go on to consider his win at PDRA Dragstock XIII a career highlight. Kirk started eliminations with a couple lucky rounds when Jeff Dobbins was a no-show and Larry O’Brien left too soon. Kirk ran a 4.115 at 174.75 for a semifinal win over Brian Gahm’s 4.13, earning him a final round meeting with number one qualifier Richard Penland, who defeated Lester Cooper and John Pluchino before getting the semifinal bye run.

A final round is always a pressure-packed situation, but Kirk was feeling the heat even more going into this final. Just minutes before strapping into his K&K Motorsports 2012 Mustang, Kirk watched his son, Justin, earn his first-ever race in Top Dragster.

“After he won I felt like the world came down on my chest that I had to do something to get the win. There are people who race a lifetime and never get to win like this, so to do it after two years racing together is special.”

Kirk unleashed a .009 reaction time and 4.149 et to beat Penland’s 4.085 on a sizable holeshot. The Kirks became the first father-son duo to win at the same PDRA event since the series inception in 2014.

The PDRA Extreme Pro Stock class will race next at the third annual PDRA World Finals, Oct. 20-22, at Virginia Motorsports Park.