DRO historian and announcer extraordinaire Bret Kepner, aka Mr. Dirt, shows he hasn’t lost his touch on the drag strip as he got a win on Saturday, May 18, at the inaugural NMRA Gateway Rumble at World Wide Tech Raceway in Madison, IL, just across the Mississippi river from downtown St. Louis. Kepner scored a holeshot victory over Ralph Beaver in the Bracket Three class.

We’ll have the complete race report tomorrow.   [05/21/19]

A reduced number of five sportsman classes took to the track at Virginia Motorsports Park during the NHRA Virginia Nationals.

Super Stock: Joe Santangelo (far lane), Chevy Camaro, 10.250, 118.73 def. Steve Comella, Dodge Dart, 8.838, 146.19.

Stock Eliminator: Wallace Dent (far lane), Chevy Camaro, 10.624, 123.40 def. Joe Lisa, Camaro, 10.937, 118.20.

Super Comp: Chris Garretson (near lane), Dragster, 8.905, 133.38 def. Colby Fuller, Dragster, 8.914, 175.96.

Super Gas: Tom Goldman (far lane), Chevy Corvette, 9.909, 160.23 def. Michelle Furr, Corvette, 9.870, 159.72.

Top Dragster: Chad Traylor (far lane), Dragster, 7.209, 180.26 def. Junior Houston, Dragster, 7.415, 172.08. (Chris Haverly photos) [05/21/19]

Sidnei Frigo claimed his first victory of the season at Virginia Motorsports Park in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service on May 19.

Frigo ran 5.796 seconds at 256.55 mph in his Itatiba Sao Paulo Brazil Chevrolet Camaro picking up the final round win on a holeshot over “Stevie Fast” Jackson’s pass of 5.768 at 251.16. This was the sixth time the two faced each other (with each winning three times), but the first final-round match up.

It marks the third career E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod victory for Frigo, who qualified second. He defeated Chip King 5.826/255.15 to 5.905/248.52 in the first round; then Alex Laughlin 5.830/255.73 to 5.918/254.33; and Eric Latino 5.820/253.90 to 5.849/244.29 in the semifinals.

“My team really pulled through today,” Frigo said. “For some reason, our turbo car runs really well in the heat and I wouldn’t be mad if it was this in Topeka at our next race. I saw Stevie over there at half track and I know that the turbo power really comes on at the top end. All I could think of was that we had him. It was really cool.”

The Pro Mod series races next on June 7-9 at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, KS.

Points after the fifth of 12 events: 1. Steve Jackson, 417; 2. Todd Tutterow, 377; 3. Mike Janis, 326; 4. Jose Gonzalez, 317; 5. Sidnei Frigo, 266; 6. Jeremy Ray, 243; 7. Chad Green, 228; 8. Rickie Smith, 223; 9. Erica Enders, 197; 10. Khalid alBalooshi, 187.  (Chris Haverly photo)  [05/21/19]

Joe Soucek Jr. doubled up on final-round appearances in the Top and Mod divisions at the IHRA Summit Sportsman Spectacular at Dragway 42.

During Moser Engineering Saturday, Soucek captured the $5,000-to-win prize for winning the Mod division and finished runner-up to Bob Lykins in the $5,000-to-win Top division. Rain forced the stoppage of Battle Born Batteries Sunday with the prize money split in the Top and Mod divisions.

Soucek, a Rittman, OH, racer, had a winning package Saturday with a 6.609-second pass at 102.23 mph against a 6.60 dial-in and a .008 reaction time. Runner-up A.J. Buchanan from Vickery, OH, finished with a 6.327 elapsed time at 107.99 against a 6.33 dial-in and a .0274 reaction time.

Lykins, from Fairborn, OH, scored the Top win when Soucek red-lighted by just -.003 of a second. Lykins’ final run included a 6.482 elapsed time at 102.69 against a 6.49 dial-in. Soucek’s foul cost him as he matched his 6.60 dial-in at 102.48 mph.

Street: Derek Simon, Continental, OH, .012 RT, 12/24 dial, 12.288 ET, 103.47 mph def. Donnie Hay, Navarre, OH, .042 RT, 12.16 dial, 12.186 ET, 107.99 mph.

Motorcycle: Joey Brandgard, Northfield, OH, .055 RT, 9.086 ET, 141.78 mph def. Michael Maday, Cleveland, OH, .058 RT, 9.486 ET, 135.30 mph

Jr. Dragster Masters: Antonio Iocoangeli, Monroe, MI, def. Callie Martel, Carleson, MI.

Jr. Dragster Advanced: Brandon Buchanon def. Brianasia Pollard

Jr. Dragster Beginner: Tyler Norton, Kentland, IN, def. Nicholas Aburzzi, Warren, OH

The IHRA Summit Sportsman Spectacular returns to action this weekend, May 24-26, at Darlington Dragway in Hartville, SC.   [05/21/19]