Reigning North Central Region Top Alcohol Dragster champion Troy Coughlin Jr. took a trip into Division 3 territory and won last weekend’s Battle at the Beech at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, KY.

Troy Jr. celebrated his third victory in the last two months. He recently claimed wins at the national event in Norwalk, Ohio, and the D1 race in Atco, NJ. Overall, Troy Jr. has now raced to seven final rounds this year in his JEGS.com McPhillips Racing dragster.

"I hope we can keep it up because we'll be chasing a little bit of personal history next week in Indy," Troy Jr. said. "In 1991, my dad won Bowling Green in Super Comp and then drove over to Indy and won Super Gas in the same car. I was only a baby but I've heard the stories all my life. I'd love to win both races again in his honor."

Top Alcohol Dragster: Troy Coughlin Jr., .034 RT, 5.220, 279.90 def. Julie Nataas, .045 RT, 5.268, 271.30

Comp: Scott Chamness, .135 RT, 7.26 Index, 6.741, 180.94 def. Robert Bailey, .076 RT, 7.09 Index, 6.656, 191.27

Super Stock: Irvin Johns, .026 RT, 9.56 Dial, 9.550 ET, 139.57 def. Tyler Bohannon, .008 RT, 9.98 Dial, 9.965 ET, 130.89

Stock: Ken Friedman, .004, 12.50, 12.540, 99.15 def. Shane Smith, .036, 10.22, 10.268

Top Dragster: Danny Nelson, .021, 6.16, 6.181, 217.53 def. Joe Fisher, .013, 6.14, 6.190, 222.14

Top Sportsman: Ron Biondo, .015, 6.71, 6.737, 207.27 def. Lester Johnson, .025, 6.10, 6.150, 217.56

Super Comp: Tony Elrod, .013, 8.906, 167.26 def. Sherman Adcock, .033, 8.901, 161.48

Super Gas: Jacob Elrod, .014, 9.974, 154.99 def. Bo Butner, .019, 9.978, 152.69

Super Street: Nick Vogelsang, .015, 10.914, 91.27 def. Denny Napier, .024, 10.910, 146.37   [08/26/19]

Race officials at Virginia Motorsports Park have announced a special Pro Mod vs. RVW Judgment Day shootout during the Comp Cams Shakedown Nationals XVII on Sept. 19-21. The event will pit eight big-tire Pro Mods and eight small-tire Radial Vs. the World cars in a best-5-of-8 rounds on Friday, Sept. 20.

“A couple months ago the internet started buzzing about how close the two classes are in ET and how cool it would be to see them side by side at a standalone event,” said Tyler Crossnoe, vice president of racing operations, Virginia Motorsports Park. “With Shakedown having both classes on the property with the right rules in place, it just made sense to do this one-off shootout under the lights.”

After one Thursday qualifying session and two Friday qualifying sessions, the top eight drivers in each class will be paired up via a chip draw for the Pro Mod vs. RVW Judgment Day. The No. 1 qualifiers will serve as the team captains and will pick the lane for their class. The quicker of the two low qualifiers will call the coin flip for lane choice. Each lane will be prepped accordingly.

The first team with five wins will get to split the $15,000 prize and each driver will get a trophy. The No. 9 qualifiers will be waiting in the staging lanes and will settle the score if a tiebreaker is needed.  [08/26/19]

Moe Alfqih (file photo)

Moe Alfaqih of Cheektowaga, NY, captured his third Buffalo Street Outlaws (BSO) win of the season at Lancaster Dragway @ New York International Raceway Park on Friday night, Aug. 23. Alfaqih won three out of the four BSO events at Lancaster in 2019 with the fourth event ending in a split due to curfew.

A total of 165 cars were on hand for Friday night IHRA Drag Racing at Lancaster Dragway, including the final visit of the season for the Buffalo Street Outlaws crew. Alfaqih continued his dominance of BSO as he defeated Terry Doyle in an all Ford Mustang final.

In the BSO Street Limited 5.50 class, Gary Brewer took defeated Matt Huyck in the final as Brewer left the starting line first, and then edged Huyck at top end. Dan Marvin won the Street Limited 6.50 class after his opponent, Andy Bates, ran under the 6.50 index. Marvin left the starting line first, but Bates ran just a little too fast in trying to catch to cause the break out.

Mason Fix continued his winning way at Lancaster as he scored his first win in Mallare Trucking Top ET. Fix, a former three-time Street champion and two-time winner in Mod ET this season, defeated fellow second-generation racer Keith Cleveland. The recently engaged Cleveland had the faster dial-in and a better reaction time, but Fix held him off when they got to the finish line.

In Top 8 Eliminator, Tony Madonia scored his second win of the season in Carl & Joanie Ettipio’s rear engine dragster. Madonia defeated track owner and Lancaster Dragway Wall of Fame member Mike Swinarski in the finals to score the victory.

The McGard Mod ET final was another chapter in the “Ricketson Family Feud” as Reid Ricketson defeated his brother Ryan for his fourth win of the season in Mod. Ryan Ricketson broke out to hand the win to Reid. The Ricketson brothers are dueling for the Mod track championship with Ryan Ricketson starting the night with a 20-point lead.

Lucas Salemi stayed hot in Hebeler’s Sales Bikes & Sleds as he won for the fifth time in 2019, and for the second week in a row. Salemi defeated Michael Puglia in the final round as he held off the hard-charging motorcycle of Puglia. He leads all drivers at Lancaster in class wins in 2019.

In Tread City Tire Street, “Fast Eddie” Semlitsch picked up the win in a double break out with Dan Knab. It was Semlitsch’s second win overall in 2019. Knab has advanced to the Street final three times this season, but he is still searching for his first win.   [08/26/19]

A year ago, Will Smith was just getting his feet wet in a class he’d dreamed about for years. Now, Smith and the Hirata Motorsports Team are in the hunt for the LODRS North Central Region Top Alcohol Regional Championship.

Smith, who is currently leading North Central Region JEGS All Stars, will join Cruz Pedregon and other NHRA drivers at Pedregon Racing’s Open House (462 Southpoint Cir., Brownsburg IN 46112) for an autograph signing and driver meet and greet on Thursday, Aug. 29, at.

“We missed the field in Indy last year by a hundredth of a second so the team is pretty hungry this year,” Smith said. “Where we are now is a big change from last year. We struggled in a lot of ways, but now we’re to the point we’re disappointed if we’re not going rounds. And we’re still learning - I don’t care how experienced you are, you still learn from each pass down the track.” [08/26/19]

Additionally, Aeromotive has combined the sales and marketing teams into one department. The new Sales and Marketing Department is led by Johnson Barrick, who was previously Aeromotive’s Sales Director. The company also hired Sumner Hylton, a Kansas State graduate and accomplished freelance designer, in a new marketing coordinator role.  [08/26/19]