Antron Brown competing at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
NORWALK, Ohio — After their run in Virginia, the NHRA Top Fuel dragsters headed up to Summit Motorsports Park to take part in the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
Before the final eliminations occurred, Doug Kalitta took the number one qualifying spot, the 2Fast2Tasty Challenge and broke the current track record with a speed of 337.16. Kalitta felt great heading into eliminations and that attitude proved to work well for him.
Finals Round 1
TJ Zizzo and Tripp Tatum were the first two to race each other for round one. Tatum won the round on a holeshot, even though Zizzo had the better elapsed time and final speed.
Next, Shawn Langdon and Clay Millican staged for their round. Langdon started off better than Millican, but Langdon ended up losing a cylinder handing the win to Millican.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH AT 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Clay Millican | .069 | .853 | 2.148 | 3.016 | 292.46 | 3.742 | 333.25 |
| Shawn Langdon | .044 | .854 | 2.142 | 3.029 | 282.72 | 3.802 | 303.37 |
After that, Antron Brown and Dan Mercier made their lap. Brown completely dominated this round by starting off before Mercier as well as having the better speeds and scores.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH AT 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Dan Mercier | .104 | .872 | 2.167 | 3.060 | 284.27 | 3.816 | 315.34 |
| Antron Brown | .051 | .844 | 2.119 | 2.988 | 288.21 | 3.739 | 316.97 |
Following the day’s festivities of close, hard racing, the next round between Kalitta and Kyle Wurtzel was no different. Kalitta ended up winning on a holeshot, and that was after he and Wurtzel both lost a cylinder.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH AT 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Kyle Wurtzel | .170 | .850 | 2.159 | 3.042 | 286.44 | 3.787 | 321.65 |
| Doug Kalitta | .053 | .851 | 2.153 | 3.050 | 282.36 | 3.804 | 319.75 |
Justin Ashley and Tony Schumacher danced with each other next, and Ashley checked all the boxes for this round beginning with the start. He had the better reaction and elapsed times as well as the better final speed.
The round after that between Shawn Reed and Steve Torrence was super close. Once again, a holeshot win was to be had, and that holder was Torrence, who got the win by having the better reaction time and final speed.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH AT 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Steve Torrence | .071 | .840 | 2.126 | 3.002 | 288.03 | 3.746 | 323.81 |
| Shawn Reed | .066 | .844 | 2.147 | 3.019 | 291.45 | 3.749 | 329.99 |
The next match was shocking because a former IndyCar, and NASCAR, champion lost to a rookie. Tony Stewart went up against Jasmine Salinas and lost. Stewart started off better, but Salinas came back to have the better elapsed time and final speed, earning her first career 2-wide round win.
Finally, Doug Foley and Billy Torrence had the same thing happen to them with Torrence winning two of the three critical moments, going on to the second round.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH AT 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Billy Torrence | .098 | .832 | 2.116 | 2.989 | 291.82 | 3.717 | 331.28 |
| Doug Foley | .077 | .856 | 2.134 | 3.004 | 289.69 | 3.746 | 322.50 |
Doug Kalitta competing at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Finals Round 2
Ashley and Tatum were the first two to take to the track for the second round of eliminations. Upon starting, both drivers spun their tires, but it was Ashley who was able to regain control of the car to drive it to victory and the semifinals.
After getting her first 2-wide round win, Salinas was hyped up to go against former champion S. Torrence, but that hype was short-lived because both drivers smoked their tires and only Torrence was able to pedal it down to the end to win the round.
Next, Millican and Brown went head-to-head. Brown took the round by having the better times and final speed, but Millican wasn’t far behind at all and gave the multi-time champion a run for his money.
The final round of Round 2 was between B. Torrence and Kalitta. Even though both drivers started off the line later than usual, Kalitta was able to keep it together and ahead of Torrence to win the match and advance to the semifinals.
Semifinals
Brown and Ashley were the first of two matches for the semifinals and Brown ended up taking home the cake to go to his 144th final round. Ashley fired before Brown earning himself the better reaction time, but Brown had the better elapsed time and final speed, getting him the win.
A battle of champions were up next with Kalitta and Torrence. Torrence started off better than Kalitta and looked like he was going to advance to the final round, when he smoked his tires, giving the win to Kalitta.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH AT 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Steve Torrence | .062 | .853 | 2.155 | 3.098 | 251.25 | 3.946 | 285.29 |
| Doug Kalitta | .068 | .864 | 2.170 | 3.045 | 291.45 | 3.771 | 332.02 |
FINAL ROUND
Another battle of champions awaited the crowd for the final race of the weekend for Top Fuel dragster. Kalitta and Brown were neck-and-neck down the entire 1,000 foot surface, but at the end it was Brown who took the win, even though Kalitta had the quicker speed.
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” said Brown. “All of our sponsors make it happen. We had some issues earlier, but our boys stayed resilient. John Force, this [win] is for you.”
