Once a year the International Hot Rod Association™ (IHRA) visits the shores of Lake Huron for three full days of drag racing action as the IHRA and Grand Bend Motorplex celebrate all things speed and excitement at the annual IHRA Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals. A massive crowd was on hand all weekend to witness the stars of the IHRA’s Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series attempt to survive the grueling competition.
Saturday, June 21 offered up the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL, where race one winners were crowned in front of the capacity crowd as Mark Sanders (Top Sportsman), Bruce Gaier (Top Dragster), Pete D’Agnolo (Super Stock), Steven Dziorny (Stock), Ken Heber Jr. (Quick Rod), Leo Zynda (Super Rod) and Joe Passero (Hot Rod) all took home Ironmen in Grand Bend.
In Nitro Jam competition, California native Jason Rupert, in the Bays and Rupert “Black Plague” ’69 Camaro, held down the top spot in qualifying and won his opening round matchup against Mike Halstead in an attempt to avenge a dreadful last race. It was only last week at the IHRA Nitro Jam national event in Budds Creek, Maryland, that Rupert found himself packing his bags and heading home early, having just failed to qualify for the event.
Joining Rupert, the top four qualifiers in the Nitro Funny Car class from earlier in the day, Rupert, Mark Sanders, Mike McIntire Jr. and Tim Boychuk, all advanced in the opening round. Boychuk led the way during the session with a 5.853-second pass at 243.83 mph in a win over Bruce Litton.
The same scenario rang true in Nitro Harley as the top four qualifiers, Mike Scott, Mark Cox, Nate Gagnon and Mike Pelrine, all advanced in the first round. Cox had low ET of the round with a 6.392, 216.45 in a win over Rob Brown. Jay Turner, who is currently second in points, fell in round one to Scott after qualifying eighth.
Nitro Altered saw Don Blackshear, Ron Maroney and Troy Martin all advance to Sunday in a very competitive round. Troy Martin had low ET of the first round with a 6.449, 219.13 after qualifying second earlier in the day.
Nitro Jam’s biggest field in Grand Bend is that of the PMRA Pro Modified series as local favorite and IHRA veteran Rob Atchison paced the field with a 6.021, 237.96 pass. Jeff Roth sits second with a 6.094, 233.64, followed by Bruce Boland (6.138), Mike Yedgarian (6.152) and Derek Hawker (6.236). A total of 13 cars were on hand to contest the eight-car field which will begin eliminations on Sunday.
IHRA’s two fastest classes, Top Fuel and Jet Dragster, each got one hit at the track on Saturday, with Ike Maier leading the way in Top Fuel with a 4.871, 261.32 and Elaine Larsen pacing Jet Dragster with a 5.721, 273.47.
IHRA’s only final on Saturday came in Mountain Motor Pro Stock as the four-car exhibition went to Anthony Paone of Woodbridge, Ontario, who bested IHRA’s most recent national event winner John Konigshofer with a 6.632, 200.89.
On Sunday in Grand Bend, James Rupert claimed his fourth Ironman of 2014 in the Nitro Funny Car class at the IHRA Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex. Rupert qualified first for the sixth time this season and claimed his fourth win all in dominating fashion, besting longtime rival Mark Sanders in an all-Pacific Coast final. Rupert culminated his weekend with a 5.895-second elapsed time at 242.06 mph to take the win.
“Racing is all about peaks and valleys and you can go from hero to zero in less than a second. Last week we had something happen. We couldn’t get ahold of the track and we tried some other things and nothing seemed to work,” Rupert said. “We got here this weekend and we decided to start over. Everything seemed to work and respond how it should and it resulted in us getting back on track with the win.”
Joining Rupert in the finals of Nitro Jam on Sunday were Nate Gagnon (Nitro Harley), Rob Atchison (Pro Mod), Ron Maroney (Nitro Altered), Ike Maier (Top Fuel), Elaine Larsen (Jet Dragster) and Anthony Paone (Pro Stock).
In the finals of the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL, Sunday’s winners were Dan Aitken (Top Sportsman), Jeremy McCormick (Top Dragster), Gianni Cantusci (Super Stock), Doug Box (Stock), Leo Zynda (Quick Rod), Andrew Stirk (Super Rod) and James Unum (Hot Rod).
“We really weren’t all that consistent this weekend. There were two runs I had to abort, we stripped a spark plug at the last minute and we had a new set of wheels and tires that we had trouble with, so we know that the gremlin is still there, we were just able to conquer it today,” Rupert said.
Sunday’s other big winners in the professional categories were Rob Atchison and Nate Gagnon, with both writing near-perfect scripts.
Atchison, a longtime racer in IHRA’s Alcohol Funny Car ranks with three world championships and more than two dozen national event victories, claimed his first career win in a Pro Modified with the PMRA series, besting Jeff Roth in an all-Ontario final. Jumping into the Pro Mod ranks three years ago, Atchison claimed his first career win at the same facility where he won his first Alcohol Funny Car race, making the win all the more exciting for the London, Ontario native.
“I love PMRA, but to win back at the Bend at an IHRA race and get an Ironman, it is super special. It is very reminiscent of my first win in Funny Car. It took four or five years to win that first race and we did it at home in Grand Bend. What an opportunity to do that again,” Atchison said. “Everything is so nostalgic. I am rolling through the staging lanes and I give Mike Baker a high five, I roll around the corner and I get to see Howie and the boys at the scales, it was just like old times.”
With his first Ironman since 2007 on the line, Atchison drove his beautiful ’63 Corvette to a 6.070, 236.28 lap right down the center of the track while Roth ran into trouble and had to click it off early. Atchison added wins over Paolo Giust and Mike Yedgarian on his way to the win.
“The difference between a Funny Car and a Pro Mod is night and day. The Funny Car has no suspension, it has a clutch and the car is an automatic with a full suspension. The car is also heavier and doesn’t react as quickly and I really had to learn to finesse it,” Atchison said. “Plus, I have never owned a car this pretty. A Funny Car is amazing to look at, but you take the body off and it is just a bunch of pipes. This car has floor mats, a nice carbon fiber dash, this is like a real car. When we finally got it all together, I didn’t know if I wanted to race it or just look at it. But we have enjoyed running this car and we are super glad to finally get a win with it.”
Nitro Harley produced Sunday’s other highlight-reel finale as Nate Gagnon, from Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, beat Mike Pelrine in the nitro-burning motorcycle category. After taking out the top two drivers from qualifying, Gagnon and Pelrine met in a final for the ages as Pelrine got the jump on the line and opened up a considerable margin over his opponent by halftrack, but both bikes went up in smoke allowing Gagnon to make up considerable ground on the top end and take the win with a 8.265, 210.77 to a 8.690, 133.23.
Sunday’s win was Gagnon’s second with the IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series, winning IHRA’s other Canadian stop at Castrol Raceway one year ago.
“What a wild weekend. We had a hard time getting a handle on the bike and that put us off our regular pace,” Gagnon said. “In the second round today we popped a motor and we thrashed to get back for the final. We had some luck with us and then a pedal fest for the win, what a way to make it happen.”
Four other professional categories filled the lanes at the Grand Bend Motorplex over the weekend, playing to a packed house on Saturday before wrapping up eliminations on Sunday.
Ike Maier lit the win light every time down the track in Top Fuel, finishing the weekend with a weekend-best 4.871, 261.32 in the nitro-powered match race. Ron Maroney claimed the weekend’s other nitro victory, besting Troy Martin in the finals of Nitro Altered. Maroney got the jump at the line in the “Blind Faith” nostalgia machine and put down a 6.215, 222.33 in taking the win over Martin, who had a 6.398, 224.88 in the runner-up effort.
Elaine Larsen led the way in Jet Dragster for the third time this season, besting Dawn Perdue in the Miller Welding jet-powered ride with a 5.808, 272.56 to a 5.901, 267.14.
In sportsman action, Clinton Township, Michigan’s Leo Zynda doubled-up in two categories, winning Super Rod on Saturday and Quick Rod on Sunday. Three others visited the finals twice during the two-race weekend with Mark Sanders, from Harrison, Ohio, visiting both Top Sportsman finals in his ’05 Cavalier with a win on Sunday and Pete D’Agnolo, from Rochester, N.Y., driving his ’67 Camaro to a Saturday win and Sunday runner-up. Jackson, N.J. native Richard Preiser was runner-up twice in Hot Rod.
The IHRA Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series will remain in Canada for its next stop as the nitro-powered drag racing series returns to Castrol Raceway July 4-6 for the IHRA Mopar Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports and Parts Canada.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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