Sunday: Kil-Kare Dragway captures team points competition

INDIANAPOLIS - Four champions were crowned during the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division Finals on Sunday at Indianapolis Raceway Park, with each of those winners earning a berth in the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., during the weekend of Nov. 8-12.

The Sunday finals concluded a three-day weekend event in which more than 650 participants from a total of 16 NHRA member drag strips across the Midwest competed for total prize money of more than $24,000 for individual and team honors, in four main categories: Super Pro, Pro, Street and Super Pro Bike.

Additionally, trophies were presented for high school and junior dragster categories, as well as a special "Track Managers" elimination bracket.

In addition to host Indianapolis Raceway Park, other participating tracks during the weekend's events were Bluegrass Raceway Park of Owingsville, Ken.; Bunkerhill (Ind.) Dragstrip; Byron (Ill.) Dragway; Coles County Dragway of Charleston, Ill.; Edgewater Sports Park of Cleves, Ohio; Gateway International Raceway of Madison, Ill.; Kil-Kare Dragway of Xenia, Ohio; Milan (Mich.) International Dragway; National Trail Raceway of Columbus, Ohio; Pacemakers Raceway Park of Mount Vernon, Ohio; Route 66 Raceway of Joliet, Ill.; St. Thomas Dragway of Ontario, Canada; Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Dragstrip; and U.S. 131 Dragway of Martin, Mich.

Kil-Kare Dragway captured the team points event with a total of 97 points. Host Indianapolis Raceway Park was second with 95 points, and Gateway International Raceway was third with 93 points.

In Super Pro, Jason Phillips of Granite City, Ill., captured the championship, earning $4,000 and a spot in competition at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. Other drivers earning a trip to Pomona, Calif., were Steve Pearson of St. Charles, Mo., in Pro, with a first-place prize of $2,500; Nick Jones of Owingsville, Ken., in Street, and Brian Poe of Cable, Ohio, in Super Pro Bike. Both Jones and Poe earned a $1,000 first-place prize. Additionally, all four champions will receive an additional $3,500 for qualifying for November's competition.

Also Sunday, three Junior Dragsters competitors were crowned, with Matt Antrobius of Bellbrook, Ohio, taking the 13-17 age group, Patrick Riley of Danville, Ohio, winning the 10-12 age group, and Travis Bath of Warrensburg, Ill., winning the 8-9 year old division. Previously, Will Long of Warsaw, Ind., won the High School division on Saturday.

A special "Track Managers" race was captured by Tiffaney Kovalik of Pataskala, Ohio, representing National Trail Raceway of Columbus, Ohio. The North Central Division is one of seven NHRA divisions across the country. Finals for the Summit Racing Series will take place Nov. 8-12 at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

Final Team Point Standings from the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division NHRA Finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park:

1. Kil-Kare Dragway, 97.
2. Indianapolis Raceway Park, 95.
3. Gateway International Raceway, 93.
4. Bunker Hill Dragstrip, 89.
5. Bluegrass Raceway Park, 86.
6. Pacemakers Raceway Park, 83.
7. U.S. 131 Dragway, 82.
8. National Trail Raceway, 78.
9. Edgewater Sports Park, 75.
10. Route 66 Raceway, 74.
11. Byron Dragway, 74.
12. Milan International Dragway, 74.
13. Terre Haute Action Dragstrip, 69.
14. Coles County Dragway, 65.
15. London Motorplex, 54.
16. St. Thomas Dragway, 30.

Final round results from the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division NHRA Finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park:

SUPER PRO
Jason Phillips, Granite City, Ill., '92 Dragster, 8.111 seconds, 166.32 mph def. Scott Britton, Kettering, Ohio, '00 Dragster, 12.795, 60.78

PRO
Steve Pearson, St. Charles, Mo., 10.851 seconds, 122.05 mph def. David McVicker, Lagro, Ind., '55 Bel Air,

12.362, 105.86

STREET
Nick Jones, Owingsville, Ken., '79 Mustang, 14.912 seconds, 80.19 mph def. Doug Caplinger, Xenia, Ohio, '79 Malibu, 13.330, 98.45

SUPER PRO BIKE
Brian Poe, Cable, Ohio, '93 Suzuki, 9.238 seconds, 136.90 mph def. David Hill, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, '84 Suzuki, no time (broke)

HIGH SCHOOL
Will Long, Warsaw, Ind., '67 Nova, 13.491 seconds, 86.69 mph def. Jessica Coyle, Olympia, Ken., '00 Ford F-150, 17.983, 75.37

JUNIORS (13-17)
Matt Antrobius, Bellbrook, Ohio, '95 Fro Flex, 9.345 seconds, 67.59 mph def. Tony Virgilio, Champaign, Ill., '98 Jegs, 8.839, 71.99.

JUNIORS (10-12) Patrick Riley, Danville, Ohio, '96 Spitzer, 9.001 seconds, 70.02 mph def. Rodney Boyd, Mt. Vernon, Ohio,

INDIANAPOLIS - Qualifications continued, and eliminations in selected categories began on Saturday in the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division Finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. More than 650 participants from a total of 16 National Hot Rod Association member drag strips across the Midwest are competing in the three-day event, which awards more than $24,000 in prize money to competitors participating in six classes for individual and team honors. Individual champions will advance to a national run-off at the NHRA Auto Club of Southern California at Pomona, Calif., during the weekend of Nov. 8-11.

In addition to host Indianapolis Raceway Park, other participating tracks during the weekend's events are Bluegrass Raceway Park of Owingsville, Ken.; Bunkerhill (Ind.) Dragstrip; Byron (Ill.) Dragway; Coles County Dragway of Charleston, Ill.; Edgewater Sports Park of Cleves, Ohio; Gateway International Raceway of Madison, Ill.; Kil-Kare Dragway of Xenia, Ohio; Milan (Mich.) International Dragway; National Trail Raceway of Columbus, Ohio; Pacemakers Raceway Park of Mount Vernon, Ohio; Route 66 Raceway of Joliet, Ill.; St. Thomas Dragway of Ontario, Canada; Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Dragstrip; and U.S. 131 Dragway of Martin, Mich.

Through the first round of eliminations in four categories, Super Pro, Pro, Street and Super Pro Bike, Bluegrass Raceway Park leads the event with 68 total points, one more than the second-place team, Kil-Kare Dragway. Host IRP is in third with 65 points.

On Saturday, four winners were declared in the special "VP Racing Fuels Race of Champions" during the Summit Racing Series North Central Division Finals. Ray Boyer III of Logansport, Ind., in Super Pro; Rick Buyck of Redford, Mich., in Pro; Robby Easton of Mattoon, Ill., in Street; and Bob Lohr of Staunton, Ill., in Super Pro Bike took home honors. Also Saturday, four winners were crowned in the Mac Tools Shootout, a special event race of the Summit Racing Series North Central Division Finals. Winners in the four categories were Randy Norris of Kenosha, Wis., in Super Pro; David Berry of Waynesville, Ohio, in Pro; Ray Block of Columbus, Ohio, in Street; and Brian Poe of Cable, Ohio, in Super Pro Bike. Four winners were also awarded special awards for Best Appearing Car/Bike. Additionally, eliminations in the high school category were completed with Will Long of Warsaw, Ind., defeating Jessica Coyle of Olympia, Ken., to win the title.

The three-day 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division Finals concludes on Sunday, with eliminations continuing in all categories. Sunday's schedule begins at 8 a.m. with Jr. Dragster eliminations, and continues throughout the morning. A special awards ceremony will start at 1 p.m. before the final eliminations in each category concludes Sunday evening.

Team Point Standings through Saturday's first round eliminations from the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division NHRA Finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park:

 1. Bluegrass Raceway Park, 68
 2. Kil-Kare Dragway, 67
 3. Indianapolis Raceway Park, 65
 4. Bunker Hill Dragstrip, 64
 5. Route 66 Raceway, 62
 6. National Trail Raceway, 60
      Gateway International Raceway, 60
 8. Byron Dragway, 59
      U.S. 131 Dragway, 59
10. Terre Haute Action Dragstrip, 58
      Milan International Dragway, 58
12. Edgewater Sports Park, 55
13. Pacemakers Raceway Park, 54
14. Coles County Dragway, 53
15. London Motorplex, 44. 16. St. Thomas Dragway, 26

Saturday's final round results from the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division NHRA Finals in High School category at Indianapolis Raceway Park:
Will Long, Warsaw, Ind., '67 Nova, 13.491 seconds, 86.69 mph def. Jessica Coyle, Olympia, Ken., '00 Ford F-150, 17.983, 75.37.

Saturday's final round results from the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division NHRA Finals in the "Mac Tools Shootout" at Indianapolis Raceway Park:

SUPER PRO
Randy Norris, Kenosha, Wis., '79 Malibu, 10.046 seconds, 131.08 mph def. Marllon Carter, DeMotte, Ind., '67 Camaro, 10.326, 127.73.

PRO
David Berry, Waynesville, Ohio, '78 Malibu, 11.577 seconds, 114.85 mph def. Michael Fouts, Gahanna, Ohio, '81 Malibu, 10.200, 128.64.

STREET
Ray Block, Columbus, Ohio, '92 Dakota, 14.053 seconds, 95.69 mph def. Mickey Terry, Hillsboro, Ind., '81 Cutlass, 13.326, 99.53.

SUPER PRO BIKE
Brian Poe, Cable, Ohio, '93 Suzuki, 9.148 seconds, 133.33 mph def. Jim Montgomery, Byron, Ill., '77 Kawasaki, 9.550, 134.10.

Saturday's final round results from the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division NHRA Finals in the "VP Racing Fuels Race of Champions" at Indianapolis Raceway Park:

SUPER PRO
Ray Boyer III, Logansport, Ind., '94 Dragster, 8.444 seconds, 146.19 mph def. Al Kuefler, Naperville, Ill., '97 Spitzer, 8.131, 162.51.

PRO
Rick Buyck, Reford, Mich., '73 Camaro, 10.306 seconds, 128.15 mph def. Herman Zehnder, Tinley Park, Ill., '78 Monza, 10.275, 123.88.

STREET
Robby Easton, Mattoon, Ill., '86 Fiero GT, 16.428 seconds, 80.94 mph def. Doug Caplinger, Xenia, Ohio, '79 Malibu, 13.355, 87.48.

SUPER PRO BIKE
Bob Lohr, Staunton, Ill., '80 Kawaski, 9.794 seconds, 127.11 mph def. Brett Engel, Peru, Ind., '00 Kawasaki, 8.559, 147.39.

Saturday's Special Awards from the 2001 Summit Racing Series North Central Division NHRA Finals for "Best Appearing Car/Bike" at Indianapolis Raceway Park: Super Pro - Terry Young, Byron Dragway, 2001 RacetechRed. Pro - Mike Rehl, National Trail Raceway, 1985 Monte Carlo. Street - Otis Isom, Indianapolis Raceway Park, 1981 Chevelle Wagon. Super Pro Bike - Ron Sizemore, Edgewater SportsPark, 1996 Suzuki.