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Boyko, Larose, Biscay, Roetto, and Rogers claim Summit National Championships

Billy Boyko (Super Pro), Mike LaRose (Pro), Jake Biscay (Sportsman), Patrick Roetto (Motorcycle), and Josh Rogers (Street Legal EV) won Summit Racing Series national championships in the final showdown at the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
29 Oct 2023
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
News
Summit National Championships

Billy Boyko (Super Pro), Mike Larose (Pro), Jake Biscay (Sportsman), Patrick Roetto (Motorcycle), and Josh Rogers (Street Legal EV) won Summit Racing Series national championships in the final showdown at the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Boyko, out of Division 1 from Bath, Pa,, was lightning on the Tree all day starting with a .007 reaction in round one against Division 2 wild card Mark Horton that helped him win a double-breakout race, then reached the final in a great race with Division 5’s Matt Driskell as both were .00 on the Tree but Boyko claimed the final-round ticket with a 7.568 on his 7.54 dial to Driskell's 7.080 on a 7.04 dial.

In the final, Boyko cut a perfect .000 reaction time and raced to a double-breakout victory over Division 3’s Tony Virgilio as both drivers went exactly .0177-second under their dial-ins. 

Virgilio got to the final by taking down Division 7's Chuck Hawk Jr. in a round-one double-breakout bout, then ran a near-perfect 7.795 on his 7.79 dial to beat Division 4’s Jacob Sterling in the semifinals.

Boyko’s Division 1 teammate LaRose wheeled his West Monroe, N.Y.-based '68 Dart to a final-round victory in Pro E.T. over Division 3’s Randy Burwell and his '77 Pinto Wagon with a 9.035 on his 9.00 dial while Burwell was too quick with a 10.579 on his 10.59 dial. 

LaRose opened eliminations by trailering Division 7's Sean Brewster with a 9.11 on his 9.08 dial, then won a double-breakout clash with Division 6’s Steve Kelly in the semifinals, his 9.00 on a 9.03 dial being closer to the mark than Kelly's 10.16 on a 10.23 prediction.

Burwell was perfect on the Tree in round one against Division 2’s Jesse Edens' red-light start, then advanced to the final round after Division 4 champ Jeff Riedel also left .014-second too soon and fouled.

Biscay, representing Division 6 out of Olympia, Wash., with his crowd-favorite '57 Wagon took the Sportsman championship with a final-round victory oner Division 1’s Denny Renninger with a near-perfect 12.536 on his 12.53 objective to Renninger’s 11.907 on an 11.87 dial.

Biscay survived a double-breakout race in round one against Joe Moriarty by running just .003-second under his 12.58 dial, then ran a near-perfect 12.562 on his 12.56 dial to defeat James Ring and reach the final.

Renniger won a double-breakout battle in round one when Division 7 wild card David Rudd broke out by more, then was .005 on the Tree in the semifinals against Division 7's A.J. Crader to take an easy ride into the final.

Division 5’s Roetto, competing in the national championship race for the third time, took the Sportsman Motorcycle title with his Wichita, Kan.-based Hayabusa, besting Division 1’s Mike Konopacki in the final with a 9.19 on his 9.17 dial to defeat Konopacki’s better-but-later 8.607 on an 8.59 dial.

Roetto won a double-breakout first-round bout with Division 7's Michael O'Neil then advanced to the final round on a -.020 red-light foul by Division 2’s Santi Rodriguez Jr.

Konopacki opened eliminations with a double-breakout victory over Division 6 wild card Cody Baldwin, then eked out a narrow semifinal win over Division 4's Robert Sanders with an 8.697 on his 8.51 assignment thanks to a holeshot.

Division 3’s Rogers buzzed his Brazil, Ind.-based '19 Tesla Model Y to the Street Legal EV title, stopping Division 5 wild card Darrel Goheen in the final round with a 13.190 on his 13.14 dial to beat Goheen’s later-leaving 12.098 on a 12.07.

Rogers ran a solid 13.16 on his 13.14 dial in round one to beat reigning national champ Craig Merilees of Division 7, and then advanced past red-lighting Gould in the semifinals.

Goheen raced past Kevin Rolph in round one with a 10.10 on his 12.04 dial then used a better starting-line reaction to defeat Danny Hoff as both ran five-hundredths off of their dial-ins.