Summit #3 & 4

​On the weekend of June 10th and 11th, the NHRA Summit Series stroke again at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip, bringing both the regulars and the monster dragsters out to race for NHRA gold. And with a full weekend of racing to get done, there's a lot of race action to cover, as the Summit Motorcycle, Sportsman, Pro, and Super Pro both ran twice over the weekend.

Starting with Saturday, the Summit Motorcyclescame down to a matchup of Silvas, as Joe Silva and his 80 Suzuki went up against Cathy Silva and her 03 Kawasaki. Cathy would have a big head start,with her dial over two seconds slower than Joe's. However, a slower bike is no excuse to go slower off the line, as Cathy's .158 reaction time was blown away by Joe's .097. On the actual dragstrip, Cathy took the win, her 9.983 E/T on a 9.95 dial beating Joe's 7.429 E/T on a 7.36, but not enough to make up for that lethargic start, as Joe puts together a better overall package, and takes Saturday's Summit Motorcycles win.

After Motorcycles comes the Summit Sportsman, as Gary Harfield and Paul Wagner met in the final. The two racers were nearly evenly matched, with Paul's 73 Duster having a slightly faster dial. As the green light dropped, both racers were nearly even off the line, and both were close to their dials. But in the end, Gary's 7.958 on a 7.90 was not enough, as Paul's 7.639 was closer to his 7.61 dial, giving Paul the Summit Sportsman win for Saturday.

​Paul Wagner, his 73 Duster, and their new Winner stick after the Summit Sportsman final.



Up in the Summit Pro bracket, Rick Reynolds and his 71 Pinto was up against Richard Sullivan and his 92 Mustang. Rick had the faster car, and at the line that could be quite an advantage. Especially when your rival leaves early, red lighting and giving you the win before you even have to step on the gas. That is what happened, as Rick got an easy win in the Summit Pro.

​Rick Reynolds (Near) in the Summit Pro Final against Richard Sullivan (Far).

And while Rick is clearly a competent Pro, how good of a Super Pro is he? He was good enough to make the Summit Super Pro bracket, at least. Daniel Munoz was in his way, trying to stop him from doubling up in two brackets that day. But, Rick was not going to make it easy for him, as Rick gambles with the Christmas Tree, launching with a .009 reaction time, getting a huge lead over Daniel's more pedestrian .104,  giving Rick nearly a full tenth of a second of wiggle room to work with.  Daniel had every intention of stopping him there, as he raced nearly perfectly to his dial, getting a 6.778 E/T on a 6.77 dial. But, that reaction time would be more than enough to ruin him, as Rick's 5.898 on aa 5.86 was not bad enough to let Daniel make up that difference, as Rick Reynolds doubles up on the Super Pro and the Pro brackets with two wins.

​ick Reynolds'  66 Fastlane (Near) up against Daniel Munoz (Far) in the Summit Super Pro final.

And with the chill of a late Saturday night behind them, the racers all went to bed, rested up, and got ready for Sunday afternoon for another round, with the Gambler joining in on the side.

Starting with said Gambler, Dustin Enland was lining up in the final against Jorge Couarrubios' 1200 Horsepower monster of a 07 GTO. Dustin would have over three seconds of a head start over Jorge's beast, who rocketed it's way down the track in under 5 seconds, and clocked in at around 150 MPH. However, all the speed in the world doesn't matter if you leave too early, as Jorge put his lead foot on the gas pedal 7 thousandths of a second too late, giving the Gambler win and the Gambler cash to Dustin.

​The Gambler final, between Dustin Enland (Far) and Jorge Couarrubios (Near)



Meanwhile, in the Summit Motorcycle bracket, Joe Silva returned to see if he could get a weekend sweep of the Motorcycle points. John Legrano's 80 Suzuki had other ideas, though. But, much like Saturday, Joe got a great reaction time with a .051, and his rival got a far more lethargic one, as John got off the line in .235 seconds. That'd be enough, as John was forced to play heavy catch up to break out with a 6.171 E/T on a 6.20 dial, giving Joe the weekend sweep of the Motorcycles.

In the Summit Sportsman, Gary Harfield and his Corvette were looking to avenge their final loss Saturday, and their target was Wayne Johnson and his 72 Ranchero. Wayne would have a good run at it, with a 9.181 E/T on a 9.10 dial, but Gary's 8.036 E/T on a 7.95 dial would barely squeak past Wayne, giving Gary his vengeance and the Summit Sportsman win.

In the Summit Pro bracket, Rick Reynolds stroke again, taking his Saturday's victory and turning it into good momentum, taking him all the way back to the finals, where he'd go up against Pete Wrieden and his 57 Bel Air. But this time, it'd be Pete getting the risky .003 reaction time, forcing Rick to play catch up and push his Fairlane to nail it's dial. And with a 5.868 E/T on a 5.87 dial, he pushed it two thosuandths of a second too hard, breaking out and giving Pete Sunday's Summit Pro victory.

​Rick Reynolds (Near) against Pete Wrieden (Far) in the Summit Pro final

And finally, the weekend will get closed out with the Summit Super Pro bracket, as the intense wheelies of RJ Simrock's Nova went up against Rob Hoffman and his powerful 79 Camaro. And with RJ nailing a .018 green light and Rob getting a .017 start, this was going to be decided on the straightaway. RJ would carefully chase down the stripe, giving up just enough speed to tuck under his dial, getting a 6.556 E/T on a 6.54 dial. But Rob would push even harder, even faster, as he crossed the finish line first, but with a 6.419 E/T on a 6.54 dial, he would break out, and give RJ the Summit Super Pro win.

​RJ Simrock (Far) up against Rob Hoffman (Near) in the Summit Super Pro final.


And with one intense weekend of drag racing finished, we look forward to the future. And in two weeks, on June 24th, the lights come on at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip as the second of the three race Crower Cup series hits Barona, starting at 4PM and going deep into the night. See you there!