Jr. Dragster
Champions crowned at Jr. Eastern Conference Finals
Hope Capley (age 6-9), Cody Holberg (10), Corey Kyle (11), Callie Martel (12), Wallace Wilson (13), Jonathan 
Northrop (14), Austin Alvey (15), and Rachael Weis (16-17) outlasted the fields in their categories to claim top honors at the 2016 NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Eastern Conference Finals presented by ViperizerRacing.com. All eight are first time winners at the race, one of two national events in the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League. Virginia Motorsports Park earned the team championship.
Capley, a Huntsville Dragway racer who hails from Madison, Tenn., earned the first Wally of her young career when she bested 2015 Eastern Conference Finals champion Carson Emmett in the 6-9 age-group final. Emmett, another Huntsville competitor who lives in Cedar Bluff, Ala., made Capley’s job easy in the final when he went red by.012-second. Capley posted a 12.19 (12.05 dial) on her victory pass.
Poe wins fourth; Ball brothers double up at Western Conference Finals
TULSA, OK — Last year, Cade Poe became the first driver in NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League history to win three Conference Finals/National Championships titles. The driver from Los Alamitos, Calif., didn’t take long to add to his record, winning a second straight and fourth overall title during this year’s NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Western Conference Finals presented by Huddleston Performance. Poe was joined in victory by the Ball brothers, Caden and Justin, who scored respective wins in the 6-9 age group and Jr. Comp. Other winners at the national-level event for Jr. Dragster competitors in Divisions 4, 5, 6, and 7 were Rylie Trumble (age 10), Madison Gordon (11), Kinley Wolfford (12), Aaron Jordan (13), Leslie Grissom (14), and Vernon Harris (16-17). Auto Club Famoso Raceway earned the team title.
Poe’s record fourth win came in a double-breakout final against Troy, Mich., racer Monica Roberts. Roberts, a member of the Tri-State Raceway team, got the jump at the starting line, but Poe, a Famoso competitor, was able to outmaneuver her at the stripe, winning on a 7.89 (7.90 dial) to 7.88 (7.90) count.
Makenna Brown lands first Junior Dragster win of season
Courtesy of Jegs
HEBRON, OH – Rain finally stayed away from National Trail Raceway over the weekend, which was all Makenna Brown needed to drive her JEGS.com Junior Dragster 2 to a win and a runner-up result at the two races contested at
the Columbus-area facility.
Saturday was supposed to be the sixth race of the year, but thanks to persistent rain that seems to have followed the tour around this season, it was only the second to be fully completed. Brown took advantage of the situation and claimed low qualifier honors before powering through the field and beating Nicholas Altenbach in the final to score her first win of 2011.
Seven Junior Dragster 2 cars entered the race, so Brown’s No. 1 qualifying effort was worth a bye-run in the first round. In the semifinals, Brown cut a .082 second light and made a 9.057 second pass at 70.57 mph on an 8.98 second dial-in, which resulted in an easy victory.
