Muncie Ends US 131 Winning Streak at IHRA Division 5 Summit Team Finals
MARTIN, MI — Muncie Dragway edged home track and defending champions US 131 Motorsports Park to win the 
International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Division 5 (Thunder) Summit Team Finals over the weekend.
Muncie, which had finished runner-up to US 131 the previous two years, took an 80-76 win over the Division 5 hosts. The event featured entries from a dozen of the top tracks in the Midwest and Canada.
Other tracks who participated were: Bunker Hill Dragstrip, Grand Bend Motorplex, Great Lakes Dragaway, Marion County International Raceway, Mid-Michigan Motorplex, Osecola Dragway, St. Thomas Raceway Park, Ubly Dragstrip, US 41 Motorplex and Wisconsin International Raceway.
Leading up to the main event, racers participated in Gambler’s races and “best of” awards.
Main Event:
Top
Wes May (Muncie) won on a foul when final-round opponent Steve Riggins (Muncie) red-lighted. May had a .032 reaction time coupled with a 7.923 elapsed time at 59.82 mph. Riggins had a -.500 start before going down the track in 7.590 seconds at 59.00 mph.
Mod
Jim Sebright (US 131) had the winning package of 5.801 at 113.78 mph against a 5.80 dial-in, along with a .020 reaction time. Mark Howard (US 131) finished with a 6.148-second run at 114.30 mph against a 6.16 dial-in and a .037 reaction time.
Street
Ken Hansen (Mid Michigan) had an 8.716 elapsed time at 73.25 mph against an 8.70 dial-in for the win. Brad Talbot (Grand Bend) was quicker at the start .026 to .040, but wasn’t as close to the dial-in with a 7.77 second-run at 85 mph against a 7.72 dial-in.
Junior Dragster
Connor Jensen (US 131) ran 7.963 seconds at 80.34 mph against a 7.93 dial-in with a .093 reaction time. Arnold Fox (Grand Bend) finished runner-up with an 8.085-second run at 78.25 mph against an 8.04 dial-in along with a .110 reaction time.
Other Results
Team Captains Race
Steve Keys (US 41) had the winning effort with an 9.04-second run against an 9.03 dial-in, paired with a .191 reaction time. Ashley Finney (Osceola) made a 10.648-second pass against a 10.59 dial-in with a .129 reaction time.
Friday’s Gambler’s Race
Special Awards
- Best Appearing Open Bodied Car — Joe Bauman, Mid-Michigan Motorplex
- Best Engineered Open Bodied Car — Chad Six, US 131 Motorsports Park
- Best Appearing Full Bodied Car — Jason Preston, Mid-Michigan Motorplex
- Best Engineered Full Bodied Car — Dan Klein, Wisconsin International Raceway
- Best Appearing Junior Dragster — Max Van Hooydonk, Grand Bend Motorplex
- Best Engineered Junior Dragster — Brody Brown, Grand Bend Motorplex
- Best Team Spirit — Muncie Dragway
- Best Decorated Grandstands — Osecola Dragway
- Best Appearing Team — Mid-Michigan Motorplex
- SSS Track of the Year — Great Lakes Dragaway
Team Standings
- Muncie Dragway 80
- US 131 Motorsports Park 76
- Mid-Michigan Motorplex 46
- Grand Bend Motorplex 46
- Osceola Dragway 38
- US 41 Motorplex 35
- Bunker Hill Dragstrip 27
- St. Thomas Raceway Park 19
- Ubly Dragstrip 17
- Marion County Int’l Raceway 16
- Wisconsin Int’l Raceway 14
- Great Lakes Dragaway 13
