Under slightly overcast skies and beautiful 70 degree weather, a great time was had by all at the 2nd Annual NHRA National Open. Racers and spectators came from across the central United States and Canada to enjoy drag racing action at Rock Falls Raceway. Through the trials and tribulations, victories were claimed by Erica Enders (Pro Stock), Logan Wernet (Stock/Super Stock Combo), Craig Schultz (Super Comp), Greg Maaninga (Super Gas), Donnie Durenberger (Super Street), Jason Hop (Top Dragster), Greg Maaninga (Top Sportsman), and Ron Langowski (Sportsman Motorcycle).
The team at Elite Motorsports brought seven of the best gear jammin' door slammin' Pro Stockers in the nation, six of which are currently in the Top 10 points standings nationally for the NHRA. After three fierce rounds of racing, the final round was Erica Enders versus Fernando Cuadra Jr. Cuadra left off the starting line first with a .016 reaction, but Enders overpowered him running a 6.550 at 209.36mph on the Rock Falls Raceway quarter mile. Cuadra powered down to a 6.572 at 209.91. All told, Elite Motorsports logged FOURTEEN passes faster than 6.600 and over 205mph, entertaining the crowd to no end.
In Competition Eliminator, it was Matt Harris nabbing the win over Bill Riemenapp in the final round. Both high winding small block Chevrolets left the line hard, but problems developed for Riemenapp resulting in the loss. Jim Greenheck and Royce Freeman were the semifinalists.
Logan Wernet, Mason City IA, wheeled his trusty '62 Belvedere through seven rounds of competition to find Matthew Lund in the final round. After dispatching Michael Lund in the semis, Wernet made it two for two after Matthew lit the red light in the final by -.017.
Super Comp competition featured Craig Schultz and Chris Mitchell in the final round. Schultz, out of Winona MN, was racing with a heavy heart competing in memory of longtime friend Mike Szczepanski who passed away. With the determination of a man on a mission, Schultz left the line .010 and ran dead on with a 7 to take the holeshot victory. Jeremy Lehrke was the lone semifinalist.
Greg Maaninga was a busy man on Saturday! Finding himself in the final round of Super Gas, he was able to dispatch opponent Nathan Vrooman with a .028 total package to take the victory. Kurt Potach and Al Gavlosky were the semifinalist. More to come on Maaninga soon!
Super Street competition saw a battle of heavy hitters, with Donnie Durenberger set to do battle with Steve Traeger. While Durenberger didn't get the reaction time he was looking for, Traeger took a bit too much at the end with a breakout finish, turning on the winlight in Durenberger's lane. Neal Hanson was the lone semifinalist.
Greg Maaninga made final round appearance number two of the day, this time in the hard charging '00 Camaro running Top Sportsman. Lining up alongside John Gosh, Maaninga could do no wrong; leaving with a significant starting line advantage and cruising to victory. Dan Schei was the last racer standing in the semifinals.
in the Top Dragster final, good friends Jason Hop and Mike Kritzky lined up to do battle. After hard launches by both six second dragsters, Hop locked him out by running dead on seven off a .016 reaction time to take a much needed victory. Dan Flewelling and Don Kritzky were the semifinalist.
Finally, in Sportsman Motorcycle, Ron Langowski and Jason Clampitt took the stage to do battle. Langowski, recently healed from a medical procedure, took the victory after Clampitt went red and rolled off the throttle to cruise to victory lane. Jim Remington was the only semi final rider.
Congratulations to all winners at Saturday's NHRA National Open! Sunday's racing is already underway with exciting racing action!
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