NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals-Sunday from IRP

NHRA SUMMIT RACING SERIES - NORTH CENTRAL DIVISION FINALS
INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK, INDIANAPOLIS
Sunday, September 14, 2003

NORTH CENTRAL DIVISION SUMMIT SERIES FINALS WRAP UP AT IRP
INDIANAPOLIS - In the final rounds of the NHRA North Central Division
Summit Racing Series Finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, champions were
crowned in six racing categories.  More than 700 of the best racers from
across the division came to IRP to compete for individual and team honors
in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Super Pro Bike, High School and Jr. Dragster
(divided into three age categories).
        After playing the role of bride's maid last year, the team from
National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, took the honors for the first
time in the division's 27-year history of running the Summit Racing Series
Finals. Ryan Goodin of Newark, Ohio, was the runner-up in Pro and the only
driver from National Trail Raceway to make a final-round appearance. 
However, the team scored a total of 51 round-wins, three more than second
place Pacemakers Dragway Park. 
        Mac McKnight, Gahanna, Ohio, drove his '67 Camaro to the win in
Super Pro and the Pro winner was Russ Briggs of Ionia, Mich., behind the
wheel of his '79 Malibu.  In Sportsman, Fairfield, Ohio, racer Jeff Seither
doubled up as he carried Friday's Race of Champions victory into another
win today.  
  In the Youth Teams classes, the High School winner was Christina Parriman
and Junior winners were Travis Alexander in the 13- to 17-year-old class;
Ben Rohling in the 10- to 12-year-old class; and Holden English in the 8-
and 9-year-old class.
        The individual winners in Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman and Super Pro
Bike will advance to compete for a national championship against winners
from NHRA's other six divisions at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., in
November.  They will each receive $3,500 for participating in the Finals
and the national champion in each class will earn an additional $5,000.
        The National Dragster Team Spirit Award went to Chandler
Motorsports Park.  The team decked out its section of the grandstand in
bright yellow wooden Xs, a nod to the track's designation as "Team X."  In
the stands throughout the weekend, the Chandler Motorsports Park team wore
their yellow T-shirts and cheered on team mates, waving yellow pom-poms and
shaking plastic jugs that were painted yellow and filled with rocks. 

Following are the final round results from the NHRA North Central Division
Summit Racing Series Finals at IRP:

SUPER PRO
Mac McKnight, Gahanna, Ohio, '67 Camaro, 6.585 seconds, 102.87 mph def.
Bill Webb, Centerburg, Ohio, '96 Fairlane, 5.741, 119.45

PRO
Russ Briggs, Ionia, Mich., '79 Malibu, 6.460, 103.21 def. Ryan Goodin,
Newark, Ohio, '75 Duster, 7.939, 84.83

SPORTSMAN
Jeff Seither, Fairfield, Ohio, '69 Fairlane, 13.604, 95.48 def. Gary
Glancy, Oxford, Ohio, 13.480, 101.82

SUPER PRO BIKE
Dan Dishon, Logansport, Ind., '97 Kawasaki, 8.934, 143.78 def. Rick
Hellbrunn, Columbus, Ohio, '97 Kawasaki, 9.286, 137.40

HIGH SCHOOL
Christina Parriman, Dayton, Ohio, '77 Nova, 15.207, 87.38 def. Branden
Elam, Gahanna, Ohio, '89 Firebird, 15.645, 84.99

JR. DRAGSTER 13-17
Travis Alexander, White Cloud, Minn., 8.420,75.82 def. Jerry Marcum,
Crittenten, Ky., 9.147, 73.05

JR. DRAGSTER 10-12
Ben Rohling, Taylor Mill, Ky., 11.034, 54.76 def. Brent Martin, Beaverton,
Mich., 10.723

JR. DRAGSTER 8-9
Holden English, Matcalf, Ill., 13.604, 44.84 def. Mitchell McCaffrey,
Garden City, Mich., 13.220, 46.40