The Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions is held at the conclusion of each season and features a runoff of the top sportsman drivers in each of IHRA’s seven sportsman classes to decide the world champions in each class. This program decides championships on the track and gives all racers an even playing field regardless of their geographic location or financial ability to travel.

Debuting in 2009, the Tournament of Champions has the added support of Summit Racing Equipment and is expected to evolve into one of the premier sportsman programs in the country.

Entry into the Summit Racing Tournament of Champions is earned through a national event victory on the Nitro Jam tour, a victory in a special Summit Racing TOC qualifier or by finishing in the top three in one of the six divisions on the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am tour. To add to the value of competing in the Summit Pro-Am Tour, all Summit Pro-Am champions also earn a first round bye in the tournament.

CompetitionPlus.com previews next weekend’s championship-determining program to be contested during the IHRA Summit Sportsman Spectacular at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va.

The Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions is held at the conclusion of each season and features a runoff of the top sportsman drivers in each of IHRA’s seven sportsman classes to decide the world champions in each class. This program decides championships on the track and gives all racers an even playing field regardless of their geographic location or financial ability to travel.

Debuting in 2009, the Tournament of Champions has the added support of Summit Racing Equipment and is expected to evolve into one of the premier sportsman programs in the country.

Entry into the Summit Racing Tournament of Champions is earned through a national event victory on the Nitro Jam tour, a victory in a special Summit Racing TOC qualifier or by finishing in the top three in one of the six divisions on the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am tour. To add to the value of competing in the Summit Pro-Am Tour, all Summit Pro-Am champions also earn a first round bye in the tournament.

CompetitionPlus.com previews next weekend’s championship-determining program to be contested during the IHRA Summit Sportsman Spectacular at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va.

TOP SPORTSMAN

Within the IHRA, Top Sportsman is the home for fast doorslammers, incredible competition and is without a doubt one of the most popular classes in all of drag racing.

And this year the Top Sportsman class can add another title to its distinguished resume – unpredictable.

That is because in 2011 the Top Sportsman class features 32 different drivers qualified for this year’s Summit Tournament of Champions out of a possible 33 spots. That means with 33 spots available, only one driver was able to double-up with a big event win to help narrow down the competition. Finally, it also means that this year’s Top Sportsman championship tournament is anyone’s ballgame.

Out of the 32 drivers qualified for this year’s field, only Virginia native Al Burkett was able to produce a double-up, finishing second in Division 1 and winning the Piedmont TOC qualifier to eliminate an extra spot in the field. This year’s field also almost guarantees that we will see a brand new IHRA World Champion when the curtain closes on the 2011 season as only one driver – North Carolina native Steve Corker – has ever won a championship in Top Sportsman before, doing it twice in 2008 and again last year.

Overall 14 different states and provinces are represented in the Top Sportsman field lead by Texas with six qualifiers. North Carolina, Ohio and Florida are next with four each followed by Virginia, British Columbia and Alberta with two apiece.

Leading the way into October are the six divisional champions led by Odessa, Texas’ Kamron Wright. Wright had a stellar year behind the wheel of his 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt with four final round appearances and two wins to take the Division 4 crown over Russell Marr. Both of Wright’s victories occurred at Dallas Raceway helping him secure the 26 point victory over the fellow Texas native.

Division 9 winner Mike White of Arden, North Carolina also had a strong year in 2011, visiting three final rounds and winning twice at Dunn Benson and at the rain-delayed Rockingham event held at Darlington Dragway earlier this month. Thanks to the strength of two victories, White was able to secure a 58 point victory over Tim West in the always tough Raiders division.

Canadian racer Randy Modersohn also had a multi-win season on his way to the inaugural Division 6 crown, driving his ’63 Corvette to a sweep of the event at the Eagle Motorplex to edge Pat McNally for the title.

Top Sportsman’s remaining divisional champions were Southwest Ranches, Florida’s Rick McDonough, Clarkston, Michigan’s “Motorcity” Michael Sowards and Marlinton, West Virginia’s Calvin Butler. McDonough drove his 2001 Chevrolet S-10 to the Division 2 championship off the strength of two final rounds and a victory at Darlington Dragway, Sowards powered his way to the championship in Division 3 with two final rounds and a win at Pittsburgh Raceway Park driving his 1990 Beretta and Butler narrowly held off Al Burkett to win Division 1 using only a runner-up finish in his beautiful ’63 Corvette.

Despite only finishing runner-up in his division, Burkett led all Summit Pro-Am drivers with three victories in 2011.

Top Sportsman drivers earning their way into the field via a divisional podium finish include divisional runner-ups Burkett (D1), Norman Williams (D2), Rube Allman (D3), Russell Marr (D4), Patrick McNally (D6) and Tim West (D9) and divisional third place finishers Mark Payne, Keith Russell, James Wyatt, Glenn Wright, Graham Foster and Dale Freeman.

Other Top Sportsman qualifiers include 2011 national event winners Matthew Buck (Palm Beach), Les Herod (Baton Rouge), Trent Wilson (San Antonio), Frank Santarosa (Salt Lake), Darryn O’Connor (Edmonton), Bill Wilson (Grand Bend) and Rob Harvishak (Martin) and divisional TOC winners Doug Gbur (Pittsburgh), Mike Cobb (Dallas), Burkett (Piedmont), Bob Phillips (Richmond) and John Benoit (Immokalee).

Rounding out the list of Top Dragster qualifiers is 2010 Summit Allstars winner and defending World Champion Steve Corker, 2010 IHRA World Finals Nitro Jam winner Robert Jones and 2011 Summit Sportsman Spectacular winner Don Rudd.

TOP DRAGSTER 

In 2010 Scott Ball surprised us all.

Sneaking into the Tournament of Champions field via a third place finish in Division 4 last year, Ball had the kind of weekend most drivers only dream of having at the World Finals as he eliminated one driver after another on his way to winning the 2010 Summit Tournament of Champions and claiming the IHRA Top Dragster World Championship.

But while Ball shocked the world last season, he certainly will not have that luxury this year.

Ball followed up his quiet, under-the-radar approach last season with a brash “look at me” in 2011 with three Summit Pro-Am victories and a championship in Division 4 to lead the way into this year’s field.

And he is certainly not alone. Ball is one of 31 drivers qualified for this year’s Summit Tournament of Champions in Top Dragster to be held at Virginia Motorsports Park next month and he is one of five former world champions in this year’s TD field. Ball joins 2008 Top Dragster champion Scott Richardson and three others won in other classes including Brett Nesbitt and David Barr in Quick Rod and Cameron Manuel in Super Rod.

Ball’s home state of Texas also leads the way with the most qualifiers my region this year with five, followed by North Carolina and Alberta with four apiece, Virginia with three and Florida, Michigan, Ontario, Pennsylvania and South Carolina with two.

In addition to being one of the winningest drivers in this year’s field, Ball also has the most momentum having won the last two races of the season at San Antonio Raceway entering the IHRA World Finals next month. Ball also had a win at State Capitol Raceway in April to claim the D4 crown over Austin Cowan.

While Ball is certainly considered a favorite, he will have his hands full this year. And one of those drivers that should give him fits is 2010 Super Rod champion Cameron Manuel. Campaigning the Justice Racing entry for his future in-laws, Manuel raced to three victories on his way to winning the Division 2 championship this season. Manuel, of Winston Salem, N.C., had wins at Piedmont Dragway, Farmington Dragway and Carolina Dragway to win his first Top Dragster divisional crown.

King George, Virginia’s Wesley Washington also had a strong season in 2011, winning the Division 1 Patriots championship over Jamie Bridge. Washington had two wins this season at Maryland International Raceway in April and Skyview Drags in June to claim the title by a narrow 11 points.

The Division 3 championship went to Elkhart, Indiana’s Todd Strefling who had a pair of victories at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park and Darlington Dragway to edge out William Crawford for the gold.

Top Dragster’s remaining divisional champions were Candler, North Carolina’s David Barr and Edmonton, Alberta’s Natasha Cherchuk. Cherchuk used a rain-delayed victory at Castrol Raceway and another final round finish to propel her to the inaugural crown in Division 6 and Barr had two runner-up finishes on his way to the Division 9 championship.

Top Dragster drivers earning their way into the field via a divisional podium finish include divisional runner-ups Jamie Bridge (D1), Michael Ferraro (D2), William Crawford (D3), Austin Cowan (D4), Curtis Smith (D6) and Stacy Hall (D9) and divisional third place finishers Jack Trussell, Shane Maddox, Randy Kelley, Donald Aydelott, Peter Saruga and Darien Caldwell.

Other Top Dragster qualifiers include 2011 national event winners Robert Snowball (Palm Beach), Clayton Nanace (Baton Rouge), Gordon Cole (San Antonio), Sheldon Gecker (Tucson, Salt Lake), Scott Hearn (Edmonton), Ed Smith (Grand Bend) and Tony Myers (Martin) and divisional TOC winners Josh Rietscha (Pittsburgh), Scott Barker (Dallas), Manuel (Piedmont), J.B. Donati (Richmond), Scott Richardson (Immokalee).

Rounding out the list of Top Dragster qualifiers 2010 Summit Allstars winner Jason Hoff.

SUPER STOCK

Look out Super Stock, Anthony Bertozzi is back.

Not that the legendary driver out of Ashland, Va. ever went away, but Bertozzi has returned to top form in 2011, visiting four Summit Pro-Am final rounds, winning the Summit Sportsman Spectacular in July (essentially an all-star race) and claiming the Division 1 championship in spectacular fashion.

So what does that mean for the rest of the field? Well, when Bertozzi is at the top of his game, it usually spells trouble for the competition.

Bertozzi, a 16-time IHRA World Champion, is one of 27 drivers qualified for this year’s Summit Tournament of Champions field in Super Stock comprised of drivers from 14 states and provinces led by North Carolina’s five participants. Ohio is second with four drivers, followed by Louisiana with three and Alberta, Florida, Texas and Bertozzi’s home state of Virginia with two.

There are two former Super Stock World Champions in this year’s field including Bertozzi with seven of his 16 career championships coming in the SS class, his last of which coming in 2007, and Ohio-based racer Craig Marshall who won a championship in 2008. The Super Stock field also includes five drivers qualified in another class – in this case Stock – including Marshall, Richard Alford, Aaron Allison, Mark Faul and David Latino.

On the year Bertozzi is the second leading points earner in Super Stock, racking up 423 points via two wins and two runner-up finishes to run away with the Patriots championship by 133 points over Bryan Worner. Bertozzi’s victories came at the season-opening Pro-Am event at Immokalee Regional Raceway and at Maryland International Raceway in April. In addition, Bertozzi also won the inaugural Summit Sportsman Spectacular at MIR over Gil Carty Jr. to win one of the biggest paydays of the year.

Despite all of that, however, there was one man who bested all of those numbers. Donaldsonville, Louisiana’s David Latino was the top points earner in the class, riding four Summit Pro-Am tour victories to easily claim the Division 4 Renegades championship over Gilbert Johnson Jr. Latino swept the Dallas Pro-Am and secured victories at State Capitol Raceway in April and San Antonio Raceway earlier this month to lead the field entering the IHRA World Finals next month. Latino also did well nationally, reaching the semifinals at the Mardi Gras Nitro Jam in February and winning the San Antonio Nitro Jam in the Stock class in April.

Another driver with multiple Pro-Am victories in 2011 is Canadian racer Jared Erichsen whose victories at the Eagle Motorplex in May and Castrol Raceway in June helped propel him to the inaugural Division 6 Border Bandits title.

Super Stock’s remaining divisional champions were East Palestine, Ohio’s Aaron Allison, Elm City, North Carolina’s Michael Crumpler and Cumberland, North Carolina’s Robert Draughon. Draughon reached two final rounds this season with a win at Mooresville Dragway to claim the Division 9 championship, Allison made two finals with a win at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park to help propel him to the Division 3 championship and Crumpler rode the back of two runner-up finishes to help him seal up the Division 2 title.

Super Stock drivers earning their way into the field via a divisional podium finish include divisional runner-ups Bryan Worner (D1), Brien Radley (D2), Pete D’Agnolo (D3), Gilbert Johnson (D4), Mark Faul (D6) and Richard Alford (D9) and divisional third place finishers Gianni Cantusci, Richard Mace, Donn Rhode, Jeffrey Miller, Art Congdon and Gil Carty Jr.

Other Super Stock qualifiers include 2011 national event winners Mark Nowicki (Palm Beach), Johnson (Baton Rouge), Cody Blackmon (San Antonio), Sheldon Erfle (Edmonton), D’Agnolo (Grand Bend) and Bob Lowry (Martin) and divisional TOC winners Marshall (Pittsburgh), Tim Hebert (Dallas), Brandon Peterson (Piedmont), Corey Taylor (Richmond) and Bertozzi (Immokalee).

Rounding out the list of Super Stock qualifiers is 2010 Summit Allstars winner Clay Bullard.

 STOCK

If you are looking for the most unique collection of racers found anywhere in the IHRA, then look no further than Stock.

This year’s Stock class is a fascinating one to say the least. With 26 of the best racers in the country gearing up for the Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions at the IHRA World Finals next month in Virginia, it is hard to tell who will emerge from this highly competitive class when all is said and done.

First off, the Stock class features a bevy of former champions including six of the past eight Stock World Champions. That list includes defending IHRA champion Richard Alford, Michael Beard twice, Nick Folk, Myron Piatek and Craig Marshall. The Stock class also features the widest range of former champions, from 2010 champ Alford to 1986 Stock Ironman winner Terry Taylor. And for competitions sake, seven of this year’s Stock racers are also qualified in another class including Alford, Folk, Marshall, Aaron Allison, Mark Faul, David Latino and Scott Richardson.

Lastly, the 2011 Stock TOC class features 26 drivers, all but three of which reached a Summit Pro-Am final round at some point in 2011. Put it all together and you have one extremely competitive tournament with no clear frontrunner when the drivers finally hit the track next month at Virginia Motorsports Park.

While over half of the Stock drivers qualified for this year’s TOC won at least one Pro-Am event, no one did it more than Mansfield, Texas’ Jacob Pitt. Pitt won three times in 2011 spread throughout the year at State Capitol Raceway in April, Dallas Raceway in June and San Antonio Raceway earlier this month. Thanks to those three wins and a strong showing the rest of the year, Pitt was able to take the Division 4 championship in impressive fashion over runner-up Thomas Marlow.

Another strong performance this past season was turned in by Bensenville, Illinois’ Clint Blezien. Blezien had two wins in three finals to wrap up the Division 3 championship over Aaron Allison. Blezien had wins at London Dragway and U.S. 131 Motorsports Park to bring home the championship.

Lumberton, North Carolina’s Terry Taylor also had a standout year in the always tough Raiders Division, winning twice at Piedmont Dragway and Rockingham’s rain-delayed event at Darlington Dragway to seal the win over Jamie Southards.

Taylor’s home state of North Carolina also represents the most populated state in this year’s Stock TOC class with five drivers hailing from the Tar Heel state. Texas is second with three, followed by Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Alberta with two apiece.

Wrapping up the divisional champions is Palmetto, Florida’s B.J. Bianchi, Mechanicsville, Maryland’s Lisa Bolton and Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Norman LaPointe. Bianchi used a win at Palm Beach International Raceway back in April to help seal the Division 2 championship and LaPointe visited three finals with one win at Castrol Raceway to seal the Division 6 title, while Bolton had two runner-up finishes on her way to the Division 1 title.

Stock drivers earning their way into the field via a divisional podium finish include divisional runner-ups Wallace Dent (D1), Missy Phillips (D2), Aaron Allison (D3), Thomas Marlow (D4), Mark Faul (D6) and Jamie Southards (D9) and divisional third place finishers Chris Kilraine, Willie Mylin, Phil Combs, David Latino, Darcy Clarke and Richard Alford.

Other Stock qualifiers include 2011 national event winners Nick Folk (Palm Beach), Myron Piatek (Baton Rouge), Latino (San Antonio), Faul (Edmonton), Craig Marshall (Grand Bend) and Michael Beard (Martin) and divisional TOC winners Brent Darroch (Pittsburgh), Jerry Emmons (Dallas), Taylor (Piedmont), Wallace Dent (Richmond) and Scott Richardson (Immokalee).

Rounding out the list of Stock qualifiers is 2010 World Finals Nitro Jam winner Mike Moyer.

QUICK ROD

It certainly isn’t easy gauging the Quick Rod class.

At first glance a handful of divisional champions with two, three and even four wins from this past season stand out as obvious favorites, but a second look through the field shows a number of drivers who didn’t fare as well divisionally, but have shined on the national stage.

The Quick Rod class also features one of the most diverse lineups of any of the TOC classes with drivers from 16 different states and provinces making up the 26-driver field. But when all is said and done, only one will stand above the rest and be able to call themselves an IHRA World Champion when the drivers finally meet at the Summit Tournament of Champions season finale October 14-16 at Virginia Motorsports Park.

The 2011 class of Summit Tournament of Champions qualifiers from the popular 8.90 class consists of 26 drivers, of which four are former IHRA champions. Steve Corker, Nick Folk, Brett Nesbitt and Bo Upton have all tasted victory with a championship Ironman, however only Upton and Nesbitt have done so in the Quick Rod class.

Regionally North Carolina and Ohio have the most representatives in the Quick Rod field with three apiece, followed by Alberta, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas with two drivers apiece. The Quick Rod field also boasts an impressive seven drivers who are qualified in more than one class including Corker, Folk, Nesbitt, Upton, Jason Hoff, Clayton Nance and Tommy Phillips.

Headlining the 2011 Quick Rod class are the six Summit Pro-Am divisional champions lead by Waco, Kentucky’s Jeremy Mason. Mason was the top performer in the Division 3 North Stars with a dominating four victories to amass an impressive 488 points. Mason swept the Pro-Am event at London Dragway and added victories at Pittsburgh Raceway Park and Mountain Park Dragway to finish in first place, some 51 points ahead of runner-up Steve Mikus. Mason was the top points earner of all drivers in the North Stars division.

Another strong performance on the Pro-Am tour was turned in by Allen Lowery of Cantonment, Fla. Lowery had three victories this season at Immokalee Regional Raceway, Palm Beach International Raceway and Carolina Dragway to wrap up the Division 2 championship over former class champ Bo Upton.

Clayton, North Carolina’s Steve Corker also accrued three victories in 2011 at Piedmont Dragway, Dunn Benson Dragstrip and Rockingham’s rain-delayed finish at Darlington Dragway to finish a good distance ahead of runner-up Greg Slack in the toughest of the six divisions, the Raiders Division.

The final three-win driver in Pro-Am competition is Calgary, Alberta’s Mike Pople who swept the three events at Castrol Raceway to absolutely dominate the Quick Rod class in the brand new Border Bandits Division. Thanks to his finish of three straight wins, Pople was able to amass 389 points, by far the most this season in Division 6.

The final Summit Pro-Am champions from this season are Rockville, Maryland’s John Dustin and Anson, Texas’ Clayton Nance. Dustin had two wins at Maryland International Raceway and Darlington Dragway and a runner-up finish to win the Division 1 championship, while Nance had two wins at Dallas Raceway to take the Division 4 crown. Both drivers also had national event victories this season with Nance winning the Mardi Gras Nitro Jam at State Capitol Raceway in February and Dustin winning the Summit Sportsman Spectacular at MIR in July.

Quick Rod drivers earning their way into the field via a divisional podium finish include divisional runner-ups George Williams (D1), Bo Upton (D2), Steve Mikus (D3), Tony Gray (D4), Eric Goulden (D6) and Greg Slack (D9) and divisional third place finishers Edward Toolis (D1), Bubba Rogers (D2), Kathy Fisher (D3), Vernon Rowland (D4), Blu Hayball (D6) and Brett Nesbitt (D9).

Other Quick Rod qualifiers include 2011 national event winners Jim Morrison (Palm Beach), Nance (Baton Rouge), Tommy Phillips (San Antonio), Russ Stevenson (Salt Lake), Pople (Edmonton), Barry Ryan (Grand Bend) and Nick Folk (Martin) and divisional TOC qualifier winners Mason (Pittsburgh), Rowland (Dallas), Corker (Piedmont), Jesse Alberts (Richmond) and Lowery (Immokalee).

Rounding out the list of Quick Rod qualifiers is 2010 Summit Allstars winner Jason Hoff and 2010 World Finals Nitro Jam winner Tony Elrod.

SUPER ROD 

Is it a done deal or a wide open race?

That is the question being asked by competitors and fans alike regarding the popular IHRA category known as Super Rod as three dominating presences – defending class champion Cameron Manuel, three-time champion Steve Furr and powerhouse driver Donald Webb – bookend a loaded field of drivers competing at this year’s Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions to be contested at the IHRA World Finals next month in Virginia.

In 2011 the Super Rod class boasts 26 TOC qualifiers with one spot waiting to be filled at the last-chance Summit Sportsman Spectacular race next month, but from that group three have essentially stolen the show. Between Webb, Furr and Manuel, the trio won nine Summit Pro-Am races – almost a quarter of all the Pro-Am races in the class –  in 13 finals this season on their way to two divisional championships and one runner-up finish.

All three are former world champions and two of the three are qualified in additional classes making the hunt for the Super Rod championship one of the most interesting of the seven TOC races.

Overall, of the 26 drivers currently qualified in Super Rod, four are eligible to compete in an additional class including Manuel, Webb, Tommy Phillips and Bo Upton. By state, North Carolina and Texas dominate the 9.90 category with five qualifiers apiece, followed by Alberta, Florida and Ohio with two each.

Leading the way entering the 2011 Summit Tournament of Champions is Four Oaks, N.C. native and former Hot Rod World Champion Donald Webb. Webb had a year unlike any other 2011, although ironically it all began in October of last year. Webb actually qualified for the 2011 TOC last year when he won the World Finals Nitro Jam on the last day of the 2010 season, but that certainly didn’t slow him down this season.

Even with his TOC ticket already punched, Webb absolutely dominated the Super Rod class this year with three Summit Pro-Am victories in six finals on his way to a divisional title in the toughest division in all of racing – the Raiders Division. Webb’s championship came on the heels of a blazing summer stretch that saw him record victories at Mooresville Dragway in June, Richmond Dragway in July and Darlington Dragway earlier this month. That stretch allowed Webb to run away from Steve Furr to lock up the D9 championship.

Another driver able to put together a strong showing in 2011 is defending Super Rod World Champion Cameron Manuel of Winston Salem, N.C. Manuel finished an impressive 144 points ahead of second-place Bo Upton in the Division 2 championship race on the heels of three victories in four finals. Manuel recorded wins at Farmington Dragway, Richmond Dragway and Darlington Dragway – splitting wins with Webb at two of the three weekends – to earn his way back into the TOC field.

Three other drivers also recorded multiple victories on their way to divisional titles including Craig Porter, Charlie Stewart and David Moore. Moore, of Ridgeview, W.Va., swept the divisional event at Pittsburgh Raceway Park in August to help seal up the Division 3 title, while Porter of Silver Spring, Md. had a pair of wins at Immokalee Regional Raceway and Skyview Drags to seal up the Division 1 crown and Stewart of Azle, Texas rode wins at Dallas Raceway and State Capitol Raceway to the Division 4 title.

Casey Plaizier of Edmonton, Alb. wrapped up the divisional champions with a win in the brand new Border Bandits Division. Plaizier went to two finals with one win at the Edmonton Pro-Am to lock up the inaugural title.

While four former world champions are among the talented group, only one has tasted glory in the Super Rod category. North Carolina’s Steve Furr is a three-time champion, taking home championship Ironman trophies in 2006, 2004 and 1996. This season Furr is once again back in the hunt with a runner-up finish in Division 9 on the strength of three Pro-Am victories.

Super Rod drivers earning their way into the field via a divisional podium finish include divisional runner-ups Dale Koncen (D1), Bo Upton (D2), Jacob Elrod (D3), Arlie Boggs (D4), Dale Dryden (D6) and Furr (D9) and divisional third place finishers Rick Bayus, Darius Poitier, Billy Smith, Danny Goates and T.G. Paschal.

Other Super Rod qualifiers include 2011 national event winners Jason McCandless (Palm Beach), Jeff Southerland (Baton Rouge), Tommy Phillips (San Antonio), Ed Olpin (Salt Lake), Chad Barclay (Edmonton), Dave Klomps (Grand Bend) and Chris Yates (Martin) and divisional TOC qualifier winners Moore (Pittsburgh), Kip Guenzel (Dallas), Furr (Piedmont), Webb (Richmond) and Porter (Immokalee).

Rounding out the list of Super Rod qualifiers is 2011 Summit Sportsman Spectacular winner Scott Lawton.

HOT ROD

If there is one class entering the Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions that doesn’t have a clear frontrunner, it would be Hot Rod.

Sure there have been a few standout competitors among the 27 qualifiers entering the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals presented by RacingJunk.com next month at Virginia Motorsports Park, but an overall balance of power and great competition has left the battle for the Hot Rod World Championship wide open.

Overall 27 drivers have earned their way into the popular 10.90 field with one spot still yet to be determined via the second Summit Sportsman Spectacular in Virginia. North Carolina has the most representatives with six drivers, followed by Texas and Florida with four each, Canadian province Alberta and Maryland with three each and Kentucky with two representatives. Indiana, Ohio, Ontario, West Virginia and Virginia round out the Hot Rod field by state.

The highly competitive field also counts four former Hot Rod World champions among its ranks.

Leading the pack entering the World Finals are the six Summit Pro-Am divisional champions headed by Garner, North Carolina’s Matthew Robinson. With three wins and one runner-up finish, Robinson ran away with the Division 9 Raiders championship to win his way into the TOC field and earn a coveted first-round bye in the process. Robinson swept the divisional event at Maryland International Raceway in April and added one more win to his resume earlier this month at the rain-delayed Pro-Am event at Darlington Dragway, a makeup from Rockingham.

Point Pleasant, W.Va. native Greg Fowler also had a strong year out of the Patriots Division, winning D1 by a considerable margin over former Hot Rod champion Edward Bolton. Fowler won twice in 2011, once at Skyview Drags back in June and once at Pittsburgh Raceway Park, a win that doubled as a TOC qualifier.

Two more multi-event divisional winners were Ricky Roe of Paris, Ky. and Steve Dweck of Hollywood, Fla. Dweck won the Division 2 championship using a pair of early season victories at the season-opening event at Immokalee Regional Raceway and at Palm Beach International Raceway to hold off Brian Crumpler for the Heat Wave crown. Roe won the Division 3 championship with wins at Pittsburgh Raceway Park and London Dragway to win the North Stars Division over Doug Wood.

Wrapping up the divisional champions are Lubbock, Texas’ Ty Casey who won the Division 4 championship off the strength of two finals and one win at Dallas Raceway and Canada’s Tony Osredkar who won the brand new Border Bandits division headlined by a victory at Castrol Raceway’s Nitro Jam event in June. The pair also had the closest battles for their respective championships, none closer than Casey’s 11 point margin of victory over Ray Todd.

Overall the Hot Rod division features a diverse group of competitors headlined by four former Hot Rod World Champions including three-time champion Glenn Ferguson who narrowly earned his way into the field via a third place finish in Division 9.

Hot Rod drivers earning their way into the field via a divisional podium finish include division runner-ups Edward Bolton (D1), Brian Crumpler (D2), Doug Wood (D3), Ray Todd (D4), Jacob Slinger (D6) and Jamie Goodman (D9) and divisional third place finishers Robert Welch, Bradley Snowball, Jason Satterly, Ray Dew, Travis Ringguth and Ferguson.

Other Hot Rod qualifiers include 2011 national event winners Bill Clarke (Palm Beach), Todd (Baton Rouge), Deborah Ridenhour (San Antonio), Osredkar (Edmonton), Andrew Stirk (Grand Bend) and Craig Meyer (U.S. 131) and divisional TOC qualifier winners Fowler (Pittsburgh), Goodman (Piedmont), Daryl Griffin (Richmond) and Gary Williams (Immokalee).

Rounding out the list is the first-ever Summit Sportsman Spectacular champion from MIR Jeff Martin and two winners who earned their way into the field via big wins from 2010 including Chip Johnson, who won the season-ending World Finals Nitro Jam back in October, and Donald Webb who won the 2010 Allstars race.

Webb, the 2001 champion in Hot Rod, is the only driver in the class to qualify for more than one race, earning his way into the Super Rod field as well.