Jonathan Allegrucci arrived at World Wide Technology Raceway with a championship to finish and left St. Louis with another trophy to carry home.
Allegrucci clinched the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown championship and then finished the job Sunday by winning the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, defeating Scott Libersher in the final. The victory was Allegrucci’s fourth of the season and fifth of his career.
“This has been a dream season,” Allegrucci told Amanda Busick of FOX. “I have to thank Kim Shirley and Kim Shirley Racing. He is the king. My crew and family have been behind me all season. This was a tough battle with Raymond Nash, Scott Libersher and the rest of the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown class. Thank you Flexjet for sponsoring this class.”
Libersher left first with a .040 reaction time, but his chances disappeared almost immediately when his car spun the tires. Allegrucci drove straight through the groove with a 7.640-second run at 179.92 mph to complete his championship weekend.
Competition Eliminator produced another first when Christopher Dodd collected his seventh career national event victory but his first in the category. Dodd defeated Scott Linder after Linder spun the tires at the hit, leaving Dodd to cruise to the victory with an 8.286.
Dodd entered eliminations as the No. 2 qualifier in C/EA after running 8.013, .667-second under his index. His road to the final included victories over Matt Foster, Shaun Chamness and a semifinal single before meeting Linder.
Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. used the starting line to settle the Super Stock final, cutting a .004 reaction time against Jacob Delaune’s .062. Hidalgo ran 9.359 on his 9.29 dial to win by .0088-second, roughly 21 inches at the finish line.
Hidalgo’s trip through six rounds included victories over A. Wilson III, Craig Gualtiere, M. Cotten, D. Latino and J. Whalen before taking care of Delaune.
Stock Eliminator delivered one of the best visuals of the weekend with a final that looked and sounded like somebody had turned back the clock.
Johnny Diekema and Brett Saurbaugh rolled a pair of classic big-block Corvette Stingrays into the water box, both equipped with manual transmissions. With both drivers rowing gears in a heads-up AA/S final, Diekema grabbed the starting-line advantage with a .018 light and never gave it back.
Diekema ran 9.719 at 137.44 mph to defeat Saurbaugh’s 9.837 at 133.08. The victory was Diekema’s first NHRA national event Wally in his third career final-round appearance.
James Glenn won a Super Comp final decided by nine inches, chasing down Michael Holcombe after giving up .003-second at the starting line. Glenn’s 8.903 on the 8.90 index edged Holcombe’s 8.908 by .0027-second and delivered Glenn his sixth career Wally.
Kris Whitfield also earned career victory No. 6 in Super Gas, using a .019 reaction time and 9.905-second run against Todd Pullen. Pullen posted a .026 light and ran 9.910, leaving Whitfield with a .0126-second margin.
Luke Bogacki added another trophy to an already crowded collection in Right Trailers Top Dragster.
Bogacki left first against Alaia Isenhower, pairing a .016 reaction time with a 6.806 on his 6.79 dial. Isenhower’s chances ended with a 6.922 on a 6.94 dial, giving Bogacki his 17th career national event victory.
