Even though he's not old enough to legally drink the champagne, that didn't stop L.E. Tonglet for going after the ceremonial stuff.

On a weekend where the NHRA crowned both the youngest and oldest champion in series history, Tonglet was all too happy to be the former and not the latter.

At 20 years old, Tonglet clinched the Pro Stock Motorcycle crown after winning his second round race against Steve Johnson making his the youngest professional champion in NHRA history. A round earlier Johnson had gotten around Andrew Hines when the No. 1 seeded rider fouled.

Even though he's not old enough to legally drink the champagne, that didn't stop L.E. Tonglet for going after the ceremonial stuff.

On a weekend where the NHRA crowned both the youngest and oldest champion in series history, Tonglet was all too happy to be the former and not the latter.

At 20 years old, Tonglet clinched the Pro Stock Motorcycle crown after winning his second round race against Steve Johnson making his the youngest professional champion in NHRA history. A round earlier Johnson had gotten around Andrew Hines when the No. 1 seeded rider fouled.

“We’ve been on a roll since Indy and this is huge,” Tonglet said, after missing a perfectly good opportunity to red-light with a .007 reaction in the green.

Tonglet was the series’ 2010 Cinderella story by limping into the Countdown on last minute funds provided by Kenny Koretsky. From there, the second-generation rider resembled a big-bucks juggernaut as he carried an undefeated record past the middle part of the Countdown. His first round loss in the Countdown came at the NHRA Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, Pa., when he lost to Hines in the final round.

The run of good fortunes carried Tonglet from his entry point seventh seeding into second after winning the first race of the Countdown in Indianapolis. The amazing part of Tonglet's season is that he never led the NHRA points until he clinched the championship.

“The way the year started, we just didn’t think this was possible,” Tonglet said. “Each race we competed in, my dad caught the [racing] bug a little more. I can’t thank Kenny Koretsky and Nitrofish enough for the spare motor.”

The spare motor and the extra funding from Koretsky essentially kept the Tonglet clan afloat in the nip and tuck world of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing.

“If we didn’t have the extra motor for Vegas, we would have been done,” Tonglet admitted. “The engine worked really well in Vegas and we kept it in for this race [in Pomona] and it ran awesome until I red-light.”

Tonglet’s championship marks the third time in NHRA history that a rookie professional racer has won a title. His predecessors were Frank Hawley [1982] and Gary Scelzi [1997].

“Each win we were able to grab 20 points on Andrew,” said Tonglet. “Yes, we made it to five straight final rounds, but we raced him in four of them. It’s really hard to gain ground on someone when that’s how it works. It’s better for the fans, stressful for us. But we stuck close to our goal of keeping to within 40 points of him headed into race day.”

It didn't take Tonglet long to realize he’d won the battle of his life. However, for the 135-pound Tonglet, clearly the biggest battle on Sunday in Pomona was in carrying the actual championship trophy. It’s a good thing his sponsor Kenny Koretsky was nearby. Tonglet was nearly buckling under the weight.

“I couldn’t find my scooter, so I caught a ride to the top end,” Koretsky said. “I get there and he hands me the trophy, said it’s too heavy for him. He can’t lift weights because he can’t get any heavier. The muscle makes him heavier and he’s gotta be like a horse jockey. I ended up holding the trophy all the way.”

Such an assignment didn’t bother Koretsky in the least.

He’d bet on the long-shot horse and won.

 

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