RAHAIM WINS AGAIN IN PRO NITROUS; NEARLY CLINCHES CHAMPIONSHIP

What once was old became new again for Pro Nitrous points leader Bob Rahaim Sep. 29, at the ADRL Summit Racing Equipment Ohio Drags VI presented by Mickey Thompson at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH.

“I won my first-ever national event at this track back in 1991 in the IHRA Quick Rod division; same lane, same everything,” Rahaim said after winning his second straight and third ADRL race of the year in five final-round appearances. “I’ll never forget that day and now I’ll never forget this. This year has been like the dream come true for me. I could never have imagined a season like this; I just couldn’t.”

With the win Rahaim also practically clinched his first ADRL world championship with just one race left next month at Ennis, TX, though Doug Riesterer, who qualified number one but lost in round two at Norwalk, mathematically still has a chance to win the crown.

Also mathematically notable in the Pro Nitrous class were a pair of second-round matches between Stan Allen and Pat Stoken, and Robert Mathis and Rickie Jones. In the first instance, both Allen and Stoken posted 3.923 ETs, but Allen got the win by leaving first with a .048 reaction to a .087 by Jones. In the next pair up, Mathis was awarded the win by one-10 thousandths of a second after his .053 light plus a career-best 3.818 ET at 196.42 exactly matched

Rahaim ran 3.844 at 195.56 to qualify fourth in his Reher & Morrison-powered ’69 Camaro before putting together a string of 3.80s in eliminations to defeat Ray Schuler, Jim Laurita with a .045 holeshot, Randy Weatherford and Allen in the final round.

“We went into some tire shake, but it kept going straight so I just stayed in it,” Rahaim said of his 3.883 at 195.28 winning pass. “I think (Allen) had even more problems, though, so I feel really lucky, really thankful for things to come together and work out like this.”

Just before entering the Summit Motorsports Park winner’s circle to receive his trophy and enjoy the accolades of the crowd, Rahaim referred back to a photo that appeared a couple of years ago in Drag Illustrated magazine depicting his car’s hood scoop being blown skyward by a big nitrous explosion at the Texas Motorplex.

“You remember that picture?” he asked. “That’s what I had to do before I could do this. I had to do that first.”

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