For the third time in his ADRL Extreme Pro Stock career, Scott Hintz got to visit victory lane June 30, as he defeated first-time finalist Matt Bertsch in the ADRL Summer Drags IX final in Martin, MI.

It looked to be polesitter Elijah Morton's race to win as he set low ET in each of the first two rounds before going red by -.033 in the semis against Bertsch and throwing away a 4.09 that again would've been low for the round and given him lane choice for the final.

For the third time in his ADRL Extreme Pro Stock career, Scott Hintz got to visit victory lane June 30, as he defeated first-time finalist Matt Bertsch in the ADRL Summer Drags IX final in Martin, MI.

It looked to be polesitter Elijah Morton's race to win as he set low ET in each of the first two rounds before going red by -.033 in the semis against Bertsch and throwing away a 4.09 that again would've been low for the round and given him lane choice for the final.

Instead, number-10 starter Bertsch, who previously sent John DeFlorian and Pete Berner packing, earned a spot against Hintz, who had risen from 7th place after qualifying with a 4.100 at 176.05 mph.

Hintz, meanwhile, edged out Doug Kirk and two-time defending XPS World Champion Cary Goforth before surviving a rare "worst-or-first" infraction that saw both him and former IHRA and ADRL Pro Stock champ John Montecalvo leave too soon in the semis. Hintz was too eager by just two thousandths of a second, while "Monte" went -.024 red. The final outcome also was determined by a red-light start as Bertsch was just one-thousandth too early, as Hintz took the race title back to Odessa, TX, after going 4.088 at 177.67 mph.

"Matt is a great driver and a great competitor and I was pretty nervous going up there. I really didn't know what was going to happen," Hintz admitted. "I was actually sorry for him that he went red, but that just shows you he's really trying. We all are!"

All articles and photography published in CompetitionPlus.com are protected by United States of America and International copyright laws unless mentioned otherwise. The content on this website is intended for the private use of the reader and may not be published or reposted in any form without the prior written consent of CompetitionPlus.com.