Professional drivers and performers put on a powerful show for a packed-to-capacity crowd at the 41st Annual Kelly Services Night Under Fire on Aug. 11 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

While the elaborate event has always neared sell-out status, this is the first time in its history that not one ticket remained, as the final one sold mere moments before opening ceremonies that included a fly-over by T-34 Mentors of the Hooligan Flight Team.

“The Good Lord blessed us with the perfect day, and that’s exactly what it was,” said Bill Bader Jr., Summit Motorsports Park president. “This year’s Night Under Fire was the largest-attended event in our storied history. We sold every seat, ran out of parking and packaged the most on-track action into a three hour show in our history. God, it was fun.”

The recipe for the record-setting day of racing included Funny Car drivers John Force, Robert Hight, Jack Beckman, Tim Wilkerson, Del Worsham and Dale Creasy Jr.; Michalek Brothers Racing and their Energize Top Alcohol Dragster and Gutierrez Brothers Racing and their MGM Grand Detroit Top Alcohol Dragster; Bob Motz and Chris Darnell and their jet engine-powered trucks; the North American Jet Car Championship with Sarah Edwards, Ernie Bogue, Scotty “Heat” Holdridge, Robert Albertson, Shelly Segal, Al Zukauskas, Danny Sullivan, Bill Lutz, the Lucas Oil Mav TV Missile Dragster and the Lucas Oil Terminal Velocity Dragster; the R&R Auto Body and DeCerbo Construction Rumble Wars Extreme 8, four Nostalgia Pro Stock cars, the Nostalgia Drag Racing League’s Pro 7.0 category, ScottRod’s AA/Gassers and much more.

The highly-anticipated Funny Car final featured 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, a longtime standout — and a staple of — this event, and his teammate, Robert Hight. Force flew his Peak Chevrolet Camaro to a 4.04 and a holeshot win over Hight, who hightailed it to a 4.02 in his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro.

In Top Alcohol Dragster, Corey Michalek motored to a 5.32 in his Energize dragster to defeat JP Gutierrez, who gunned to a 5.45 in his MGM Grand Detroit dragster, and in the North American Jet Car Championship, Scotty “Heat” Holdridge hauled to the win with a 5.24 in his Fifty Cal over Sarah Edwards, who had the better reaction time, but was a tick slower with a 5.43 in her Queen of Diamonds II.

The completely competitive R&R Auto Body and DeCerbo Construction Rumble Wars Extreme 8 saw Larry Higginbotham haul to the winner’s circle with a 3.89 in his Corvette when Kurt Steding turned on the red in his Corvette, and of the several Nostalgia Pro Stock cars that sailed down track, Kevin Prior emerged as the winner after pushing to a 7.73 in the Firenza famously piloted by Warren Johnson, while Rick Cassel was the runner-up with a 7.85 in the Arrow famously piloted by Bob Glidden.

In Nostalgia Drag Racing League’s Pro 7.0 category, Michael Sexton secured the win with a 7.11 over Jamie Palmer, who dipped under the index with a 6.98, and in the Whiskey Grade Fast 4, featuring the four quickest Edelbrock Super Series Wiseco/Cycle Tech Super Bike riders, Perry Paugh pushed to the win with a 7.83 on a 7.90 dial over Ted Harvey, who turned on the red. 

In the high-stepping ScottRods AA/Gassers category, where the wheelies are wild, Micky Hale picked up the win with a quicker launch and a 5.63 in his Austin over Ed Kasicki, who clocked a 5.62 in his Willys.

Bear Motorsports Junior Dragster categories were included in the event, and in Novice Junior Dragster, Roman Iocoangeli rode out an 11.87 on an 11.90 to take the win over Alena Schafer, who also broke out with a 12.04 on a 12.08, while in Intermediate Junior Dragster, Brandon Buchanan used a better reaction time and a 9.03 on an 8.94 dial to win over Peyton Novak, who dipped under with a 9.09 on a 9.10. In Advanced Junior Dragster, MacKenzie Kerns won with a 7.96 on a 7.90 dial over Sarah Mitschke, who turned in a 7.94 on a 7.90.

Putting an explosive exclamation mark on the exhilarating event was a $125,000 fireworks display shot off from multiple locations throughout the park and presented by R&R Auto Body, and now, anticipation for next year’s event is already building.