If you haven't stood in line for at least an hour waiting your turn to
purchase a pound of ice cream, then you haven't truly enjoyed the
“Norwalk Experience”.

In its third year on the NHRA circuit, Summit Racing Equipment
Motorsports Park (SREMP) located a few miles east of Norwalk, Ohio, has
quickly become a “must do” destination for the drag racing fan. This
past weekend the fans turned out to see hot action on the racetrack and
to enjoy the carnival atmosphere surrounding nitro alley. And, no stop
would be complete without the ice cream.

But, there is more than ice cream on the menu. You can find all the
traditional carnival fare, with the exception of cotton candy. There
didn't seem to be a single cotton candy stand on the premises. Corn
dogs, elephants ear, funnel cakes, lemonade, sodas, steak sandwiches,
philly cheese steak sandwiches, “western” style barbeque chicken and
ribs, and for the truly daring a roast beef sundae. All of which
wouldn't be complete without dessert – a pound of ice cream.

The NHRA’s second nitro spec test scheduled for the Monday following
the Norwalk national event has been postponed to a later date. If this
test is not conducted between the national events in Norwalk and
Denver, a source within the NHRA told CompetitionPlus.com it will be
conducted after the three-race western swing is completed.

The delay is due largely in part to the availability of additional
parts to conduct the tests. Reportedly the NHRA’s tech department seeks
to stockpile parts to ensure multiple runs for each session. The lack
of parts for their initial spec test in Bristol prohibited as many runs
as they sought to make.

Jack Beckman received a birthday gift as he raced to his second Funny Car victory of the season Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals a first for him at this track.

Larry Dixon, Jason Line and Andrew Hines also were winners of the NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at Summit Racing Equipment
Motorsports Park.

Beckman drove his Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Charger to his
second win of the season and moved to fourth in the Full Throttle
Series points standings, by his nearly perfect .001 reaction time off
the line against Bob Tasca. Beckman earned his eighth  career victory
with a performance of 4.315 at 277.54, while Tasca trailed in his
Motorcraft Quicklane Ford Shelby Mustang with a 6.470 at 149.93.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the
Third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing
Equipment Motorsports Park, the 12th of 24 events in the NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Round-by-round results from the third annual Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the 12th of
24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Sunday's final results from the Third annual Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is
the 12th of 24 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Understandably the “Norwalk Experience” Bill Bader Jr. recently lived through is not the same

Roger Richards

experience race fans clamor for at the palatial facility.

In the days prior to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, the
12th stop on the Full Throttle Tour, the Baders made some tough
decisions.

“This week was probably one of the toughest of my career,” the
second-generation track owner said. “We decided on Friday, late
afternoon and early afternoon … the week before the national event that
the best way to fix the track is to tear it out and start all over.”

Water seepage forced Bader and his team to create a new drainage system
and rip out the existing asphalt and repave from the eighth-mile to the
quarter-mile of the drag strip.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing
quipment Motorsports Park, the 12th of 24 events in the NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying,
which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

For two rounds on Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in
Norwalk, Ohio, things were going according to plan for Greg

Roger Richards

Anderson. 
His Summit Racing GXP was the class of the field, posting a stellar
6.644-second time, moving him to the top of the Pro Stock leader board
and eventually earning the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday’s final
eliminations.  This was the 72nd No. 1 qualifying performance of his
career, third of 2009, and the second time in three years the
three-time champion had accomplished this feat at Summit Motorsports
Park.
 
However, running in conjunction with the second day of qualifying was
the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a Pro Stock specialty race pitting
the top eight qualifiers for the last year aga inst each other in a
three-round, single elimination event paying $50,000 to the winner. 
Coming in as the No. 1 qualifier, Anderson advanced to the final for
the second consecutive year and fifth time in seven career attempts,
defeating Ron Krisher and teammate Jason Line with two of the quickest
runs of the day.

For No. 1 qualifier Mike Neff and his Ford Drive One Mustang team success has been building over the past four races.

Roger Richards

They
have improved their qualifying position with each passing race finally
grabbing their first No. 1 of the 2009 season in Norwalk. At the
previous two NHRA national events here teammate Robert Hight held down
the No. 1 spot going into eliminations.

“This (qualifying at the top of the field) is exactly what we need to
be doing right now at this time of the year, in the position we are at
in the points. Our Drive One Ford Mustang has been running great for
really the last four races. We have been improving every weekend and
that is a tribute to (crew chief) John Medlen and the crew. Now it is
up to me to make sure I can do my job driving to make sure we can go
some rounds. I am real pleased. I know Medlen feels good. It is
important for Ford to keep those Mustangs at the top and it was great
to see Robert up there as well be right behind us in the No. 2 spot,”
said Neff, the driver with the most to gain in the first round tomorrow.