Norris Prayoonto captured the All Motor class championship at the final race of the season in Pomona, California. When reigning champion Jeremy Lookofsky lost in the second round, Prayoonto clinched the championship in his Clutch Masters All Motor Insight. It was his first championship in the NHRA Sport Compact series. To add icing to the cake, Prayoonto managed to win the Pomona event as well.
Long time drag racer, Kenny Tran, captured his Hot Rod championship in his Hot Rod Scion tC. With sponsors Quaker State and Nitto Tires lending a helping hand, Tran was able to campaign his tC against rival Stephanie Eggum as they went head to head throughout the season. Going into the final race of the season in Pomona, California, Tran believed he almost needed a 'miracle' to win the championship. Eggum had carried the points lead, but Tran's consistency kept him right in the chase. With a mechanical failure to Eggum in round one, Tran was able to capture the championship after beating Chuck Seitsinger in the semi finals. Congratulations to the team out in Texas!
The Modified class saw another first time champion as Brent Rau piloted his Mitsubishi Eclipse to a steady season. By staging his car in the first round of eliminations at the final race of the season, Rau secured his first championship in the ACT and Borg Warner backed Eclipse. Rau is no stranger to drag racing and made several changes to his vehicle to competitively race in the NHRA Sport Compact season. Looks like it paid off, setting records the entire way.
The Pro FWD class crowned a new winner and a domestic. Taking the crown away from Ed Bergenholtz, ex-Honda racer Gary Gardella blew past the competition past half season in his Chevy Cobalt. Sponsored by Red Bull and Dupont, Gardella's all new Pro FWD Cobalt seemed to had solved the puzzle sometime mid-season. From then on, he was a force to be reckoned with running low 7's the rest of the season. Congratulations to Gardella on his first championship and hopefully many more to come.
Lastly, Titan Motorsports continued their dominance of the Pro RWD class as Brad Personett took the new Titan Motorsports Scion tC to another championship run. This all new chassis was introduced and several new setups were tested throughout the season. Despite having rules put in place to slow them down, the Titan team continued to find a way to set records. Switching to a twin turbo setup with the 2JZ engine, this Pro RWD drag car put on a show for all the spectators throughout the season.
The Sport FWD class once again became the class to race in for the 2007 season. Several racers set huge records as the B-series battled it out against the K-series. Texas racer Tony Palo set the mark of running low 9's...
...but Mr. Green would not be far behind from Utah. His EG hatchback was another one of the Sport FWD favorites.
Lastly, it was a pleasant surprise to see a Scion tC being campaigned in the Sport FWD class. Driven by Jason Lopez, this Sport FWD tC was able to manage its first 9 second time slip this past season. We look forward to seeing what it can produce in 2008.
Rumor has it that the Bergenholtz team will be introducing an all new Pro FWD race car for the 2008 season. We'll have to just hang tight and see what 2008 will bring. Especially with all the news of NHRA Sport Compact being discontinued and now sanctioning the NOPI Drag Racing Series. See you all in 2008!
2008 “NOPI Drag Racing Series sanctioned by NHRA”
March 29-30
Atlanta Dragway
Commerce, Ga.
April 5-6
Moroso Motorsports Park
West Palm Beach, Fla.
April 26-27
Atco Raceway
Atco, NJ
May 3-4
Old Bridge Township Raceway
Englishtown, NJ
June 28-29
Bandimere Speedway
Morrison, Colo.
July 18-19
Rocky Mountain Raceway
West Valley City, Utah
August 9-10
Virginia Motorsports Park
Petersburg, Va.
August 23-24
Old Bridge Township Raceway
Englishtown, NJ