Top Fuel

Scott Whipple, the 2007 NSDA Top Fuel champion, came back with a vengeance in 2008. He pretty much dominated the class throughout the season. Scott had a total of six #1 qualifying efforts and four race wins out of seven events. That’s quite a season for the Canidae Top Fuel team. Dennis Rieck had a lot of early season struggles, but came on strong for two wins at the season finale in Primm and three wins total on the season. Dennis also was the low qualifier at the final race of the season with the quickest run of the 2008 season in the Top Fuel class, a 2.225. Jeff Janoe rounded out the top three in Top Fuel with a nice season showing of two final round appearances and two semi-final round finishes.

2008 Top Fuel Final Points
1. Scott Whipple 710
2. Dennis Rieck 663
3. Jeff Janoe 584
4. Shane Switzer 380
5. Keith Longerot 97


Scott Whipple


Dennis Rieck


Jeff Janoe

Top Alcohol

The 2008 season in the NSDA Top Alcohol class was quite a journey as the top four racers battled back and forth all season long. Mike DeNunzio jumped out to a decent sized points lead with final round finishes (two wins) at the season’s first five events. Mike would hold on for the win after struggling at the season’s last two races in Primm for a ten point victory over Gary Mink. DeNunzio’s championship secured a double series win for the Canidae team, with Scott Whipple also winning in TF. Gary Mink had a great season that ended up with a runner-up finish. Mink won two events on the season (Primm and Yuma) and also dipped into the 2.4 second zone for the first time in Yuma. There ended up being a tie for third place in the Top Alcohol points standings, only 17 behind DeNunzio. Shane Sanford and Dan Allen ended up tied for this position. Sanford, the 2007 NSDA Top Alcohol champion, was snake bitten early in the season with parts breakage and overall bad luck. Shane recovered late in the season and ended up with one win in four final round appearances. Shane also broke into the 2.4 zone at the season finale in Primm. Dan Allen started off the season in record breaking fashion with a 2.411 new TA National Record and race win in Yuma with his Lucas Oil dragster. Some bad luck in eliminations continued up until the Spring Primm race where the Allen team suffered some horrendous luck with a crash destroying their race car. They persevered and returned at the season finale in Primm with a brand new race car. Dan went out and swept the second race at this event, qualifying #1 and winning the class. This would be his second win and low qualifier for the season.

2008 Top Alcohol Points
1. Mike DeNunzio 647
2. Gary Mink 637
3. Shane Sanford 630
3. Dan Allen 630
5. Richard Montiel 399


Mike DeNunzio


Gary Mink


Shane Sanford


Dan Allen

Top Eliminator

In one of the greatest come from behind stories ever, Tim Martin swept both races at the Primm season finale to take the 2008 Top Eliminator championship. Tim, in his Truck Toys N Tops Dragster, also was the #1 qualifier at the two other events and scored 10 bonus points for a perfect 2.950 at the Spring Primm race. Steve Hoffman drove his “Smooth Sucka” dragster to a fast start to the season with two wins and one runner-up finish to start the year off. Steve then had some bad luck as the season went on, and was just barely passed for the title at the season finale by just 17 points. Billy Morris, the 2007 NSDA Sportsman 1 champion, moved up to Top Eliminator in 2008. Billy won his first TE race in May at SJ and also had two runner-up finishes along the way to a top three point series finish.

2008 Top Eliminator Points
1. Tim Martin 612
2. Steve Hoffman 595
3. Billy Morris 552
4. Leon Januik 541
5. Paul Taylor 516


Tim Martin


Steve Hoffman


Billy Morris

Pro Mod

Pro Mod was a back and forth fight between Mike Erwin and Clayton Record throughout the 2008 season as they were the only racers competing for the championship. The battle came down to the season’s final race where whoever went the furthest in eliminations would win the championship. Both racers ended up going out in round one, thus handing the win to the leader Mike Erwin. Erwin had one win and two runner-ups throughout his championship season. Record also had one win and two runner-ups on his way to the second place points finish. Wes Gilmore was the third place finisher with one semi-final finish in the ’08 season.

2008 Pro Mod Points
1. Mike Erwin 633
2. Clayton Record 619
3. Wes Gilmore 269
4. Francisco Anaya 119
5. Larry Minor 98
5. Geoff Gill 98


Mike Erwin


Clayton Record


Wes Gilmore

Pro Index

On the strength of a huge double points win at the season finale in Primm, Justin Adamson became a back-to-back NSDA Pro Index point series champion. Justin was a consistent late round finisher early in the season with two semi-final and two runner-up finishes. Mike Erwin took the Swag Racing Jeep to a runner-up finish in Pro Index wins one win, runner-up, and low qualifier on the season. Third place was Charlie Johnson, who had two wins in his Jeep.

2008 Pro Index Points
1. Justin Adamson 583
2. Mike Erwin 550
3. Charlie Johnson 534
4. Wes Johnson 531
5. Jose Beas 514


Justin Adamson


Charlie Johnson

Pro 1

Pro 1 was one of the most dramatic points battles, coming down to a third round match up in the final race of the season for the championship to be decided. Mike Erwin came out on top as the champion in the Pro 1 class making him a dual class winner, also in Pro Mod. Mike had one win, three semi-final finishes, and one low qualifier in 2008 en route to the title. Tommy Zavala drove his “Looney” dragster to a runner-up finish in the championship standings with one win and one semi-final finish on the season. Joe Janoe moved up to third place in the 2008 standings on the strength of his big win at the Primm season finale.

2008 Pro 1 Points
1. Mike Erwin 559
2. Tommy Zavala 537
3. Joe Janoe 471
4. Jeff Liston 430
5. George Amos 430


Mike Erwin


Tommy Zavala


Joe Janoe

Pro 2

Wes Johnson ended up taking home the NSDA Pro 2 championship in 2008. Wes had one race win, one runner-up, and two low qualifiers throughout the season en route to the championship. Phil Soper drove his buggy to a runner-up finish in Pro 2 with one win and two runner-ups in the 2008 NSDA season. Charlie Johnson came in a close third position with one win and two semi-final finishes in 2008 Pro 2 action.

2008 Pro 2 Points
1. Wes Johnson 558
2. Phil Soper 539
3. Charlie Johnson 521
4. Hunter Buettner 466
5. Tommy Zavala 460


Wes Johnson


Phil Soper


Charlie Johnson

Pro 3

Charlie Johnson pretty much dominated the Pro 3 class in 2008, much like Grant Fraysier did in 2007. Charlie ended up with one win and three-runner up finishes in 2008 for the title. Jose Beas slid into second place in points on the strength of a runner-up finish at the season opener in Yuma. Gary Gebert ended up third in 2008 Pro 3 points with his best finish being a semi-final finish in May at San Jacinto.

2008 Pro 3 Points
1. Charlie Johnson 616
2. Jose Beas 513
3. Gary Gebert 461
4. Grant Fraysier 434
5. Arend Schouten 419


Charlie Johnson


Jose Beas


Gary Gebert

MC Pro 1

Ryan Winkle had control of the 2008 season in MC Pro 1 from start to finish. He started out the season with a win in Yuma and tacked on two more runner-ups to end up with a runaway championship win in the class. Ian Brown, the 2007 MC Pro 1 champ, ended up second in points after having some horrible early season luck. Brown did turn things around towards the end of the season and ended up with three runner-ups total in 2008. Despite missing three events, Brad Olson came in third place in MC Pro 1. Brad looked to be an early season contender with two wins and a runner-up in the first three races, but he was unable to continue with the series after the Spring Primm event.

2008 MC Pro 1 Points
1. Ryan Winkle 616
2. Ian Brown 545
3. Brad Olson 419
4. Robert Garnas 353


Ryan Winkle


Ian Brown


Brad Olson

MC Pro 2

Randy Mings successfully defended his 2007 MC Pro 2 title in 2008 to become a back-to-back champion. Randy missed the season opener in Yuma, but continued his winning ways with two race wins and one runner-up finish for the season. Coming up just 27 points short was Rob Winkle with one win, runner-up, and low qualifier. Just behind the top two was George Amos, who ended up third in the championship standings with one victory in 2008.

2008 MC Pro 2 Points
1. Randy Mings 613
2. Rob Winkle 586
3. George Amos 564
4. Shea Marlow 529
5. Joey Weaver 464


Randy Mings


Rob Winkle


George Amos

Sportsman 1

Sportsman 1 was a wide open class most of the 2008 season, but it was Phil Soper who prevailed at the end of the season. Phil won two early season races and was able to hold off Hunter Buettner for the championship. The title was clinched when the top two faced off at Primm in round two, ending with Hunter’s red light. Hunter had a great season in Sport 1 with two semi-final finishes. Brian Root drove his Jeep to the #3 position in 2008 with one runner-up and one semi-final finish on the season.

2008 Sportsman 1 Points
1. Phil Soper 547
2. Hunter Buettner 511
3. Brian Root 481
4. Tommy Zavala 464
5. Clayton Record 464


Phil Soper


Hunter Buettner


Brian Root

Sportsman 2

Justin Taylor came out on top in the 2008 Sportsman 2 championship chase. Justin won two events in 2008 and led to a rather large margin of victory in the championship standings. Arend Schouten ended up second in 2008 with his buggy on the strength of two quarter-final finishes. Aaron Smith looked to be a championship contender heading into Primm, but he did not make the trip and fell back in the standings after losing out on the race’s double points opportunity. Aaron did have a nice season in ’08 with two semi-final finishes.

2008 Sportsman 2 Points
1. Justin Taylor 541
2. Arend Schouten 440
3. Aaron Smith 415
4. Jim Clark 309
5. Steve Bertram 297


Justin Taylor


Arend Schouten

MC Sportsman 1

Ryan Winkle did the same as Ian Brown in 2007 by sweeping both MC 1 class championships. Ryan pretty much dominated the Sport 1 class as he did on the Pro side with two wins and two runner ups in 2008. Ian Brown struggled in his attempt to defend his ’08 championship, but still scored second place in the standings. Despite running a partial schedule in ’08, Pedro Villa Jr. came up with third place in points on the strength of a runner-up finish at the Season Opener in Yuma.

2008 MC Sportsman 1 Points
1. Ryan Winkle 625
2. Ian Brown 450
3. Pedro Villa Jr. 178
4. Rob Winkle 119


Ryan Winkle


Ian Brown

MC Sportsman 2

The 2008 MC Sport 2 title went to Shea Marlow, with one win and runner-up throughout the season. Rob Winkle came up just short of the title, ending up second place also with a win and runner-up in ’08. Alan Mamer came in third in the point standings one runner-up finish in ’08.