Sunday
The 13th Annual Heartland Nationals at Atoka Motorsports Park concluded on Sunday with some of the best racing we have seen all year. First off, in the Top Alcohol final round Gary Mink and Scott Carroll put on an awesome show with Gary taking a 2.70 to 2.74 decision by just .016 at the stripe. Of course the Top Eliminator guys had to one up that one as Texas’ Courtney Stidham made it back-to-back Heartland Nationals wins in a thrilling final round race against Tim Martin decided by just .007 at the stripe. Sunday’s Pro Bracket classes also saw some great battles as Tim Feuerhelm (Pro 1 Cars), Kirk Whitlow (Pro 1 Quads), and Ashley Ralston (Pro 2 Cars) emerged victorious. Run Sheets & Sunday Videos are now online. (5-30)
Top Alcohol
1st-Gary Mink
2nd-Scott Carroll
3rd-Rod Trower
3rd-Pat Goodale
Top Alcohol Run Sheet
Top Alcohol Highlight Video
Round One Eliminations (Driver ET/MPH RT)
Gary Mink (W) 2.703/139.15 .562 def. Pat Goodale 2.758/133.70 .613
Scott Carroll (W) 2.765/NS .600 def. Rod Trower 2.927/131.13 .484
Final Round
Gary Mink (W) 2.706/142.06 .567 def. Scott Carroll 2.743/142.04 .546
Top Eliminator
1st-Courtney Stidham
2nd-Tim Martin
3rd-Dee Trower
3rd-Mike Smith
Top Eliminator Run Sheet
Top Eliminator Highlight Video
Round One Eliminations (Driver ET RT)
Mike Smith (W) 3.437 .504 def. Robert Smith NT-Broke
Courtney Stidham (W) 3.007 .473 def. Terry Glasscock 3.043 .519
Dee Trower (W) 3.112 .465 def. Tim Hatfield 3.281 .381
Tim Martin (W) 3.066 .558 def. Marc Luce 3.214 .496
Round Two Eliminations
Courtney Stidham (W) 3.033 .491 def. Mike Smith 3.267 .547
Tim Martin (W) 3.024 .525 def. Dee Trower 3.027 .633
Final Round
Courtney Stidham (W) 3.012 .522 def. Tim Martin 3.016 .525
Pro 1 Cars
1st-Tim Feuerhelm
2nd-Ethan Fomby
3rd-Russ Bailey
Pro 1 Run Sheet
Pro 2 Cars
1st-Ashley Ralston
2nd-David Collins
3rd-Braden Myer
Pro 1 Quads
1st-Kirk Whitlow
2nd-Mark Ratliff
3rd-Dylan Williams
Pro 1 Quads Run Sheet
Saturday
Day two of the 13th Annual Heartland Nationals at Atoka Motorsports Park in Atoka, OK saw some great racing. Gary Mink held on to the top spot in Top Alcohol with his Friday track record breaking 2.633 ET. Gary would run Low ET of Saturday’s qualifying rounds with a 2.67 in Q3. Robert Smith held on to the top spot in Top Eliminator with Friday’s 2.962, however they hurt the car on that pass and are out for the weekend. Dee Trower ran a great 2.98 in Q4 to move up to the second qualifying position in TE. Bracket winners on the day include Kevin Self (Pro 2 Quads), Randy Kimbley (Pro 3 Quads), Trey Walton (Pro 4 Quads), and Layla Shull (Peewees). Festivities in the evening included the annual Dinner put on by Rod & Dee Trower. Once again, the food was excellent and it was a great get together for everyone at the race this weekend. Sunday’s action includes eliminations in the Pro classes as well as Pro 1/2 Cars & Pro 1 Quads.
Top Alcohol
Final Qualifying Order
1. Gary Mink 2.633/139.15
2. Rod Trower 2.698/136.36
3. Scott Carroll 2.775/139.15
4. Pat Goodale 2.831/126.27
Saturday TA Highlight Video
Top Eliminator
Final Qualifying Order
1. Robert Smith 2.962
2. Dee Trower 2.986
3. Tim Martin 2.992
4. Courtney Stidham 3.008
5. Terry Glasscock 3.061
6. Marc Luce 3.147
7. Tim Hatfield 3.224
8. Mike Smith 3.234
Saturday TE Highlight Video
Pro 2 Quads
1st-Kevin Self #341
2nd-Jordan Zurline
3rd-Kevin Self #343
Pro 3 Quads
1st-Randy Kimbley
2nd-Dylan Puckett
3rd-Shelby Rice
Pro 4 Quads
1st-Trey Walton
2nd-Eathan Flippen
3rd-Travis Walters
3rd-Natasha Fauske
Peewees
1st-Layla Shull
2nd-Cole Shull
3rd-Ryan Feuerhelm
Friday
Day one action of the 2011 version of the Atoka Motorsports Park Heartland Nationals saw some amazing on track performances. Gary Mink made the long haul to Oklahoma from Fresno, CA & made the best of it breaking the old track record with an amazing 2.633 pass in Top Alcohol qualifying. Rod Trower has his “Thunder” TA Dragster right behind Mink with a great 2.69 in Q2 on only the second pass with a brand new combination in his ride. Robert Smith and his screw-blown Small Block Chevy lead the pack in Top Eliminator with a 2.962 pass. The big winners in the Quick 16’s tonight were Keith Ahart in the Cars class & Rick Lovelace in the Quads class. Final Pro Qualifying & Pro 2-4 Quads/Peewees are on the docket for Saturday race action.
Top Alcohol
Qualifying Order (After 2 Sessions)
1. Gary Mink 2.633/139.15
2. Rod Trower 2.698/136.36
3. Scott Carroll 2.802/133.68
4. Pat Goodale 2.869/126.27
Friday TA Highlight Video
Top Eliminator
Qualifying Order (After 2 Sessions)
1. Robert Smith 2.962
2. Courtney Stidham 3.008
3. Tim Martin 3.115
4. Tim Hatfield 3.224
5. Dee Trower 3.491
Friday TE Highlight Video
Quick 16 Cars
1st-Keith Ahart
2nd-Jessie Wyche
3rd-Jackie Stidham
3rd-Tim Hatfield
Quick 16 Cars Run Sheet
Quick 16 Quads
1st-Rick Lovelace
2nd-Randy Kimbley
3rd-Mark Ratliff
3rd-Kirk Whitlow
Quick 16 Quads Run Sheet
Preview
National Sand Drag News is heading to Atoka, Oklahoma for the 13th Annual Heartland Nationals May 27-29. NSDN will have our normal Coverage with same day results, video, and more. This NSDN Daily Race Coverage event is brought to you courtesy of Trower Racing and Atoka Motorsports Park. NSDN will also have Live Updates on our left sidebar once again. Racing kicks off on Friday with the initial rounds of TA & TE qualifying as well as the Q16 Shootout for both Cars & Quads. Check back throughout the weekend for all the latest from this event.