Drake Simmons
Nitro Member
Martin, MI (Oct. 1)--A phone call from Bill Bader, Jr., pretty much summed it up..."WE WON!"
At the IHRA Summit Team Finals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Team Norwalk staged a come-from-behind victory to win the event. An elated Team Captain Bader called it, "one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports." When the smoke cleared not only did Norwalk claim the Division 5 title but had two world champions as well.
Team Norwalk had 30 points after Round 1 and what appeared to be a commanding early lead, but by the second round lost the lead to Milan Dragway. By Round 3, Team Norwalk was down by as many as 13 points and many were looking for the team from Milan to win it all. But in a Hollywood-style plot, Norwalk was paired against racers from Milan in later rounds and picked them off one by one.
By early evening, Norwalk had overcome a 13-point deficit to claim victory with a 10-point margin.
Capping the night, it was an all-Norwalk final in Street, with Dan Doell winning over Gary Hurst to become the IHRA Division 5 Street E.T. World Champion.
Norwalk racer Ricky Baehr, last year's Summit Super Series No Box World Champ, emerged as this year's IHRA Division 5 Modified World Champion.
Bader called the entire race "a great team effort."
"I'm so incredibly proud of this team," said Bader in an interview Sunday evening. "This was a tremendous team effort, the team was awesome, and it was a storybook finish."
Top three final team points: Team Norwalk 72 points; Milan Dragway, 62 points; Byron Dragway, 60 points.
www.NorwalkRaceway.com
**Also the US131 Motorsports Park starter was run over by a dragster from Byron Dragway on Saturday night during the first round of eliminations in TOP. The driver of the Dragster was backing up after his burnout and the starter was moping up some fluids when the dragster backed over him. The EMS crew was VERY SLOW! When I purchased a 50/50 ticket to help raise money for the starter the person that sold me the ticket said that he is going to have surgery on Wednesday.
At the IHRA Summit Team Finals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Team Norwalk staged a come-from-behind victory to win the event. An elated Team Captain Bader called it, "one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports." When the smoke cleared not only did Norwalk claim the Division 5 title but had two world champions as well.
Team Norwalk had 30 points after Round 1 and what appeared to be a commanding early lead, but by the second round lost the lead to Milan Dragway. By Round 3, Team Norwalk was down by as many as 13 points and many were looking for the team from Milan to win it all. But in a Hollywood-style plot, Norwalk was paired against racers from Milan in later rounds and picked them off one by one.
By early evening, Norwalk had overcome a 13-point deficit to claim victory with a 10-point margin.
Capping the night, it was an all-Norwalk final in Street, with Dan Doell winning over Gary Hurst to become the IHRA Division 5 Street E.T. World Champion.
Norwalk racer Ricky Baehr, last year's Summit Super Series No Box World Champ, emerged as this year's IHRA Division 5 Modified World Champion.
Bader called the entire race "a great team effort."
"I'm so incredibly proud of this team," said Bader in an interview Sunday evening. "This was a tremendous team effort, the team was awesome, and it was a storybook finish."
Top three final team points: Team Norwalk 72 points; Milan Dragway, 62 points; Byron Dragway, 60 points.
www.NorwalkRaceway.com
**Also the US131 Motorsports Park starter was run over by a dragster from Byron Dragway on Saturday night during the first round of eliminations in TOP. The driver of the Dragster was backing up after his burnout and the starter was moping up some fluids when the dragster backed over him. The EMS crew was VERY SLOW! When I purchased a 50/50 ticket to help raise money for the starter the person that sold me the ticket said that he is going to have surgery on Wednesday.
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