NHRA Midwest Nationals Sportsman Champions

Final round results from the Lucas Oil sportsman classes at the AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

ST. LOUIS – Lucas Oil sportsman champions were crowned on Sunday afternoon at the AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals. Veteran racers dominated the winners circle as most champions had won multiple races prior to their victories on Sunday.

In addition to the veteran winners, Mark Buttram and David Kramer enjoyed their first big wins. Buttram won the Super Gas title to earn his first NHRA national event win. Kramer, a multi-time finalist, earned his first win in the popular Factory Stock class.

Find our AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals event preview here.

2019 AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals Final Round Results

Competition Eliminator

Class veteran David Billingsley qualified ninth and drove past a murder’s row to reach the final. Billingsley, driving his I/AA Camaro, defeated Ray Skillman, Chase Williams, Craig Bourgeois, and Bruno Massel to reach the final.

There he defeated a troubled Travis Gusso. Gusso was doomed at the hit after spinning the tires hard on the launch. Billingsley drove by him quickly and extended his lead down track.

The win is sixth national event victory for Billingsley and his fifth in Competition Eliminator.

Super Stock

Justin Jenkins collected his fifth NHRA national event victory on Sunday in his eighth final round appearance. In the final round, Jenkins, driving his GT/FA Cobalt, was .015 take .010 to defeat the Louisiana-based COPO of Brandon Bakies.

His .015 to .040 reaction time advantage allowed him to post a winning .051 over 9.561 to Bakies’ .036 over 9.696. On his way to the final, Jenkins raced past championship contender Vic Penrod, Darrin Christen, Wyatt Wagner, and Larry Hodge.

Stock Eliminator

Brina Frank picked up her fifth career win in her sixth final round on Sunday. Frank, driving her FS/B COPO Camaro, defeated Lucas Oil Nationals winner Chris Knudsen in the final round.

Frank used a .027 dead six lap in the final to outpace Knudsen. After posting even reactions, .027 to .025, Frank’s 9.306 on her 9.30 dial-in turned on the win light after Knudsen, driving his shift-shifted C/S ’69 Camaro, braked to a .015 over 10.585. The margin at the stripe was .007!

Knudsen stopped championship contender Jacob Pitt, see more in our event preview here, in the semifinal round. Both Knudsen and Pitt were the DragChamp pre-race picks to win Stock! See more about our pre-race pics here.

Super Comp

Chris Dodd returns to the scene of the crime to grab his second national event victory. Dodd, the 2017 Midwest Nationals champion, defeated U.S. Nationals champion Lynn Ellison in the final round claim win number two.

Chris, the 2019 JEGS Allstars champion, was deadly at the tree posting five .00 lights through six rounds of competition. In addition, his dragster was welded to the 8.90 index at St. Louis.

In the final, Ellison let go -.004 red to hand the win to Dodd who posted a .007 light and a 8.910 for the win.

Super Gas

Bracket racer Mark Buttrum earned his first NHRA national event on Sunday in his first final round appearance. Buttrum, competing in only his third Super Gas race, defeated red-hot Vernon Rowland in a close final round.

The final was decided by .001 at the stripe. Buttrum’s .010 to .021 holeshot gave him just enough of advantage for his 9.920 to outrun Rowland’s 9.910.

Mark’s most recent win came at the Working’s Man $10 Grands bracket race at Wagler Motorsports Park. You can read the full article here.

Top Sportsman

Mark McDonald “did it for Di” on Sunday when he drove his Mustang to the Top Sportsman victory at the Midwest Nationals. After the race, Mark mentioned his friend Diane O’Neal, who’s currently battling health issues, and even put a Do it for Di bracelet on his Wally.

To capture his fourth NHRA national event victory, McDonald had to outlast final round opponent Allen Firestone. Driving his Mustang, McDonald posted a .002 light and took .002 stripe to lock out the Camaro of Firestone.

McDonald admitted to letting out before the stripe and then grabbing the nitrous override to get there first! Firestone, a multi-time winner LODRS winner this year, came up just short in the final.

The box score in the final showed McDonald taking a .002 to .024 advantage at the tree. He used this advantage to post the win after his .031 over 6.641 outpaced Firestone’s .011 over 6.611.

Factory Stock Showdown

David Kramer claimed his first Factory Stock Showdown on Sunday after using a holeshot to outpace Arthur Kohn. Kramer threw down a perfect .000 reaction in the final after posting a .012 light in the semifinals.

Kohn and his Stanfield Powered COPO had the advantage coming into the final, his third of the season, but fell short in the final to Kramer’s perfect light.

The all-COPO final looked to be a close one on paper but a .000 to .053 difference made it a lopsided win for Kramer. Kramer’s 8.022 was eleven feet ahead of Kohn’s 8.013 at the stripe. Kohn’s Camaro slowed slightly after getting close to the wall in the final round.

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