Skillman’s Dominate Summit Racing NHRA Nationals

Drew and Bill Skillman meet in the Factory Stock Showdown final at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

NORWALK, OHIO – Drew Skillman continues his amazing season at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Drew defeated his father Bill in the final round to pick up his third Factory Stock Showdown win of the season.

The win, Drew’s fourth overall in five races this season, moved the Skillman team back to the head of the class. After uncharacteristic early exits at the Heartland Nationals, both team drivers rebounded at Summit Motorsports Park.

Qualifying – Skillman on the pole

Drew grabbed the pole in qualifying when his 7.875 at 179 mph lap edged out Kevin Skinner’s 7.875 at 176 mph. Bill Skillman was fourth on the charts with a 7.926 effort.

NHRA’s repeated attempts to regulate parity hasn’t seemed to slow down the Cobra Jet’s. Ford powered entries grabbed five of the top six spots in qualifying. The 16-car Factory Stock field included five Cobra Jet’s, ten COPO’s, and one DragPak.

Defending class champ Leah Prichett was the lone Mopar to make the field. Peter Gasko was the quickest COPO on the property after his 7.933 was fifth quickest in qualifying.

Eliminations – All-team Final

Once eliminations began, Drew laid down a string of low 7.9-second passes. He defeated Randy Taylor and Pete Gasko in the opening rounds which setup a heavyweight battle with Bo Butner.

Skillman jumped to a .016 to .058 lead at the green and carried it to the finish. Butner’s 7.904 came up .0073-seconds short to Drew’s 7.939 ET. The difference at the stripe was approximately 23 inches.

In the other semifinal pairing, Bill Skillman paired against the COPO of David Barton. After an even start, Skillman’s Ford overpowered Barton 7.986 to 8.032. The win moved Bill into his second career final round and second on the year. Bill won Factory Stock in Charlotte.

The all-team Skillman final was a fairly lopsided affair as Drew grabbed a .020 advantage at the tree and outran his Dad by a hundredth on the big end. Drew’s 7.921 covered Bill’s 7.931.

With another strong performance out of the Ford camp, do you think the NHRA Tech Dept. will institute more parity adjustments to the class? Let us know what you think.