2022 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Sportsman Preview

2022 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Lucas Oil Sportsman Preview from Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio

Cover photo courtesy of NHRA.tv

NORWALK – After a stop at the scenic Bristol Dragway, the NHRA tour moves to Norwalk, Ohio for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. In addition to Summit Motorsports Park offering racers one of the nicest facilities on the circuit, they also have one pound of ice cream for a buck! The Bader family goes all out each season to make the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals one of the best national event stops on the tour.

While we didn’t correctly predict at winner last week in Bristol, our Stock Eliminator pick, Todd Bones Ewing, did make the final round only to come up short. Hopefully we can go one better this week and pick a winner.

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals will showcase over 270 Lucas Oil sportsman racers competing in seven different classes. The schedule includes Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster.

Before we look ahead to the 2022 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, let’s look back at the 2021 event champions.

2021 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Champions

Competition Eliminator – Bruno Massel

Super Stock – Anthony Bertozzi

Stock Eliminator – Joe Santangelo

Super Comp – John Labbous

Super Gas – Jeremy Mason

Top Sportsman – Curt Fredrich

Top Dragster – Alan Kenny

2022 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Predictions

With each NHRA national event DragChamp’s sportsman preview includes an overview of each class. In addition, we select the DragChamp Picks to win the race. Here are this week’s picks.

Competition Eliminator – 22 Car Field

Last season’s event champion Bruno Massel returns to Norwalk looking to extend his streak. He’s joined by heavy hitters David Billingsley and multi-time world champ Frank Aragona. Bill Skillman and Pete D’Agnolo are also racers I’d keep an eye on this weekend.

DragChamp picks to win:

David Billingsley – Great driver with a fast hot rod spells trouble for the rest of the field

Super Stock – 49 Car Field

Ricky Decker, #2 in the world last year, tops the entry list going into the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Other hitters include defending champ Anthony Bertozzi, Patrick Glade, Wyatt Wagner, Steve Szupka, Aaron Allison, and more.

DragChamp picks to win:

Brad Zaskowski – Stick shift ace is overdue for a big weekend

Anthony Fetch – Been tearing up the bracket racing scene, shouldn’t have any problems carrying that momentum into class racing

Stock Eliminator – 55 Car Field

Joe Santangelo won last season to complete the Team Bertozzi sweep which included Bertozzi in Super Stock, Santangelo in Stock, and Labbous in Super Comp. They dedicated the wins to the late Kyle Seipel. While I’m sure they’d love a repeat, a talented field of Stock racers are looking to prevent the repeat.

DragChamp picks to win:

Aaron Allison – Race Tools Direct entry is always a threat to win

Randi Lyn Shipp – Multi-time class winner has a knack for making final round appearances

Super Comp – 56 Car Field

There’s lots of story lines in Super Comp this week. Can John Labbous win for the second consecutive year, will Shawn Langdon make it two in a row after winning last week in Bristol, can Vincent Nobile get it done in a new class? These questions will be answered on Sunday afternoon if not sooner.

DragChamp picks to win:

Shawn Langdon – I think the two-time SC world champ will keep the momentum going and win two straight

Alison Prose – I believe this is the week the self-proclaimed runner-up queen breaks through for the W

Super Gas – 55 Car Field

This is the second straight week where the Super Gas field met it’s entry quota and let me tell you, there’s some talent on the entry list. Hometown racer Jeremy Mason enjoyed a popular victory last year. A host of the best 9.90 racers in the country will try to stop him this week.

DragChamp picks to win:

Devin Isenhower – Former world champ is a threat anytime he shows up

Craig Anderson – Bighead has a new SG roadster and that could spell trouble for the class!

Top Sportsman – 17 Car Field

Last season’s #5 ranked driver Curt Fredrich collected the Wally at the 2021 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Although he’ll contend with a relatively small field this weekend, it’s a very competitive field.

DragChamp pick to win:

Glenn Butcher – Multi-time class winner has great equipment and the driver is pretty good too

Top Dragster – 19 Car Field

2021 TD World Champ Blake Peavler leads the list of entries this week at Norwalk. Notables entered this week include 2021 event champ Alan Kenny, JB Strassweg, Anthony Bertozzi, and Bo Butner.

DragChamp pick to win:

Zach Sackman – Talented D3 runner is a win waiting to happen

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