DragChamp 2022 .90 Racer of the Year

‘Lil’ John Labbous wins four times in eight finals to earn the 2022 DragChamp .90 Racer of the Year title presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance

01/11/23 – Welcome to the 2022 DragChamp .90 Racer of the Year Top 10 List presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance. We ranked the best Super class racers of the year to complete the Top 10 List. Read below to see which racers made the biggest impact over the 2022 season.

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Want to check out previous Top 10 Lists, click here.

DragChamp Top 10 List

1 – John Labbous Jr.

‘Lil’ John Labbous is your 2022 Super Class Racer of the Year! Labbous, one of the most talented drag racers in any class, strung together a huge season in Super Comp and Super Gas to earn the Racer of the Year title. Between both classes, he won four times in eight final rounds including a stretch were he made three straight NHRA national event finals. In the national points chase, John finished #3 in Super Comp and #4 in Super Gas. On the LODRS side, he earned the Division 2 Super Gas championship and finished 2nd in Super Comp.

2 – Austin Williams

Much like Labbous, Austin Williams enjoyed a banner year running Super Comp and Super Gas. The highlight of the season for A-dub surely included his victory at the NHRA U.S. Nationals which was the 2nd of three straight national event wins. Williams finished the season with 5 wins in 6 finals, posted a #2 finish nationally in Super Comp and a 7th place finish in Super Gas. On the divisional side, Austin won the D4 Super Gas championship and finished tenth in Super Comp.

3 – Keith Mayers

Keith Mayers put together one of the best Super Street seasons ever. He kicked off the 2022 season by making 4 straight final round appearances and after losing the first, he reeled off three straight victories to run away with the D1 SST title. Mayers also won the Mid Altantic .90 series championship and was runner-up at the JEGS Allstars in INDY. By my count Mayers won 5 times in 7 finals during his 2022 campaign.

4 – Bob Locke

Bob Locke was the Cinderella story everyone was talking about in 2022. In a year where he won three times in five finals, the last victory was the most impressive. After never winning a NHRA national event, or even making a national event final, Locke headed to the season ending World Finals needing to win the race to become the world champion. In almost unbelievable fashion, Locke did just that to claim his first national event victory and the national title at the final race of the season.

5 – Jim Glenn

Jim Glenn came out firing at the beginning of the 2022 racing season racing to victory at the Winternationals. He followed with a second straight final round appearance the following race to jump to a huge lead in the points standing. After making a third final round appearance and numerous late round showings, Glenn captured the Super Comp world championship.

6 – Phil Unruh

Multi-class sportsman super star Phil Unruh took on a new challenge in 2022 by chasing the Super Gas championship. At the end of the year he came up 11 points short to settle for the #2 spot nationally. During the season Unruh raced to 4 wins in 5 final round appearances. He also claimed the D5 SG championship and finished second in the D5 Super Comp standings.

7 – Luke Bogacki

Luke Bogacki followed his 2021 SG championship with a #3 finish nationally in 2022. His 3 wins in 4 finals also propelled him to the Division 7 SG championship.

8 – Phil Smida

Phil Smida was stellar in Division 3 competition winning the Super Street title in impressive fashion after winning 3 times in 3 finals. In addition to his SST title, Smida also finished #7 in the D3 Super Comp standings.

9 – Jerron Settles

Jerron Settles closed the 2022 racing season on a high note after winning the last two races of the year. At the Las Vegas D7 LODRS event, Settles raced to the SC win which secured the D7 SC title. A week later Settles, one of the best painters on the planet, once again hoisted a Wally after winning the NHRA World Finals in Pomona. Settles posted a Top 10 finish nationally after winning twice in three finals during the season.

10 – Chris Lewis

Chris Lewis hit the trifecta in his SG Camaro after posting three wins in 2022. Lewis finished sixth nationally and fourth in the D2 standings after collecting two national event victories and one LODRS win.

Shout Outs

Dan Bain just missed the Top 10 but earned a shout out after winning twice in three finals to walk away with the Division 7 Super Street title.

Bo Butner also earned a shout out after making three national event finals in his Super Gas roadster. Butner’s highlights included back-to-back victories at the U.S. Nationals and Reading that pushed him to an 11th place finish nationally after running a partial schedule.

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And remember, look for our DragChamp Top 10 List nominations Facebook post every Monday evening. You can nominate your favorites in the comments of the post for consideration on the list.

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