McLaughlin, Torres shine at In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals

John McLaughlin and Val Torres both held trophies at the end of the day at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

POMONA, CA – John McLaughlin and Val Torres both closed out the year under the lights at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip with some hardware.

McLaughlin was able to clinch his first ever NHRA National event Wally in his B/S stocker, while Torres went into the weekend in a 4-way battle for the championship title. With his win, he was able to call himself the 2024 Super Gas Champion!

Joining them in the winner’s circle was Travis Gusso (Comp), Justin Jerome (SS), John McLaughlin (STK), Bob VanPopering (SC), Val Torres (SG), Ed Olpin (TD), and Joe Mellof (TS).

Read the race recap below to learn more about the winners!

In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals

Competition Eliminator

Travis Gusso took home his first NHRA National event Wally after defeating Jason Grima in the final round. Grima had problems on the line and was way red, handing the easy ride to victory over to Gusso. He was .009 up front and coasted to the stripe.

Brandon Huhtala and Josh Lee were the semi-finalists.

Super Stock

Justin Jerome picked up his third NHRA National event Wally after defeating Shelby Williams in the final round. Jerome was .016 and put together an .022 package to lock out Williams, who was .055 on the tree. Jerome ran a 10.616 at 120 mph on his 10.61 dial-in.

Bryan Broaddus and Tim Seymour were the semi-finalists.

Stock Eliminator

John McLaughlin visited the winner’s circle for the first time after defeating Michael Wann in the final round. Wann had the starting line advantage, .015 to .061, but took too much stripe to breakout. McLaughlin ran a 10.565 at 126 mph on his 10.53 dial-in to turn on the win-light.

Brad Burton and John Irving were the semi-finalists.

Super Comp

Bob VanPopering took home his first NHRA National event Wally after defeating Nick Alejandre in the final round. Alejandre turned on the red bulb by -.009, giving the easy ride to the winner’s circle to VanPopering. He was .018 on the tree and ran a 8.879 at 182 mph.

Cooper Chun and Ken Mostowich were the semi-finalists.

Super Gas

Val Torres did the impossible and visited the winners circle after defeating Kris Whitfield in the final round to pick up his 10th NHRA Wally and the 2024 World Champion title. Whitfield had the starting line advantage, .008 to .030, but Torres was able to get the trophy after Whitfield took too much stripe to breakout. He ran a 9.919 at 154 mph on the 9.90 index.

Keith Mayers and Linzi Meserve were the semi-finalists.

Top Dragster

Ed Olpin took home the trophy after defeating Kevin Wright in the final round for his 11th NHRA Wally. Olpin had the starting line advantage, .000 to .022, and ran a 7.058 at 187 mph on his 7.03 dial-in to turn on the final win-light.

Dan Naylor and Chris Thode were the semi-finalists.

Top Sportsman

Joe Mellof visited the winners circle after taking out Robert Strohm in the final round to pick up his first ever NHRA National event Wally. Strohm was -.009 on the tree to end it, while Mellof was .013 and coasted to victory.

Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson and David Cook were the semi-finalists.

An avid racer herself, Megan Strassweg, 28, sees her two worlds collide with DragChamp – journalism and drag racing. Megan resides in Evansville, IN, and she pilots a 2015 American Dragster in the NHRA North Central Division 3 Super Comp series, along with some local bracket racing on the side. Her passion for racing began early, having grown up at the racetrack, and she remains committed to the sport. When she’s not racing, you can find her working at WDRB News as a Digital Producer, playing with her two dogs – Clutch and Goose, or spending time with her friends and family.

You can reach Megan on Facebook or email at megan@dragchamp.com