Payne breaks through, Picillo clinches championship at NHRA Las Vegas Nationals

Toby Payne earned his first career NHRA national event victory and Justin Picillo clinched his first national championship as seven sportsman racers celebrated wins at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Toby Payne earned his long-awaited first national event victory while Justin Picillo celebrated both a Wally and a world championship as NHRA sportsman racers battled for wins at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Payne finally broke through in Super Comp, collecting his first NHRA national event Wally in his fourth career final round appearance. Remarkably, all four of those final rounds have come at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Meanwhile, Justin Picillo made his trip to Las Vegas one to remember, capturing the Super Stock victory and his first NHRA National Championship. Picillo came all the way from Rhode Island, and the victory marked Picillo’s third career national event Wally and capped off a championship-winning season.

Joining them in the winner’s circle was Cody Lane (Comp), Jeff Adkinson (STK), Nick Alejandre (SG), Dylan Hough (TD) and Ed Olpin (TS).

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

Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals

Competition Eliminator

Cody Lane claimed his 11th NHRA National event Wally, his second this year, after defeating Mike Dahl in the final round. Lane had the starting line advantage, .032 to .130, and ran a 7.413 at 157 mph to get to the stripe first and head to the winner’s circle.

Taylor Chomiski and Eric Bell were the semi-finalists.

Super Stock

Justin Picillo defeated Carl Youngstrom in the final round to pick up his third NHRA National event Wally, and his first NHRA National Championship. Picillo had the starting line advantage, .012 to .029, and ran a 9.526 on his 9.52 dial-in to lock Youngstrom out and head to the winner’s circle,

Tommy Gaynor and Scott Burton claimed the semi-finalist spots.

Stock Eliminator

Jeff Adkinson took home his seventh NHRA National event Wally after defeating Justin Lamb in the final round. Just a coin flip apart at the tree, Adkinson was .048 and ran a 9.437 at 138 mph on his 9.42 dial-in to get to the stripe first by .015 for the trophy.

Thomas Baker and Scott Burton claimed the semi-finalist spots.

Super Comp

In a rather eventful final round, Toby Payne earned his first NHRA National event Wally after defeating Blu Hayball in the final round. Hayball had the starting line advantage, .016 to .036, but Payne got to the stripe first running a 9.086 at 158 mph. This was Payne’s fourth final round appearance, all being at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Val Torres claimed the semi-finalist spot.

Super Gas

Nick Alejandre defeated Jordan Pratt in the final round to take home his second career national event win. Pratt had the starting line advantage, .013 to .024, but took too much stripe and broke out. Alejandre ran a 10.066 on the 10.05 index for the trophy.

Bo Butner claimed the semi-finalist spot.

Top Dragster

Dylan Hough earned his third NHRA National event Wally after defeating Don London in the final round. Hough had the starting line advantage, .007 to .038, and never trailed back for the win. He ran a 6.224 at 217 mph for the double-breakout win on the 6.23 dial-in.

Moe Trujillo and Steve Hamilton were the semi-finalists.

Top Sportsman

Ed Olpin claimed his 12th NHRA National event career win after defeating Aaron Steinkey in the final round. Olpin had the starting line advantage, .025 to .035, and turned it into a win light as Steinkey had problems and had to abort the run. Olpin coasted to a 6.993 at 189 mph to head to the winner’s circle.

Graham Foster and Bryan Warr 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.

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