5/12/2024
IHRA Events
Gleason Raceway Park Has Record Entries for IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Moser Engineering
GLEASON, TN — It’s time to celebrate at Gleason Raceway Park with Saturday’s IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Moser Engineering bringing in the largest car count since the Northup family took over the Tennessee track in 2021.
Veteran racers at Gleason said it was the biggest turnout they could remember in the last decade.
No wonder it was such a great showing with drivers competing for IHRA Ironman trophies, the popular oversized checks and commemorate medals in addition to their winnings. Some IHRA member drivers earned entry into the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals presented by Strange Engineering.
Clayton Mitchell in Super Pro (Box), Charlie Lockhart in Pro (No Box) William Joiner in Sportsman, John Markham in Motorcycle and Copeland Reed in Junior Dragster won in classes represented at the IHRA World Finals. Wyatt Bradley in Teen Street and Emily Cruz in Powder Puff also scored victories.
Mitchell was double-entered in his dragster in the Super Pro class and won both his semifinal matchups. Mitchell had a run of 4.606 seconds at 150.25 mph to win one semifinal and he went 4.617 seconds at 150.15 mph.
Lockhart was right on his 6.02 dial-in with a 6.026-second pass at 112.11 mph in his Chevy S-10 pickup to take the No Box win. He ad a slightly better start, .026 to .035, than Joiner, who was runner-up in this class. Joiner broke out with a 7.577 seconds at 89.78 mph on a 7.60 dial-in.
Joiner had a good launch in his Chevy Camaro in the Sportsman final. He had the .020 to .058 advantage at the tree over Mitch Reed. Joiner went 7.594 seconds at 89.25 on a 7.58 dial-in. Reed had a 7.44 dial-in and posted a 7.41-second pass at 93.15 mph.
Copeland Reed had an even better result than his father with his Junior Dragster victory. He had an 8.959-second elapsed time at 71.25 mph against an 8.93 dial with a .030 start. Hope Capley was slightly quicker than her 7.94 dial-in going 7.932 seconds at 82 mph long with a .050 reaction time.
Markham matched Mitchell’s efforts as he also won both semifinal races. His winning package in the first semifinal included a 6.122-second pass at 112 mph and a .019 reaction time. He wasn’t as quick at the tree .060 in the second race, but went down the 1/8-mile in 6.068 seconds at 112.53 mph for the victory.
Wyatt Bradley had the better start to capture the Ironman trophy for the Teen Street class. He took advantage of a .105 to .200 advantage at the starting line and then raced down the track in 9.591 seconds at 72.53 mph against a 9.56 dial-in. Spencer Pate was runner-up despite a good run of 9.094 seconds at 72.80 against a 9.08 dial-in.
Emily Cruz scored her first win in five years with her vintage GMC pick-up truck in the Powder Puff race. She won on a holeshot .064 to .165 over Brittany Lockhart, the wife of current IHRA No Box World Champion Wesley Lockhart. Cruz posted a run of 7.225 seconds at 89.96 mph with a 7.18 dial-in. Lockhart was close to her 6.47 dial-in with a 6.471-second run at 104 mph.
In addition to the awesome racing on Mother’s Day weekend, it was a fantastic atmosphere thanks to the Gleason Raceway Park staff. From the gate to the track and a variety of tasty concessions helped provide a great experience for the racers.
The IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Moser Engineering will make its debut at Kil-Kare Raceway in Ohio this weekend. IHRA President Mel Roth and Division Director Christopher Eager are scheduled to be there. Click here to visit the IHRA membership center or call 85-JOIN-IHRA to take full advantage of the all the benefits of being an IHRA member.
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