Carolina Dragway Takes Division 2 East IHRA Summit Team Finals Win

AIKEN, S.C. (September 23, 2014) – The Division 2 East IHRA Summit Team Finals presented by AMSOIL took place this past weekend at Carolina Dragway with the host team narrowly escaping with the team win and six more drivers earning a spot in the Summit SuperSeries championship runoff later this year at Memphis International Raceway.

Carolina Dragway narrowly escaped with the Division 2 East team championship by two points over fellow South Carolina track Union County Dragway. Carolina amassed 54 points during the weekend, followed by Union County with 52 points and Pageland Dragway with 48 points. Immokalee Regional Raceway finished fourth with 43 points and Bradenton Motorsports Park rounded out the top five with 42 points. The rest of the team in competition in South Carolina were Palm Beach International Raceway, Darlington Dragway, Green Cove Dragway, Orangeburg Dragway, Ware Shoals Dragway, Dorchester Dragway, Lakeland Dragstrip and Cherokee Dragway.

Joseph Bagwell won the Top ET SuperSeries runoff at Carolina Dragway

In the Summit SuperSeries presented by AMSOIL runoff, Joseph Bagwell, Sonny Freeland and Johnny Tolisano won their respective classes, joining runner-up drivers Jerry Norton, David Richardson and Jeremy Barbee as all six advance to the championship race October 10-11 during the Summit World Finals weekend.

Joseph Bagwell got the Summit SuperSeries action underway on Friday with a big win over Jerry Norton in the Top ET runoff. Bagwell, representing the host track, cut a near-perfect .001 light and followed that up with a 5.762-second pass on a 5.76 dial-in at 116.07 mph, while his opponent, traveling from Bradenton Motorsports Park, broke out with a 4.89 on a 4.92 at 139.00 mph.

In Mod ET Sonny Freeland took the SuperSeries runoff over David Richardson

In Mod ET action, Sonny Freeland, from IHRA’s most southern US track Immokalee Regional Raceway, took the win light over David Richardson. Freeland had a .027 light followed by a 5.897-second pass on a 5.83 dial at 106.93 mph. Richardson, from Darlington Dragway, had a 6.407 on a 6.38 at 106.29.

Johnny Tolisano closed out the Summit SuperSeries competition with a win over Pageland Dragway’s Jeremy Barbee, who went red by a narrow -.011 margin. Tolisano, from Immokalee Regional Raceway, still kept in it for a solid 7.934 on a 7.90 at 76.89.

Other big winners over the weekend included Main Event winners Thomas Bell (Carolina Dragway) in Top ET, Buddy Plyler (Pageland Dragway) in Mod ET and Robby Pettinato (Union County Dragway) in Junior Dragster.

Johnny Tolisano (near) and Jeremy Barbee met in the SuperSeries runoff

Below are the complete results from the Division 2 East Summit Team Finals presented by AMSOIL at Carolina Dragway.

Division 2 East Summit Team Finals Team Standings

1. Carolina Dragway – 54
2. Union County Dragway – 52
3. Pageland Dragway – 48
4. Immokalee Regional Raceway – 43
5. Bradenton Motorsports Park – 42
6. Palm Beach International Raceway – 33
7. Darlington Dragway – 33
8. Green Cove Dragway – 31
9. Orangeburg Dragway – 29
10. Ware Shoals Dragway – 24
11. Dorchester Dragway – 20
12. Lakeland Dragstrip – 13
13. Cherokee Dragway – 11

SUMMIT SUPERSERIES RESULTS

SUMMIT SUPERSERIES RUNOFF TOP ET – Joseph Bagwell, Carolina Dragway, (.001) 5.762 on 5.74, 116.07 def. Jerry Norton, Bradenton Motorsports Park, (.026) 4.89 on 4.92, 139.00

SUMMIT SUPERSERIES RUNOFF MOD ET – Sonny Freeland, Immokalee Regional Raceway, (.027) 5.897 on 5.83, 106.93 def. David Richardson, Darlington Raceway, (.090) 6.407 on 6.38, 106.29

SUMMIT SUPERSERIES RUNOFF JUNIOR DRAGSTER – Johnny Tolisano, Immokalee Regional Raceway, (.044) 7.934 on 7.90, 76.89 def. Jeremy Barbee, Pageland Dragway, (-.011) foul

MAIN EVENT

Main Event Top ET – Thomas Bell, Carolina Dragway, (.027) 6.496 on 4.54, 67.05 def. Brad Hollingsworth, Carolina Dragway, (-.005) foul

Main Event Mod ET – Buddy Plyler, Pageland Dragway, (.000) 6.193 on 6.17, 109.93 def. Britton McClintock, Immokalee Regional Raceway, (.046) 7.556 on 7.57, 87.58

Main Event Juniors – Robby Pettinato, Union County Dragway, (.015) 7.933 on 7.930, 79.59 def. Ethan Smith Jr., Darlington Dragway, (.058) 7.903 on 7.900, 81.84