Race Recap

The 2011 Pro Truck Nationals (PTN) point series tour concluded with the Season Finale on July 15-16 at West Michigan Sand Dragway in Mears, MI. The dramatic point battle in the Pro Truck class title continued on throughout eliminations coming down to two Michigan racers, Grand Rapids’ Lee Reynders & Grand Haven’s Kip Martin. Both racers were on their game throughout qualifying and eliminations. The deciding round would be the semi-finals as Martin would lose a close battle with Portland, MI’s Neal Swain clinching the title for Reynders. Reynders would then fall in the next pair setting the stage for a first time PTN Pro Truck winner as Swain faced off with Jerseyville, IL’s Eric Gallay. Both drivers would have great RT’s with Swain having a .013 to .016 advantage, but at the stripe Gallay would run closer to his Index with a 3.936 (3.90) for the big win. Gallay’s victory also propelled him past Martin and into second place in the final PTN Pro Truck class standings.

A great field of eight entries showed up for the Season Finale at West Michigan Sand Dragway. Team McWethy’s “The Boss”, driven by Brian McWethy, made a great return to the track with a new motor after hurting the previous bullet at the Season Opener in Cleves, OH. Brian would wheel “The Boss” to the top qualifying spot with a great 3.103/103MPH blast. He would then improve in round one action with a 3.095/105MPH run in a first round defeat of Rich Simon. That run would clinch the 2011 Pro Outlaw FE championship for Marysville, OH’s Kathy Ellington while Team Richards - Simon/Dozeman would finish 2nd. Ellington would have bad luck as her car would be unable to start handing McWethy a single into the final round. On the other side of the ladder, Steve DeLeeuw ripped off Low ET of the weekend with a 3.026/109MPH hit; however he left a red light on the tree allowing Missouri’s Dan Wies to move on with a 3.429. This would set up a big match up between the potent SBC-powered entries of Wies & Hudsonville, MI’s Jay Poortenga. Poortenga would card a 3.342 to advance to the final round against the Kalamazoo, MI-based screw blown BBC-powered Funny Jeep of McWethy. Poortenga got the final round RT advantage, but the screw blown power of McWethy prevailed for his first PTN Pro Outlaw FE win with another 3.095/108MPH shot.

A PTN record 17 entries showed up for the ultra competitive 3.5 Index category. Missouri’s John Dreher held on to a decent lead heading into the final night of competition. Unfortunately for Dreher, a nitrous back fire on the line would take him out of competition in round one. The only racer that could catch him would be Ohio’s Kathy Ellington. All Ellington needed to do was advance past round two of eliminations to earn the third round bye run & secure enough points to take the championship. She would line up in round two against Davison, MI’s Roger Jareo. Jareo would leave first & force Ellington into a 3.479 (3.50) break out, clinching the 2011 PTN 3.5 Index championship for Wentzville, MO’s John Dreher. Eliminations would continue on and come down to a final round match up between New Baltimore, MI’s Rich Simon’s BBC-powered Funny Jeep and Jareo’s Turbocharged BBC-powered Dragster. Jareo would once again card a great RT and hang on for a 3.51 to 3.52 for his first PTN 3.5 Index class victory.

An excellent turnout of 230 total entries was on-site to compete in some excellent bracket racing action. Michigan would sweep the Quick 8 Pro ATV category as Matt Ewing would take the final round victory over Dylan Beld as well as the 2011 PTN Quick 8 Pro ATV class championship. Matt Peel would take the Quick 16 class win in an all-Buggy final with a 3.41 (3.30) in Ed Engel’s nitrous-fed SBC powered entry over Frank Martuscelli’s 3.23 (3.20) in his Turbocharged 4-cylinder Methanol/Nitromethane-burning ride. Other winners include Jim Brantley (Pro Cars), dual-class winner Matt Ewing (Pro ATV), Neal Swain (Sportsman), first-time winner Chloe Simon (ATV), Tom Bray (Sportsman Truck), Steve Ewing (ATV - Friday), Caitylnn Page (Junior ATV), Garrett Curtis (Junior Dragster), and Havannah Wagner (Mighty Midgets).

PTN also held a race car show on Thursday night before the race to promote the weekend’s event. Park Hills, MO’s David Risher & Hank Nash took home first place in the Race Car Category with their SBC-powered Altered. The Engel Dragonfly Buggy would come in second while Iowa’s Mike Orness scored third place.

PTN’s next outing will be a non-points event at West Michigan Dirt Drags’ Ottawa County Fairgrounds show in Holland, MI on July 30. From there, PTN will be heading to Big River Sand Drags in Bonne Terre, MO on September 23-24 for a great end of the season non-points event. Look for more information on the Missouri race coming soon.









Final Results

Pro Truck
Eric Gallay, Jerseyville, IL - 3.938/78MPH (3.90) .016 def. Neal Swain, Portland, MI - 4.262/70MPH (4.20) .013.

Pro Outlaw FE
Brian McWethy, Kalamazoo, MI - 3.095/108.56MPH def. Jay Poortenga, Hudsonville, MI - 3.324/96.84MPH.

3.5 Index
Roger Jareo, Davison, MI - 3.514/92.13MPH def. Rich Simon, New Baltimore, MI 3.527/91.15MPH.

Quick 8 Pro ATV
Matt Ewing, Byron Center, MI - 4.03/80MPH (3.97) .050 def. Dylan Beld, Hudsonville, MI - 4.01/76MPH (4.00) .180.

Points

Pro Truck
1. Lee Reynders, Grand Rapids, MI - 65 Points; 2. Eric Gallay, Jerseyville, IL - 58 Points; 3. Kip Martin, Grand Haven, MI - 57 Points; 4. Ben Dozeman, Hudsonville, MI - 46 Points; 5. Mike Page, Grand Haven, MI - 46 Points.

Pro Outlaw FE
1. Kathy Ellington, Marysville, OH - 64 Points; 2. Team Richards (Rich Simon/Ben Dozeman), New Baltimore, MI - 39 Points; 3. Dan Wies, New Melle, MO - 38 Points; 4. (Tie) Curtis Combs, Hamilton, OH - 10 Points; 4. (Tie) John Dreher, Wentzville, MO - 10 Points.

3.5 Index
1. John Dreher, Wentzville, MO - 50 Points; 2. Kathy Ellington, Marysville, OH - 41 Points; 3. Rich Simon, New Baltimore, MI - 36 Points; 4. Brian Harrison, Brookville, IN - 33 Points; 5. Ben Dozeman, Hudsonville, MI - 30 Points.

Quick 8 Pro ATV
1. Matt Ewing, Byron Center, MI - 27 Points; 2. Brian Snikeris, Elwood, IL - 22 Points; 3. Brad Adams, Dundee, MI - 20 Points; 4. (Tie) Steve Ewing, Byron Center, MI - 17 Points; 4. (Tie) Melinda Smith, Crum, WV - 17 Points.

ONLINE COVERAGE
National Sand Drag News
Sand Drag Central

UPCOMING PTN NON-POINT SERIES EVENTS
HOLLAND, MI / WEST MICHIGAN DIRT DRAGS / JULY 30
BONNE TERRE, MO / BIG RIVER SAND DRAGS / SEPTEMBER 23-24

2011 PTN SPONSORS:
Richards Auto Parts
VP Racing Fuels
Monroe Shock Absorbers
Dart Machinery
AMSOil
Auto Meter Products
Deka Batteries
Earl’s Products
Goodyear Gatorback Belts
Holley Performance Products
Power Plus
Super-Flite Oil
Wood River Auto Parts
ALLSTAR Performance
Ambs Auto Clinic
ATVDragRacers.com
Brownlee Distributing Co.
DeLeeuw Lumber
Hudsonville Bulk Bin
J&P Auto Electric
JD Small Engine Repair
Ross Abraham Builder
Wies Racing
Risher Nash Motorsports