IHRA: Texas turns it on

Finally, Saturday and Sunday were perfect race days weather-wise - the racers in San Antonio were wondering about Texas weather hospitality on Friday, when qualifying was called for weather. Not for rain, but wind, when a steady 24mph crosswind, with gusts over 30mph, were deemed too dangerous, so the Pro schedule was condensed into Saturday.

And the racing on the IHRA Good Vibrations Texas Nationals Fueled by Sunoco at San Antonio Raceway was well worth the wait. Two-time and defending AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car World Champion Jason Rupert and four-time Nitro Motorcycle World Champion Jay Turner raced to their first wins of the 2016 season, while John Konigshofer and Billy Harper also raced to wins in their respective categories.

Rupert, the No. 3 qualifier, was consistently strong in eliminations. He defeated Bruce Litton and Mike McIntire before defeating Orlando winner Shawn Bowen in the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car final round in the season opener.

"The competition out here is tough, and these guys are getting tougher, too," Rupert said. "You try to stay ahead, but then all of a sudden, there's a bunch of guys that come up with some stuff so you're chasing them. It's always tough."

For the second time in as many races this season, Konigshofer reached the IHRA Pro Stock final round. He came up short in Orlando but made the most of his San Antonio opportunity with a hole-shot win over Team Aruba Racing's Trevor Eman. Konigshofer defeated Larry O'Brien and John DeFlorian on his way to the final round.

"It was an awesome day for us; the car is strong," Konigshofer said. "Jon Kaase gave us some awesome motors. We ran 6.22 (seconds) with a five this morning in real good conditions. I thought we could maybe grab the record tonight, but it wasn't there. We're really happy with the car; everyone's doing their jobs, the brothers are doing their jobs so it's working."

Harper saved his best performance of the weekend for the most important time - the Pro Mod final round. His 5.842-second elapsed time set the IHRA Pro Mod record, and it was the second time in as many races that Harper set the IHRA mark. He defeated Jerico Balduf and Bill Lutz before besting Ruben Tetsoshvili on his way to his first winner's circle celebration of the season.

"It always feels great to win, but I could never do it without this crew," Harper said. "They've done a great job. We had a lot of bugs this weekend, but they got through it and brought home a national record and a win. The car's coming around; we made a lot of changes in the winter, and we're excited about how the car's running. We're having a ball here at the IHRA."

The Nitro Motorcycle final round was a battle between the seventh and eighth qualifiers. Turner, a four-time IHRA Nitro Motorcycle World Champion, was the No. 7 qualifier; he upset No. 2 qualifier Tii Tharpe, and outran Randal Andras in the semifinals. In the final round, Turner defeated Rickey House to take home the Ironman. His Good Vibrations Texas Nationals victory is his first of the two-race season.

"It was a long day, but it worked out," Turner said. It feels good to get a win for the 2016 season."
The 2016 IHRA Drag Racing Series season continues at the IHRA Presidents Cup Nationals Fueled by Sunoco June 17-18 at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Maryland. The two-day show will feature the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car class, Pro Mod, Pro Stock, Nitro Motorcycles and sportsman racing.