IHRA: Points battle tight in three Pro categories

With four races in the books, the points for the IHRA Drag Racing Season remain close in all but one category.

Since Pro Mod racer Billy Harper is the only driver to attend every race – from Florida to Canada – he has strengthened his grip on the points lead. Harper and his sinister black Dodge Viper have 344 points, compared to second-place Ruben Tetsoshvili's 166. He is just two points ahead of Adam Flamholc in third, though, with Jerico Badluf in fourth (149 points) and Bill Lutz in fifth (126 points).

Pro Stock has tightened up, thanks to Trevor Eman's win at the Mopar Canadian Nationals at Grand Bend. He now has 356 points, just three behind the current champion, Cary Goforth, who has 359. J.R. Carr is third with 294, Larry O'Brien fourth with 244, and John Konigshofer (pictured), who was leading going into the race in Maryland, has dropped to fifth with 232 points.

The Pro Stock points won't change with the next race, the Mopar Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alberta, as that class won't be making the trip.

In Nitro Motorcycle, Jay Turner has a solid lead over second-place Jake Storduer, 356 points to 286. In third is Bob Malloy with 283 points, just three behind Storduer, and in fourth, Randall Andras with 235 points.

And in the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car class, Jason Rupert holds a narrow lead with 342 points, compared to 336 for second-place Mike McIntyre. With his victory in Grand Bend, Mark Sanders is riding in third place with 316 points. Shawn Bowen is fourth with 310, and Tim Boychuk is fifth with 282. But don't count out Boychuk – Edmonton is his home track.