IHRA: Burch reflects on his Summit TOC victory

It probably didn't occur to Gage Burch that he was the last hope the male gender had in IHRA Junior Dragster competition at Memphis International Raceway, but he was: His competition was Kaelie Morton, who had come all the way from Fort St. John in British Columbia.

Meanwhile, over in the Summit SuperSeries Junior Dragster shootout, it was two more female racers – Emily Million vs. Allison Lloyd.

So it was up to Burch to carry the banner for male racers, and he did: Burch, of Palmetto, Fla., cruised to the victory after both he and Kaelie red-lighted at the start, but his transgression, 0.007s, was less than hers at 0.018s.

Racing a Junior Dragster has sent Burch on a path toward bigger and louder cars. "I've been driving in Junior Dragster for eight years, but I've already started driving big cars," he said. Butch can, however, compete in Junior Dragster for another two years.

As far as learning the ropes, he's grateful for his time in the Junior Dragster class. "It's a huge advantage to race Junior Dragster before you get into a big car because you learn everything at a young age so it just comes naturally after that."

Burch and his father worked tirelessly getting their three-year-old car ready for the Finals. In the long run, what's the plan?

"I'd really like to go into a professional category, but in the end if that doesn't work out, Sportsman racing is where I'll be," Burch said. "I'm not really picky – I think anything is really cool, but I think Pro Stock is a really cool class."

With a resume that already says World Champion, Gage Burch is well prepared to go all the way.