The 2024 Northern Nationals - US 131 Motorsports Park

The 2024 Northern Nationals - US 131 Motorsports Park

Words by Mike Sopko Jr. Photos by Mike Sr., Mike Jr., Michael K. Sopko

Each drag race has a story waiting to be told. This year’s 2024 Northern Nationals was no exception as not one, but several stories unfolded in front of the usual capacity crowd that fills the Martin, Michigan dragstrip. We had new cars and paint schemes to unveil, a front-motored Top Fuel points championship on the line, and even some personal bests. Here is a look at those stories that made the annual Northern Nationals a can’t miss event.


New Cars/New Looks


There were a couple of new cars and new looks making their debut this weekend. First was Artie McElwee’s “Buzzy’s Bomber” nitro funny car which replaced the Chevy II body with a new early 70’s Pontiac Firebird. The car looks stunning from the stance of the body to the carbon fiber look and gorgeous graphics. Brother, Mark McElwee was back behind the wheel to put the car through its paces, and it didn’t disappoint.


Not exactly making its debut was the All Star Nitro Demon of Greg Jacobsmeyer which converted his Dodge Challenger funny car to a 23’ T Fuel Altered. As shared, this was not their debut as the car did compete during Nitro Chaos in Edgewater earlier this summer. However, I do believe this was the first time the team set out to tackle the quarter mile with the new car. This car is quickly gaining a reputation for hanging the front hoops up in the air while going down track. In just the few outings they have had this year, there are already several pictures of the car carrying the front wheels populating social media. Both my son and I joined this picture club as Jacobsmeyer again frequently had the front end in the air. My son captured his image about 200 feet out from the starting line. I however caught mine while covering the top end in and effort to get some chute shots. As I was looking through my top end shots, I came across several shots of the Nitro Demon crossing the ¼ mile strip in full wheelstand mode.

The other car sporting a new look this weekend was the Joe Haas “Nimrod” Camaro. This time instead of the familiar black with orange flames Nimrod or the crowd favorite “American Way” ’57 Chevy Joe Haas debuted the Horizon Behavioral Autism Center Camaro with a fresh look cultivated by drag racing artist Dave Ferrin. The only thing more stunning than the car’s look was it’s on track performance. More on this later.


EXTREME TOP FUEL CHAMPIONSHIP UP FOR GRABS


This event marks the end of the Extreme Top Fuel season and the crowning of the 2024 champion. Going into this final race there were three contenders in the hunt for the season title. Those were Joey Haas in Stephen McClain’s chevy powered fueler, Michael Anderson in his King Chassis built “West Texas Hustler,” and series founder and perennial champion Jim Young in his “Young Guns” slingshot. These three have traded blows throughout the season. Anderson took the first win of the season at Rocket City Dragway in Alabama. The event was contested on the 1/8 mile, and he lined up and got the win against Haas’s yellow and black digger for the title and bragging rights. Next was the Blue Suede Cruise at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk Ohio, just a week earlier. This time it was Young in the final and he paired up against Haas. Haas was coming off back-to-back wins in the Nitro Chaos series with his family-owned “Nimrod” Camaro funny car. Haas continued his streak in Norwalk with his third victory in a row, and his first in the dragster.


The stage was set in Martin, Michigan for the champion to be crowned. However, it was not without drama and a case of true sportsmanship. After winning at Norwalk, the Haas and McClain owned team unfortunately were dealing with parts attrition and were unable to compete at the Northern Nationals. This would most likely have curtailed Haas’s chance at the season championship. Enter fellow competitor Robert Malloy and his injected nitro hemi dragster. The car normally piloted by Diamond Dave Brown, had the seat offered up to Haas so that he could continue his pursuit of the championship. With nine cars vying for the 8-car field one car would remain on the outside looking in. And though Mr. Haas was behind the wheel of a stout car, it is a car that lacks something the other 8 cars have: a blower. Joey Haas and the Beedy and Malloy team had their work cut out for them. The fuelers were scheduled to make three qualifying attempts, but an afternoon shower on Friday reduced their qualifying efforts to just one pass on Friday and one more on Saturday. As Saturday dawned four of the nine cars made passes. One who was solidly in the field was Tim Cullinan in his “Fighting Irish” slingshot. The other three would vying for spots in the field were Dave Belock in the Ohio based “Time Bandit,” John Lorbiecki in the “Fuelish Flier,” and of course Haas in the Beedy and Malloy injected dragster. At the conclusion of the final session, it would be Haas in the 7th spot and Lorbiecki rounding out the field. The stage was set, and eliminations were scheduled for that afternoon. Meanwhile, Young qualified on the pole with a 5.77 and Anderson qualified 5th with a 6.08.

The first pair out during eliminations was Young and Lorbiecki. Lorbiecki experienced engine trouble just after half track and Young cruised to a first-round victory with another 5.77. Next, was Haas in the right lane and Julius Hughes in his “Atlanta Speed Shop” dragster in the left lane. Haas kept him honest, but could not keep up with Hughes’s 5.94 performance at 224 mph. The third pair would feature Mike Taylor with his “Blue Collar Top Fuel” team versus Larry Gocha. Gocha was out on Taylor, but at about half track the motor began to hurt itself and death smoke flowed from the hemi. That was all Taylor needed to get around him. He took the stripe and laid down a strong 5 second pass (5.97 at 233 mph). The final pair of the first round would see the “West Texas Hustler” of Anderson versus Tim Cullinan in the “Irish Car Bomb.” The two were the closest qualified cars, qualifying in the number 4 and 5 spots. Their qualifying performances were separated by just 0.024 of a second, with Cullinan getting the nod in the number 4 slot. This would also prove to be the closest race of the first round and Anderson would get to the stripe first winning with his first 5 second pass of the weekend (5.99 at 251 mph to Cullinan’s 6.12 at 219 mph).

After round one Haas was now out, ending his winning streak at three. However, the next round would prove pivotal to the points championship as Anderson and Young would do battle. 

Anderson and Young were the first pair out. Though Anderson has run well this year the advantage for this race was clearly with Young. Anderson had only been in the 5’s once so far this weekend and just barely at that with a 5.99. Meanwhile Young was living deep in the 5’s with consistent 5.7 second passes. Both clearly turned up the wick for this battle and it didn’t disappoint. In a race that was arguably the best of the weekend Anderson got the slight advantage at the tree by 0.010 of second. Going down the track as Bob Frey used to say you could have thrown a blanket over the two of them. Both tripped the beams with their strongest passes of the weekend and in the end, it was Anderson taking the win with a 5.74 to Young’s 5.75 while both exceeded 250 mph.

So now who would Anderson face in the final? Would it be Hughes or Taylor? This may not have been as close as Anderson and Young’s epic battle, but Hughes and Taylor didn’t disappoint either. On this run it would be the “Atlanta Speed Shop” fueler advancing to the final with a 5.89. Taylor gave it a game effort but slowed to 219 mph while still running a 5.95.

So, the final was set. The battle for the Northern Nationals in Michigan would be between the boys from the South, Hughes from Georgia and Anderson from Texas. Now completely under the lights the nitro flames belched in the evening sky. The ambers flashed and it was another tight race down the 1320. As the cars approached the finish line, Anderson’s slingshot extended his lead and took the stripe with a 5.81 to Hughes’s 5.93. 

Anderson’s performance at this event would seal the championship for him and his team. Haas would take 2nd and Young finished in 3rd. 

Congratulations to Anderson and his “West Texas Hustler” team on the well-deserved championship and to the Extreme Top Fuel contingent on an excellent event!

HILL AND HAAS CLAIM PERSONAL BESTS
As mentioned earlier, this event had several instances of personal bests. The first would come from the Hill Family Racing team and their very popular “Mad Max” Mustang funny car. Friday, night the team made a test hit and it was an indication of what was to come. Not completely at night yet, but with enough fading light to ensure optimal traction and header flames the Mustang leapt off the starting line. It was hauling the mail down the track, but the header flames went out short of the quarter mile stripe. Still the scoreboards lit up with a 5.44 at a slowing 230 mph. The speed indicated there was more there and the team put a target on the 5.30’s. The story did not simply continue there, however. Rather the header flames going out early was an indication of a hurt engine. 


Thus, began another all-too-familiar drag racing tale that adds a layer of mystique to the story. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a spare motor sitting in the trailer. Instead, there was another one back at the family shop just under 150 miles away. So, family patriarch and this weekend’s driver, Dave Hill, made the trip back home to pick up the spare motor and bring it to the Martin, Michigan facility. After arriving back at the track veteran racer and tuner Rick Krafft lead the crew in putting together the new motor. Fortunately, the team wouldn’t have to hit the track until 6:00 that evening which gave them enough time to put “Mad Max” back together. 


As the time for the nitro show begins the drama hasn’t ended yet. After all the hard work Hill finds himself stranded on the track after his burnout. His crew runs out and is fortunately able to get the car back behind the starting line. Consequently, they have now burned up an inordinate amount of fuel. Hill stages the car against Jacobsmeyer’s altered. The tree illuminates and the cars are off. From my perch on the top end, I can see both cars pulling hard towards the 1320. This time, Hill is able to keep the candles lit through the finish line, but immediately is met with piston smoke. It appears all eight have been sacrificed to the aluminum graveyard in the name of speed. As the team rolls down the return road to pick up their driver it appears that the concern of the piston smoke has been somewhat tempered, as there is plenty of whooping and hollering. Dave’s son and occasional driver of “Mad Max,” Ryan Hill, lets us know they have surpassed the 30’s and jumped all the way to a 5.29 at over 260+ mph. A career best and outstanding performance for this Northwest Indiana team.

Welcome to the Club


Another well respected family in drag racing circles is the Haas family. Joey was mentioned earlier in the article with his well-known successes this year behind the wheel of the McClain family front-engine fueler and his family’s “Nimrod” funny car. Joey has also been an NHRA big show Top Fuel finalist as he spent some time behind the wheel of Terry Totten’s top fueler. 


His father Joe also has had his share of successes and for a long time held the record for performance in AA/FA. He also drives the same funny car, but often covered in the wildly popular “American Way” ’57 Chevy trim. This time he would be draped in the same early 2000’s “Nimrod” Camaro body that his son Joey has run during Chaos events, but with the backing from supporter Horizon Behavioral Autism Center. Joe has had some incredible performances behind the wheel of his car and other’s, winning races and setting performance records. Joe has been close to some of the major performance milestones such as a 4 second pass and 300 mph but has come up just a little shy. After a stellar first pass during the early evening session Joe and his team came up for the final session under the lights loaded for bear. Again, matched up with longtime friend John Lawson both launched hard from the starting line with 6-foot flames shining brightly against their fuel coupes. This time I was standing about 150 feet out from the starting line. As Haas blew by, I could feel the heat from the header flames. As I turned, he was already crossing halftrack. I held my breath hoping the car would stay lit the whole way down the track. Haas legged it out through the traps and I immediately turned my attention to the scoreboard. Would you believe it Joe came up just short of the magic 4 second time slip with a 5.000 pass (seriously)? Next, I looked just below to see the mph number we were hoping to see. Joe didn’t barely make it over the 300 mph threshold, he obliterated it with a 312 mph pass. At this point the stands were erupting. I’m sure much of it was at seeing a 300 mph pass. However, the Haas family has a long history at US 131 and is a fan favorite. I’m sure there were just as many fans in the stands that knew what an accomplishment it was for this team and were sincerely happy for their achievement.

Conclusion
As you can see there was no shortage of storylines and excitement. And this is just the cusp of it. The event also boasted big show top fuelers, the Larsen Motorsports Jet car team, jet funny cars, and the PDRA series. AA/FA record holder Kebin Kinsley also came all the way from Texas and wowed the crowd with their “War Wagon” fuel altered. Clearly it was a can’t miss event. However, if by chance you did miss it, you have another chance to redeem yourself. That is because another outstanding line up of race vehicles awaits the fans of US 131 Motorsports Park for the annual Funny Car Nationals on September 6 and 7. 

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