​The Import Outlaws took the track at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip down in Lakeside, California on Saturday, July 3rd, as people brought their cars from all around to the dragstrip to see who could take the crown. Also, the event included a high stakes Gambler, with over two-thousand dollars in prize money at stake.
 
In the 6.50 bracket, Jeff Martin and his 74 Datsun was matched up against Kyle Pingree and his 85 Mustang. Kyle was slow off the line, with a .550 reaction time that Jeff's .280 would give him a good head start on. Jeff would take that head start and ride it to a 6.6123 e.t, beating out Kyle's 6.632 e.t. and taking the 6.50 win.

​Jeff Martin (Far) against Kyle Pingree (Near) in the 6.50 final.
Import Motorcycles came down to Alejandro Saucedo matched up against Ray Garofano. Alejandro had the faster bike, running a 5.745 e.t. at 120 MPH, beating Ray's 6.392 e.t. at 114 MPH, giving Alejandro the win.

​Alejandro Saucedo (Far) against Ray Garofano (Near) in the Import Motorcycles final.
In the Import Street bracket, Jose Fernandez and his 93 Honda was matched up against Edwin Chollio and his 98 VW. Edwin got off to the better start, but Jose's 8.218 e.t. would edge out Edwin's 8.250 e.t, giving him the Import Street win.

​Edwin Chollio (Near) against Jose Fernandez (Far) in the Import Street final.
And finally, in the High-Stakes Gambler final, Danny Macias was looking to score the $1350 grand prize, but Dave Meziere was seeking the same. Dave got off to a slightly faster start, but it was his 5.757 e.t. on a 5.52 dial that would take the win, as Dave's 7.148 e.t. on a 6.20 dial would fall short.

​The Gambler final, with Danny Macias (Far) against Dave Meziere (Near)
With the big prize handed out, and the Imports all wrapped up, we look forward to the next race on the schedule. Friday July 16th the raceway is open for the Street Legal Drags, with Crower Cup Race #2 coming up on Saturday 17th! See you there!

​Steve Watkin's 00 Corvette (Far) against Brian Stirrat's 20 Tesla (Near) in the Summit Sportsman final.
Summit Pro came down to a match up between Tracy Perez's 55 Chevy and Gary Harfield's Corvette. Tracy's .005 reaction time put Gary in a position where he'd have to play catch up, as he pushed for whatever space he could get. Gary's 7.810 e.t. would be a bit too fast for his 7.82 dial, as Gary breaks out, giving Tracy the Summit Pro win.

With the season getting back into shape, it was time for the NHRA Summit Series to finally get started, with the first two races of the NHRA Summit Series over Independence Weekend, July 4th and 5th , featuring the Summit Motorcycle, Summit Pro, Summit Super Pro, and Summit Sportsman, rolling up on Saturday to start the series, and following through on Sunday to do it again.


Summit Motorcycle came first on Saturday, as Brian Stirrat's '18 Busa motorcycle was matched up against Manny Garcia's '15 Busa. Manny would get off to a fast start, launching with a .011 reaction time and quite a lead over Brian's .193 reaction, but he's finish too far ahead of Brian, finishing with a 6.095 E/T on a 6.22 dial, breaking out and giving Brian Saturday's Summit Motorcycle win.


Summit Sportsman finished off with a duel between Gary Harfield and David Puetz. David was slow off the starting line, his .205 reaction time giving Gary a lot of leeway, as his .067 reaction time was nearly .14 seconds faster. And when Gary finished with a 8.002 E/T on a 7.8 dial, that would leave David a very tiny window for victory. He'd have to nail his 7.64 dial, and finish no slower than 7.644. His E/T of 7.676 was not good enough, as Gary Harfield got Saturday's Summit Sportsman win.

Gary Harfield, ready for his Summit Sportsman final.

In the Summit Pro bracket, Pete Wrieden brought his '57 Bel Air to the track, and was matched up against Rick Reynolds and his 66 Fairlane. Pete had the slower car, launching first with a respectable .041 reaction time, leaving Rick waiting for his turn to go as he watched Pete head down the track. Rick could not wait long enough, launching 2 thousandths of a second early and getting himself a red light foul. Pete Wrieden won Saturday's Summit Pro bracket.


Saturday capped off with the Summit Super Pro bracket, as RJ Simrock found himself matched up against Mike O Donnell. Mike had a good run, a .197 reaction time followed by a 5.887 E/T on a 5.84 dial. However, RJ ran into some issues, never quite getting off the line as intended and puttering to a 15 second long E/T, giving Mike O' Donnell the Summit Super Pro win.

Rick Reynolds (Near) lined up against Pete Wrieden (Far) in the Summit Pro final. Pete would take the win on Saturday.

Everyone went home after that nice Summer night, had a good night sleep, and showed up again on Sunday morning to try it all again, this time with an added Gambler bracket on top of it, bringing home a cash prize for the winner.


That cash prize would go to either RJ Simrock or Daniel Switzer, the two finalists in the Gambler bracket. Both were nearly even off the line, RJ's .046 reaction time nearly matching Daniel's .043. Keeping it close meant whoever would take the stripe first would win, so long as they don't break out. However, both drivers did, but RJ's 6.055 E/T on a 6.08 dial was one thousandth of a second closer than Daniel's 7.754 E/T on his 7.78 dial, earning RJ the Gambler win by the slimmest possible margin.


Summit Motorcycles again saw Brian Stirrat going for the double win going up against Gary Moore on his 09 Suzuki Busa. However, Brian would not be able to repeat, as he had issues getting off the line with a molasses slow .717 reaction time, letting Gary shoot forwards for the Sunday Summit Motorcycles win.


Next, in Summit Sportsman, Saturday's final would get a sequel, as Gary Harfield and David Puetz would have a rematch. Gary would get off the line faster with a .018 reaction time, giving him over a 4 hundredths of a second advantage over David Puetz's .059 reaction. And when Gary finished with a 7.977 E/T on a 7.97 dial, David would be locked out of his revenge, as Gary Harfield doubles up and wins both Summit Sportsman brackets for the weekend.


The Summit Pro bracket had Rick Reynolds looking to make up for his loss in the finals on Saturday, and he'd do it against Todd Ferguson. Redemption would come easy for Rick, as Todd's slower 6.58 dial meant he'd launch first, and when he launched with a -.026 reaction time and got a red light, Rick got the Sunday Summit Pro win without having to step on the gas.

Sunday's Summit Pro final, with Rick Reynolds (Near) against Todd Ferguson (Far)

Finally, in the Summit Super Pro bracket, Ernie Macias would match up against Mike O' Donnell, with both of them quick to get off the line. Mike would be a hair faster with his risky .007 reaction time, but Ernie's .015 wasn't too far behind. As both broke 100 MPH, with Ernie right behind him, Mike crossed the finish line a hair too fast, a 5.982 E/T on a 6.00 dial leading to a very slim breakout, giving Ernie Macias the Summit Super Pro win.


The Summit has some lost time to make up for, so these racers don't have long to rest. The next race in the series awaits them on July 18th and 19th with another double header! Also, for the more casual racers, Friday night the 17th the track will open up at 3 PM for the Street Legal Drags, racing starting at 5 PM! See you there!

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Racing finally returned to Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip on Saturday, June the 20th. With the safety of all of our fans in mind, and with public masking and social distancing guidelines in effect, it was finally time to come back to racing. The year would finally resume with the first race of the Crower Cup series.

​First, in the Gambler, Rick Reynolds would be matched up against Gary Harfield for a nice cash prize. Gary had the slower car, but the faster reaction time with a near perfect .002 reaction compared to Rick's .031, forcing Rick to play catch up on the track, pressuring Rick into a 5.930 E/T on a 5.94 dial, breaking Rick out and securing the win for Gary Harfield

Rick Reynolds (Near) against Gary Harfield (Far) In the Gambler finals.

Gary wasn't done yet, as he managed to get his 09 Corvette into the Crower Cup finals, where he'd go up against Luis Herandez's 69 Camaro. Unfortunetly, Gary was unable to replicate his start from the Gambler final, starting off with a .084 reaction time. He pushed that to a dead on 7.829 E/T on a 7.82 dial, making a Total Package of .093. Luis' .033 reaction time was much stronger, so even with a weaker 6.965 ET on a 6.91 dial, he still had a total package of .088, giving him the Crower Cup win by a mere 5 thousandths of a second

Luis Herandez and his 69 Camaro (Right) celebrating his Crower Cup win.

With that win, Luis Herandez is in the drivers' seat for the Crower Cup title, with two races left to go. And with racing back in session, the NHRA Summit Series will be there too, starting on the 4th of July weekend. See you there!

The 2020 Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip season started off with the first race of the Renegade series, and we started not just with that, but also a round of Member Track Madness, with the winner claiming a trophy and two free tickets to a NHRA event.

The Renegade Electronics bracket came down to RJ Simrock's dragster and Paul Wagner's 65 Valiant. Paul got off to the faster start with a .062 reaction time, compared to RJ's .079, but RJ had every intent on running this out, getting a near perfect 5.999 E/T on a 5.98 dial. Paul had .036 seconds of wiggle room to win and with a small lead on the way to the finish line, he let off the gas for a quick moment. But with a 6.819 E/T on a 6.82 dial, he was still one thousandth of a second too fast, breaking out and giving RJ the Renegade Electronic win.
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RJ Simrock (Far) against Paul Wagner (Near) in the Renegade Electronics final.

In Renegade Non-E, John McKinney brought his 77 Camaro, matched up with Rick Reynold's 66 Fairlane. Rick would get a decent head start, with a .047 reaction time, over .08 seconds better than John's .133. Thus, when John finished with a very strong 6.746 E/T on a 6.74 dial, Rick was still able to slow down and finish with a 5.941 E/T on a 5.93 dial. John's final total package was .139, while Rick's was .058, giving Rick the Renegade Non-E win.

Rick Reynolds (Near) against John McKinney (Far) in the Renegade Non-E Final

Finally, Member Track Madness had the winners have one last run off to determine the day's champ, and the Member Track Madness winner. RJ's Dragster lined up against Rick Reynold's 66 Fairlane. RJ's was a faster car, so Rick needed the best start he could possibly get. But when the lights dropped, Rick launched a tenth of a second early, getting a red light, fouling out, and giving RJ the Member Track Madness win.

RJ Simrock accepting the Member Track Madness trophy from track owner Rick Reynolds.

Congrats to RJ Simrock, and all of our racers. Next race is on Friday the 7th, where it's an open ticket to the Street Legal Drags! See you there!

The finale of the 3-race Crower Cup series was held at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip down in Lakeside, California on a sunny Saturday, November 23rd. Defending champion Rick Reynolds was already out of the running, with the top 3 in points going in being Jeff Martin, Todd Ferguson, and Rick's daughter, Remy Reynolds. Todd was eliminated early, while Jeff Martin would drop out in the quarterfinals. That'd leave Remy Reynolds with a path in front of her to take the championship.
The Crower Cup Finals would come down to her, in her 1971 Ford Pinto, going up against Richard Bowen and his 1969 Chevy Nova. Remy would get off to a good head start, her .047 reaction time giving her a good advantage over Richard's .080. She needed that advantage, as her 5.901 E/T on her 5.85 dial would be a little weaker than Richard's 5.977 E/T on a 5.95 dial. Remy's 0.098 total package would just edge out Richard's 0.107, giving her the Crower Cup bracket win, and the overall championship with her two overall Crower Cup win.

Remy's 71 Pinto (Near) up against Richard's 69 Nova (Far) in the Crower FinalsRemy would get her 9th overall Wally, her 4th outside the Junior's, and her second Crower Cup championship.

The last race of the year will be December 8th, for an open Import Outlaws race. Racing starts at 10 AM. See you there!

Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip was host to a new addition to the weekend fun: The Race Legal drags. Last Friday, the 16th of August, the Street Legal drags ran, the quickest way for anyone to hit the track, and have a few runs as quickly as possible. With other 450 spectators and over 100 entries, it was a smashing success. One that we hope to have become a regular event

Mohan GC and his 2017 Dodge Challenger, one of the over 100 cars that showed up to the Street Legals on Friday.

But the weekend was host to other racing under the Lakeside sun, as Summit Races #5 and #6 ran on Saturday and Sunday of the 17th and 18th. With only two more races to go, racers jockeyed for position to be in the right spot for the home stretch.


Saturday, in the Summit Motorcycles bracket, Brian Stirrat's 18 Busa found itself matched against David Collins and his 83 Kawasaki in the finals. Brian got off the line fast, but David got off the line faster. 61 thousandths of a second before the green light faster. Unfortunately, that's illegal, giving him a red light foul and giving the Summit Motorcycle win to Brian.


The Summit Sportsman came down to Gary Harfield and David Stoddard. It was a heads up race, with both of them rocking 7.84 dials. Gary got off the line first, with a .047 reaction just edging out David's .097. That'd be the difference, as Gary's 7.977 E/T was a hair slower than David's 7.964 E/T, but not enough to make up those 5 hundredths of a second lost at the start. Gary Harfield gets the Summit Sportsman win.


Summit Pro's final was between Remy Reynolds and Jeff Martin, with Remy getting the faster jump off the line with a .017 reaction time. Jeff was behind with a .083, but was doing his best to catch up. However, Remy matched her 5.90 dial perfectly with a 5.906 E/T, making any hope of a comeback impossible, sealing the Summit Pro win for herself.

Jeff Martin (Near) against Remy Reynolds (Far) in Saturday's Summit Pro final.Summit Super Pro was where RJ Simrock would meet up with Chandler Meziere, dueling dragsters looking for that top spot. Both of them would be eager to start, with Chandler getting a short head start, his 6.43 dial a bit slower than RJ's 5.99. The starting lights fell, and as they did, RJ would win without doing anything, as Chandler launched 31 thousandths of a second early. And after that, it didn't matter that RJ launched 4 thousandths early; he already took the Summit Super Pro win.

Sunday, the warm evenings gave way to a hot afternoon of racing, as the Summit started once again, with winners looking to double up, and losers trying to cash in their second chance for glory.

Summit Motorcycle had a new pair of racers in it's final, but they were very familiar with each other. Cathy Silva and Joe Silva , a family rivalry, met up for this duel. Cathy was slower off the line, her .210 reaction a healthy deal behind Joe's .192, but Joe was not able to push all the way to the finish, running a 6.996 E/T on a 6.65 dial, giving just enough space for Cathy to take the win with a 10.116 E/T on a 9.91 dial.

Summit Sportsman was a match up between Kyle Phillips and Gary Harfield. Both were nearly even off the starting line, so it would come down to the 1/8th mile. And there, Gary's 7.987 E/T on a 7.92 dial would just edge out Kyle's 7.856 E/T on a 7.78 dial, taking the Summit Sportsman win.

ummit Sportsman's final, with Gary Harfield (Far) against Kyle Phillips (Near)

Sunday's Summit Pro bracket came down to Wayne Charbonneau's 62 Ranchero and Kyle Phillips' 56 Wagon. Kyle would get a head start, with a dial over a second slower than Wayne's, but instead of building a big head start, he'd just hand the win over to Wayne, launching 174 thousandths of a second early, fouling and gifting the Summit Pro win to Wayne

Sunday's Pro final, between Wayne Charbonneau's 62 Ranchero (Near) and Kyle Phillips' 56 Wagon (Far)

Finally, the Summit Super Pro bracket came down to a finale between Chandler Meziere and Richard Sullivan. Chandler's dragster is back after a loss in the finals on Saturday, looking for redemption. And redemption was achieved at the green light. A .003 second reaction time was Chandler's secret weapon. Richard's .040, while otherwise good, would be his death kneel here, as Chandler's 6.476 E/T on a 6.45 dial would make a comeback impossible, as Chandler makes up for his finals loss on Saturday with a Summit Super Pro win on Sunday

The Crower Cup made it's return to Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip on Saturday, August 3rd, and it accompanying it was the SoCal Doorslammers. With the second race of the three race Crower series on the line, racers pushing for that championship will do whatever they can to jockey for position, and get set for a big finale!

The SoCal Doorslammers started with the 6.50 bracket, a final between Ed Walker and his 1970 Roadrunner and Jeff Martin and his 74 Datsun. When the lights dropped, Ed got off the line first with a .077, getting a head start over Jeff's .117. He carried this lead to the finish, but wanting to make sure he didn't go under that 6.50 dial, he let off, letting Jeff finish with a 6.536 E/T, better than Ed's 6.553. But combined with their reaction times, Ed would take the win just barely, only taking the win light be 2 hundredths of a second, getting the 6.50 win.
The 5.50 bracket sped things up a bit, as Joe Bernier and his 72 Vega met up with Gus Hernandez and his 84 Mustang. Joe was a little slower off the line, but he made up for it on the track, finishing with a 5.539 E/T, as Gus lagged behind with a 5.775 E/T, giving Joe the 5.50 win.

Finally, in the Run What U Brung bracket, there were no limits on how fast you could go. And Duncon Patterson's 69 Camaro and Travers Scott's 85 Mustang had no problem with that, with Travers running the 1/8th mile in 4.568 seconds at 153 MPH. But even that wasn't fast enough: Duncon's Camaro set a new open door track record with a 155.85 MPH run, with a 4.491 E/T.

And with the Doorslammers taken care of, there was only the Crower Cup finals left. It was a family matchup, as Remy Reynolds was matched up with her father, Rick Reynolds in the Crower Cup final. Both Reynolds breaking 100MPH on the way to the finish, but Remy's 5.957 E/T on a 5.95 dial just edged out her father's 6.159 E/T on a 6.13 dial, getting her the Crower Cup win.

Remy Reynolds (Near) against Rick Reynolds (Far) in the Crower Cup Final
The win would spring Remy all the way up to 3rd place in the Crower Cup standings, with Jeff Martin having the lead going into the final race in September, with Todd Ferguson in second.
Meanwhile, next Friday is the arrival of the Street Legal Drags on Friday, the 16th, starting at 5PM. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, the NHRA Summit Series heads back to the track, starting at 4PM on Saturday, and 10AM. See you there!

The Import Outlaws hit the track again on Sunday, June 30th at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip. This group of international racers brought their beasts to the track, lined them up, and worked to settle who was the best that day in a variety of heads-up categories. Motorcycles, Extreme Outlaws, Turbos, All Motor, All Wheel Drive, and Street all matched up to take home the top spot and a nice cash prize.
Starting with Import Motorcycle, Ken Henderson found himself in the final in a race against “Hotrod”, from Moreno Valley. Ken had a decent reaction time, but “Hotrod” fouled out, launching far too early with a -.281, gift-wrapping the win for Ken.

The Import Motorcycle final, where Ken Henderson (Near) from San Diego beat "Hotrod" (Far) from Los Angeles.
In the Import Street class, Chayanne Pantoja brought their 90 Civic to the Street Front Wheel final, where it'd be matched against Fortino Gareia's 92 Honda. This street fight was over before it started, when Fortino launched .130 seconds early, giving Chayanne the Street win.
But when you can use whatever wheels you want, then the Import Street All Wheel is where you go, where Daniel Switzer's 15 Mustang matched up with Ahmad Allmi's 03 Evo. Both cars edged closer to the 100MPH mark, but Daniel's 7.474 E/T just edged out Ahmad's 7.794, giving Daniel the win.

The Import Street All Wheel final, featuring Daniel Switzer (Near) against Ahmad Allmi (Far)


Import All Motor came down to Julian Barbosa's 94 Honda and Sean Tomuscids' 92 Honda. Both got off the line quick, but Sean could not grip the track or get any speed, slogging his way to a 13 second run, while Julian finished with a 6.491 E/T, taking the win.

All Motor final, with Sean Tomuscids (Near) against Julian Barbosa (Far)

The Extreme Outlaw bracket came down to a pair of San Diegans, Jeff Wesser and his 71 Nova and Terry Johnson and his 47 Topolino. Jeff got off the line faster on his way to a 6.363 E/T, with Terry a scant 2 tenths o a second behind with a 6.502 E/T, giving Terry the Extreme Outlaw win.

Extreme Outlaw final, with Jeff Wesser (Far) against Terry Johnson (Near)
Finally, the Import Turbo bracket needed to be settled. Brandon Setterberg and his 04 Honda would line up to test his mettle, while “Chepe”, from El Centro with his 92 Honda, would be his rival. But when the lights went down, Chepe's tires gripped and they launched off, while Brandon was left stalled in his lane. Chepe finished with a 6.490 E/T, while Brandon eventually got his car to get going, but by that point he'd be riding a 117 MPH vehicle to a 26 second E/T, letting Chepe get the Turbo win.
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The Turbo final, with "Chepe" in the far lane, and Brandon Setterberg in the near lane.
Now, check in next week, when The SoCal Doorslammers show up, warming up for the Summit Series races #3 and #4 for a weekend doubleheader! See you there!