NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The Fallen Patriots NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by K&N Filters had a JEGS Allstars double, a traditional double, and a rare father-son final round, but all of them took a backseat to the most newsworthy event of the weekend: Dan Fletcher’s milestone 100th NHRA national event victory.

Fletcher took top billing in Chicago, but Luke Bogacki was also the star of the show with an impressive double-up in Super Comp and Super Gas. Greg and Aaron Stanfield also had a memorable weekend with a rare father-son final that went to son Aaron. Other champions crowned during the event were Megan Meyer (Top Alcohol Dragster), Sean Bellemeur (Top Alcohol Funny Car), David Rampy (Comp), Brad Burton (Stock), Zach Sackman (Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs), and Mark McDonald (Top Sportsman presented by Racing RVs).

Twenty-three years after his first win, Fletcher joined John Force (148) and Frank Manzo (105) in the exclusive 100 wins club when he bagged the Super Street title in Chicago. Fletcher won the landmark event after his final-round opponent, Division 7 JEGS Allstars representative Greg Ventura, red-lighted by four-thousandths in the final. [Watch video]

Meyer is clearly a rising star in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, and the second-generation racer claimed her third win of the season when she stopped reigning champ Joey Severance in the final, 5.427 to a slowing 5.798. Meyer, who also defeated Bob Sargent, Chris Demke, and Josh Hart in eliminations, has now moved a step closer to leader Severance in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series points standings. [Watch video]

Bellemeur returned to the seat of Tony Bartone’s Steve Boggs-tuned Camaro and collected his third national event title when he drove past Shane Westerfield in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final, 5.528 to 6.095. Bellemeur entered eliminations as the No. 3 qualifier and took out Phil Esz, Kris Hool, and Sweden’s Ulf Leanders to earn a spot in the title round. [Watch video]

Rampy lost just .06-second to Competition Index Control penalties during Comp eliminations while final-round opponent Brian Hyerstay was down 11-hundredths in his G/Dragster. Rampy did his job on the starting line with a .009 light but didn’t need it after Hyerstay fouled. Interestingly, Fletcher has 100 national event wins in 150 final rounds, and Rampy’s final-round winning percentage compares favorably with 95 wins in 151 final rounds. [Watch video]

Last month in Bristol, Greg Stanfield and his son, Aaron, just missed out on a memorable Father’s Day when Aaron won the title in the Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs class and Greg scored a runner-up finish in Super Stock. In Chicago, the Stanfields made another run at history when they met in the Super Stock final, where Aaron bagged another victory at the expense of his father. [Watch video]

Burton drove father Scott’s white Pontiac to a 10.412 on his 10.39 dial for the win in Stock against Division 1 JEGS Allstars racer and reigning division champ Justin Picillo, who broke out by a hundredth of a second behind the wheel of Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s Drag Pak Challenger. [Watch video]

With a double in Norwalk and a victory in Saturday’s JEGS Allstars race, reigning national champion Nick Folk entered the Super Comp class as the hottest driver in the sport, but he was no match for Bogacki in the final round. Bogacki picked up the first leg of his memorable double when he squeezed by Folk, 8.909 to 8.918.

A few minutes after winning the Super Comp final, Bogacki became the 24th different driver to double when he put his Super Gas Corvette into the winner’s circle after defeating Mike Sawyer in the title round. Bogacki was masterful in the final with a perfect .000 light and a 9.930 after Sawyer broke out with a 9.890. [Watch video]

Sackman won his first national event title in Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs when he drove past Shanna Snyder’s Vintage Trailers dragster in the final. Sackman, who shares driving duties with his brother, Matt, slowed to a 6.206 on his 6.08 dial to beat Snyder. [Watch video]

McDonald completed a perfect weekend in the Top Sportsman presented by Racing RVs class when he claimed both the JEGS Allstars title on Saturday and the national event title on Sunday. McDonald won eight straight eliminations rounds, including Sunday’s final, where he coupled a .005 light with a 6.677 on his 6.65 dial to stop Todd “Bones” Ewing, who was not far behind with a 6.833 on his 6.80 dial. [Watch video]